New Delhi: Prime time Sunday revisited Northeast Delhi riots. Some anchors, meanwhile, discussed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally in West Bengal, while others talked about Tamil superstar-turned politician Rajinikanth’s supposed “tango” with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
On Zee News’ Taal Thok Ke, anchor Aditi Tyagi claimed that she was raising the most important question of all — “Who will bear the (the cost of the) damages caused by the Delhi riots?”
Tyagi referred to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s tried and tested method of “rioters” and “protesters” paying for the damages. She wondered: “Is the Yogi model important for rioters?”
NDTV India did some ground work and came up with feel-good stories from the riot-ravaged areas.
Sanjeev Kumar, resident of Karawal Nagar, revealed how he had saved a family of 24 members during the violence in his neighbourhood. All of them stayed over at his house for safety.
In Aaj Tak’s Khabardar, anchor Chitra Tripathi said: “According to Delhi Police, there haven’t been any PCR calls, which means that things are calming down.”
At the same time, Tripathi wanted to know who was responsible for causing this violence. She didn’t have an answer but offered this instead: “There was… a report that suggested weapons were sold in large quantities at the time of the violence.”
Times Now’s anchor Athar Khan shared his opinion on Shah’s rally in West Bengal.
Khan said, “In his first speech itself, Shah has set the tone and target for the upcoming election.”
During the debate that followed, Aman Sinha, BJP spokesperson, used many adjectives to describe Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Amit Shah has exposed syndicate raj, corruption, dynastic fiefdom operating in West Bengal,” Sinha added.
“The desperation and anxiety of Mamata are evident. (She) seems to be insecure of the support and popularity Amit Shah is getting,” he said.
India Today’s anchor Chaiti Narula focussed on Rajinikanth’s “pro-CAA tango” where he met Muslim clerics to discuss the controversial law.
Sumanth Raman, political analyst, was analytical and imaginative in his comments on this outreach: “Ever since Rajinikanth indicated that he wanted to foray into politics… there has always been talk that he would somehow be the Trojan horse of the BJP.”
Raman concluded, “His meeting today is a balancing act.”
On Republic TV’s “riot reality”, anchor Arnab Goswami continued to propound his propaganda and blamed other media houses of “falsehood” about the riots, which means they didn’t tell the same story as he did. Goswami, innocently, asked, “What is happening in my country?”
“There is a section of the media which has betrayed the country by deliberately presenting falsehood by saying Delhi riots are a pogrom,” he said.
After Shah’s rally in Bengal, NDTV 24×7 interviewed Derek O’Brien, Trinamool Congress MP. He didn’t mince any words: “I am not one bit surprised that he (Shah) was going to come here and spread more of his bigotry, hate and divisiveness.”
“Coming to Bengal and giving Mamata Banerjee lectures is not the answer but it is completely on expected lines,” he added.