The Congress on Thursday took a dig at the “Chintan Shivir” of the Modi government’s Council of Ministers, saying it comes at a time of “great Chinta” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his “self-declared Chanakya factotum” amid growing pressure on them.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the implosion in the Election Commission (EC) and Rahul Gandhi's explosive press conference have drowned out the news of and the interest in the "Chintan Baithak" of all Union ministers herded together by the "Head Master who is fast losing his grip, image and credibility".
Initially, this was supposed to have been the time for a special session of Parliament to make a second effort to pass the delimitation bills that were convincingly defeated in the Lok Sabha thanks to opposition solidarity, Ramesh said on X.
This would have been done to further compromise India's elections, he alleged.
"But since the Home Minister could not be confident of a supertainted two-thirds majority, plans for a special session got derailed," he claimed.
The "Chintan Baithak" comes at a time of great "Chinta" (worry) for "the non-biological being our PM and his self-declared Chanakya factotum due to the growing pressure on them", Ramesh said.
The "Chintan Shivir" of the Council of Ministers focused on ensuring a 100-per cent coverage of all government schemes for the eligible beneficiaries, making sure that no deserving person is left behind.
During the deliberations, the ministers were asked to identify key challenges, gaps and action items within their respective ministries, centred on two core themes -- "Swayam ka Vikas" (Self-Development) and "Jan Viswas se Jan Bhagidari" (People's Participation through Trust), sources aware of the developments said.
The ministers were also told to connect with citizens effectively on schemes and other development measures taken for their welfare.
Effective communication with the people is one area where the government will place stress in the coming days, the sources said.
For the second consecutive day, the ministers were divided into eight groups and Modi interacted with each of them, besides addressing them together, the sources said.
The ministers were told to take the details of 40 to 45 major government schemes and programmes to people and ensure that the benefits reach everyone.
(With inputs from PTI)