Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers at the newly built convention centre at Pragati Maidan, which will host the G20 Leaders Summit on September 9-10, discussing policy-related issues.

“A fruitful meeting with the Council of Ministers, where we exchanged views on diverse policy related issues,” Modi tweeted soon after the four-hour meeting concluded.

“In today’s meeting, topics like Vision 2047, development works, steps to take India forward and infrastructure development were discussed,” Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi told the media afterward.

In these meetings, some ministries generally give a presentation about their work, with the PM sharing his views.

Monday’s meeting comes amid a heightened buzz about a likely Cabinet reshuffle following a series of meetings of the BJP’s leadership. On June 28, Modi held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and party’s organisational secretary B L Santhosh, among others, to take stock of organisational and political affairs. The BJP has been making hectic preparations for several state elections scheduled this year, including those in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram.

Sources said that during Monday’s meeting, the PM spoke in detail about his recent official trips to the US and Egypt. “There was also a presentation about those visits,” they said.

Modi spoke in detail about the upcoming G20 Summit and the need for every minister to take it seriously, sources said. He is learnt to have reiterated that the government is focusing on the 2047 road map, when India completes 100 years of Independence, specifically mentioning infrastructure development in this context.

According to sources, two Powerpoint presentations were made during the meeting: on the infrastructure sector and capital expenditure, and on ‘India 2047’ vision.

If a Cabinet reshuffle is to be effected, the period before Parliament’s monsoon session, which begins July 20, could be the last window for such an exercise. Sources said Modi may effect changes in his ministry to “infuse freshness” in departments that have not performed up to his expectations. Changes also help the government remove the fatigue factor, they said.

Speculation is rife that the BJP leadership is considering bringing in some senior leaders from its state units to the Centre — both in the government and the party.

With the Opposition likely to raise the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to corner the government during the upcoming monsoon session, Lekhi earlier in the day called UCC a welcome step and said the country’s women deserve equality. “It’s a welcome step and I am glad that it has been done when our government is there… women of this country deserve equality and justice, irrespective of which religion they come from..,” she said.

Among the legislation expected in the short session — likely to have 17 working days — are the much-awaited Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, besides the Bill to replace the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance.

Lekhi also said the monsoon session will start in the old Parliament building, and “as and when” the new building is ready, the session will be moved there.

Source: Indian Express

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