Ignore opposition, tell all of govt’s good work: PM to ministers

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his ministerial colleagues to have confidence about the “good works” being done by the government and not to worry about the opposition’s propaganda.

Speaking at a review meeting with members of the Council of Ministers, Modi asserted that government has done a lot for the poor, and members of the government should see to it all such schemes are implemented and publicized well. This government is committed to work for poor who have always stood by those who care for them, PM is learnt to have reassured his ministers.

The meeting happened against the backdrop of creeping perception that the results of the government’s schemes are not becoming evident and that the ministries have not been doing enough and speedily.

The 90 minute- long interaction, where finance minister Arun Jaitley was conspicuous by his absence, also saw Prime Minister calling upon the attendees to spread awareness about the disruptive tactics of opposition as well as to come up with innovative ideas for the forthcoming budget. More often than not, it is the same set of ideas which gets recycled each time and we must come up with a fresh ones in order to prepare an effective budget, PM is learnt to have said.

Modi laid considerable stress on the need for the ministers to be accessible to members of the general public and MPs , and to ensure that the budgetary allocation for their charges for the current financial year was fully utilized. There should be no last-minute scramble to spend money as that would be tantamount to injudicious expenditure

He said the ministers should visit at least two Lok Sabha constituencies in the second week of January and spend at least 30 hours in the areas assigned to them to spread awareness about the measures taken by the government.