Front Page
The tragic death of over 100 children in Bihar due to encephalitis doesn’t get front page top billing in newspapers, today. Only Hindustan Times reports it in “Encephalitis toll hits 113, Nitish faces wrath of kin.”
“He was accosted by irate families who fumed that the chief minister allegedly found time to visit the hospital only after the toll crossed 100,” HT writes.
The Times of India gives the news a small box on its first flap, with different death toll figure: “Nitish heckled at hospital; AES toll at 107.”
The Hindu and The Indian Express leave the news for their inside pages.
Page 1 lead across newspapers is reserved for the big news break of Tuesday: “Jaish militant whose van was used in Pulwama CRPF attack killed in Valley gun battle” (Express). HT makes it the lead, too.
Express says in killing the militant, security forces “notched a big success”, while HT calls it “a crucial breakthrough”, adding that the Army still has to face “the prospect of new challenges after a spurt in militant attacks led to the deaths of at least nine soldiers in less than a week.”
TOI gives the news a different angle, saying another “terrorist” was killed in the attack.
The Hindu is straightforward in its report and writes, “A soldier also died in the gunfight.”
Om Birla, the new Lok Sabha Speaker: The Hindu makes “Kota MP Om Birla named as NDA’s choice for Speaker’s post” its lead, writing that apart from the Prime Minister, “Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari were the proposers of Mr. Birla.”
TOI gives Birla’s nomination single column space and says he is “a well-known figure in saffron circles following his rise from the BJP youth wing”, and that even though he lacks seniority, “his deep roots in the organisation” appear to have “worked to (his) advantage.” HT says he is a “surprise pick.”
Express has Birla’s rise prominently displayed as the second lead. It writes clinching this position has been “a long wait” for Birla, who “cut his teeth” as a member of BJP’s youth wing and then later as a young politician in the party.
UP Ordinance: An ordinance in Uttar Pradesh that bars universities in the state from being “involved in any anti-national activity, or allow such activity on its premises or let its name be used for any such activity” also makes page 1 in TOI and Express. HT and Hindu don’t carry it on page 1.
“Any such act would be construed as a violation of the rules of the establishment, and the government can take action,” says the ordinance. New and existing universities have been given a year “to adopt all provisions of the proposed law” (Express).
Other news: TOI and Express carry the CBI case against advocate Anand Grover and his NGO Lawyers Collective on their front pages. TOI writes they have been accused “of violating rules in receiving and spending foreign funds.”
Express’s report draws a detailed timeline of the case from the time the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled the NGO’s FCRA licence over “fraud”, but it fails to mention a crucial fact that TOI points out: “Lawyers Collective had recently taken up cudgels for the sacked employee of the SC who leveled charges of sexual harassment against CJI Ranjan Gogoi.”
Gogoi is actually in the lead report for TOI in, “Rise of populist forces poses a challenge to judiciary: CJI”. Chief Justice of India Gogoi made the remarks while “addressing chief justices and judges of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries”. TOI writes “the CJI also seemed to take issue with the NDA government’s assertion that the executive must have a role in appointment of judges of constitutional courts.”
Also making headlines is “Govt rethink: Visas for sportspersons from all countries (also Pakistan)” (The Express). TOI sees this as “Govt clears way for Pak athletes to come to India”
The Hindu is the only paper to report on its page 1 “Uptick for India on sanitation in UN report”.
Opinion
TOI: In ‘Tap water for all’, the paper welcomes PM Modi’s aim to provide piped water to every rural home by 2024 and the creation of a new ministry — Jal Shakti Mantralaya — for an integrated water management policy.
“The scale of the challenge…is even more complex than Swach Bharat,” says TOI, and linking every household through taps to a collective source of water requires state involvement at every step. So, centre and state have to work in tandem. Also, urban slums must be part of a “comprehensive coverage” plan.
With per capital water availability declining, India could follow the Israel model of recycling water — this would ease the water crisis and increase water availability in rain-deficient times, argues TOI.
Express: In ‘Not just numbers’, it compliments the PM for reassuring a depleted Opposition in the Lok Sabha that its every word is “valuable” and will be heard by the government. However, the PM and his party will be held “to his assurance of accommodation”.
For while the Opposition must make its voice heard, “the larger responsibility for the conduct of debate…lies with the government”, especially with controversial issues or Bills on the table.
Express reminds the readers that the NDA’s first term saw “the government take the ordinance route”, bypass questions and debate, and avoid necessary legislative scrutiny through parliamentary committees. The government must ensure “the norms of constitutional democracy” prevail, it says.
Prime Time
The encephalitis outbreak in Bihar and alleged negligence of the ruling party, JD(U), continued to grab attention of TV channels as it was broadcast throughout the day. The focus later shifted from the deaths of the children to the failing health infrastructure under the Nitish government.
Times Now: Anchor Navika Kumar blamed the cleanliness and hygiene of the main government hospital, Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur for the deaths.
“The hospitals are not equipped, there is dirt and filth all around the hospital and this has only led to the number of deaths going up,” she said.
Senior consultant Dr. Naveen Talwar pointed out that “any primary health centre equipped with a glyco-meter and 10 bed arrangements could have stopped such a tragedy by infusing glucose and IV-Fluids.”
JD(U)’s Syed Afzal Abbas evaded all the questions and instead hoped that the Centre and state government would “work together”.
Sanjay Mayukh, spokesperson of JD(U) ally BJP, agreed to this. “We are not running away from this grave situation”, he said rather lamely.
India Today had doctors discuss the situation in Bihar.
Public Health Foundation of India Director Dr. K.S. Reddy revealed that primary health centres are still not equipped to handle outbreaks like this despite government’s major schemes in the health sector. “The lack of health staff in primary centres is a major problem,” he added.
Neurologist Dr. Anshu Rohtagi couldn’t find reasons for the recurrent outbreak of encephalitis in Bihar: “We still do not know why it has come back.”
News 24: In ‘Rashtra Ki Baat’, anchor Sakshi Joshi questioned the “sushashan” of Nitish Kumar with the death toll rising every day.
“Why are children in Bihar in a bad state despite 14 years of good rule?” she asked.
Shweta Vishwaas of JD(U) repeated the standard party line: “It is a challenge for us, but both central and state governments are capable enough to tackle this problem.”
“We are fighting to get rid of this problem,” said BJP’s Sanjay Mayukh, adding, “we don’t want to get into “bayan bazi (making statements).”
CNN-News 18 also discussed ‘suhashan babu’ Nitish Kumar.
Political analyst Manisha Priyam said Kumar got the name for the steps he took to improve facilities such as education for children. “Why is the same person now failing the system?” she asked.
BJP’s Narendra Taneja also toed the party line: “The Centre has promised maximum support to the government of Bihar.”
Nihora Yadav, former JD(U) MLA, struggled to come up with a defence and said “the administration is looking into it seriously”.
NDTV 24×7 turned its attention to another news: the PM’s scheduled all-party meeting Wednesday on ‘One Nation, One Poll’.
Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India said, “We discuss ‘one nation one poll’ as if it is a minor administrative change. This requires a fundamental constitutional change in our government all-together. It means abandoning our parliamentary system of government.”
Pinaki Misra of JD(U) found benefits in the idea: “…in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019…there has been massive cost savings.”
Tweet of the day:
Virtually all newspapers in #Egypt ran the same 42-word story on the death of #MohammedMorsi. It was WhatsApped to news editors by a govt official.
This TV anchor – reading from a teleprompter – even ended her #Morsi report: "Sent from a Samsung device." pic.twitter.com/gJp2ozzLku
— Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) June 18, 2019
(With inputs from Shailaja Bajpai, Harshit Mansukhani, Triya Gulati and Taran Deol)