One year of Modi 2.0: Article 370, Ram Mandir and CAA - key talking points

Narendra Modi, Prime minister of India | Though almost all of India’s Prime Ministers have come from the nearly 80% of the population that is Hindu, only Modi has governed as if no one else matters,” writes Karl Vick, Time editor. (Image: Reuters)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold "virtual rallies" across India and organise more than 1,000 conferences online on May 26 to mark the first anniversary of the Narendra Modi government's second term.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers were sworn in for the second term on May 26, 2019, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had taken office on May 30.

The party claims that the past one year has been full of “historic achievements” that “will be written in golden letters in history”.

On August 5, 2019, months after the second term began, the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave special provisions to the then state of Jammu and Kashmir. The government also bifurcated the state into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh. While J&K is expected to have its own Legislature, Ladakh will not.

The state, and especially the Kashmir Valley, was placed under strict restrictions while this move was undertaken. Some restrictions such as ban on 4G internet service in Kashmir, remain in place till date.

In early August, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the triple talaq bill passed by Parliament, turning it into a law which made the practice of instant divorce among Muslims a punishable offence.

The law had been in works for a while. However, the bill could not make it through the Rajya Sabha during the first term of PM Modi’s government, although it was passed by Lok Sabha.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which was in works for a while, was passed by Parliament and turned it into an Act after the President’s assent.

According to the amended citizenship law, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be eligible for Indian citizenship. The law excludes Muslims.

Those opposing the amended law say it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA, along with the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), is intended to target India’s Muslim community.

However, the BJP-led central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted people from the three neighbouring countries and not take away citizenship from anyone.

The development sparked massive protests, some turning violent, against the legislation across the country. Many states and petitioners moved the Supreme Court seeking challenging the constitutional validity of the Act. The matter is still pending before the highest court.

On February 5, PM Modi informed Parliament that the Cabinet had approved setting up of a trust to construct a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh as per the Supreme Court’s November 9, 2019 verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

While the move was based on the top court’s ruling, this was seen by many as the BJP meeting one of its key manifesto promises.

The novel coronavirus pandemic and its socio-economic impact on India remains the key challenge in front of the Centre. The entre has already announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic relief package in this regard.

With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India crossing the 1.45 lakh-mark, tackling the health emergency is expected to be the government's focus in the coming year.