23 December, 2019: Amar Ujala supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Citizenship Amendment Act after his speech at a rally in New Delhi.
Ujala says the CAA is not about taking away, but about giving citizenship to people. It discredits all the protests and says that these are based on half-baked information. Ujala also raises concerns over the destruction of government properties during these protests.
It also talks about how PM Modi’s statement on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is opposite to what Union Home Minister Amit Shah and some senior BJP MPs had said. The newspaper says Modi’s statement ends the countrywide confusion over the CAA.
Dainik Jagran calls Modi’s message on the CAA and the NRC the need of the hour. It says Modi has cleared the air over the misinformation being spread about these issues. It says rumours are being spread about NRC, which has not even been initiated. It also reminds the common people that the Congress, which is opposing the CAA and the proposed pan-India NRC, brought voter ID, PAN, and Aadhaar cards during its time.
It asks whether NRC will only be dumped because a certain section of the society is concerned about their political interests.
24 December: Dainik Bhaskar talks about the Jharkhand assembly election results. Does the BJP realise its mistake, it asks. A few months ago, in the Lok Sabha elections, the people of Jharkhand had voted for the BJP — it won 12 of the 14 seats.
The same people gave power to another party in the assembly elections, six months later. The anger of the people in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra has been clearly seen in the state polls.
Article 370 and the Ram Mandir verdict take BJP closer to Hindus, but Muslims will not be happy with that, says Bhaskar, and adds that the Modi government should fulfill its promises and implement them.
25 December: Amar Ujala talks about the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The CDS would work to bring the three armed forces together. The post of CDS was first recommended by Kargil Review Committee (KRC) in 2000. The CDS is already working in military planning and operations in seventy countries of the world, including the USA, Britain, France and Germany.
In the US, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the principal military adviser to the President. Since the Kargil War, the need to establish the CDS was felt. If we look at the present scenario, the initiative will help to establish coordination between the three armed forces and the government.
26 December: Dainik Bhaskar talks about NRC and the National Population Register (NPR). Recently, the Union cabinet approved funds to update the NPR. Following this, Home Minister Amit Shah clearly said there is no link between the NRC and the NPR.
However, the government’s website said the NRC will be prepared for Indian citizens only on the basis of the NPR data — ministers of the Modi government have said the same. The PM, in his speech, said the NRC has not even been thought about or brought to the Cabinet.
Is the government not understanding the sensitivity of these issues? There is still time for the government to not create confusion on these issues, which will lead to unrest in the country, Bhaskar says.
Amar Ujala talks about the NPA (non-performing assets). It says the Reserve Bank of India report states that the gross NPA ratio of all banks declined in FY19 (to 9.1 per cent from 11.2 per cent in FY18).
The NBFCs and co-operative banks have a major reason for declining investor confidence. The decline in NPAs in banks for the first time in seven years is a result of favourable policy environment and IBC, but the plight of NBFCs and public sector banks is a cause for concern, which needs to be addressed.
27 December: Dainik Jagran talks about Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s statement on CAA protests. Rawat said leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate direction.
Jagran asks what is wrong in Rawat’s statement. The newspaper says the Army chief has only condemned those who spread violence and why should he remain silent on the widespread violence affecting internal security? If any opposition leader is saying that violence is not being spread in the name of CAA, then it is absolutely wrong.
Dainik Bhaskar mentions the Forbes list. The names of the people in the list are according to their income and fame. Cricketer Virat Kohli, actors Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan top Forbes India’s 2019 Celebrity 100 list. Actors Alia Bhat and Deepika Padukone are listed at 8th and 10th spots, respectively.
The newspaper says when a son/daughter of any poor person tops the IAS or IIT exams, he/she does not become an icon. Today, it is necessary to make honest people the icons so that the society can become better.