PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reviewed with Chief Ministers of all but poll-bound States their preparedness and plans in the wake of the West Asia conflict. The virtual meeting was aimed at ensuring synergy of efforts in the spirit of ‘Team India’, official sources said. This is the first time that the Prime Minister held such a meeting with the Chief Ministers on the West Asia conflict which started on February 28 with the attack by the US-Israel on Iran. Iran also retaliated by firing on its Gulf neighbours and Israel.

 

Those Chief Ministers who attended the meeting included Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Vishnu Dev Sai (Chhattisgarh), N Chandra Babu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Bhupendra Patel (Gujarat), Omar Abdullah (Jammu and Kashmir), Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh) among others. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah were also present in the meeting.

 

“The Prime Minister interacted with the Chief Ministers through video conferencing on the West Asia conflict and reviewed preparedness and plans of the states. The meeting focused on ensuring synergy of efforts in the spirit of Team India,” a source said. The Chief Ministers of election-bound States were not part of this meeting due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The Cabinet Secretariat is going to hold a separate meeting with the Chief Secretaries of poll-bound Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

 

The Prime Minister said, the global situation arising out of the West Asia conflict remains dynamic, and asserted that maintaining economic and trade stability, ensuring energy security, strengthening industry and supply chains, and safeguarding citizens’ interests remain the Government’s top priorities. Urging the Chief Ministers to ensure the smooth functioning of supply chains and to take strict measures against hoarding and profiteering, Modi cautioned against the spread of misinformation and rumours, asserting that timely dissemination of accurate and credible information is essential to prevent panic.

 

Referring to the situation, the Prime Minister said India has prior experience in dealing with similar global disruptions, recalling the collective response during the Covid-19 pandemic. Govt sets up informal group of ministers: THE Government has set up an ‘informal group of ministers’ led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to look into the issues arising due to the West Asia conflict, sources said.