Be humble, rise to people’s hopes, PM tells ministers

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, June 9

In the first message to the members of his new Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said “a tree laden with fruits always bends low”.

Work diligently

People like those who have the capacity to show humility. Whatever task is assigned to you, do it diligently, sincerely. Narendra Modi, PM

The PM’s top messages to the ministers of NDA 3.0, whom he met at noon for tea before the official evening swearing-in were “humility, transparency and accountability”.

“Stay humble. People like those who have the capacity to show humility. Be respectful to fellow parliamentarians and officers,” the PM said to the ministers-designate. Stressing the continuity of the BJP-led NDA government, the PM urged the ministers to collaborate, work as a team and to never compromise on probity. “Whatever task is assigned to you, do it diligently, sincerely. Be mindful of the fact that you must accord due respect and dignity to all fellow MPs, irrespective of the parties they represent,” the PM said.

Attendees said the PM was upbeat, stressed the historicity of the mandate the people had given to the NDA government by repeating it for the third time — a first since 1962 — and flagged the need for accountability.

“We have to be accountable to the people for this massive mandate. We have to rise to their expectations,” said the PM, with the BJP this time failing to touch the simple majority on its own.