New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a bid to stem any accusations of favouritism or corruption against his government, on Wednesday issued four directives to his ministers.
As per reports, the advisory, said to be the among the first documents signed by Modi after he assumed charge as PM, outlines rules that will have to be followed in the appointment of personal staff attached to ministers.
The most important operative part of the order - ministers will henceforth appoint secretaries and other personal staff only from the "general pool".
The directives come after the previous Manmohan Singh government was rocked by a series of corruption scandals.All the PM's men, and women
The most notable example was that of former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. He had appointed his son-in-law Vitul Kumar as his OSD and his sister's son-in-law, Rahul Bhandari, as his personal secretary and also his nephew Vijay Singla.
By barring ministers from appointing personal staff of their choice, Modi has in a way ensured that no minister would be able to run his/her ministry as a personal fiefdom.
Modi, at his swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 26, did not invite any family member.
