Front page
Front pages throw up a mixed bag of news this morning. The Indian Express leads with a story on quotas and reservations. “Jobs, admissions: 97% of central OBC quota benefits go to just under 25% of its castes” reads the headline. “As many as 983 OBC communities — 37 per cent of the total — have zero representation which means not a single job, not a single seat. And just 10 communities of OBCs have availed of as much as 24.95 per cent of jobs and admissions,” says the report.
Hindustan Times leads with Christian Michel, saying “Britain to get consular access to Michel soon”.
“According to experts, the consular access and the treatment provided to Michel are likely to have a bearing on India’s pending requests to the UK for extradition of fugitives like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi”, says the report. Express says the request by the British consulate is being “legally vetted” and “examined” to see if court permission is required before consular access is granted.
The Times of India doesn’t put the news on its front page, but makes it the lead on page 11, the ‘Nation’ section, adding that “BJP accused Congress Thursday of providing “three Congress lawyers” to AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel in its bid to protect “the family from the fallout of the investigation”. Joseph, Vishnu Shankar, the son of a Kerala Congress leader, and Sriram Parakkat, who was an NSUI member, were part of Michel’s legal team.
TOI’s biggest front-page news story reports “17 of 20 fastest-growing cities in the world will be from India”. The findings, which were published by Oxford Economics, say several Indian cities including Agra, Bengaluru, and Surat make the cut because they are “expected to grow the fastest in terms of GDP”.
Bulandshahr features on front pages still, but is pushed further down. The Asian Age reports Yogi Adityanath, who was away campaigning for the BJP in Telangana and Rajasthan when the Bulandshahr violence broke out, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi after meeting the slain cop’s family. The report states that apparently “Mr Adityanath consoled the slain inspector’s death and assured his family members that the accused would not be spared.”
But other front page reports suggest Adityanath’s priorities lie elsewhere: “Will first probe carcass, then killing of Inspector” says an Express headline. “At this point of time, the cow carcasses are the main issue,” the report quotes an additional superintendent saying.
TOI meanwhile finds that “Local BJP netas had sought transfer of cop killed by mob”. BJP functionaries had “accused the officer of putting obstacles in the way of Hindus’ religious functions.”
Prime Time
The issue of Bulandshahr violence remained a raging issue for media channels Thursday.
CNN News 18 yet again had a discussion over the murder of police officer Subodh Kumar Singh. On The Right Stand, anchor Anand Narasimhan held a discussion on the probe into the Bulandshahr violence.
Vocal about his disappointment, Vikram Singh, former DGP, UP police, said, “Whatever has happened and the progress in the investigation does not inspire any confidence.”
He added, “I hope SHO Subodh Kumar’s death doesn’t go in vain.”
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said, “The governments priorities are very clear, no condolences were given to the officer rather the cow slaughterers were threatened. The BJP wants to create a polarised situation in the state, they can’t deliver justice to a police officer of their own force.”
BJP spokesperson Rajeev Panday replied, “An FIR has been registered in the inspector’s murder case and everybody who is responsible will be brought to the books.”
India Today discussed the Babri Masjid demolition on its 26th anniversary. It also discussed a statement by Anil Vij, Haryana minister from BJP, who sparked a controversy by speaking about the need for a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The United Hindu Front celebrated Shaurya Diwas in the national capital Thursday while various Muslim groups in Ayodhya celebrated a black day demanding for a mosque at the site.
On The Newsroom, Rahul Khanna discussed the validity of Shaurya Diwas and its electoral gain.
VHP spokesperson Shriraj Nair said, “Ram Mandir pitch has nothing to do with political gains. We the native, indigenious Hindu people of this land want our Supreme Court want to have our temple. Let us have our grand Hindu temple, respect our civilization and culture.”
BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said, “India is a cradle of Hindu civilization and Lord Ram embodies the spirit of Bharat Varsh. You have to admit that Babur razed the temple and wanted to influence the nation.”
Political analyst Rajeev Desai said, “VHP’s Hindutva is political and involves bigotry and hatred. They only put handcuffs around the beautiful religion of Hinduism. Their Hinduism is political and destructive.”
Aaj Tak held a debate on the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam and pitted Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi against BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on their show Halla Bol.
Chaturvedi brought up the issue of the Rafale deal and blamed the government for its incompetence.
Patra questioned Chaturvedi about the presence of three lawyers from 10 Janpath to defend alleged middleman Christian Michel. She replied by saying that in 2013 Congress started an investigation into the matter.