‘Celebration Later, Work First’: PM Narendra Modi’s Mantra For His Cabinet Colleagues

A day after the oath-taking on June 9, it was a full house as the Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 5 PM on June 10 at his Lok Kalyan Marg Residence. Apart from talks between cabinet colleagues and some smiles exchanged as was seen in the visuals released by the Prime Minister’s Office, it was an important set of instructions at the onset that Modi wanted to give to his colleagues.

For many of his cabinet colleagues, especially the new ones and the ones from the coalition partners, it would be a matter of celebration to be part of team Modi. But celebrations can wait and work must take priority. “The prime minister told us not to go to our constituency unless otherwise, absolutely urgent over the next one month, because the focus has to be on delivery of governance. You have come to a responsibility in the Centre, and that should be your first priority. Celebrations can always happen later,” a Union Minister, who did not wish to be quoted, told CNN-News18.

The next instruction that the Prime Minister gave to his colleagues in the Cabinet was about the upcoming Parliament session. It is understood by the party and the government that the scenario in 2024 onwards will be a different one given the fact that it is a strong opposition which is in place in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Congress party on its own has 102 MPs in place of nearly half of them in 2019. “The Parliament session is extremely important, and each one of us has to come prepared for it. We have to make sure that we prepare well for the questions that are asked and are not seen as being casual because it will have an impact on the impression that people have about our government,” Modi told his colleagues in the cabinet meeting, said a source.

Taking the point further, the Prime Minister asked his young colleagues in the Cabinet to be cordial with the Ministers of State (MoS) and also keep them prepared and informed about the decisions taken by the Cabinet and help them prepare for questions and other debates in Parliament. “It is important for everybody to adopt a very professional approach and kindly follow the important debates, especially by stalwarts in Rajya Sabha, which is said to be the House of the elders,” another source told CNN-News18

The Prime Minister has already set the ball rolling with his union colleagues by asking for the implementation of the plan for the government in the next hundred days. In fact, this hundred-day plan was asked of his colleagues in the previous government itself, even though some of them may have not been repeated. So essentially, the blueprint was ready, even before the elections happened, and the new cabinet was formed.

This cabinet formed by PM Modi in 2024 has a unique blend of experience and fresh talent. On one hand while the top ministers, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have remained unchanged from the previous term, allies like TDP have nominated Rammohan Naidu, LJP Ramvilas Pawan faction has Chirag Paswan in the Cabinet, and JDU has sent Lalan Singh to the Cabinet amongst a few other new faces.

The Special Session of Parliament will be a short one. It will get underway on June 24 and will end on July 3. During this period on June 24 and 25, there will be affirmation of oath for all the MPs in the Lok Sabha. On June 26, the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker will take place. This will be followed by the joint presidential address by President Droupadi Murmu for both houses. This will be followed by the reply to the motion of thanks for the President’s address. Prime Minister Modi will be replying to this discussion in both houses of Parliament. While the Lok Sabha will begin on June 24, Rajya Sabha will commence only on June 27.