No achievements on ground, says BJP MP

BJP Member of Parliament from Ballia, Bharat Singh, on Wednesday dropped a bombshell in the parliamentary party meeting when he said that the government was talking about its achievements at the end of NDA’s one year in power but things were not that visible on the ground.

What was worrisome for the party leaders and Union Ministers was that this found resonance in the meeting and several MPs from U.P. thumped their desks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present, but did not speak.

Road not constructed

Asking to be heard after BJP Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and party’s organising secretary Ram Lal spoke about taking to the people the good work done by the NDA, Mr. Bharat Singh said not an inch of road had been constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna in Uttar Pradesh and MPs were not being heard.

“

Hume bhi bolne ka mauka dijiye (Give us an opportunity to speak),’’ he reportedly said after the Ministers asked MPs to be present in the House as Constitutional Amendments Bills on GST and Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh were coming up.

Mr. Singh, who is a former president of the Banaras Hindu University, said MPs were “neither heard by Ministers in U.P. nor here [Centre].” His observation came at the fag end of the hour-long meeting which was then abruptly concluded.

Fellow party MPs endorse Bharat Singh’s views

Several BJP MPs confirmed the observations of Mr. Bharat Singh. They said more time should be given to MPs at the parliamentary party meeting to air their views.

A senior leader from Bihar expects the Prime Minister to address the grievance as he is “sensitive.’’ A Delhi MP said the problem has arisen because there are no District Vigilance and Monitoring Committees in place in States.

In a bid to counter the Opposition attack on the NDA on the Land Acquisition Bill and the delay in reaching compensation to rain and hail-hit farmers, MPs are under pressure to tell people about the achievements of the government and the welfare measures taken for the underprivileged sections and farmers such as the “Jan Kalyan Parva” starting from May 26 to June 1.

After achieving a target of over 10 crore members, the BJP now plans to have a mass contact programme, Mr. Ram Lal told MPs.

The party has issued a whip to its MPs in both Houses of Parliament till Friday.

Addressing the meeting, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave details of the GST Bill saying that it was a revolutionary taxation reform which will curb leakage of revenue, end corruption, the burden of multiple taxation and harassment of common people.

Regarding the Bill to operationalise the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told MPs that it was in the “national interest.”

“Our boundary will be secured, fencing will be done with Bangladesh and there will be no further infiltration. The road distance between India and Bangladesh will also be reduced and good ties will be maintained. We decided to accept the Congress suggestion of including Assam in the agreement,’’ he added.