Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a ‘crucial’ meeting of the Council of Ministers at the newly-constructed Pragati Maidan Convention Centre here.
The meeting lasted for about five hours, during which views were exchanged on various policy related issues.
Sharing pictures of the meeting, Prime Minister Modi, in a tweet, said: “A fruitful meeting with the Council of Ministers, where we exchanged views on diverse policy related issues.”
In one of the pictures, the Prime Minister was seen addressing his Council of Ministers. In two other pictures, he was seen sitting with ministers and watching a presentation.
Sources said that during the meeting, the Foreign Secretary gave a presentation regarding the foreign policy.
It was pointed out how Prime Minister Modi's foreign tours were different from that of previous Prime Ministers. Apart from this, a presentation regarding infrastructure and capital expenditure was also given in the meeting.
Sources further said that Prime Minister Modi has instructed the ministers to focus on the road map laid down for 2047 and complete all the ongoing projects on time.
The Prime Minister, according to the sources, asserted that the country is working during peace so that “we can be prepared for wars”.
The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, S. Jaishankar, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Giriraj Singh, Anurag Thakur, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Kiren Rijiju and G. Kishan Reddy among others.
The meeting is being considered very important amidst the speculations about major changes and reshuffle in the cabinet.
In view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP high command has prepared a blue print and it is likely that several ministers can be sent to the party organisation.
It is also most likely that some of the ministers can be shown the way out on the basis of their performance. In such a situation, this meeting is also being seen as a ‘farewell meeting’ for a few of them.
If happens, this will probably be the last big reshuffle and expansion of the Modi government in the current Lok Sabha.
Sources claimed that the BJP’s top brass is brainstorming for a long time to identify who should be removed and who should be inducted in the cabinet.
It is being said that Prime Minister Modi may reshuffle the cabinet even before the monsoon session of Parliament, which will start from July 20 and would continue till August 11.
Besides the cabinet, there a major reshuffle could also be seen in the party organisation. New chiefs are to be appointed in several states, who will then form new teams in their respective states.
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