DIMAPUR, Sept 5 � When Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang, accompanied by Home Minister Y Patton, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7 Race Course residence in New Delhi on September 4 to congratulate him on his successful Japan visit, the former was pleasantly surprised by the Prime Minister first asking him about his health condition.
The Chief Minister told Prime Minister about his minor vocal cord problem during the last few days for which he had to cancel many of his public functions and meeting programmes. Hearing this, the Prime Minister suddenly stood up from his chair, beckoned the Chief Minister to stand right in front of him and gave him practical lessons on throat and voice exercise, making various pitches of �aum� sounds, and asking him to imitate those sounds. Zeliang was asked to continue this for a few minutes.
The Prime Minister then advised the Chief Minister to do this exercise every morning regularly for curing his vocal cord problem. Modi said he himself does this exercise every morning through which he managed to keep his voice in working order during the most hectic public addresses made by him during the last Lok Sabha election campaign.
�For Politicians, our voice is our most valuable weapon and instrument, and we cannot afford to lose it,� he added humorously. �Let�s hope our Chief Minister had learnt his lesson well, and would find a permanent cure for his chronic vocal problem,� the PM said.
Modi�s gesture showed that he is a practical man and a man of action who does not bother too much about protocol, niceties and formalities, Advisor and Senior Principal Secretary to the CM Lalthara said in a release today.
Finance Commission: Zeliang met Chairman and members of the 14th Finance Commission in the office of the Commission in New Delhi today.
The Chief Minister reminded the Chairman about the �dark period� of the 13th Finance Commission awards, the unreasonable and unrealistic assessments of the 13th Finance Commission and its adverse impact on the finances of the State during the last four and half years.
Zeliang also emphasised and reminded the 14th Finance Commission about the unique history and situation of Nagaland and how it deserves a special treatment even amongst the Special Category States. He expressed the hope that the State will see a new dawn of light with the award of the 14th Finance Commission.
There was a cordial exchange of views and ideas during the meeting, and the Chairman of the Finance Commission assured that the Commission will look into special problems and needs of Nagaland and take into account all the points made by the CM. The Commission is expected to submit its report and recommendation to the Government of India in October. Their report of grants to the State will determine the fate of the State for the next five years, wef 2015-16 to 2019-20.
