THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that the ministers in his government should give first priority to the requirements of economically backward sections in society. Inaugurating the three-day training session for members of his Cabinet, he said that some of the files coming up before the ministers may be about issues concerning the financially disadvantaged. And the ministers should address the issues in a swift and satisfactory manner so as to make it the speciality of the government.
“During the time of elections, people align with various parties. But once the elections get over, there is only the government before the people. There should not be any bias then. Ministers have a world of experience working among people. Similarly, bureaucrats can come up with good suggestions. If such suggestions are found to be good enough, more discussions have to be conducted to promote such ideas. It was one officer who suggested the LIFE project. Ministers should also have a good rapport with the officials which will help governance,” he said.
The chief minister underscored the need for ministers to be familiar with rules and laws, so that when there are several suggestions to ponder over, the knowledge of rules and laws will help avoid confusion and enable proper decision making. It is also necessary for ministers to go by rules and laws. Archaic laws need to be replaced with new ones and ministers should take the initiative for this.
Challenges should be dealt with in a balanced manner and a report card on the performance of individual ministers, on the lines of the first Pinarayi government, will be prepared annually. The chief minister said that the government has managed to successfully implement the 100-day action plan devised by it.