Narendra Modi seeks to gag BJP's motormouth MPs, MLAs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be fed up of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders speaking out of turn, without considered thoughts, on issues that are often sensitive - like the spate of rapes the country has seen recently, including the Kathua, Unnao, and Surat incidents. Modi expressed his displeasure on Sunday, advising BJP leaders not to provide "masala" to the media and refrain from making "irresponsible" statements by commenting on every issue as soon as they saw camerapersons.

The prime minister said such "mistakes" affect the country, the BJP and the image of the individual concerned. His statement came after a rash of remarks by BJP leaders - from internet in the mythical age of the Mahabharata to advice on why we should not be outraged by a few incidents of rape in a country as large as India.

Addressing BJP MPs and MLAs via video chat through the Narendra Modi, or NaMo, mobile app from his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the prime minister said that while BJP workers often said the media was doing this or that, their own mistakes sometimes provided the media with 'masala' (fodder). In what amounted to a gag order, ostensibly aimed at his party's members who were more prone to firmly jamming their foot in their mouth - the latest examples being Union Minister Santosh Gangwar and Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb - Modi stressed that only the people trusted with the responsibility of speaking on a topic should interact with the media, adding that the issue got diverted if everyone started speaking on the topic.

However, Modi did not explicitly censure the contents of the controversial remarks - some of which sparked outrage while otyhers appeared plain silly - made by his party's members. Neither endorsing nor rejecting BJP leaders' controversial positions on various subjects, in what seemed a step to manage the party's media image, Modi limited himself to ensuring that they would keep their thoughts to themselves. The prime minister said he had spoken to the particular motormouths and that the latter had mended their ways.