PM, Shah meet to give final shape to ministry, selected ministers to meet Modi at his home
New Delhi: Ministers selected for oath of office will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 4.30 on Thursday, shortly before the swearing-in ceremony, sources said.
Earlier in the morning, the prime minister held a final round of consultations with BJP president Amit Shah to give shape to his council of ministers before sending the list to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Capping a landslide election victory, Modi will take oath along with his new council of ministers at 7 pm.
As the party geared up for the celebrations, Shah's Akbar Road residence was decked up. BJP general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal was among those who met Shah at his residence.
Modi and Shah have held several rounds of discussions in the last two days ahead of government formation.
Shah, the architect of BJP's victory of 303 seats in the Lok Sabha, is believed to be among those who will join the Modi cabinet and is tipped to get either Home or Finance, sources said.
Other senior party leaders such as Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
The others tipped to get a ministerial berth include Sadananda Gowda, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Jayant Sinha, Giriraj Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Thawarchand Gehlot, Dilip Ghosh, Jitendra Singh and Purshottam Rupala.
Among some of the new faces that are likely to be inducted include Prahlad Patel from Madhya Pradesh, Kailash Chowdhry from Rajasthan, Krishna Reddy from Telangana and Suresh Angedi from Karnataka and Raosaheb Danve from Maharashtra.
Sources said Modi government 2.0 is likely to showcase the party's newfound strength in different regions.
BJP allies like Shiv Sena, JD(U), AIADMK, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are set to be represented in the government. Each NDA ally is likely to get one cabinet berth, sources said.
The Shiv Sena has confirmed its leader Arvind Sawant, who defeated Congress heavyweight Milind Deora from Mumbai, will be its nominee in the council of ministers.
Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Badal, who was Food Processing minister in the earlier government, will be in the new council of ministers as well, sources said.
The Lok Janshakti Party has already passed a resolution recommending its president Ram Vilas Paswan as the party's representative in the Modi government.
The Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel is likely to be in the council of ministers. The JD-U is likely to nominate either Ram Nath Thakur or Santosh Kushwaha, sources said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's decision to opt out on health grounds has fuelled speculation about who will get his coveted portfolio. Railway Minister Goyal, who filled in for Jaitley and presented the populist pre-election budget, is being seen as a key contender.
The BJP has refrained from making any official comment about the likely members of the government, with its leaders asserting that it is the prime minister's prerogative.
The swearing-in ceremony in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is expected to be grand affair with about 8,000 guests, including leaders from the BIMSTEC countries, opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, chief ministers, corporate honchos and film stars, watching as President Ram Nath Kovind administers the oath of office and secrecy to 68-year-old Modi and his ministerial colleagues.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
