Friday, 09 July 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
The dropped were capable, but the exit was need of the hour, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday outlined the do’s and don’ts for the new inductees in his Council of Ministers even as he emphasised that the exit of the 12 Ministers was not linked to performance but was based on the “need of the hour”. The PM made it clear that corruption will not be tolerated and Ministers should not speak out of turn to the media.
According to sources, the Prime Minister also asked the Ministers not to leave the national Capital until August 15 and understand, interact and attend the Monsoon session of Parliament with full seriousness.
The PM first chaired a meeting of the Union Cabinet and followed it up with the Council of Ministers.
Modi said there was no doubt on the capabilities of the dropped Ministers and asked the new appointees to meet their senior Ministerial colleagues to learn about the Ministries.
He also advised his new team to take the Government’s welfare schemes to the ground among the masses and use social media for a better reach-out. It is not unusual for the Prime Minister to hold Cabinet and Council of Ministers meetings to reset the goals and set new targets just after a reshuffle.
Modi, in the first meet following the reshuffle, is also understood to have stressed the need to recover ground lost in the wake of Covid-19.
As many as 43 leaders took oath on Wednesday in the first reshuffle and expansion after Prime Minister Modi took up the reins of the Government at the Centre for a second time in May 2019.
News agency ANI quoted the PM as saying that over the past few days there have been pictures and videos of crowded places and people roaming about without masks or social distancing. “This is not a pleasant sight and it should instill a sense of fear in us,” the PM said.
Modi added that in such a time, there should be no space for carelessness or complacency. A single mistake would have far-reaching impacts and weaken the fight to overcome Covid-19.
