Narendra Modi's Chai Pe Charcha With Ministers

New Delhi: A stream of leaders from the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance or NDA walked into Gujarat Bhawan before 10 am today to have tea with Narendra Modi, who will take oath as Prime Minister this evening.

Among those who had tea with Mr Modi at Gujarat Bhawan are BJP chief Rajnath Singh and senior leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari, all tipped to get top ministries. Mr Jaitley could be the country's next Finance Minister, Rajnath Singh could get Home and Sushma Swaraj is the front runner for the External Affairs Ministry, sources said.

Also at tea with Mr Modi were BJP leaders like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Venkaiah Naidu, Anant Kumar, Uma Bharti and Dr Harshvardhan, all reportedly in line for key ministries.

This morning a list of about 35 ministers - 17 of cabinet rank and 18 ministers of state, sources said - was sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which began calling up leaders. Among those who received early calls were BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman and Gen VK Singh, the former Army chief who is now the BJP's Ghaziabad MP, fueling speculation that he could be minister of state, defence.

Among others at Gujarat Bhawan were former Karnataka chief minister Sadanand Gowda, veteran Maharashtra leader Gopinath Munde, Dharmendra Pradhan, Santosh Gangwar, Najma Heptullah, Piyush Goyal and Madhya Pradesh leader Thawar Chand Gehlot.

Rao Inderjit Singh, the Gurgaon MP who joined the BJP recently after expressing disillusionment with the Congress, had tea with Mr Modi too. 

Among leaders from the BJP's partners in the NDA spotted at Gujarat Bhawan were Bihar leader Ram Vilas Paswan and his son Chirag Paswan, who is widely credited with sewing up the alliance with the BJP. Another Bihar ally Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party was also there and is expected to be a minister. The BJP and its allies swept Bihar in the general election, winning 31 of 40 seats. Read more...

Narendra Modi's Chai Pe Charcha With Ministers

By Unknown 22:22

Massive security for Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony

NEW DELHI: The presence of foreign leaders with high threat perception like Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Narendra Modi's swearing in has led to a massive scale-up in security for the event on Monday.More than 10,000 personnel are being deployed to secure the Rashtrapati Bhavan - where Modi will take the oath of office as Prime Minister on Monday evening - and hotels where top dignitaries are staying, as well as to manage traffic, .. 

All offices in the North and South Blocks will be closed by 1 PM, while snipers from the Army and NSG will be deployed on rooftops and at vantage points around the area. A full rehearsal of the event and sanitisation of the routes to be taken by the VIPs have been done on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Delhi, especially the Lutyens' zone, is expected to come to a virtual halt on Monday evening with diversions on all major routes between 2 PM and 8 PM to ensure smooth flow of the cavalca .. 

Massive security for Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony

By Unknown 22:09

New Delhi, May 26 (HT) : Lean is in. The Modi government will

New Delhi, May 26 (HT) : Lean is in. The Modi government will be almost half the size of the UPA-2 with ministries bunched and 45-50 “bright, focused and clean” leaders making up the council of ministers, averaging 55 years of age.

On Monday, when Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of India, with him a small cabinet — to be expanded a later day — will also take oath of office at a grand ceremony in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley is expected to get the key portfolio of finance along with corporate affairs. Party chief Rajnath Singh could take charge of home while former leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj may be named the minister for external affairs.

Working on Modi’s minimum government maximum governance mantra, the cabinet will be compact and some ministries merged to cut the flab.

As reported by HT on May 20, former Intelligence Bureau director Ajit Doval has been sounded out for the position of national security adviser. Nripendra Misra, who served as the chairman of the telecom regulator Trai, could be named principal secretary to the PM. The two appointments are likely to be ordered by Monday evening.

Sources said after the swearing-in, the President will host banquet for Modi, five cabinet ministers, eight visiting heads of state and outgoing PM Manmohan Singh. Parliament will open on June 4 when new MPs will be sworn in through June 5. President Pranab Mukherjee is expected to address both the Houses of Parliament the next day. Read more....

New Delhi, May 26 (HT) : Lean is in. The Modi government will

By Unknown 22:07

Live: Modi cabinet hopefuls - Know who are within striking distance of booking a berth

How many ministers will Modi have? Who will get the finance ministry to lead the economic turnaround? What about the external affairs portfolio?

Will BJP president Rajnath Singh join the new government, paving the way for someone else to take up the saffron party's organisational affairs?

What role will veterans such as LK Advani and MM Joshi play in the 16th Lok Sabha?

Before the names are announced, HT takes a look at career snapshots of Modi and some of the leaders in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) camp who might be his ministers.

Here's your ready reckoner on those in with a chance of making the ministerial cut. Read on with HT.

Narendra Modi: The 63-year-old leader is a former pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP. He rose from the ranks in the saffron party. Before taking over as the Gujarat chief minister in 2001, Modi served the party as its general secretary (organisation) and spokesperson in Delhi. He also served as the organisational secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit. Modi owes his rise in the BJP to the RSS and veteran leader LK Advani.

Rajnath Singh: He is the longest-serving chief of the BJP after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (country's most populous state), Singh, 62, introduced RTI allowing anybody to scan government files after paying a fee of Rs. 10. During his stint as the Union surface transport minister, Singh conceived Bharat Stage emission standard, replacing its European counterpart — Euro.

Live: Modi cabinet hopefuls - Know who are within striking distance of booking a berth

By Unknown 22:04

Narendra Modi should have asked Nawaz Sharif to bring Dawood along: Agarwal

"Modi should have asked Nawaz Sharif to get Dawood Ibrahim along, as well as the Pakistani soldiers who beheaded our soldiers. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was making a lot of noise about the Congress having soft policies regarding Pakistan during their campaign," said Agarwal.
"Now, Modi is wavering from his own stands. He had held completely different views before getting elected. How come there is a sudden change of policies?" he asked. 

India has invited leaders of all South Asian countries, including Nawaz Sharif to Modi's oath-taking ceremony scheduled for May 26.

The swearing-in ceremony, to be held at the forecourt of the historic Rashtrapati Bhavan, is likely to be attended by as many as 3,000 guests, the report added. 

New Delhi: Congress leader JP Agarwal on Saturday said that Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi should have asked Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to get Dawood Ibrahim along with him in his oath-taking ceremony Read more....

Narendra Modi should have asked Nawaz Sharif to bring Dawood along: Agarwal

By Unknown 22:10

NEWS:Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan's Herat, 1 terrorist killed

Kabul: One terrorist has been killed in an attack on the Indian Consulate in western Afghanistan's Herat province on Friday. 

No diplomatic staff has been injured in the attack which started around 3:30 am. 

The three gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades opened fire on the consulate from a nearby home, provincial police chief Abdul Sami Qatra said. 

Police killed one of the three gunmen, though two continued to fire on security forces trying to secure the area. 

The Indian Embassy in Kabul informed that the Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel killed one gunman.

NEWS:Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan's Herat, 1 terrorist killed

By Unknown 22:57

Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif to attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in

Sharif was among the first leaders to call Modi and formally invite him to visit Pakistan soon after the BJP emerged as the clear winner in the Lok Sabha elections.

Modi has also extended invitations to other heads of governments of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries as well as other world leaders for his oath-taking ceremony.

With the invitations, Modi has signaled the primacy of neighbourhood in his foreign policy that is focused on regional integration and peace in India’s backyard.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is expected to make it. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is scheduled to visit Tokyo from May 24, will send speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in her place but her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy may also attend, sources said.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala have indicated they may come while Bhutan may be represented either by its king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck or prime minister Tshering Tobgay, sources said.

Modi will be administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan at 6pm on May 26.

Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif to attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in

By Unknown 23:03