AIZAWL: Congress leader Mathew Anthony on Wednesday said that the BJP-led NDA government has withdrawn many laws, which it has tried to implement, due to strong opposition from opposition parties.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference here, Anthony, who is the joint secretary of AICC, said that at least four controversial laws were withdrawn by the Centre after the INDIA alliance led by Congress achieved a formidable position in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi assumed the charge of opposition leader.
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The laws that are taken back after being introduced are Real Estate Indexation, Long Term Capital Gains, Lateral Recruitment for the senior level recruitments and Broadcast Bill, he said.
Following outrage and concerns from certain quarters over the Budget proposal to remove indexation benefits on long-term capital gains (LTCG), the government decided to offer taxpayers a choice to pay 20 per cent LTCG tax with indexation benefit on sale of property acquired before July 23.
The other option introduced in the Budget to pay the tax on LTCG at a reduced rate of 12.5 per cent without indexation will also be available to taxpayers, as per the list of amendments moved by the government in the Finance Bill. Taxpayers can pay the lower tax amount of the two options.
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Anthony said that the swift cancellation of the advertisement for lateral recruitment of mid-tier bureaucrats by the Modi government on Tuesday reflects the BJP’s recognition of a significant threat posed by the opposition.
The opposition firmly believes the issue of reservations in lateral entries is a means to challenge the BJP’s political intention on the Caste quotas, he said.
He said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is learnt to have withdrawn the new draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024, which triggered controversy and criticism over fears that the government was trying to exert greater control over online content.
The draft Bill had raised several questions on the freedom of speech and expression, and the government’s powers to regulate it.
The Congress leader also blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur to end the ongoing ethnic violence.
He said that more than 300 people have been killed in the violence between the majority Meiteis and minority Kuki tribal communities.
Even though 16 months have passed since the ethnic violence flared up in May 2023, the Prime Minister has no time to visit Manipur nor attempt to solve the crisis, he said.
He said that about 60,000 Central troops are deployed in the state and yet they are unable to control any of the situation.
The Central government as well as the Prime Minister and Home Minister has completely failed to save Manipur. Citing that Rahul Gandhi has visited the state three times since the start of the ethnic violence, Anthony said that the Congress is making efforts to restore peace between the two communities.
Anthony also demanded action against BJP and Shiv Sena Shinde leaders for insulting Rahul Gandhi.
He said that complaints have been filed across the country against Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, former BJP MLA Tarvinder Singh, and Uttar Pradesh Minister Raghuraj Singh for insulting Rahul Gandhi.
Sanjay Gaikwad, an MLA from the ruling Sena Shinde side of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, made a public statement on September 16 calling for Rahul Gandhi’s tongue to be cut off and offered a reward of Rs. 11 lakh to anyone who could do so.
“The statement was made to harm and defame Rahul Gandhi, as well as the Indian National Congress Party. It amounts to criminal intimidation, punishable by law. The defamatory remarks have severely damaged the reputation of Rahul Gandhi and the Indian National Congress,” Anthony said.
He said that Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also insulted Rahul Gandhi by calling him an “extremist” and accusing him of being “not Indian” and the “No. 1 enemy of India.” These comments were made with the intent to provoke public hatred, and could incite enmity between different regional, racial, and community groups, he said.
Tarvinder Singh, a former BJP MLA from Delhi, and Raghuraj Singh, a minister in Uttar Pradesh, also made similar defamatory remarks against Rahul Gandhi.