Eventful 100 days for NaMo 2.0

New Delhi

The Narendra Modi government 2.0 has completed 100 days in power, that is if May 30 — the day the new Cabinet took the Oath of Office and Secrecy — is also taken into account.

Mega events like Chandrayaan-2, abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A of the Constitution (the long-pending saffron agenda since the days of erstwhile Jana Sangh) and clearance of several Bills like ‘triple talaq’ marked these very eventful 100 days.

After a decisive mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi and his government further strengthened Parliament, including in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP-led NDA was perceived to be numerically weaker. However, the much-visible economic slowdown, a sliding GDP and bloodbath in markets and vagaries of monsoon took away some of the sheen from the fast-paced 100 days of the new government.
Otherwise though, the period witnessed one of most productive and fruitful Parliament sessions of recent times, which saw the Opposition crumble in the two Houses and yield important legislations like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act (UAPA), the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019, the dilution of Right to Information Act, Amendments to the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) and the most controversial of the all — Bills criminalising ‘triple talaq’ and removal of the special status of J&K and the division of the troubled state into two union territories Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The surprise decision not only threw the Opposition off guard but also left hostile neighbour Pakistan seething. The communication clampdown in the Valley, shutting down of internet services, mobile phones and also landlines that followed also invited somewhat mixed reaction from a section of international media.
Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha said, “The Valley is moving fast towards a substantive democracy. A section that has been indoctrinated (on Article 370) is disturbed but with the passage of time they too would realise that when they see industrialisation, more tourism and more employment while their cultural identity remains undiminished.”

Apart from economy, another issue that appeared to leave the government red-faced was the result of the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Otherwise though, NaMo 2.0 was able to achieve a considerable portion of its political agenda in the first 100 days.