HINDI
9 September, 2019: Dainaik Jagran writes on the first 100 days of Modi 2.0. It lists big decisions like the abolition of triple talaq, Article 370 and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as successes.
It claims that the government has been successful in handling the post-370 scenario in J&K and in convincing the international community that Kashmir is a bilateral issue.
However, bank mergers can’t be taken as an achievement because the day it was announced, the GDP fell and that has led to fears of recession. It reminds the readers that the government didn’t take enough measures to boost the economy and that’s why it had to reverse some steps taken in the budget.
Amar Ujala writes on lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who died last weekend and calls him different. It enumerates high points in his seven-decade career — how he had the courage to represent those accused of assassinating former PMs Indira Gandhi and his son Rajiv Gandhi, and the cases of Afzal Guru, Parliament attack convict, and self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, which other lawyers were unwilling to fight.
When he represented Jessica Lal’s killer, he was criticised by his own daughter. He was a man full of contradictions — saving his clients form hanging and supporting capital punishment too. But he backed his contradiction by saying he takes money from his rich clients and fights the cases of the poor for free.
10 September: Dainik Bhaskar makes the point that in 100 days, what the government showcased was emotion and not hard numbers. The falling GDP rate is a cause of concern and the government has to show how it will deal with it. The government should look at long-term solutions and not resort to crowd-pleasing pronouncements, it writes.
Jagran focuses on the debate around reservation. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has said that the reservations should continue in the country until there is social inequality. This statement followed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks a few days earlier about the need to review reservation. There is a need, Jagran says, to ensure that those who get reservation also receive due benefits and if those who get the benefits actually deserve them.
11 September: Amar Ujala examines the failure of the Taliban peace talks after US President Donald Trump called off the negotiations. The American talks were being viewed as its desperate attempt to get out of Afghanistan. It was also being said that the Taliban had agreed to not let al-Qaeda or IS to use its territory for any acts against the US. However, the reality is that the biggest backer of Taliban is Pakistan and until it is contained, nothing can be expected of Taliban.
Dainik Jagran talks of the ridiculous attempts by Pakistan to rake up the Kashmir issue in the UN Human Rights Council when its record in Balochistan and Sindh are under suspect. As the world views Pakistan as a hub of terror, it was bound not to get the support of the international community.
India, though, still needs to be wary of Britain after its stand in the UN Security Council and also the US, which has been harping on mediation. India needs to remain firm on its independent foreign policy and improve its economy — the world will take it seriously once its economy is strong.
12 September: Dainik Bhaskar says the decision by the Gujarat government to reduce traffic fines has shown the way to other state governments to dilute the new Motor Vehicles Act passed by the government. The Gujarat government feels the Act is irresponsible, un-implementable and insensitive. Bhaskar says it is important that traffic rules be tightened as fear and morality have disappeared from a large part of the society.
However, some of the fines in this Act are leading to fear among people. Some dilution in the rates of the fines by the states is a welcome step, Bhaskar says.
13 September: Dainik Bhaskar applauds Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to do away with plastic — but the bigger question is what the alternative will be.
At the moment, there is no clear picture of how plastic milk pouches will be replaced — do state cooperatives have any alternate packaging ideas? The plastic industry in worth 7 lakh crores and crores of people depend on it for their livelihood directly or indirectly.
Amar Ujala is positive about the PM’s latest scheme, Kisan Mandhan Yojana — a pension scheme for farmers which, Ujala says, will definitely help increase confidence in the farming sector. The roadblock to such schemes lies in identifying the correct beneficiaries at the lowest level. There are far too many problems with land records and those who really need these benefits will be left out, it says.
Also read: Modi govt withdraws 10,000 paramilitary personnel from Assam
TAMIL
9 September: Dinamani writes on the unexpected communication failure with Chandrayaan-2. It says, “Is there an end to the space research? India has a history and tradition of accurately knowing the planets and their colours centuries before the telescope was invented. Hence, Chandrayaan-2 should be considered as ISRO’s next leap.”
10 September: Dinamani assesses PM Modi’s 100 days in his second term. On the slowdown in the economy, it says, “Reducing expenses and increasing savings is the method that the Modi government should follow now. In a similar situation, Indira Gandhi formed the government with a thumping majority in 1971. She could not properly handle the country’s economy and she lost her reputation. How Modi will handle the economy will determine his victory or failure.”
11 September: Dinamani says UNHRC’s Michelle Bachelet’s comment on Kashmir is biased. “While she has all the liberty to come up with a comment that human rights violations have taken place, just targeting India alone exposes that she is uninformed about Kashmir issue,” it says.
Dinamani adds, “Only by ensuring that normalcy is back in J&K, can India dismiss such critiques. We cannot stop Pakistan from propagating their agenda. But we can expose the reality of Pakistan to the world. Why are we still holding back?”
12 September: Dinamani welcomes the foreign trip of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to attract investment to the state and to engage the diaspora. It says, “Now he should also visit East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and our Tamils living in Sri Lanka. Facilitating (them) to invest and start a business in their home state, to utilise them in mentoring alone will take Tamil Nadu to greater heights.”