New Delhi: For more than one year after he became the prime minister in May 2014, Narendra Modi was accused of running a one-man show (read government). He was accused by the Opposition of interfering in every ministry's work and overshadowing his ministers. For example, in the one-and-half-years that the Modi government has been in power, it is PM Modi and not External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who has taken most foreign tours.
However, that perception is now changing.
As per a report in The Indian Express, Modi's ministers are now coming out of the shadow and claiming their own space.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has taken the lead in speaking on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) issue.
Sushma Swaraj, on the other hand, has helped bring the stalled Indo-Pak dialogue back on track, especially through her recent Pakistan visit.
And Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar played a key role in defending India's interests during the negotiations in the lead up to last week's historic Paris climate deal.
Last but not the least, Home Minister Rajnath Singh is increasingly seen as a voice of the government when PM Modi is not speaking.
But what has brought change in the situation? Experts believe the move is an attempt to project a government with “collective responsibility” and also to shield PM Modi from all the criticism.
The report quoted BJP MPs as saying that the party’s poll losses in Bihar and Delhi have driven home the point that the PM alone cannot run the show.
And as a consequence, a senior party leader said, PM Modi's foreign visits are also likely to come down now.
