New Delhi: Prime time discussions Sunday night was full of debates on the confirmation that JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar will remain chief minister of Bihar as he is all set to be sworn in as chief minister for a fourth straight term today.
Pakistan was also back in the news, for two reasons — Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement that he was “under pressure” from an unknown country to recognise Israel and the ceasefire violations by the country’s military along the Line of Control (LoC).
But first up is news from Bihar. On Mirror Now, anchor Afrida Rahman Ali discussed what the BJP and the NDA’s future looked like in the state.
“It’s very difficult for the BJP to leave Nitish Kumar. Even now Nitish can dictate terms any time because he knows BJP won’t leave him. So, it will be him running the show,” said political analyst Ajay Jha.
There have also been reports that Kumar will pick two deputy chief ministers and the names of senior BJP leaders Tara Kishore Prasad and Renu Devi are cropping up. Therefore, former deputy chief minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi may lose out on the seat.
Senior journalist Ashutosh argued, “Sushil Modi and Nitish Kumar have been great friends for the last 15 years. So if he isn’t there then it means that the BJP is looking for a post-Nitish era and also that BJP doesn’t want Nitish to have a free run.”
“This time it is the BJP that is the bigger party, with 31 seats more than the JD(U). BJP has admitted that Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister but with many more restrictions,” he added.
Meanwhile, NewsX chose to focus on Pakistan and Imran Khan’s statement said that he is under pressure “from another country” — perhaps the US — to recognise Israel.
“The statement he is giving — it’s a statement to the Muslim world and to his domestic constituency — that I am under pressure to establish some sort of diplomatic relations with Israel,” said Joyeeta Basu, Editor of The Sunday Guardian.
Lt. Gen. (retd.) J.S. Pannu said, “Pakistan is an expert in sending big signals always. They will follow whatever way the wind blows and they will follow that.”
Calling out Khan’s statement, Bhaswati Mukherjee, former diplomat, noted, “If he was really under any pressure from President Trump he should have waited to see whether the Biden presidency will cool down a bit with regards to its policy on strong support to Israel or not.”
Times Now focused on India’s protests against the ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC and debated whether the tensions along the western border can be compared to the eastern one with China.
Major General (retd.) G.D. Bakshi disagreed. “For the past 42 years, no fire has been exchanged on the India-China border. Peace and tranquility have generally prevailed. It cannot be compared to the Pakistan border,” he said.
“Pakistan would not dare to point a finger or fire a bullet towards India if it did not have the backing of China. Having said that, peace is desirable. Talking leads to peace, no war ever leads to peace,” human rights activist John Dayal noted.
“Questions should be asked about the safety and security of the people who live along the LoC because of the continuous ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army,” he added.
On Aaj Tak, anchor Chitra Tripathi was concerned about the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. She presented the quandary that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee finds herself in.
“On one hand, BJP is accusing Mamata Banerjee of appeasing Muslims…on the other hand, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi is saying that Mamata should stop the ‘dikhawa’ (appearance) of appeasing Muslims,” said Tripathi.
“Now Mamata Banerjee has to fight not just the BJP but also Owaisi in the upcoming elections. Owaisi has also declared that he will fight the election in Bengal,” she added.
Tripathi wondered, “Kya Bengal mein Bihar jaisa ulatfer karenge Owaisi?” (Will Owaisi create chaos in Bengal,as he did in Bihar?). His party, the AIMIM, won five seats in the Bihar assembly polls and has been widely accused of eating into the vote of the Opposition’s Mahagathbandhan.
Away from all this, India TV’s Jyotsana Paatni and Amit Palit were busy getting lessons from one and only yoga guru Baba Ramdev.
Paatni revealed, “The combination of pollution and cold can prove to be deadly for the coronavirus situation.” To which, Palit reaffirmed the problem, “Your heart, lungs, kidney and general immunity has to be strengthened so that you can combat the virus. For the same and on public demand, Baba Ramdev will explain how to keep yourself healthy.”
But Ramdev was too busy feeding the cows. He asserted that one should start their day with gaumata’s puja. The conversation then meandered into the scenic location behind Ramdev.
It eventually did find its way back to yoga.
