NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met 37 Rajya Sabha members, including newly elected BJP MPs and several former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders who have since joined the BJP, over breakfast.
Emphasising that Parliament must function smoothly and without disruptions, Modi also shared his personal experiences from public life during the informal interaction.
The Prime Minister spoke about his journey in public life and stressed the importance of taking parliamentary responsibilities seriously, sources familiar with the meeting said.
Senior BJP leaders, including Tarun Chugh, Vinod Tawde, party president Nitin Nabin, and MPs associated with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) alliance, were also present at the meeting held at the Prime Minister's residence.
Modi encouraged the MPs to spend at least one or two hours each day in the Parliament library. He also urged them to engage with the youth and effectively implement the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), with a particular focus on youth and sports-related activities in their constituencies, the sources added.
Among those present were former AAP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Swati Maliwal, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, Sushmita Dev and others.
It has been a longstanding practice for the Prime Minister to host breakfast meetings with groups of MPs during Parliament sessions, giving parliamentarians an opportunity to interact with him directly and exchange views.
Modi later shared photographs from the meeting on Instagram.
After the meeting, Vikramjit Singh Sahney said he looked forward to contributing to nation-building.
"It was an honour to meet Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji today. Inspired by his vision, leadership and unwavering commitment to India's progress. Looking forward to contributing in every possible way towards building a stronger and more prosperous nation," he posted on X.
BJP MP from Gujarat Mansingh Parmer also described the meeting as a privilege.
"All the newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs had a heartfelt meeting with the esteemed Prime Minister Ji and received his guidance and blessings," he wrote on X.
Another BJP MP, Laxmi Verma, who attended the breakfast meeting, praised Modi, saying his philosophy of "Nation First, Nation Service Paramount" provides the strength, energy and inspiration to continue working tirelessly in public service.
"I had the honour and privilege of a heartfelt meeting with my ideal in politics, my pillar of inspiration, the unparalleled source of motivation for ceaseless public service, the great hero of nation-building, Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Bhai Modi Ji. Narendra Bhai Modi Ji is a visionary leader who has inspired us to see duty not merely as an obligation, but as an unwavering commitment to the nation," she wrote on X.