New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) ‘Thou shall nurse your constituency, thou shall have cordial relations with media and thou shall be alert on emerging popular issues’. These are among the ‘Ten Commandments’ issued by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to its first-time MPs.
The directives were issued at a recently-held training course held on the outskirts of Delhi.
The new MPs should work hard so that the party is re-elected the next time from the constituency, Ram Naik, former union minister and convenor of the MP-MLA Development Cell, told the new MPs.
The training course was attended by party’s top leaders in parliament – including L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.
The ‘Ten Commandments’ are:
One: Utilise the opportunity given by the party and the people and nurse the constituency sincerely. You must ensure that the party retains the support in the next polls.
Two: There should be an efficient office in the constituency, equipped with computer, internet and fax. There should be a register of incoming telephone calls, especially received in the absence of the MP. All letters should be replied.
Three: There should be regular public contact. The MP should participate in various public programmes. The MP should be soft-spoken and show no ego.
Four: The MPs’ Development Fund should be spent in consultation with party activists and the local people. The MP should not fall into the trap of middle-men and contractors.
Five: The MP should give leadership to party activities. Cordial relations with party activists should be established. The leader should not annoy party workers, who worked for his or her election.
Six: The leader should be involved in the day-to-day problems of the people. Interactions and meetings with farmers, consumers, telephone and cooking gas users, bus passengers and other sections should be held frequently.
Seven: The MP should consider publishing an annual performance card. A video presentation would be preferred. Spending some money for the annual report would be far better than spending heavy amounts during the poll campaign.
Eight: The MP should establish cordial relations with the media. Some activists should be trained in handling the media. Press releases and photos should reach the media before deadlines. It is worth spending some time to prepare the media material.
Nine: A first-time MP should participate in house proceedings. ‘You may not get opportunity to speak on important occasions like general budget or railway budget. But your written submissions can become part of the parliamentary record.’
Avoid attending functions in the constituency during parliament sessions. The MP should participate in the question hour and zero hour. The MP can collect CDs of his or her speeches in the house from the parliament library and circulate them in the constituency.
Ten: The last commandment for the new MPs tells them to be alert about the developments in their constituencies and problems of the people. He or she should take up the emerging issues at an appropriate time. ‘Time does not wait for anyone.’
