by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
New Year season brings Marathon Ministerial meetings
Modi to hols several conclaves of Council of Ministers
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, Jan. 6
After holding nine-hour marathon meeting with his council of ministers on Saturday last, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has decided to hold sectorial meetings of the his council during the next two weeks. All the ministers have been advised to stay put during these meetings and curtail their visits outside the Capital barring unforeseen reasons.
If sources are to be believed, the Council of Ministers comprising of 56 ministers have been asked to be present during the series of such meetings beginning tomorrow. PM Modi wants to involve not only Cabinet ministers numbering 23, he also wants all nine Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 24 Ministers of State with his plan of action for the next five years. Modi wants ministries of infrastructure, agriculture and rural development sectors to make presentations to apprise all the ministerial colleagues of the vision for the next five years and involve them.
While the Saturday's nine hour meeting was aimed at Civil Aviation, Urban development, railways, agriculture and Jal Shakti ministries, the next meetings will focus on specific sectors and plans. According to sources, the second meeting of the Council of Ministers will be held tomorrow and then day after. The Council of Ministers used to meet twice a year, at least that had been the pattern during Modi's first stint between 2014-19. But now the PM wants to involve the entire council frequently. This may be five-year sector-wise vision documents concerning a group of ministries with all the secretaries in toe.
Modi wants that his ministerial colleagues must have detailed understanding of issues which are not related to their ministries. This will create a synergy within the government but also bring cohesiveness of functioning. Modi plans to hold similar sessions for the members of parliament in the weeks to come so that they are also aware of complexities of the functioning and importance of development. The focus of the Saturday meeting was infra and agriculture sectors.
Obviously, the Prime Minister's focus is on development and telling the countrymen of his achievements in 2024 Lok Sabha polls as promised. Of course, there have been several light-hearted moments and stray comments. But politics per se was not discussed including the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
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