Barely a year to go for LS polls, Modi tightens up Ministers
New Delhi, June 13: As the NDA government enters its final year before the next Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday convened a meeting of his Council of Ministers wherein he is said to have tightened up the Ministers, according to informed sources.
Convened after a gap of more than three months, it was notably the first meeting of the Council of Ministers after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a series of electoral defeats in various by-polls including on some key Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh such as Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana.
In the recently held 11 by-elections (four Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats), the BJP suffered losses on eight seats including two Lok Sabha seats of Kairana in Uttar Pradesh and Bhandara-Gondiya in Maharashtra.
According to sources, the meeting assessed the work done in the past four years by the NDA government vis-a-vis implementation of various government schemes on the ground, and also discussed the roadmap to the 2019 elections and the Ministers have been asked to "work according to a calendar in an organised way".
The schemes whose implementation and effectiveness was reviewed included Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana, and Ayushman Bharat among others.
The Prime Minister is said to have told his colleagues to be proactive with "taking the message of various government schemes and achievements in the last four years to the public".
They have also been asked to plug the loopholes, if any, in the working of their Ministries and departments.
In the last two years, the BJP has lost six Lok Sabha seats in bypolls and currently its tally stands at 273, just one above the halfway mark.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Had a very good conversation with friend Modi: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "very good conversation" with his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was referring to the talks the two leaders had on Tuesday.
"I had a very good talk with him, and he's a friend of mine from India, and he's doing great. We had a very good conversation," Trump told reporters here as he headed to Las Vegas to address a roundtable on tax cuts.
Trump had called Modi on Tuesday to discuss the bilateral relationship and share perspectives on the situation in West Asia, where the US and Israel have launched a war on Iran.
The US and Iran declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7. They engaged in peace talks with Washington, insisting that Tehran give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment.
The war with Iran has sent gas prices soaring as Tehran blocked the sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for a fifth of global oil supplies.
During the Trump-Modi phone call on Tuesday, the two leaders stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
According to the US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor, the 40-minute conversation ended with Trump telling Modi, "we all love you".
Tuesday's phone call was the second between the two leaders since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
