There can be only one issue on everyone’s minds — coronavirus. The morning papers attack it with gusto and from many angles but the lead story is the ban on all passengers, including Indians, travelling from EU, Turkey and UK.
The coronavirus also plays its part in the ‘reprieve’ (as The Tribune calls it) for the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.
The financial dailies focus on the slew of measures announced by the RBI in the wake of the pandemic.
The main story on travel displays a deft, light touch in the headline: “Corantine: Even Indians from EU, Turkey, UK barred entry” as of 18 March — that’s tomorrow. The report adds that there would also be a 14-day isolation period for people coming from UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait.
An important development in the coronavirus story is ‘Accredited private labs to be allowed to test for Covid-19’. These would mean an additional 50-60 private labs will help with testing facilities so far restricted to government labs.
A small but revealing item on former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi being nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Kovind — ‘Ex-CJI Gogoi nominated as RS member’ notes that this comes just four months after his retirement and raises questions about independence of the judiciary.
What Express thinks of the Gogoi episode is given away in its headline: ‘Ex-CJI Gogoi’s post-retirement benefit…’ former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was nominated to Rajya Sabha by the government. The report notes that “he headed benches that heard “important and sensitive cases” such as Ayodhya, Assam NRC and Sabarimala.
To hammer home the point, another report, `Has last bastion fallen, asks Justice Lokur’ quotes Gogoi’s former colleague Justice (retired) Madan B. Lokur, who said that the move “redefines the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary” and questioned if the “last bastion” had fallen.
Kamal Nath’s government got a little bit of breather as the Assembly Speaker defied Governor Lalji Tandon’s directive and did not hold a floor test “citing the coronavirus scare”. The report, a straightforward one, elucidates that this prompted BJP to “turn to the Supreme Court” and “parade 106 of its MLAs before Tandon”.
The coronavirus story to read here is `Fears high, but testing low’. With a dramatic flourish it says medical experts believe, `India needs to urgently and dramatically widen the pool of patients getting tested… allow voluntary testing and rope in the private sector..’’
The Hindu is ahead of the other newspapers with the very latest on the Madhya Pradesh government’s crisis in, ‘Nath rules out floor test after meeting Governor’. It reports that the chief minister met Governor Lalji Tandon late Monday night and ruled out a floor test, “claiming that his government enjoyed a majority”.
And Tamil Nadu is the latest state to be in “a state of complete lockdown with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami ordering the closure of major places of public gatherings”. The report notes below that “the lone patient who tested positive for the virus in the state was expected to be discharged from Rajiv Gandhi Government GH”.
What also made news was that a 3 year-old girl and her mother were among the new cases at Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai.
The anchor piece is a shocking report of how a Class 10 student was “allegedly abducted and gangraped by five at a village in Mewat while she was on her way home after appearing in an exam”. “She was lured to a secluded place by two of the accused, who sought her help, claiming that their minor sister was in pain due to menstrual cramps,” the report notes.
The Reserve Bank of India “unveiled more liquidity measures to ensure smooth functioning of the financial markets that have been roiled by the Covid-19 outbreak”, according to another report. “The MPC (monetary policy committee) is to announce the results of its next review on April 3, but it can meet ahead of schedule too. A rate cut is widely expected on or before then,” the report notes.
In more positive news, there might finally be a “flicker of hope” for the struggling telecom companies as the “government on Monday sought the Supreme Court’s permission to allow telecom operators to pay their licence and spectrum usage fee dues over an extended 20-year period“.
Read the interesting anchor story about the “probe report on the suicide of Café Coffee Day (CCD) founder V.G. Siddhartha” which is likely to reveal a “missing trail of at least $350 million (₹2,593 crore)”.
There’s also a report about the government’s making norms for corporate social responsibility “more stringent”. “In new draft rules, greater onus has been put on companies reporting details of their CSR activities and how much funds are used,” the report highlights.