Front Page
Different strokes for different newspapers this morning. The Times of India strikes out boldly on the Supreme Court taking the central and state governments to task on stubble burning with, “Govts have no right to stay in office if they let people die: SC”; Hindustan Times goes with protests by lawyers in Delhi – “Black coats strike back, city courts in lockdown”; The Indian Express travels to Ayodhya – “Refrain in Ayodhya: No celebrations, no matter which way the verdict goes”; and The Hindu’s lead is hopeful of an end to the impasse in Maharashtra with “Maharashtra BJP brass to meet Governor to stake claim today”.
However, the biggest news of the day is the union cabinet’s approval of a Rs 25,000-crore fund for stalled middle-income housing projects which is on page 1 in all newspapers and the lead story in the pink papers.
Rs. 25,000 crore fund for housing projects: Business Standard calls the fund a “booster” for real estate sector , especially for the “1,600 stalled housing projects across top cities in the country”. The Economic Times writes that the move was taken to achieve two objectives — relief for stressed homebuyers and boost for the economy. “The government will contribute ₹10,000 crore and the rest will come from LIC and State Bank of India besides sovereign wealth funds and pension funds,” it adds.
Stubble burning: SC held the central and state governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP responsible for life-threatening pollution in the national capital region, reports TOI. It quotes the SC saying, “You sit in ivory towers and let people die. You are also human and you will also suffer one day”.
HT writes that the court ordered officials to “immediately offer cash incentives as well as foot the cost of hiring machines that can take care of crop residue”.
Lawyers vs cops in Delhi: “Lawyers in the six Delhi district courts boycotted work for the third day in a row… prevented litigants from entering some of the premises, and staged demonstrations including two ostensible suicide attempts,” writes HT.
The other newspapers focus on different aspects of this story. The Hindu focuses on the Delhi High Court urging lawyers and police to “sort out their differences amicably”.
TOI reports that the Delhi high court clarified that the “stay on arrest or other coercive steps against lawyers was limited to Tis Hazari clash” and was not a blanket ban.
Express talked to four lawyers who are the “key faces on the video clips and CCTV footage” and are on “police radar after the parking incident Saturday”. It writes that all four denied any involvement in the violence.
Others: WhatsApp-Pegasus alleged snooping returns to Express Page 1 in an interview with Justice (retd) B.N. Srikrishna who chaired the committee of experts on data protection. Krishna warned that “we may slide into Orwellian State with Big Brother snooping on us, as depicted in the novel 1984”.
In its lead, Express reports that Ayodhya is a “sea of khakhi” with the “Supreme Court verdict in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case expected any day now”.
Opinion
Hindustan Times: When the Indian police and lawyers — both have special privileges — clash then “the outcome is rarely edifying”, writes HT. Such clashes have occurred before in New Delhi, in 1988 and 1998. This time, the two clashed in the capital, with one side “trigger-happy” and the other showing no respect for the law. The “worrying thing” is that the entire criminal justice system in Delhi has come to a halt, and the unsafe capital is left with fewer policemen on duty. This only “undermines faith” in a system already considered “compromised”, writes HT. Action must be taken against both parties. The Home Ministry needs to develop a mechanism where the two “pillars” of the criminal justice system don’t resort to criminality and chaos.
The Times of India: The “clear fallout of the political obsession” with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has resulted in calls for similar exercises in other parts of the country, writes TOI. Bengaluru’s police has begun a “crackdown” on illegal Bangladeshi migrants, and apartment complexes in the city’s tech corridor has directed recruitment agencies to not send them Bengali-speaking workers. The inability to distinguish those from Bengal and Bangladesh has led to “prejudice against all Bengalis”. This anti-Bangladeshi sentiment is a “textbook example” of “ugly warts that start appearing across society and administration” when politicians stoke “ethnic passions in a diverse society”. The anti-Bengali drive will only hurt Bengaluru’s cosmopolitan image and tech industry, concludes TOI.
Prime Time
The Supreme Court’s harsh words on stubble burning featured in prime time programmes while the debate on lawyer-police clashes in Delhi continued.
On NDTV, anchor Vishnu Som debated the top court’s criticism of Punjab and Haryana state governments on stubble burning. Times Now saw Navika Kumar question the #CongBhanjaBetaLink over the alleged involvement of Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, after the ED claimed to track a Rs-100 crore money trail to him.
India Today did an on-ground report of stubble burning, while Rajdeep Sardesai ended his show ‘News Today’ with visuals of Kashmir’s first snowfall. He called it the most beautiful sight in the country.
Republic TV: With the return of Arnab Goswami on ‘The Debate’, everyone realised that no one can take his place as ‘shout master’. The debate’s title was like an order — ‘Message to Lawyers #GetBackToWork’. Goswami bellowed, “The common man is suffering because of the closed courts in the national capital of the country. Where else does it happen? Stop it! Stop it right now!”
BJP spokesperson and lawyer Nalin Kohli prevaricated: “I am arguing for the rule of law… The police has an added responsibility…they are not entitled to protest. They should have expressed their anguish in a better way… The point is both police and lawyers have a role to play in society.”
Retired IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad said, “The police has got back to work, and it’s time that the lawyers stop this strike and go back to work.”
CNN-News18: After the Pakistan government released a video days ahead of the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor, featuring Sikh separatist leaders including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala, Anand Narasimhan’s debate on #TheRightStand focused strangely on Congress’ silence.
Major General (retd.) KK Sidhu said, “Not a single condemnation has come from people who are supporting (former Punjab minister Navjot Singh) Sidhu and this is worrying.”
Political analyst Nishant Verma said, “While the political class of Congress is being questioned on this channel, I dare Manjinder Singh Sirsa (of Akali Dal) to call a terrorist a terrorist which was Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.”
ABP News: The controversy over the Pakistani video was also debated here. Anchor Rubika Liyaquat called the issue, ‘Imran ki Khalistani saajish (Imran Khan’s Khalistan conspiracy).
Pakistani journalist Umar Altaf tried not to answer the question directly, and said Bhindrawale confused the Indian Army during Operation Blue Star.
BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain said terrorism is in Pakistan’s DNA, “Its name should be ‘Aatankistan’. Shame on Pakistan.”
Lawyer Ishkaran Bhandari said the Kartarpur Corridor could have been a new hope in an already strained relationship between India and Pakistan. “They have let terrorists take over their whole country.”
NDTV India: Meanwhile, NDTV India turned to the Shiv Sena- BJP tussle in Maharashtra. It’s been 14 days but still the BJP’s Asif Bhamla is saying, “We are figuring out the permutations and combinations”.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Gupta said his party today is different from the past. “Earlier, we did not directly participate in the government. Now Aaditya Thackeray… has certain plans that he wants to implement in the state. That can only be done through a powerful position in the government.”
Why double standard by supreme court, when their life is at risk due to stuble burning by poor farmer they want govn to act but when innocent Honest taxpayer PMC depositor are dying and 16 lakh suffering due to corrupt RBI officials , politicians and builder nexus , and Govn passing responsibility ,court does not entertain our PIL. Farmer do what you like if no one care for you and honest people let them also suffer.