Front Page
Photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi donning the Indian National Army cap were plastered on the front pages of most newspapers Monday, accompanied by veiled jibes at the Congress.
At an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Azad Hind army, led by Subhas Chandra Bose, Modi suggested that after Independence, India’s policies had been based on the British system, spearheaded by “one family”, reports The Indian Express.
“The PM also said leaders like Netaji, Sardar Patel and B R Ambedkar had not been given their due by the Nehru-Gandhi family,” said The Times of India, but “his government was correcting the situation and giving credit where it was due.”
In an article titled “Nehru door ast, Netaji nearest”, The Telegraph says, “The event is also being seen as an attempt by Modi to lay claim to Bose’s legacy after similar attempts to appropriate the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel.”
Seven civilians, 3 soldiers, and five militants were killed in an explosion in Jammu and Kashmir after an encounter took place in Kulgam’s Laroo village. “Malik boasts, Valley bleeds” reads The Telegraph’s headline. “Shortly before the killings, governor Satya Pal Malik had told reporters that there had been a ‘huge improvement’ in the situation,” the report adds.
“Mud flies in war within CBI” reads a headline by The Indian Express, which dedicates a substantial amount of space to the report on the battle within the investigative agency. The latest development is that “with the lodging of an FIR against Special Director Rakesh Asthana last week, the officer, it appears, has listed more than a dozen charges against Director Alok Verma and other top agency officials, double the number of complaints against him.”
Hindustan Times gives the story the space of a few inches on its front page, writing, “CBI chief Alok Verma is laying the ground for the removal of his deputy Rakesh Asthana,” who has been booked “for the first time in the history of the CBI.” Asthana is “an accused in a bribery case along with another agency official and two private persons,” writes The Hindu.
“Professional bouncers to keep ITO skywalk free of lovebirds” reads another Hindustan Times headline. “‘What they (couples) need to understand is that this place is built for pedestrians, and not for a date,”’ one of the six bouncers reportedly said. Couples can use the new skywalk in New Delhi as long as they are “not touchy feely” with one another.
Prime Time
What is more important — faith or law?
Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami debated the significance of faith over law vis-à-vis the Sabarimala case. Despite the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages the right to enter the temple, no woman below the age of 50 years has been able to enter the premises as of yet. During the show, lawyer Sujay Kantawala said constitution is above all holy books, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Shilpa Nair said faith is more important in the temple.
Kantawala said, “We owe our allegiance to the Constitution of India and no other book.”
Nair said, “Deity’s right is the most important in the temple. Deity decides who comes or doesn’t come to the temple.”
News it’s kinda cool to know
A new research published in the journal Current Biology said the earliest known flesh-eating fish was found in the sea about 150 million years ago, at the time of dinosaurs. The researchers suggest that the bony fish, with its piranha-like teeth, used to nibble out flesh from other fish in the vicinity, reports PTI.
I don’t know why such a fuss is being made about Indian National Army’s (INA) 75 years. This means INA was FOUNDED in 1943, barely 4 years before we won the Independence anyway. If INA had been in existence 15-20 years prior to that then one could have said that Neta ji did pool in his mite to make India free. And that too, he wanted to involve Hitler to fight against the British. That man was out to conquer the whole world; how easy would it have been to get rid of him and his “remote control” if he had entered here through Neta ji is anybody’s guess. it would have been like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. In my opinion, Neta ji was just another egoistic leader like Jinnah who trod the national scene in last days of the British Raj.