Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has set an ambitious 100-day plan within 72 hours of assuming office, sending
out a clear message that he will continue to pursue his good governance agenda.
But the new government has been in news, but not for all the good reasons.
Here, we mention ten.
1. PMO Twitter handle: Even before Narendra Modi could assume office as Prime Minister,
the outgoing officials archived the PMO Twitter handle, sparking a furore in
political circles. However, the Twitter account was restored just two days
before Modi took oath as the next prime minister, provoking the BJP to call it
“disgraceful, unethical and illegal”. The Twitter handle, @PMOIndia, launched
during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was changed to
@PMOIndiaArchive. In a statement, the PMO had said, “All official communications
from PMO in print and in digital form are being archived according to RTI Act.
Copyrights and control remain with the PMO. The handover is being facilitated
for the next administration.” The was criticised by the BJP, as it said that
@pmoindia should have been passed on to Modi’s office as a national, digital
asset.
2. Article 370: The newly sworn in Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh
stoked the first major controversy when he said that the discussion to revoke
Article 370, providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has begun. The
controversy grew into a full blown war of words with various political parties
reacting sharply to Singh’s statement. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
lashed out at the Modi government as he tweeted: “Mark my words & save this
tweet – long after Modi Govt is a distant memory either J&K won’t be part
of India or Art 370 will still exist”. Facing flak, the MoS later clarified
that he was ‘misquoted’.
3. Smriti Irani qualification
row: On the same day, another controversy broke out
in the political arena over the educational qualification of the HRD Minister
Smriti Irani after it emerged that she had made contradictory declarations when
she contested the LS polls in 2004 and 2014. The Congress leaders took pot shots
at the newly sworn in HRD minister, questioning Irani’s ability to deliver as
HRD minister since she is “not even a graduate”. The 38-year-old television
actor-turned politician broke her silence and said that she should be judged by
her work and not her qualifications. “I will request all of you that judge me
by my work and I will not add anything to the statement I have made,” she said.
4. Shiv Sena sulks over
portfolio: On the day ministers in the
Modi government settled in, Anant Geete of the Shiv Sena struck a discordant
note by refusing to take charge of the Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Ministry. Geete settled for the portfolio only after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi called Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. The Shiv Sena has secured as many as
18 seatsin the Lok Sabha, making it the second largest party in the NDA.
5. Baliyan’s inclusion in Modi
cabinet:
BJP’s inclusion of Sanjeev Baliyan, who was sworn-in as a Minister of State
with independent charge in Modi’s Cabinet certainly raised eyebrows. Congress
questioned Baliyan’s inclusion alleging that he was an accused in the
Muzaffarnagar riots. “Sanjeev Baliyan, an accused in the recent riots is a
Minister in Modi’s Cabinet. Is there a message in this?” Congress leader
Digvijaya Singh had tweeted. “Why media is surprised by the inclusion of
Muzaffarnagar riot accused in the ministry? After all it is Modi Sarkar
(government),” Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed tweeted. Balyan was
part of a mahapanchayat held last year that allegedly inflamed tensions in
Muzaffarnagar despite prohibitory orders. He was charged by the police with
violation of prohibitory orders and promoting enmity between two communities.
BJP has maintained that Dr. Baliyan was framed in a politically motivated case.
6. Modi in school books: Prime Minister expressed displeasure over plans to include
chapters on him in school curriculum following which BJP-ruled Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh had to drop the plan to include his life story in the school
syllabi. “I firmly believe that the life story of living individuals should not
be included as a part of the school curriculum,” he tweeted. While PM opposed
the move to include his life story in education curriculum, books devoted to
him continue to be sold at the BJP offices. Several books on Modi have been on
sale at the literature outlet at BJP headquarters on 11, Ashok Road, that
shower lavish praise on the Prime Minister and the eventful journey of his
life.
7. Munde’s degree row: Like Smriti Irani, Gopinath Munde’s education qualification
triggered a controversy. According to an affidavit submitted by Munde for the
Lok Sabha elections, he claimed that he did his Bachelors degree from New Law
College, Pune in 1976. But the college was established in 1978. Following the
row, BJP members clarified it was a typo and it should have been ILS Law
College.
8. Yashwant Sinha in jail: While Prime Minister Modi was laying down the ground rules to
ensure good governance and development by its government, senior BJP leader
Yashwant Sinha left the party red-faced after he was remanded in judicial
custody after he refused to seek bail in a case of alleged assault of a
Jharkhand State Electricity Board official. Sinha and 54 others were remanded
in 14-day judicial custody by a local court after they refused to take bail. A
JSEB’s Hazaribagh branch General Manager had filed an FIR, accusing them of
tying him up during a demonstration on electricity crisis by the BJP’s district
unit in Jharkhand. Sinha had admitted before the media that he had “instructed”
the party’s women activists to tie up the official using a rope.
9. Raid on BJP MP’s house: The news of busting of a prostitution racket allegedly being run
from a flat owned by former Mumbai Police chief Satyapal Singh, now a BJP
Member of Parliament, sent
shock waves in the political circles. While the two young women were rescued
from the flat in Andheri, which was raided on Saturday last, the shocked Lok
Sabha MP from Baghpat said he is willing to taking a legal action against the
private company. The flat had been leased out to a well-known business house
for 33 months. “Leasing out the flat is my only fault,” clarified Singh, who
quit as Mumbai Police Commissioner early this year to enter politics
10. Modi picks BMW over
Scorpio: Against the possibility of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi choosing his most trusted Mahindra Scorpio over
BMW’s 7 Series as his official car, the PM opted for a specially designed
armoured 7 series German vehicle. A lot was said about Modi choosing Scorpio as
his official car. It was reported that Mahindra & Mahindra chairman, Anand
Mahindra had written to Modi requesting him to choose company’s Scorpio as his
official vehicle. It has been long known that Scorpio was Modi’s favourite.
Even during campaigns and his duties as Gujarat CM, Modi traveled in his
armoured Scorpio. However, the PM dashed all hopes when he chose he BMW
flagship for the job.
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