NDA dinner meetings cancelled to express solidarity with flood victims: Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi, Sep 7 Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said that the planned dinner meetings of NDA MPs with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president J.P. Nadda have been cancelled in solidarity with lakhs of people affected by the severe flooding across Punjab and other parts of northern India.

“We are passing through a very sensitive time when millions of people are suffering due to floods in Punjab and several other northern states. In such a situation, we cannot organise dinner parties. Therefore, the dinner to hosted by our respected Prime Minister for NDA MPs has been cancelled. Likewise, the one planned by J.P. Nadda for BJP MPs has also been called off,” Kiren Rijiju told IANS .

He added that the decision reflects the party leadership’s sense of responsibility.

“At a time of such severe flooding, it is not right to hold grand dinners,” he said.

Rijiju clarified that the BJP’s ongoing workshop for its MPs in Delhi would continue, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend from start to finish.

“This is the BJP’s culture -- whether a leader or a common worker, all are the same. There is no formal seating arrangement, and the Prime Minister himself often sits in the back row. Our programme is more about guidance than formality,” he noted.

His remarks came hours after PM Modi was seen at the last row in Sunday's meeting where all the BJP parliamentarians were present.

On whether NDA allies will attend the Prime Minister’s session, Rijiju confirmed their participation.

“Tomorrow all NDA MPs will also be present. And of course, the Prime Minister will guide us. Ultimately, we move forward after listening to him,” he said.

The BJP workshop, which began on Sunday, will conclude on Monday with the participation of MPs from across the NDA.

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.

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