Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked his cabinet colleagues to stop bringing mobile phones in cabinet meetings. This has ostensibly been done to ensure that ministers pay more attention on issues raised in the cabinet meetings.
The ban on mobile phones will also apply on all persons meeting the Chief Minister besides the cabinet meetings.
Earlier, ministers were allowed to bring mobile phones in meetings but the hand set had to be kept on silent mode or switched off. They would now have to deposit their mobile phones at a designated counter and collect it from there after the meeting.
Last year, similar instructions were issued to the Union ministers.
Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey has issued a circular to private secretaries of cabinet ministers, asking them to apprise the ministers about the directions issued by the Chief Minister.
Official sources said that the Chief Minister decided to ban mobile phones in the cabinet meeting as some ministers were found reading messages on social media sites and WhatsApp even during discussions.
The sources claimed that the decision also aimed at checking any possibility of leakage of information through hacking and electronic espionage.
“The Chief Minister wants all ministers to be focused on issues discussed in cabinet meetings and not get distracted by mobile phones. Some ministers keep reading messages on WhatsApp during meetings,” an official said.
