It has been more than 10 years since India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. PM Modi’s office PMO claims that since becoming the Prime Minister, PM Modi has not taken a single day off. PMo also claims that even when PM Modi is meditating, he is not on leave but on duty.
PMO said that PM is always on duty
Recently, BBC’s news portal has published a report. In this report, it has been claimed that under the Right to Information Act, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was asked how the 45 hours spent by PM Modi in Kanyakumari were recorded in the government records.
In response to the application, the PMO said that PM Modi has not taken any leave. It was also told in the reply that ‘the Prime Minister is always on duty’. The PMO has said that since PM Modi took charge in May 2014, he has not taken even a single day’s leave.
How does the Prime Minister of India take leave? PM Modi
Regarding the procedure for the Prime Minister to take leave, India’s former Cabinet Secretary Chandrashekhar said that there is no such system in India under which the PM applies for leave or asks for leave, in the earlier times, whenever the Prime Ministers had to take time out for themselves, they used to inform the President about this, and also inform the Cabinet Secretary. It is not clear whether PM Modi had assigned the responsibility to any minister before going to Kanyakumari or had given any information to the President.
There is no official press release regarding the meditation in Kanyakumari. But several videos of PM Modi meditating are available on his own YouTube channel and news agency ANI, which were also broadcast by several TV channels. On May 30, DD News reported in its coverage that PM Modi is meditating in Kanyakumari from the evening of May 30 to the evening of June 1. In its coverage of May 31, ANI also mentioned that PM Modi will be busy in meditation day and night and this meditation will be done inside the meditation mandapam.
Sanjay Baru, media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said in this regard that it is ridiculous to say that the meditation done by PM Modi in Kanyakumari is part of his official duty. When people meditate, do they do it as their official work or duty? “Will any organization consider meditation of its employee as duty? Another thing, when the PM is not available, it is his responsibility to give responsibility to another minister who keeps the government running.”
Sudheendra Kulkarni has been an advisor to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. When asked about this, he does not see anything wrong in PM Modi’s sadhna being called official duty. He believes that the PM is always on duty. Recalling the holidays taken by Vajpayee during his tenure as Prime Minister, Kulkarni says, “When he took a leave in Kerala in 2000, there was hardly a time when he was not busy with work. Something or the other always comes up before him.” He says, “I remember that during that time the CM of that place came to meet him and some people from the administration also came.
It would be wrong to assume that the PM was on leave but was enjoying his holiday.” “Another thing is that when you and I take leave, the organizations where we work assign our work to someone else, but this cannot be applied at the level of the PM.” Former Cabinet Secretary Chandrashekhar said that whether the PM is on leave or not, all kinds of facilities are always available to him. He says, “Whenever there is a need, he is pulled out, the PM’s staff, SPG and nuclear black box always go with him so that he can take the necessary steps. I have no doubt that all these arrangements must have been made when PM Modi went to Kanyakumari as well.” When the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to undergo an operation, he assigned the responsibility of chairing the cabinet meeting to his senior-most minister Pranab Mukherjee.
