Prime Time
Aaj Tak: The Indian cricket team’s orange jerseys became a political debate with allegations that the BJP was trying to saffronise the game. People Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti had tweeted Monday that India lost to England because of orange jerseys.
Inam Un Nabi alleged the BJP had “forced the saffron colour which didn’t suit the team”.
“I am not saying it is Modi-Shah who is doing it but people running the party”, he added.
Former Indian cicketer Harbhajan Singh, who joined the debate from England, said that such discussions are petty and colour has no significance on victory or defeat.
“The jersey colour has been mandated by ICC so there is no political intervention, people must not make it a political issue,” he said.
Political analyst Shehzad Poonawala argued that teams wearing “green” are also losing — “a team only wins because of its performance”.
NDTV: On ‘Reality Check’, anchor Sreenivasan Jain discussed right-wing extremism. This follows the alleged confession by the accused in the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
Ajai Sahni, Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management & South Asia Terrorism Portal, questioned the basis of this assumption. “If the investigative agencies aren’t reliable, they aren’t reliable… regardless of the government in power,” he said.
Shiv Sundar, activist and journalist, however, felt there was something more sinister here: “(there is) a common ideological pattern”, he argued.
Desh Ratan Nigam, RSS, spoke about the case against BJP MP and terror accused Sadhvi Pragya. He cited a Supreme Court judgment, which he said found “the evidence against her fabricated and flimsy”.
Jain challenged this. “There is no such statement by the Supreme Court,” he said.
Times Now: Anchor Rahul Shivshankar brought up Zaira Wasim’s decision to quit acting as it was against her religion.
Political activist Inam Un Nabi said, “It was her personal decision to join Bollywood and now it’s her decision to quit.”
Activist Sushil Pandit suggested that Islamic radicals probably played a role in her decision. He said, “These radicals have been always hiding their heads like ostriches.”
Zafar Sareshwala, chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, used some strong language: “Now that it has come out in the open that Zaira was under the influence of bigots like the grand Mufti, we need to stand up against all forms of fundamentalism, be it on the right or left,” he said.
ABP News: The channel debated Rahul Gandhi’s resignation drama. Congress chief ministers met Gandhi, urging him to not resign, a proposal rejected by him.
Political commentator Ashutosh Mishra claimed that other parties can’t accept a clean and responsible leader like Rahul “who has taken the mantle of loss on himself”.
Anchor Romana Khan questioned the Congress’ motive. “Is this a process to make Rahul agree to stay or is it just to satisfy his ego?”
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia argued that Congress has been looking for reasons to explain its defeat: “Two words that have become synonymous to Congress are suspense and confusion; they could not cry foul over the EVMs because of the resounding mandate so they are now sticking to resignation drama,” he said.
Front Page
Newspapers with no full page advertisements are on the slimmer side since Monday. Today they range between 20-22 pages with the Times of India, unusually, the slimmest with 20 pages.
With no dominant news story for the day, the front pages of the mainstream press differ with each other in their choices.
For TOI, “5G panel head wants Chinese vendors excluded from trials” takes centre stage while The Indian Express chooses the monsoon deficit: “Late monsoon: 33% deficit in June, highest in five years”.
The Hindu goes with “SC slaps contempt notice on Bengal in Mamata meme case,” while Hindustan Times looks to Parliament: “Parliament nod for central rule in J&K, key reservation bill.”
TOI, in its lead news, reports, “A senior government functionary has opposed allowing Huawei to participate in the ongoing 5G trials in the country, citing security concerns….”
TOI writes that the panel’s decision will lead to “a delicate diplomatic situation” with China.
Hindu writes on SC issuing the West Bengal government a contempt notice “for keeping BJP youth wing leader Priyanka Sharma behind bars overnight despite its order on May 14 to release her immediately on bail”.
Meanwhile, Express’s second lead focuses on the foot-soldiers of the Trinamool Congress: “Grassroot TMC leaders face cut-money blowback in Bengal: ‘Can’t go home’”. It’s the first of an Express series called the “Unkind Cut.”
It finds that “scores of Trinamool Congress leaders at the grassroots” are “on the run”. They’re being “hounded by residents in their villages to return the “cut money” or illegal commission they had allegedly taken to “facilitate” the grant of central and state government schemes.
HT’s lead says the government’s approach to “managing strife” in J&K “will be guided” by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s idea of “Jamhooriyat (democracy), Insaniyat (humanity), and Kashmiriyat (the spirit of Kashmir).”
“But the velvet glove of Vajpayee’s approach would also include an iron hand” it writes, referring to Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment saying anyone who tries to disturb the peace will “be given a response in their language.”
Water crisis
HT and Express find common ground on the issue of water — the Modi government’s new “buzzword”. The Hindu and TOI, ignore it.
HT makes “Govt plans to set aside 75% work under NREGS to conserve water” its second lead and says the government plans on “reorienting its flagship rural employment scheme”.
Citing the rural ministry, it writes that the government aims to do this “by reserving at least 75% of the 2.58 billion person days expected to be generated during 2019-20 to boost water storage and agricultural activities in the country,” and leaves it on the reader to decipher what this means.
Express’s report quotes the Jal Shakti minister, who said water conservation will rely on a “mass movement.”
Bus accident in Kishtwar
The Kishtwar bus tragedy in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw an overcrowded bus fall into a gorge, killing over 30 people, finds prominence in Hindu and HT with both carrying photographs of the tragedy.
Express used a big photo to remind us that the Amarnath yatra is about to begin.
“Rahul firm on quitting” also graces front pages, but doesn’t take up much space.
Opinion
TOI: In ‘Them and Us’, TOI highlights the emergence of a “new apartheid” wherein politicians consider themselves “as a class apart from the rest of society.” The recent assault cases on public servants by BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya and the brother of a ruling Telangana legislator Koneru Krishna Rao “have a demoralising effect on officers” and can even paralyse the government.
TOI argues such politicians “with their violent actions and sense of entitlement, are a poor advertisement for democracy.”
Express: In ‘Deepening the Unease’, Express states that the Jammu &Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill passed in the Lok Sabha and introduced in Rajya Sabha Monday was “an ill-advised stirring of the pot on Article 370.” The bill brings major amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, and also replaces the 1 March 2019 ordinance, which provides “reservation in appointment and promotions in state government posts”.
Express argues while Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP have always considered Article 370 as a “temporary provision,” but doing away with it is not the quick fix for the problems in the Valley. Article 370 is the provision that guaranteed the accession of the state to the Indian Union, and removing it “would be akin to breaking a bridge between Kashmir and the rest of India.”
With inputs from Rachel John, Kairvy Grewal, and Taran Deol.