'Hold tiffin meetings with people to understand their problems': PM Modi says at BJP meeting

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attended a two-day BJP MPs workshop held at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament complex here on Sunday and suggested leaders to understand the problems and issues concerning the people by continuously engaging with them.

According to sources, PM Modi said in the meeting that leaders should hold a tiffin meeting with people in every Assembly segment in their Parliamentary constituency once a month, so that people's problems can be understood in a detailed and precise manner.

Similarly, the Prime Minister advised the leaders to meet the concerned minister and officials before and after the Parliamentary committee meetings so that they have better information about the subject and he also stressed the ministers to ‘behave properly with the officials.’

While talking about the cleanliness campaign, he presented the example of Singapore and urged the leaders to think out of the box and do something innovative.

This crucial two-day meeting comes ahead of the high stakes Vice-Presidential elections scheduled for September 9.

According to sources, the two-day workshop includes the mock poll to train MPs on the vote-casting process.

The BJP-led NDA has intensified its preparations and is leaving no stone unturned for the Vice-Presidential election and this two-day workshop is likely to feature a presentation which would apprise the MPs, both from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha regarding the poll process.

This time, the Vice Presidential election is seen as a 'South vs South' battle, with NDA nominee C.P. Radhakrishnan from Tamil Nadu (who has an old association with RSS) and opposition candidate B. Sudarshan Reddy from Telangana (former Supreme Court judge). The Vice President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The 2025 electoral college is composed of 788 members, including 233 elected (presently five seats are vacant in the upper house) and 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha (one seat vacant in the lower house). Currently, there are 782 members in the electoral college due to vacant seats.

The election is conducted via a secret ballot using a system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote.

Former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy was on August 19 declared as the united Opposition parties’ candidate for the Vice-Presidential election -- an exercise described by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as an “ideological battle”.

The Vice-Presidential election was necessitated by the mid-term resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who vacated the post citing medical reasons.

The Vice President also serves as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, making the post politically significant.

--IANS

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