Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dismissed Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s accusation that the NDA government was showing “obstinate arrogance” in Parliament and that it was a government by “one person,” Mr. Modi said, “Perhaps, she is referring to the fact that earlier extra-constitutional authorities were the ones really wielding power.”
In an interview to PTI , Mr Modi said power was now “wielded only by constitutional means.” If the charge is that “we are working through constitutional channels and not listening to any extra-constitutional authorities, then I plead guilty to that charge,” he said.
Asked about the criticism that all powers were concentrated in the PMO, Mr. Modi responded, “Your question is loaded. It would have been better if this question had been asked when an unconstitutional authority was sitting above the constitutional authority and exercising power over the PMO.”
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He emphasised that “the Prime Minister and the PMO are very much part of the constitutional scheme, not outside it.”
Delegation of powers
On allegations of concentrating powers in the PMO, Mr. Modi said increased powers had been delegated to individual ministries with the result that many decisions that earlier needed to come to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet could now be taken by ministries themselves.
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