From farm laws to broadcasting bill: 6 U-turns by the Modi govt before withdrawing lateral entry hiring order | Mint

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 20 directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to cancel the advertisement issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment of Joint Secretary-level officers and other key posts through the lateral entry process.

The U-turn by the Modi government comes amid criticism from the opposition and some allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

On August 18, the UPSC advertised for 45 posts to be filled through the lateral entry mode on a contract basis. The aim was to recruit officers for various roles in certain central ministries through lateral entry, either on a contract basis or through deputation.

This recruitment was to be done in 24 ministries, which included 10 joint secretary and 35 director/deputy secretary posts. These posts were to be filled by September 17.

Following the advertisement, the opposition protested against it and many leaders including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati criticized the government’s policy of not giving reservation to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates.

Two NDA allies – the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party – also opposed the move, forcing the government to withdraw its decision.

Ultimately, the government was forced to cancel the ‘lateral entry’ recruitment on August 20, three days after the UPSC released the advertisement.

The Opposition reacted to the U-turn and claimed that the government was already on a ‘roll back’ mode, citing earlier instances of withdrawing the budget announcement on indexation and shelving the draft Broadcasting Bill.

Coming back to the ‘lateral entry’ issue, it is significant as the decision relates to the Ministry of Personnel, which is directly under the control of the Prime Minister.

The opposition’s allegation of a ‘weak Modi 3.0’ stems from the fact that the BJP failed to get a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and had to rely on allies to form a PM Modi-led NDA government, which affected its decision-making. The Bharat Bloc secured over 230 seats in the elections and emerged as a strong opposition.

But previous Modi-led governments have also rolled back their decisions. Here is a list of examples of U-turns by the Modi government since 2015.

August 2024: Broadcasting Bill

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on August 12 withdrew the second draft version of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024. The government has now sought public feedback on the first draft by October 15.

The bill was reportedly withdrawn after several experts expressed concerns over some of its provisions and the manner of consultation process followed while drafting the bill.

August 2024: Wakf Board Bill

On August 8, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 in Parliament, had proposed referring it to a joint parliamentary committee for comprehensive scrutiny amid opposition from Indian block parties.

The Bill aims to “effectively address issues” relating to powers of state waqf boards, registration and survey of waqf properties and removal of encroachments.

Those opposing the bill said it would violate the right to property, the right to religious freedom, besides encroaching upon the powers of the state.

August 2024: Indexation benefits restored

On August 6, the Modi government decided to withdraw its budget proposal to remove indexation benefit on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax from sale of unlisted assets.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced indexation benefits from real estate and reduction of LTCG tax from 20 percent to 12.5 percent in her Budget 2024-25. This proposal was not liked by homebuyers as well as the real estate sector and they demanded a reconsideration of it.

The government has now given homeowners the option to pay LTCG tax for properties acquired before July 23, 2024, at the rate of 20 per cent with indexation benefit or at the new rate of 12.5 per cent without indexation benefit.

2022: Data Protection Bill

In August 2022, the Modi government withdrew the Data Protection Bill that had been pending since 2018. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Centre took the decision because a parliamentary panel’s review of the bill had suggested 81 amendments, necessitating a new “comprehensive legal framework”.

In 2023, the Centre came up with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, which was approved by Parliament on August 9. The draft rules of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDP) are expected to be released within a month for public consultation, Vaishnaw told reporters here on August 19.

2021: The three farm laws

On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of three controversial agricultural laws. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana had been protesting against these laws on the borders of Delhi for nearly a year.

These three laws were – Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Price Assurance and Agreement on Agricultural Services Act, 2020.

Farmers had opposed these laws alleging that this would end the minimum support price system and they would be at the mercy of big corporations. These three laws were passed by Parliament in September 2020. However, the implementation of these laws was stayed by the Supreme Court on January 12, 2021.

2015: Land Bill Amendment

In 2015, a year after Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister following the BJP winning a majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, his government had to accept demands for a reconsideration of its controversial land acquisition law.

The Modi government wanted to bring nine amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 through an ordinance and later as part of a bill. These new clauses were related to the consent of the affected families and social impact assessment in the acquisition bill.

The Land Acquisition Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, but it faced opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA did not have enough numbers. Soon after, Prime Minister Modi announced the decision not to proceed with the bill.

The government withdrew six key amendments, including the one relating to the consent clause.