Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government completed its first month in office on Thursday. In the past month the government has been praised for measures like forming an SIT on black money but it has also been in the line of fire for a steep hike in railway fair announced ahead of the budget.
Prime Minister Modi, in the past one month, has been firm on keeping a check on the ministers in the government and is keeping a hawk eye on the expenditure by his ministers as he tightens the belt. He is believed to have instructed all his ministers to refrain from buying new cars as part of his austerity measures. He is also said to have asked the ministers to take PMO's approval for any purchases above Rs 1 lakh.
In only a month, the Modi government has also faced various challenges ranging from the Iraq crisis to inflation to a below normal monsoon.
Warning people to be ready to bear some tough decisions, the Modi government hiked the rail fare by 14.2 per cent and rail freight charges by over 6 per cent. The prices of sugar and diesel also rose amid indications that LPG prices may be hiked by Rs 5 every month. Modi also instructed his ministers not to have their relatives as personal staff and asked them to get be more active on social media like Twitter and Facebook in order to reach out to the people for new ideas.
In fact, the Indian Prime Minister has emerged as the fourth most "followed" world leader on Twitter. According to a report, he has overtaken the White House in terms of number of followers on the micro blogging site.
His government was also in the news for controversies surrounding union ministers like Smriti Irani and Nihal Chand. Just a few days into assuming office, Smriti Irani was caught up in a row over her own educational qualification with opposition parties questioning her eligibility to be the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister as she is not even a graduate.
She has also been facing the heat for being behind the row between the Delhi University and the University Grants Commission (UGC) over the four-year undergraduate programme.
Another minister of the government, Nihal Chand, is facing rape allegations against him in a 2011 case. There have been several voices from the opposition demanding removal of the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers.
The Modi government started work on the day it was sworn-in by holding bilateral talks with heads of SAARC countries who had been invited for the ceremony on May 26. Modi's much talked about meet with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif saw mutual words of appreciation being exchanged between the two top leaders.
As a "goodwill gesture", Pakistan and also Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the release of Indian fishermen stranded in their jails after the meeting.
The Modi government which came into power with a thumping majority has invoked several expectations. While his decision to hike the rail fair pinched many, it is to be seen whether the soon to be unveiled Union Budget and Railway Budget will have some constructive agenda or whether it will be just like one of the other populist measures adopted by the government.
Comments
0 comment