Front Page
The Indian Express front page today is awash with reports of sexual assault and harassment from all over the country. Harrowing accounts of harassment by union minister M.J. Akbar continue to mount, with a seventh journalist recounting her trauma in The Wire, reports The Express.
“Dam breaks on Akbar” is how The Telegraph terms the allegations, making it the only English daily apart from The Indian Express to consistently put stories emerging from #MeToo on its front page.
Other newspapers bury reports about the allegations against Akbar deep within the edition, couching survivor experiences in articles on Congress’ “demands” for the former journalist’s resignation from the government.
“The Congress also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for maintaining silence on the issue,” Hindustan Times reports.
The political back-and-forth aside, The Express is clear about its stance, titling its editorial “Mr Akbar must go”. “It should be intolerable that a man should be minister who stands accused of preying upon the women whom he was in a position to enable and mentor,” it writes.
Another name to emerge amid this pushback against sexual harassment is marketing consultant Suhel Seth’s. At least two victims have claimed he forcefully kissed them, with a third accusing of sending her lewd messages when she was still a minor.
Another big issue in today’s newspapers is the Supreme Court’s hearings on pleas seeking an investigation into the purchase of Rafale fighter jets from France. “How was decision on Rafale made, asks SC”, reads The Hindu’s headline.
However, even as it sought details of the decision-making process from the Centre, the court made it clear that it was not interested in the cost of the fighter jets. But according to The Times of India, “if the court finds flaws in the decision-making process, it will give Congress fresh ammunition ahead of the assembly elections in five states, including three where BJP is in office”.
The details are expected to be submitted by 29 October “in a sealed envelope”, reports Hindustan Times.
Prime Time
Pollution level in Delhi-NCR deteriorates again
CNN News 18 asked its panelists to discuss why farmers continued to burn crop stubble despite the warnings about its impact on air quality. With farmers in Haryana and Punjab beginning to burn crop stubble, air quality across Delhi-NCR deteriorated to ‘poor’ on 10 October.
Farmer leader Pushpendra Singh said, “Approximately 2 crore tonnes of paddy is grown in India, approximately the same amount of crop stubble is produced. The government cannot do much about it.”
Writer Jyoti Pande Lavakare added, “Stubble-burning continues as a result of the failure of the government as well as the opposition. This is an issue that should be urgently dealt with.”
Violence in Gujarat
Aaj Tak asked whether the violence against migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in Gujarat will have an impact on the 2019 general elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the MP for Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, with the state – boasting of 80 Lok Sabha seats – considered an important target area for poll strategists. Together, the two states account for 120, or 22 per cent, of India’s 543 elected Lok Sabha members.
The violence was reportedly triggered by a child’s rape, allegedly by a migrant worker.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, “The BJP does not support any kind of violence, strict action will be taken against those proved guilty of spreading hatred in Gujarat.”
Congress leader Pawan Khera replied, “What is the Gujarat model? The BJP is not able to stop rape incidents taking place in the state nor are they able to run the state in a peaceful manner.”
News it’s just kinda cool to know
A huge reduction in meat consumption can have a positive impact on climate change, according to a study published in Nature. In the West, beef consumption needs to be reduced by 90 per cent and the diet supplemented with five times more beans and pulses, reports The Guardian.
MJ Akbar must resign himself or he should be removed from his post as a minister. His fall from grace is comparable to Chanda Kochchar of ICICI. The lust of one and the greed of another is out. They must leave the public stage and persue their personal fixations at their own risk.
Come up with proof or shut up.
The front page of a major newspaper is no longer the force it used to be. Of course, no one punches with headlines the way The Telegraph does. Social media is filling gaps that are emerging in mainstream media. To that extent, no longer possible to manage the news, keep stuff hidden from the public.