3 Union Ministers in Twitter "Talkathon" Today on Modi Government"s One Year in Office

New Delhi:  As part of the NDA government’s media blitzkrieg to highlight achievements made during its one-year rule, three Union ministers will participate in a ‘talkathon’ session today during which they will answer questions posted on Twitter.

HRD Minister Smriti Irani, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will take part in the 90-minute programme beginning 6 pm, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a statement.

“Participants in the social media space can post questions on Twitter which would be answered by the guests (ministers) in real time. The users may use the hashtag #AskYourGovt to post their queries to the Twitter handle of the Ministry @MIB_India,” it said.

The event, which is part of government’s initiative to highlight its achievements during one year in office, would be webcast live on YouTube channel of the I&B Ministry, pib.nic.in, india.gov.in and Doordarshan.

This will also be the first time that three ministers will take up people’s queries simultaneously during a talkathon session.

Talkathon was introduced at the International Film Festival of India last year, followed by one with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu after he presented the Rail Budget in Parliament, the ministry said.

Its last edition featured Finance Minister Arun Jaitley soon after he presented the Budget on March 28, it said.

As the government completed its one year on May 26, ministers were fanned out across the country to highlight its “achievements” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the drive by holding a rally in Mathura on that day.