Scraping 370, criminalising triple talaq govt's major achievements in 100 days: Javadekar

The abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, criminalisation of instant triple talaq and amendment in a law to allow an individual to be designated as 'terrorist' were some of the major decisions taken by the Modi government in its first 100 days, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Sunday. As the government completed 100 days in office in its second consecutive term, the minister also allayed fears of a slowdown, saying the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and there is no "panic situation" in the country.

He said that sometimes slowdown is a "cyclical process" and such a patch will not hurt the country's progress. While Javadekar addressed a press conference here and released a booklet on the government's achievements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about his government's works at a rally in Haryana's Rohtak.

Modi said "development, trust and big changes in the country" have marked the 100 days of his government. "We know how to take challenges head-on". Modi said that 130 crore Indians were the inspiration behind the government's major decisions in various fields from farm sector to national security.

But the Congress launched an all-out attack on the government, alleging that there had been "no development". Taking a dig at the Modi government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi "congratulated" it on 100 days of "no development". "Congratulations to the Modi govt on #100DaysNoVikas, the continued subversion of democracy, a firmer stranglehold on a submissive media to drown out criticism and a glaring lack of leadership, direction and plans where it's needed the most -- to turnaround our ravaged economy," he tweeted.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the Modi government is "mum" after "ruining the economy" and alleged it is trying to hide the grim situation in the country. When asked about the criticism, Javadekar hit out at Rahul Gandhi, saying "those who are not to be seen in 90 out of 100 days, how can I react on their comment."

He said the world knows whether the government worked. The prime minister's Independence Day speech, his speech to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Parliament, laws which have been passed, the way things have changed and decisions implemented show the government's positive intent.

"This speed, the Congress had never witnessed. Therefore, I don't have anything to say on their comment," Javadekar said. According to the document released, the move to scrap special status to Jammu and Kashmir accorded under Article 370 of the Constitution will bring the state at par with other states.

The world community has supported New Delhi's move at various international fora, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting said. "Pakistan knocked several doors including the UN...but the world stood by India ... it is the biggest achievement," the minister said.

Javadekar said that barring one minor terror incident, there has been no casualties such as deaths from police firing or teargas shells in the last 35 days in J&K. "Since the 1990s, when terrorism began (in Jammu and Kashmir) this is the first such instance for 35 days" when no casualties have been reported, he said.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC are in force in 14 police stations, "otherwise there is no restriction." He said some "foreign news agencies" had shown demonstrations held elsewhere or which were four-year-old and passed them off as protests in J&K. Through Doordarshan, he said the government is countering "fake news" by showing the reality in Jammu and Kashmir.

The booklet said that after the JK's special status was withdrawn "laws pertaining to education, empowerment of SCs and STs, minorities and others to be applicable in Jammu and Kashmir ... provisions of 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections of the society to apply." "Perhaps no other government in the past has taken so many people-friendly decisions in its first 100 days in power," Javadekar said.

The minister said that the decisions taken by the government in its first 100 days have helped empower people and brought in more inclusiveness and transparency. These decisions could be taken in quick time as preparations for them had started even before the Lok Sabha elections, he said.

He also lauded the sensitivity Prime Minister Modi exhibited towards space scientists on Saturday after the ISRO centre lost communication with Chandrayaan-2 lander 'Vikram' when it was about to touch down on the lunar surface. Javadekar said the government has also unveiled a roadmap to make India a USD-5 trillion economy by 2024.

Responding to questions on economy, slowdown and unemployment, he said "world over, there is a slowdown which also impacts markets here and people's behaviour changes". "Therefore, we should not be worried too much. The government is responding with whatever actions are immediately necessary. This is a temporary phase and not a direction of a real slowdown, he said."

He said sometimes there is a "patch where you get a cyclical slowdown". "The fundamentals of Indian economy are so strong and they are not being disturbed," he said. The minister said India received record FDI -- more than China -- last year.

"There is no panic situation in the country," the minister told reporters.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)