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Ayodhya case: HT says ‘end of arguments’, poets sing on Zee & TV9 has ‘divine’ coverage

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Mainstream newspapers Thursday lead with the “dramatic” conclusion of the 40-day marathon hearing of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit case.

Jammu and Kashmir is in the headlines after militant attacks and a Supreme Court directive that the Centre must submit all orders on restrictions imposed on the state.

Ayodhya case: The drama in the Supreme Court was reflected in newspaper headlines too but there was a difference in approach.

Hindustan Times says, “End of Arguments” in all-caps; The Indian Express chooses “Over to their Lordships” as the over-arching headline; The Times of India emphasises a different aspect – “Muslim parties ready to drop claim to Ayodhya land: Mediation panel”, and The Hindu is more sober: “SC reserves Ayodhya verdict after 40-day marathon hearing”.

Hindu directs readers to the courtroom theatrics:  “The high-octane hearings between the rival sides was not without drama” and “had lawyers vying for time to argue their points”.

TOI mentions that Muslim party counsel Rajeev Dhavan reserved “the best theatrics for the final day” as he “dramatically tore up a map” that depicted the exact location of Ram’s birth.

The newspapers carry a follow up report on a possible settlement: “The court-appointed mediation panel” presented a settlement, which are agreed by “some parties”, writes Express. The last day of hearing coincided with “filing of the report by the mediation panel” notes Hindu. The settlement was signed by the Sunni Waqf Board and the Hindu Mahasabha, among others, adds HT. The waqf board is “willing to give up its claim” on the disputed land “if four conditions were met”, it adds.

Jammu and Kashmir: “An apple trader from Punjab and a brick kiln worker from Chhattisgarh were shot dead by terrorists” in Shopian, writes TOI. 

HT says the perpetrators could be “suspected militants”. It adds that the “death toll of people from outside of the state killed by militants” is three since Monday. Express gives this news front-page billing too.

Meanwhile, SC asked “Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to produce the orders passed by the authorities on restrictions in Jammu & Kashmir as well as Section 144 proceedings”, states Hindu.

P. Chidambaram: “The Enforcement Directorate…arrested former Union minister P Chidambaram for suspected money laundering in the INX Media case,” reports HT. Hindu adds, “The ED requires a court order granting his release from jail to take him into custody.”

Others news: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman “hit back” at former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, “saying the ‘worst phase’ for India’s public sector banks was when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rajan were at the helm of affairs”, reports Express about a speech by the FM in New York

Express also mentions the possible reduction of import duties on US products such as “bourbon whiskey and frozen chicken cut” along with “walnuts, apples, en-denatured ethanol and milk albumin”.

Opinion 

TOI: In ‘Stunting the future’, TOI underlines how children are the country’s future and India having gone down nine ranks in the Global Hunger Index should “ring some alarm bells” in the government. India’s “child wasting ratio” is at 20.8 per cent, the highest in the world, and its “stunting rate” is at a concerning 37.9 per cent — both of which indicate severe under nutrition in India’s children.

TOI explains that these numbers are “calamitous” because according to scientists, 90 per cent of brain growth occurs in the first thousand days upon being born. This period in which “nerves grow and connect and build the scaffolding” is crucial to how one thinks and feels even in adulthood.

More awareness about “good diet” is needed, but nutrition schemes like supplementary food programmes must also be urgently reassessed. Addressing the problem of nutrition must become a “top priority” for Centre and State, as “weak human capital” is bad for our future economy, TOI says.

Hindu: There is a “compelling case” for Justice Arun Mishra to recuse himself from a five-judge Supreme Court bench hearing a land acquisition case, writes Hindu. Recusal is normally a judge’s decision and Mishra claims demands for his withdrawal are efforts to “tame the judiciary”. But the case’s history indicates that he might have a “predisposition towards a particular view”.

Last year, a bench headed by Justice Mishra delivered an “unusual” verdict, which overruled a 2014 judgment by another three-judge bench on the land acquisition act. A bench is conventionally bound by the precedent set by another bench of the same size, and if there is a difference, the matter is referred to a larger bench. This “doctrine of precedence” ensures “judicial discipline”.

Justice Mishra’s “vehement refusal to withdraw” from the hearing is “disappointing”, writes Hindu. The CJI’s role as the “Master of the Roster” also comes up, as out of 34 judges in the court, Hindu asks if it might have been better if the case was given to a bench that Justice Mishra was not a member of.

Prime Time

News channels devoted prime time to the Ayodhya case — from Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi saying ‘enough is enough’ to senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan tearing up the Ayodhya map, viewers got to see plenty of drama on TV.

The News Broadcasters Association may have directed news channels to be careful on reporting the issue but TV news channels paid little heed.

In #RamMandir Rumble, ‘India’s Biggest Case Finally Rests’ said India Today, ‘Ram Mandir Countdown’, added Times Now, ‘Sunni Board ready to give up claim’, declared CNN-News 18, and Republic says, ‘It’s Locked’.

Zee News was more imaginative: it organised a poet’s gathering — the poets were seen singing ‘Ab Ayodhya ko mandir ki Avashyakta hai’ (Ayodhya needs the temple now).

News Nation went a step ahead and showed us what Ram Mandir looks like in a computer-generated imagery.

TV9 Bharatvarsh went all holy with what it called, ‘divya’ or ‘divine’ coverage and even showed 10 sets of proof that Ram Mandir existed in Ayodhya.

NDTV India: In a more sober debate, journalist Arti R Jerath felt that the SC had no “role’” in “a matter of faith’’. “No matter what, the government has the land and they will build the temple,” she argued.

Lt General (retired)  Zameeruddin Shah thought an out-of-court settlement would be “an important step for communal harmony and peace between the two communities”.

 India TV: At an election rally in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned Congress’s nationalism and condemned it for questioning the revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir — “doob maro’’, he said.

Anchor Saurav Sharma asked, “Is Article 370 Modi government’s ‘Rambaan’ (panacea) to win elections?”

Congress’ Charan Singh Sapra didn’t want any “certificate for nationalism’’ from BJP. He said, “…our leaders sacrificed their lives before as well as after Independence.”

Lok Janshakti Party’s Arvind Bajpayi praised PM Modi. “Why should BJP not list its achievements during the election campaign? Congress has objections to everything BJP does, whether it is Balakot or scrapping Article 370,” he said.

India Today: At 9 pm, anchor Rajdeep Sardesai asked if the SC verdict will end politics over Ayodhya.

Sharath Pradhan, senior journalist, contrasted the approach of the two communities to the case — “Hindu side’’ never said it would accept the judgment “even if it does not go in their favour’’. The Muslim side said “even if the judgment does not go in our favour, we will accept it”, he explained.

Vishnu Shankar Jain of Hindu Mahasabha delved into history. He spoke about ‘Babur’s’ ghastly act and cited the Ain-I-Akabri.

“A Hindu temple was destroyed and there was a mosque constructed after that. Today, the question before the Supreme Court is once a temple always a temple,” he said.

Republic TV: A somewhat subdued Arnab Goswami first led a conciliatory debate on #AcceptAyodhyaVerdict, but then sparked fireworks by attacking Rajeev Dhavan’s act of tearing up the Ayodhya map on ‘#ExposeDelayBrigade’.

In typical Goswami fashion, he shouted himself hoarse, telling his guests not to shout.

Amitabh Sinha, senior SC lawyer, said, “All these things are an old tactic of Rajeev Dhavan and most importantly, this shows the frustration of the Sunni Waqf Board side.”

Mohammed Touseef Rehman, political analyst and advocate, said, “It was just a map of Ayodhya, it wasn’t the book of the Constitution.”

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