Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) today. Regarded as the most influential among cabinet committees, the CCPA is often known as the “super cabinet”.
This meeting follows a high-level discussion convened by the PM at his residence on Tuesday, a week after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists.
The CCPA is crucial in reviewing and deciding on significant political and economic issues of national importance. Historically, the CCPA has convened during critical times. In February 2019, following the Pulwama terror attack, the committee reviewed the security situation and discussed strategies to counter terrorism. Shortly after, on February 26, 2019, the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes in Pakistan’s Balakot.
The current members of the CCPA include Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chairperson, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Additionally, PM Modi will chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security today at 11 am, which is the government’s highest decision-making body on national security matters. This will be the second meeting of the CCS. In the first CCS meeting, held a day after the Pahalgam terror attack, India adopted several diplomatic and strategic countermeasures against Pakistan. These included the effective downgrading of diplomatic relations, closure of key border routes, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, and expulsion of Pakistani military attaches from its High Commission in New Delhi.
On Tuesday, PM Modi granted the Indian Armed Forces “complete operational freedom” to respond to the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, according to government sources.
