BJP chief Amit Shah takes serious view of absence of party MPs from Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah has taken serious view of absence of party MPs from Rajya Sabha on Monday, said Union minister Ananth Kumar on Tuesday. Shah asked members to ensure it is not repeated. BJP president has taken a serious view of the absence of party members from the Rajya Sabha despite a whip. The government suffered an embarrassment in the House when a united opposition ensured the passage of amendments to a Constitution amendment bill on backward classes. The opposition-sponsored amendments were passed by 74 to 52 votes. The BJP's strength alone is 56 while the ruling block enjoys the support of 88 members, counting 10 JD(U) MPs. "When the party issues a whip, members must be present in the House. The party president has taken a serious view of the absence of members. He said it should not have happened and must not be repeated," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said. An BJP MP present in the meeting said Shah wondered if the absentee MPs should be named as the party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has repeatedly stressed on the need for their presence in Parliament. Modi did not attend the meeting as in Assam to review the flood crisis there. Meanwhile, on Tuesday Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon as opposition continued uproar over decision to raise LPG prices by Rs 4 per month. On Monday, the government had ordered state-run oil companies to raise subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices by Rs 4 per cylinder every month to eliminate all the subsidies by March next year, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.