The second meeting of the Council of Ministers took place in less than a weeks time since the new Cabinet ministers took oath. During the meeting which lasted for more than two and a half hours, there was a detailed presentation made by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry followed by a presentation which was made by the Power Ministry.
The prime minister spoke for about 20 minutes during which he advised his colleagues, especially the first time ministers, to come well-prepared for the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament as the Opposition would be throwing a lot of questions at them, sources said. He also is said to have asked his Cabinet colleagues to be well versed with the rules and procedures of Parliament as for many this may be the first opportunity as Union ministers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also asked all his colleagues to be present in the house as much as possible and to be attentive to the procedures and proceedings.
“Parliament is the temple of democracy and, thus, every individual, including ministers, must work to make the quality of debates much better,” the prime minister said according to sources. The prime minister has asked the newly appointed ministers to focus on the debate in Rajya Sabha which are of top quality and to learn actively from those debates.
The issue of attendance in Parliament, especially of Union ministers during roster duty, has been raised by the PM multiple times in the past and it was touched upon again as the members of the Union Council must be present in the house during their roster duty. Anybody who wants leave for absence will have to get it approved from the highest office in the government and no excuses will be tolerated, he said.
The special focus has to be put on the quality of questions both starred and unstarred. The prime minister said that response to questions both starred and unstarred would have to be answered after proper briefing.
Prime Minister Modi once again highlighted that every minister will work as a team, including taking the MoS along on any issue. In case of any goof up, the responsibility will lie with the Cabinet minister.
The prime minister is also said to have asked his colleagues to seek proper approval for foreign trips, both for themselves as well as their officers, and travel should be sanctioned only if absolutely necessary.
During the presentation by the Parliament Affairs Ministry team, it was highlighted to the new ministers in particular of how the parliamentary procedure works, how bills are introduced, what is the procedure for the circulation and how approval is sought from the house for various things and in what conditions ministries can intervene during crucial debates. The dos and don’ts for ministers during the monsoon session was also highlighted during this presentation.
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