The P word is here and it’s for pandemic, relegating politics to second and third spot on the morning newspapers. The coronavirus is a pandemic now, according to WHO, and the scare reaches an all-time high as front pages report on India quarantining itself from the world.
Jyotiraditya Scindia’s joining the BJP yesterday and the Lok Sabha discussion on the Delhi riots also hit the headlines…
The Times of India leads with news on how India is tackling the pandemic (‘In war against corona, India quarantines itself from world’). Calling it an “unprecedented response”, the report details that the government has suspended “all visas, except those issued for diplomatic, official, UN-international organisations, employment and projects till April 15.”
The second lead in the paper (‘Scindia joins BJP, slams Cong, says nation safe in PM’s hands’), calls Scindia the “estranged Congress functionary” who said, “There is denial of reality in Congress, it has changed from what the party used to be.”
The report on the discussion on Delhi riots in the Lok Sabha makes it to the top half of the page and dwells on the Home Minister’s speech, without mentioning any of the Opposition leaders’ comments — ‘Shah: Action against Delhi riots accused will serve as example’. It quotes Shah saying, “I convey my condolences to all those who have lost their family members. Delhi Police will act with such firmness that these riots will become a case study of the consequences that should visit those who engage in riots.”
If you’re interested in the impact of the coronavirus, read the collateral damage such a ban would have in ‘Collateral: Almost 1 mn tourist a month; aviation, hotel slowdown’. The report states that apart from the hospitality industry “…in addition to airlines, a cascading impact is expected to be seen on allied sectors such as airports and hospitals.”Express’ page 1 report on Scindia’s defection to the BJP — ‘Day after, Scinida joins BJP and gets a Rajya Sabha ticket’ —terms this as a “reward’’ for leaving the Congress and reportedly taking 22 MLAs from Madhya Pradesh with him.
Unlike TOI, there are as many as three reports about the crucial Delhi riots debate in the Lok Sabha — and a focus on what the Opposition said (‘Where were you when Delhi burning…’) . It quotes Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury likening Amit Shah to Nero who was “playing the flute with President Donald Trump” when “Delhi was burning”.
The other report is the most important: ‘In riot debate, BJP MPs take a swipe at judges too’ details how “Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi questioned the wisdom of allowing non-violent protests”.
And continuing its investigation into the ‘killer cough syrup‘, which killed 17 children in Jammu and Kashmir, Express’ anchor story says there are “Glaring gaps in the regulatory process together with several failures in the manufacturing chain in the company itself could be behind the toxic batch entering the market,” the report highlights.
Unlike TOI and Express, which underplayed Amit Shah’s speech on the Delhi riots, Hindustan Times gives it a full flap (‘Shah in LS: Conspiracy behind violence in Delhi’). The report notes how Shah declared the riots to be a “pre-planned conspiracy and those guilty, regardless of their religious faith, caste or party affiliation, would not be spared.”
The lead story (‘India suspends visas for one month as virus count hits 60’) notes the advisory issued by the government “for anyone planning to enter the country – even Indian citizens abroad — to defer travel unless necessary and warned that they may be subjected to mandatory quarantines.”
On Scindia joining the BJP (‘Cong is not what it used to be’), the paper describes him in more glowing terms than TOI and Express did: he was “Former Union minister, four time parliamentarian, a pillar of the Congress’s younger generation of leaders…” it says before quoting his comments against the Congress as “he lashed out at the grand old party for being in denial..”
A crucial item on the plummeting oil prices (‘Retail oil prices could be down by ₹5-8 after crude slide’) notes “retail prices of petrol and diesel should be ideally cheaper by ₹5 per litre and ₹8 per litre respectively.” The paper doesn’t reveal why they aren’t so.
Expectedly, coronavirus is the lead in The Hindu (“COVID-19 now a pandemic, says WHO; India confirms 60 cases”) and the lead highlights a lesser known fact: “According to the WHO, a pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations.”
While the report on Scindia (“Jyotiraditya Scindia joins BJP, says Congress is in denial”) is a straightforward recitation of developments, it does have a neat bit on his friendship with BJP’s Zafar Islam who accompanied Scindia from his home to the BJP office Wednesday for his induction into the party: “Mr. Islam, a friend of Mr. Scindia from the latter’s days as an investment banker, was involved in him crossing over to the BJP.”
“Suspension of seven Cong. MPs revoked” gets prominent display in the paper which says the 7 “who were suspended on March 5 … returned to the House’’ after the Lok Sabha passed a resolution.
Interestingly, the Delhi riots’ debate in the lower house gets little attention (‘Amit Shah lauds police for controlling Delhi riots’) but it does note that, “Amidst a walkout by Congress members, the Home Minister targeted the party, pointing out that anti-CAA protests started in Shaheen Bagh’’, a day after Sonia Gandhi spoke at Ramlila Maidan.
The anchor story brings to readers the grave ground reality in Chand Bagh (“Detentions spark fear among Chand Bagh residents”) where “At least nine persons have been picked up by Crime Branch officers since Monday from different streets.”
Just when everyone wondered how the financial capital had escaped the coronavirus, Mumbai Mirror announces its arrival in the city as “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed two positive cases of COVID-19 in the city – a couple from Andheri (West), aged 69 and 70, who travelled to Dubai this month.”
Oddly, The Tribune, demotes COVID-19 and 
leads with Scindia’s “switch” and “nomination for RS”. Another report notes how the Madhya Pradesh Assembly stands with the resignations of 22 MLAs — “The Cong will be left with 92 seats while the BJP has 107; the magic number is 104”.
There’s an accompanying photograph of MLAs being taken on a “special flight to Jaipur”.
But all is not well in the BJP camp either as another report (Not everyone in BJP is ecstatic) explains — “While fears of those who may be expected to ‘sacrifice’ ambitions to accommodate Scindia’s men cannot be discounted, senior leaders of the Guna-Gwalior-Chambal region too are concerned over their political future,” the report notes.
There’s a shocking report that highlights that as many as 241 lives have been lost due to attacks by stray cattle in Haryana in the past two years. According to the report, “The maximum number of deaths (40) occurred in Fatehabad district of Jaruana, followed by Ambala where 38 lives were lost.”
The Economic Times leads with the State Bank of India’s attempts to rope in local investors for the “Yes Bank Revival Plan”. The list of potential investors include “ICICI, HDFC, Kotak and Axis along with a few private investors”. ” SBI is simultaneously examining a deal with bondholders for conversion of Yes Bank’s additional Tier 1 (AT 1) securities into shares of the private bank,” the report says.
Also, Larsen & Toubro is moving the Bombay High Court today “against the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposal to write their value down to zero as part of a rescue plan for the lender”.
Mint raises the alarm over the WHO’s declaration of the coronavirus pandemic and highlights that the virus “was suspected to have claimed its first life in India—that of a 76-year-old man in Kalaburagi, Karnataka”.
“At the Kerala government’s request, the Centre plans to fly out doctors to Italy to bring back stranded Indians,” the paper said quoting external affairs V. Muraleedharan.
The anchor story is about the government’s relief package for embattled telecom companies, which is in the works. “The package is expected to be announced in April and will contain measures such as the extension of the deadline for paying adjusted gross revenues (AGR) dues as well as a reduction in base prices for 5G spectrum auction,” the report notes.
On the Yes Bank crisis, Business Standard reports that the Reserve Bank of India is “considering clawing back the employee stock options and bonuses issues to the entire top management” of the private lender. “The first-of-its-kind move will mark the activation of the banking regulator’s ironclad November 4, 2019 guidelines on the compensation of whole-time directors, chief executive officers, material risk takers, and control function staff in banks,” the report notes.
In some grim news, the “goods and services tax rates on mobile phones, footwear, textiles and fertiliser are likely to be raised on Saturday, when the GST Council meets as part of an exercise to correct an inverted duty structure and to boost revenue collection.”