100 Days of Modi Sarkar
As the Modi government completes 100 days in power, here are 10 moments that stood out in the last three months.
1.An invite for neighbours
In a suprise move, SAARC leaders were invited to the grand wearing-in ceremony of Modi as PM. Pakistan PM Modi chit-chatted and enquired after their mothers. Sharif later gifted Modi's mother a sari.
In a suprise move, SAARC leaders were invited to the grand wearing-in ceremony of Modi as PM. Pakistan PM Modi chit-chatted and enquired after their mothers. Sharif later gifted Modi's mother a sari.
2.Cancel talks
Border trouble increased in the run-up to secretary-level talks but what really got Modi government' goat was Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit's meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders hours before the official talks and despite a request from India to desist. Such meetings are routine, but the new government said 'nothing doing, don't take us for granted'.
Border trouble increased in the run-up to secretary-level talks but what really got Modi government' goat was Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit's meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders hours before the official talks and despite a request from India to desist. Such meetings are routine, but the new government said 'nothing doing, don't take us for granted'.
3.Clean-up act
Be responsible for your own waste, the Prime Minister boomed in a first from Red Fort's lofty ramparts. He held a mirror to slothful Indian hygiene and sanitation levels, prioritizing on the dire need for sanitation infrastructure.
Be responsible for your own waste, the Prime Minister boomed in a first from Red Fort's lofty ramparts. He held a mirror to slothful Indian hygiene and sanitation levels, prioritizing on the dire need for sanitation infrastructure.
4.Where's your boy going tonight
Modi won applause as he identified as 'male' the menace of violence against women. This was a welcome departure from the more common refrain where blame is often found with women for the violence against them. In his first Independence-Day address, Modi cast aside the bulletproof glass, calling on guardians to keep an eye on their wards.
Modi won applause as he identified as 'male' the menace of violence against women. This was a welcome departure from the more common refrain where blame is often found with women for the violence against them. In his first Independence-Day address, Modi cast aside the bulletproof glass, calling on guardians to keep an eye on their wards.
5.Food security first
Braving accusations of doing a a volte face, India refused to yield ground and dug in its heels on an early spat with the WTO, asserting it believed others could be convinced that its need for more freedom on food subsidies was legitimate.
Braving accusations of doing a a volte face, India refused to yield ground and dug in its heels on an early spat with the WTO, asserting it believed others could be convinced that its need for more freedom on food subsidies was legitimate.
6.Who media, boo media
Don't ask, said journalists as Prime Minister Modi decided to do away with the practice of an entourage of reporters of all shades and views travelling with the PM.
Don't ask, said journalists as Prime Minister Modi decided to do away with the practice of an entourage of reporters of all shades and views travelling with the PM.
7.Present please
If you're on the PM's team, he's on your track. Modi started primeministership cracking the early-to-work and late-back-home whip. Within days, his ministers knew this and their babus' attendance mattered.
If you're on the PM's team, he's on your track. Modi started primeministership cracking the early-to-work and late-back-home whip. Within days, his ministers knew this and their babus' attendance mattered.
8.Bhutan calling
Prime Minister Modi chose to visit happy kingdom Bhutan for his first foreign jaunt, followed soon after with a quick trip to Nepal, signalling said experts a tweak in foreign policy that reads 'neighbours first'.
Prime Minister Modi chose to visit happy kingdom Bhutan for his first foreign jaunt, followed soon after with a quick trip to Nepal, signalling said experts a tweak in foreign policy that reads 'neighbours first'.
9.Stop for God's sake
In his August 15 address, Modi spoke of a 10-year moratorium of communal violence. "Let's put a moratorium on all such activities for 10 years, we shall be free from tensions and you'll see how much strength we get from peace, unity, brotherhood. Let us experiment with it for once".
In his August 15 address, Modi spoke of a 10-year moratorium of communal violence. "Let's put a moratorium on all such activities for 10 years, we shall be free from tensions and you'll see how much strength we get from peace, unity, brotherhood. Let us experiment with it for once".
10.Keep kin out
One of the first documents Modi signed as PM was an advisory telling his ministers not to appoint relatives as member of staff. Rules were laid down in the note for the appointment of personal staff of ministers.
One of the first documents Modi signed as PM was an advisory telling his ministers not to appoint relatives as member of staff. Rules were laid down in the note for the appointment of personal staff of ministers.
100 DAYS: 10 CONTROVERSIES
Here are the top 10 controversies that have become a talking point.
1. Rajnath protests, PMO backs him
Rajnath Singh’s position in the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became a matter of media speculation, as a series of reports claimed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has been clipping his wings, quietly.
Singh is a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and a two-time BJP chief who was instrumental behind Modi's projection as party's campaign committee chief and eventually its PM face.
While some reports said Modi was unhappy with some misdemeanor on part of Singh’s son, the Union home minister said he would quit politics if anybody could prove that any of his family members was involved in any misconduct.
However, separate statements by the PMO and BJP chief Amit Shah ended all speculation about Singh's position in the government and the party.
The controversy came close on the heels of the BJP denying Singh’s son, Pankaj Singh, a ticket to contest a by-election from Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
2. CMs versus PM: To avoid or not to avoid
Crowds booed Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren in Modi’s presence, fueling talk over whether there was a BJP design to undermine the CMs in the election-bound states.
Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan too was heckled by BJP supporters, following which he refused to appear with the PM in Nagpur.
The Congress, which has reportedly asked its chief ministers to avoid sharing the stage with Modi, saw a pattern in the humiliation of opposition leaders.
The PM had recently unveiled a string of infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra – all opposition-ruled states going to polls later this year.
3. Tale of UPA-appointed governors
Vinod Kumar Duggal became the ninth governor appointed by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime to quit since the NDA government came to power in May this year. He was the governor of Manipur.
Earlier, Sheila Dikshit's resignation from the Kerala Raj Bhawan on August 25 added fuel to a raging controversy over the fate of UPA government-appointed governors in the NDA regime.
Dikshit quit after being apparently nudged by the new government. The former Delhi CM's resignation came a day after her Maharashtra counterpart, K Sankaranarayanan, quit to protest his transfer to Mizoram.
Earlier, the NDA government had transferred Kamla Beniwal as Mizoram governor from Gujarat Raj Bhawan. When Beniwal refused to resign, she was sacked three months before the end of her tenure in October.
Similarly, Lt Governor of Puducherry Virendra Kataria was also sacked by the government.
Five other governors — MK Narayanan (West Bengal), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), BL Joshi (UP), BV Wanchoo (Goa) and Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) — had put in their papers apparently after they were telephoned by the Union home secretary.
V Purushothaman, the governor of Mizoram, had also resigned after he was transferred to Nagaland in July this year.
Uttarakhand governor Aziz Qureshi has challenged Centre's move to ease him out of office, bringing the controversy over removal of UPA-appointed governors under judicial lens.
4. Z-category security for tainted MLA Sangeet Som
4. Z-category security for tainted MLA Sangeet Som
The Modi government's decision to provide Z-category security to Uttar Pradesh BJP legislator Sangeet Som, 35, kicked up a political storm, with the Congress questioning whether a person “who is a threat to others” deserved the status.
In a police FIR, Som has been accused of making inflammatory speeches and uploading a video of a lynching that apparently fanned the Muzaffarnagar riots last year that left at least 60 people dead, most of them Muslims, and displaced 50,000.
The youngest of all the BJP legislators in UP, Som, who represents Sardhana assembly segment in Meerut, was guarded by five security men so far. As per the new security detail, Som will get about 30 guards as well as bulletproof vehicles.
5. Judges’ appointment bill under scanner
Amid a debate over the appointment of judges in higher judiciary, Parliament passed two crucial bills providing for a new mechanism to appoint judges by scrapping the two-decade-old collegium system, a move some jurists said they would challenge in the Supreme Court.
The constitutionality of the Constitution amendment and National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) bills was questioned and a batch of petitions filed in the Supreme Court argued that the bills interfere with the independence of the judiciary.
The petitions said the bills would give "unbridled power" to Parliament to regulate judicial appointments.
The apex court, however, decided not to intervene on petitions challenging the bill to change the system of appointing judges, saying it would be "premature".
6. Gopal Subramanium vs govt
Lawyer Gopal Subramanium ruled himself out of the Supreme Court race, accusing the government of “character assassination”. In a nine-page letter to Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, the former solicitor general who had assisted the top court in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case in which BJP chief Amit Shah is now an accused, withdrew his consent to be considered for a judge's position.
The controversy over his appointment had been brewing since the SC collegium headed by CJI Lodha recommended Subramanium's name for the position of an apex court judge.
On June 19, the law ministry cleared all the names but that of Subramanium, citing “negative” CBI and Intelligence Bureau reports.
7. Tussle over Leader of Opposition status
The controversy over the Congress being denied the Leader of Opposition post in Lok Sabha took a new turn after the Supreme Court suggested that an LoP was needed for making key appointments like the lokpal or the anti-corruption ombudsman.
As the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha with 44 seats, the Congress has been demanding the LoP post, but citing advice from the government’s top law officer, attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has rejected the claim on the ground that it did not have the requisite 10% seats in the House.
8. UPSC storm
The Modi government agreed not to test candidates over their English skills in the civil services preliminary examination, which was scheduled for August 24, to address concerns that the exam pattern was biased in favour of urban candidates.
But, it was not enough for the protesting UPSC aspirants who vowed to continue their almost month-long stir. They demanded that the aptitude test introduced in 2011 be scrapped.
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The government, however, blamed the previous UPA regime for the row and said that it had taken best possible steps it could have under the given circumstances.
9. Blame game over communal riots
Ruling BJP and opposition Congress have accused each other of pursuing a divisive agenda.
The Congress questioned the BJP over incidents of communal violence in states going to polls, such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi took centre stage over raising the issue in Parliament.
PM Modi’s silence on incidents of communal flare-ups in several parts of the country was also questioned.
10. Smriti Irani's educational qualification
Smriti Irani was at the centre of a raging controversy over her educational qualification and a mismatch in the information provided by her in two election affidavits after taking charge as the human resource development minister.
When contesting the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, she mentioned her qualifications as Bachelor of Arts (BA), which she passed in 1996 from University of Delhi's School of Correspondence.
However, in her affidavit for this year's Lok Sabha election, the actor-turned-politician mentioned her educational qualification as: Bachelor of Commerce Part I, School of Open Learning (Correspondence), University of Delhi - 1994.
100 DAYS: 10 DECISIONS
1. Banking for all
Modi rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana on August 28 with a promise to end "financial untouchability".
Under the programme, 75 million bank accounts — two per household — will be opened by January 26, 2015. These will come with an overdraft facility of Rs. 5,000, which will kick in six months after the account is opened.
Account holders will get debit cards of RuPay — an Indian payment gateway like Visa and Mastercard — and accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh. An additional life insurance cover would be provided to those who open their accounts by the January date.
“If we want to get rid of poverty, we have to first get rid of financial untouchability. We have to connect every person with the financial system,” the PM said.
2. Decision to scrap Planning Commission
Modi announced the government's decision to do away with Planning Commission in his maiden Independence Day speech.
"We will replace the Planning Commission with a new institution having a new design and structure, a new body, a new soul, a new thinking, a new direction," Modi said.
The announcement brought an end to speculations over the future of 64-year old institution.
It came under increased scrutiny in recent years, with many experts questioning its role in a market-economy model where private enterprises are the primary growth engines.
Modi did not specify details about the new body's likely structure, but there was speculation it would be modelled on China's National Development and Reform Commission. The Prime Minister could head the new commission with representatives from states and industry as members.
In the new structure, the finance ministry will likely take the final call on the annual gross budgetary support for various central schemes, as well states’ annual plans, which until last year was decided by the Planning Commission.
3. India to get $35 billion from Japan
PM Modi's maiden visit to Japan to meet his counterpart yielded big results.
Pledging to enhance bilateral cooperation, Japan promised nearly $35 billion assistance to India for the next five years towards funding next generation infrastructure projects, smart cities, rejuvenation of Ganga river and introduction of bullet trains.
This implies that Japan would double its investments and number of companies in India during this period.
4. Calling off foreign-secy level talks with Pakistan
After Islamabad's decision to hold talks with Kashmiri separatists, India called off the foreign-secretary level talks with Pakistan.
Describing Pakistan's decision as an "unacceptable" interference in India's internal affairs, foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit’s invitation with "so-called" separatist leaders undermined a constructive diplomatic engagement initiated by Modi.
Islamabad said India's decision to cancel talks was a setback in efforts to improve relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
5. Judges’ appointment bill
Scrapping the two-decade-old collegium system, Parliament passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill.
After the bill becomes a law, the government will have a say in the appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges.
The collegium system will be replaced by a six-member commission headed by the Chief Justice of India deciding on appointments and transfers.
6. Clearing 49% insurance in FDI
Union cabinet approved a proposal to ease foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector from 26% to 49%. The move, however, comes with a rider that management control of these companies will remain with Indian promoters.
Overseas investment proposals beyond 26% will have to be approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the nodal agency that vets FDI applications.
A higher FDI limit in the insurance sector will also automatically ease FDI norms in the pension sector.
7. MyGov portal to enable govt-citizen discussion
Modi launched an interactive portal called mygov.in to involve citizens in governance.
The website aims to be a platform which can engage the youth in nation's development and they can contribute their ideas to achieve surajya or good governance).
“The platform would bridge the gulf between people and the government. Democracy cannot succeed without people’s participation in the government and this should not be limited only during elections. The participation should be there in fulfilling peoples’ aspirations and needs,” said Modi while inaugurating the website.
The website offers multiple theme-based discussions for people to share their thoughts and ideas. An idea shared by a contributor will also be discussed on these forums.
People can upload documents, case studies, pictures, videos, other work plans, etc on the platform. he platform aims to bring like-minded people to implement the actions defined by the collaborating community, termed as "do" platform.
8. Formation of SIT on black money
In his maiden cabinet meeting, PM Modi announced the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to unearth black money.
The SIT will be headed by former Supreme Court judge MB Shah and will include the highest-level officials from financial and economic departments as well as law enforcement agencies.
9. Refusal to sign WTO trade deal
India vetoed a global trade deal at World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Geneva because it wasn't accompanied by a parallel agreement safeguarding food security for millions of Indians.
India’s strategy was to use its veto over the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) as a bargaining chip to clinch an agreement that would allow it to maintain its food stocks and subsidies at levels that are far in excess of limits permitted under WTO rules.
Reacting to India's move, US secretary of state John Kerry said refusal to sign the pact has undermined the country's image.
"Failure to sign the Trade Facilitation Agreement sent a confusing signal and undermined the very image Prime Minister Modi is trying to send about India," a US state department official told reporters after Kerry's meeting with Modi.
10. Decision to lower age of juveniles
Another major decision taken by the cabinet was the approval of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014. The bill proposes treating minors older than 16 years as adults if charged with serious crimes such as rape.
The draft law, however, gives the Juvenile Justice Board the prerogative to decide whether the case involving a juvenile is 'serious' enough to be tried in a regular court.
