Sprawling house, big cars but no leave: Indian PMs are always on duty
There was no provision for the PM or the ministers to be on leave, former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra said. No leave applications have ever been sent.
It is the country’s top job, all frills attached – big car, a sprawling residence, an army of guards and, most of all, the power to shape a billion lives. But, no leave.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t taken a day off the 32 months he has been in office and the PMO doesn’t know if his predecessors either did.
“Information regarding leave record of previous prime ministers is not a part of records held by this office. However, it may be noted that no leave has been availed by present Prime Minister ie Shri Narendra Modi since taking over charge,” a PTI report said, quoting a PMO response to an RTI applicant.
Technically, the Indian prime minister can never be on leave.
Asked if there were leave rules for the PM like the ones for civil servants, the government suggested there were none. The prime minister of India can be said to be on duty at all times, the PMO said.
There was no provision for the PM or the ministers to be on leave, former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra said. No leave applications have ever been sent.
But this doesn’t mean they haven’t taken time off.
Back in 1986, Chandra recalled, Rajiv Gandhi famously took his first holiday when he travelled to Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park. AB Vajpayee, too, took his annual vacations in December.
When prime ministers are not at hand to take urgent decisions, the practice is to leave a note with the cabinet secretary nominating a senior cabinet minister – referred to as the Number 2 – to chair cabinet meetings.
So when Manmohan Singh had to undergo a heart surgery in early 2009, he named Pranab Mukherjee.
In the present government, it is home minister Rajnath Singh who chairs cabinet meetings when Modi is abroad.
This, Chandra said, was because the Constitution didn’t have a provision for an acting PM. It implies that the PM is always responsible for the government’s action, leave or no leave.
This is in contrast to the UK where there is a tradition of prime ministers going on holidays. Ditto for the US presidents.
Senior civil servants, however, are free to avail leaves like everyone else. But every time they are away, the government has to appoint someone to hold charge of their departments.
Chandra, who was the cabinet secretary in 1990-92, said he didn’t take a holiday when he was in the hot seat. But, when he had to go abroad for a week to invite foreign investment, he delegated his powers to senior cabinet secretariat officials except the one to appoint officers. “I delegated this power to Amar Nath Verma, the principal secretary to PM Narasimha Rao,” he said.