Monday: Amar Ujala says the resignations of 14 Congress MLAs in Karnataka have put the party’s government in a situation that it had faced right after forming it. The newspaper tell readers that the situation looks bleak for the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.
It identifies the rift between H.D. Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah as a reason behind this current situation and says that the MLAs who want to join the BJP are doing so with the latter’s help.
Dainik Jagran discusses a “directionless” Congress and the resignations of senior leaders from party posts. It wonders if Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too will resign the way Madhavrao Scindia did? It terms these resignations as a directionless exercise. Congress is not ready to analyse the reasons of its defeat. Resignations are not the answer: the party must accept the ground realities and find a new way forward.
Tuesday: Dainik Bhaskar talks about how PM Modi has repeated his commitment of making India a $5 trillion economy but it won’t make sense unless the government delivers the benefits of this growing economy to its citizens. About 29 years ago India was at the 35th position of the Global GDP and now it’s in the 6th position.
It lauds the government for various schemes but also talks about corruption and lack of implementation.
Wednesday: Dainik Jagran discusses J&K MoS for Home Nityanand Rai’s statement in the Parliament that infiltration through Pakistan has reduced. Jagran credits the Balakot strike for this.
It lauds India’s recent statement that action taken against Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Hafiz Saeed by Pakistan is inadequate. It asks India to keep an eye on the US-Afghan dialogue as any deal between the two countries could also see Pakistani intervention.
Thursday: Amar Ujala talks about power and money. It cites how the latest ADR report reaffirms corporate monopoly in political donations. Between 2016 and 2018, BJP had received 16 times more donations than Congress. It says that over time the nature of corporate donations has changed. It argues that the 2013 amendment in the Companies Act by the UPA government which raised corporate funding to 7.5 per cent, the 2017 amendment to the same by the NDA, the amendment in FCRA rules which allowed foreign companies registered in India to donate funds to parties and electoral bonds are the reasons for the jump in funding of the political parties – of the total funding received by parties, 93 per cent is from corporates. It concludes by saying that these funds have the power to influence decision-making of voters and asks political parties to be transparent about electoral bonds.
Friday: In ‘Now its Goa’, Amar Ujala speculates that the Congress had no clue about the resignations in Goa and tried saving the remaining 5 MLAs at the last moment. It goes back to the 2017 state assembly elections and how Congress had emerged as the single largest party but the BJP was still able to form the government.
Problems in the party started emerging after Rahul Gandhi’s resignation. Apart from Karnataka and Goa, the party lost 12 out its 18 MLAs in Telangana joined the TRS. In most of these cases, more than two thirds of the MLAs have switched sides and that is why the anti-defection law doesn’t apply to them.
It concludes that the Congress is solely to be blamed as it could not get over the desperation of its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Tamil
Monday: Dinamani’s editorial is on vacant posts in the police departments. Giving the statistics of vacancies state-wise, it says: “however technically advanced and modernised…without enough manpower, departments cannot be developed…administrators have been using personnel for their personal safety and security purposes”. It also says that by “not letting personnel have enough training and rest, it is meaningless of the government to expect them to work properly”.
Tuesday: Dinamani comments on political crisis in Karnataka. It says: “The legislature should be dissolved and President’s Rule should be implemented. The only solution to this crisis is announcing fresh elections along with other states such as Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
Wednesday: Dinamani points out that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has not uttered a single word on health during her budget speech. It says: “When one-third of the total population is under BPL, not providing quality healthcare facilities to them will lead to more deaths and diseases”.
Thursday: Dinamani writes about the Economic Survey’s warning about India’s ageing population. It says: “…the population of old people has increased….and the Centre and state governments must now think about establishing a department for the welfare of ageing/old people. Old age homes are not the solution….”
Friday: Dinamani’s editorial is on Dutee Chand’s record win at the recent Summer University Games in Naples. It talks about her journey onward from the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she wasn’t qualified due to ‘inappropriate testosterone levels’. It also goes on to explain the backlashes she had faced for coming out as a gay person. It says: “while disowned by her family, her sporting journey continues. That is why her Naples Gold Medal is a victory of her outstanding self-confidence. Every time she fell, Dutee Chand returned with strength”.