Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 20 directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to cancel an advertisement issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for appointment of officers at the level of joint secretary and other key posts through the lateral entry process.
He U-turn The Modi government’s decision came amid criticism from the opposition and some allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance (Confidentiality Agreement).
On August 18, UPSC 45 publications were announced This involves filling positions through the lateral entry method, on a contract basis. The idea was to recruit officials for multiple functions in certain central ministries through the lateral entry method, either on a contract basis or through delegation.
The selection process would be held in 24 ministries, including 10 posts of joint secretary and 35 posts of director/joint secretary, which were to be filled by September 17.
The announcement triggered opposition protests, with many leaders, including the leader of Congress Raul GandhiBahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, to name a few, criticised the government’s policy of not having reservations for candidates from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The two allies of the NDA, Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party– also opposed the measure that forces the government to reverse its decision.
The government was eventually forced to cancel the lateral entry recruitment on August 20, three days after the UPSC issued the advertisement.
The opposition reacted to the U-turn by claiming that the government is already in “backward” mode, citing previous examples of withdrawing the budget announcement on indexation and putting the broadcasting bill on the back burner.
The setback on the “lateral entry” issue becomes important as the decision concerns the Ministry of Personnelwhich is directly under the control of the Prime minister.
The opposition’s accusation of a “weak Modi 3.0” is due to the fact that the BJP failed to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and had to rely on allies to form the NDA government led by Prime Minister Modi, which has affected its decision-making. The INDIA bloc won more than 230 seats in the elections and emerged as a stronger opposition.
But there have also been setbacks by previous Modi-led governments. Below is a list of examples of the Modi government’s shift in stance since 2015.
August 2024: Broadcasting Bill
On August 12, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting withdrew the second version of the draft of the Broadcasting services (Regulations) Bill, 2024. The government has now invited the public to submit comments on the first draft, until 15 October.
The bill was reportedly withdrawn after many experts raised concerns about some of the provisions and how the consultation process was carried out during the drafting of the bill.
August 2024: Waqf Board Bill
On August 8th, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, The Bill, which introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 in Parliament, has proposed sending it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for wider scrutiny amid opposition from INDIA bloc parties.
The bill seeks to “effectively address issues” related to the powers of the State Waqf Boardsregistration and study of waqf properties and elimination of encroachments.
Opponents of the bill say it will infringe on property rights, Right to religious freedom In addition to invading state powers.
August 2024: Indexation benefits are restored
On August 6, the Modi government decided to reverse its budget proposal to remove indexation benefits of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on sale of unlisted assets.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman In its 2024-25 budget, the House of Representatives announced the withdrawal of indexation benefits on property and LTCG taxes from 20 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The proposal was not well received by home buyers and the real estate sector, which called for a reconsideration.
The government has now allowed homeowners the option of paying LTCG tax at a rate of 20 per cent with indexation benefit or at a new rate of 12.5 per cent without indexation benefit for properties acquired before July 23, 2024.
2022: Data Protection Bill
In August 2022, the Modi government revoked the Data Protection Bill which has been in preparation since 2018, according to the Union Minister. Ashwini Vaishnav He said the Centre took the decision as a parliamentary panel’s review of the bill had suggested 81 amendments, leading to the need for a new “comprehensive legal framework”.
In 2023, the Centre introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, which was passed by Parliament on August 9. The draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill are expected to be released within a month for public consultation, Vaishnaw told reporters here on August 19.
2021: The three agricultural laws
On November 19, 2021, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of the three contentious farm laws. Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, had been protesting against these laws at the borders of Delhi for about a year.
The three laws were the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.
Farmers had opposed the laws on the grounds that they would do away with the minimum support price regime and leave them at the mercy of big corporations. These three laws were passed by Parliament in September 2020. However, the implementation of these laws was suspended by the Supreme Court on January 12, 2021.
2015: Amendments to the Land Bill
In 2015, a year after Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister following the BJP majority in Lok Sabha Elections 2014His government had to agree to a demand to revise its controversial land acquisition law.
The Modi government wanted to introduce nine amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 through an ordinance and later as part of the Bill. These new clauses were related to consent of affected families and social impact assessment in the Acquisition Bill.
He Land Acquisition Bill Although the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, it faced opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA failed to get the required numbers. Soon after, Prime Minister Modi announced the decision not to go ahead with the bill.
The government withdrew six key amendments, including the one on the consent clause.
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