Ministers' fingers crossed for June 30 meet with PM

Going by the online survey, conducted on mygov.in, railway minister Suresh Prabhu emerged on top

Union ministers are believed to be apprehensive, ahead of a meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on June 30.

It’s routine for the PM to meet all ministers on the last Wednesday or Thursday of every month but this time is different, say sources.     

The PM wants “self-appraisal” reports from every minister on the last date of this month, it is learnt. Ministers fear this appraisal might decide their fate in the coming reshuffle of portfolios, though none are sure when that would be. “It is slated for the coming week,’’ according to a minister.

Ministers, a source said, were busy counting their achievements to impress the PM. They are also taking a hard look at a recent survey where people assessed the performance of government ministries and some key initiatives.

Going by the online survey, conducted on mygov.in, railways minister Suresh Prabhu emerged on top, followed by foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, transport minister Nitin Gadkari and power minister Piyush Goyal.

The reshuffle could look at ministers’ age and the work done, especially in sectors such as infrastructure, defence, finance and agriculture. Performance in signature projects such as Make In India, Digital India and Swachch Bharat will also be looked into, people in the know said.

While the post left vacant by then sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who’s become the Assam chief minister, will have to be filled, there could be other changes, too.

Power minister Goyal could get additional charge of another ministry. Some ministers of state , such as Nirmala Sitharaman or Rajyavardhan Rathore could get Cabinet rank, sources said. There’s been speculation around a change in the portfolio of finance minister Arun Jaitley as well.