PMO Missive to Minister: Clear all projects by March 8

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

A Lokmat Exclusive report

PMO Missive to Minister: Clear all projects by March 8

EC may issue Poll notification on Saturday ?

New Delhi, March 4

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has directed all the ministries and departments to complete launching of all pending project by March 8.

Since the Election Commission of India is likely to issue notification for the General Elections on March 9, the PMO has said that all work to inaugurate projects be completed by March 8. With the Model Code of Conduct coming into force, the foundation stone for any project cannot be laid and no project be inaugurated or new scheme launched. Therefore, the PMO has asked the ministries to launch all projects as announced. In fact, the Prime Minister himself has a tight schedule until March 8 traveling across the country launching numerous projects. Interestingly, the PM is launching a a series of projects wherever he is going these days.For example, he launched 18 projects at Amethi yesterday at one function.

The emphasis is particularly on the infrastructure ministries like Road Transport, Railways, Coal, Power, Communication & IT, Petroleum, Science & Technology, Steel, Mines, Textiles, Food processing, Health and Defence. The ministries under Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, R K Singh (Power) are in particular focus. It is largely because of this very reason that all the ministers are concerned are traveling state after state launching projects. In fact, the PM has also said that the minister concerned need not be present for the inauguration of a project with him and devote time to launch projects in other states. For example, Piyush Goyal is launching another project in Tamil Nadu today while the PM is launching a project in Gujrat relating to his ministry.

The PM's Project Monitoring Group (PMG) which monitors all pending infrastructure projects has resolved 3100 projects involving investment of Rs 10.76 lakh crores. The PMG was set up in September 2015.

The ministries have also been directed to ensure that all the promises laid down in the BJP's 2014 Lok Sabha poll manifesto are implemented. These ministries have been told to send a point-wise performance report as listed in the manifesto. The non-infrastructure ministries such as HRD, Commerce, Social Justice & Empowerment, Women & Child Development, Environment and others have been told to send the completion report of aims and objects by March 8.

For example, the HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has completed the process of appointments of all the chancellors and vice chancellors of universities and cleared his desk. Even the New Education Policy as promised in the party manifesto is ready for release. But it is being vetted again and may be deferred until the next Lok Sabha poll process is complete.

Modi is launching perhaps the last scheme of his government - Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana (PM-SYM) on his two-day visit to Gujarat giving minimum wages to workers.

Ends 

Bhagwat takes Shah to task for Bihar drubbing

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Bhagwat takes Shah to task for Bihar drubbing

BJP douses fire; allies, party MP attack RSS chief too

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov. 9

The BJP high command tried to douse fire today as the knives are out within the 'Sangh Parivar' after drubbing in Bihar. The marathon meeting of the BJP's Parliamentary Board rather became a tame affair as it did not even 'discuss' taking action against erring leaders like Shatrughan Sinha and R K Singh.

On the contrary, the party had to come out in defence of the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat whose statement on reservations has enraged the BJP's allies. Be it Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP), Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal) or BJP's own senior party leader Hukumdev Narayan Yadav, all of them publicly criticized Bhagwat for his statement on reservation.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley put up a stout defence of Bhagwat obliquely by saying that no single statement by any leader could affect the outcome of the Bihar election. He said the die had been cast in Bihar when the three parties - JD(U), RJD and Congress - came together. They had contested in 2014 separately and lost miserably. "This time, they came together and the party lost and this was the biggest reason of the defeat," he asserted.

He also dismissed the suggestions by some that party chief Amit Shah should resign saying, " We have won four state assemblies. We have gained elsewhere in the country." It looked like the BJP leadership is trying hard to buy peace with the party dissidents and hold its horses.

The Parliamentary Board's meeting held at the residence of Amit Shah, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all its 12 members. Though Union minister for water resources Uma Bharti and senior leader Murlidhar Rao wanted swift action against Shatrughan Sinha and party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya who used 'dog' analogy for Shatrughan Singh, creating a ruckus. But it became clear that the party is in no mood to bell the cat when the Prime Minister is busy during the whole month with foreign visits. He leaves for UK and Turkey on November 12 night and goes to Singapore and Malaysia on November 21 and then to Paris on November 30.

In between the Parliament session will begin on November 26. Therefore, it is unlikely that there will be any Cabinet reshuffle before the Parliament session or organisational changes either. Mohan Bhagwat camped in Delhi and met Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah, Ravi Shankar Prasad and other ministers to take first hand review of the political situation. Party sources say that Bhagwat was angry as to why the BJP leaders failed to clarify his statement on reservations which was misconstrued and exploited by the Opposition parties.