As PMO Moves To Seva Teerth, Pressure Mounts On Mantris For “Good News”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the first meeting of the Union Cabinet at the new Prime Minister’s Office in ‘Seva Teerth’ on February 24, marking a break from decades of operating out of PMO in the iconic South Block of the colonial era. As the ministers committed themselves to serve the citizens with the motto “Nagarik Devo Bhava” (citizen is God), the Cabinet also adopted a resolution saying that “every decision taken here will be inspired by a spirit of service toward 1.4 billion citizens and will be connected to the broader goal of nation-building.” PM Modi also asked his ministers to come up with some positive or good news about their ministries in every Cabinet meeting. Strangely, this directive from the top did not befuddle the Modi ministers. None of them even seemed worked up. In fact, most senior ministers were quick to ratchet up claims of some positive performance in their ministry. Everyone from Nitin Gadkari to Ashwini Vaishnaw   were found throwing up enthusiastic details that almost stunned Modi. It almost made some Cabinet ministers recall what happened in August last year when Modi had first floated the idea of good news about governance. Everyone was tense and the solemn air was broken only by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjrapu, who announced the birth of his son – this was greeted with loud cheering and congratulations. In this backdrop, clearly, none of the senior leaders in the Modi Govt will be in a position to pass off some personal achievement as part of the official track record! They will have to work hard.