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For the people and press of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi’s death is personal. In its tribute, Tamil daily Dinamani paints a picture of the man rather than the politician. “There was always a Wality airmail pen in his pocket. This was not seen while he was in the glass box. But when put in a sandalwood coffin before being laid to rest, Kanimozhi’s son Aditya noticed this and took the pen from his mother to be kept in his grandfather’s pocket,” the daily wrote.
Other snippets from the coverage of the five-time chief minister’s death:
The Hindu’s e-paper automatically opens to its Chennai edition, and the large yellow dedication to the “Honourable Former Chief Minister, whose every breath was devoted to the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu”, is hard to miss. Karunanidhi’s picture is replaced by ad for a civil services coaching institute in the Delhi edition. It seems the Ramco Group, the business conglomerate that sponsored the Chennai-edition tribute, decided against releasing it for Delhi readers.
Both Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa were laid to rest in a similar 6×2 sqft sandalwood coffin made by the same company, Tamil daily Dina Thanthi lets us know.
Right now, Tamil Nadu is, as The Indian Express calls it, a “State of Mourning”, and with a cleverly done headline, the daily also shows Karunanidhi’s children Kanimozhi, Alagiri, Stalin and party leader A. Raja in the same “state”. After a tussle between the DMK and the AIADMK government finally resolved by the Madras High Court, the Hindu reports that Karunanidhi was finally laid to rest at Marina Beach near his mentor C.N. Annadurai.
The chaos of mourning resulted in the death of three people outside Rajaji Hall, where the body of M. Karunanidhi was kept for the public to pay homage.
In other news…
Hindustan Times reports that it took Delhi Police over 24 hours to register a case after a mob of at least 30 kanwariyas — Shiv devotees on a pilgrimage — wrecked a car with baseball bats, hockey sticks and stones in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar Tuesday evening. The trigger? The car had allegedly grazed one of them.
While Muslims have faced severe criticism for praying in open spaces and using loudspeakers for azaan, kanwariyas get a free run with their processions every monsoon. ThePrint asks a pertinent question – Kanwariyas vs Namazis: Double standard over disruption in public spaces? Experts weigh in from either end of the debate.
Uttar Pradesh has made its way into all the wrong headlines today. The Indian Express reports that families in Bareilly village are fleeing their homes “as cops crack down to ‘help’ kanwariyas”, with The Times of India carrying another disturbing report: UP and Bihar are among nine states that have refused the Supreme Court mandated social audit of India’s child shelters. The audit was ordered after sexual abuse of inmates at two shelters, in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and UP’s Deoria, came to light.
News it’s just kinda cool to know
Put a hold on that forward, because WhatsApp won’t let you send it to more than five people. After the messaging company came under fire for its alleged failure to prevent the spread of fake news, the Facebook-owned platform rolled out a new feature Wednesday — a limit on the number of people you can forward a message to, NDTV reports.
Business Class
The Walmart-Flipkart deal has got the approval of the Competition Commission of India “despite protests from traders across the country over fears that the deal would drive several small retailers out of business”, reports Mint. The US retail giant Walmart has acquired Flipkart in a $16 billion deal.
Ikea, the furniture and home accessories giant, has a plan ready to tap the Indian market. The key is to keep the prices low for cost-conscious Indians, reports Business Standard. The Swedish furniture retailer opens its first outlet in India in Hyderabad Thursday.
Point of View
Justice K.M. Joseph is in the Supreme Court, but his seniority has been compromised despite the collegium recommending his name before the two judges sworn in with him. The Indian Express writes in its editorial, “Government’s argument downgrading Justice Joseph is not persuasive. Chief Justice should have put his foot down.”
First Muzaffarpur in Bihar, then Deoria in Uttar Pradesh: India is reeling under reports of sexual abuse at shelters. The Times of India writes in its editorial, “This calls for a thorough review of the shelter home system in the country…the problem can’t be solved through enacting new laws. Implementation, administrative action and proper oversight by concerned ministries are the need of the hour.”
Article 35A, meant to protect the demographic identity of J&K, is at the doorstep of the Supreme Court. Columnist Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes in his column in The Indian Express, “There is a powerful argument for not abrogating the Article. But we must also think beyond the binaries on it.”
Over a year after the rollout of GST, there is an estimated shortfall in revenue collection. Journalist Puja Mehra writes in her column in The Hindu, “The focus on GST collections is narrow. Collections are not necessarily proof of the success, or non-success, of an indirect tax. In truth, the complexity of the GST is complicating collections and diminishing the potential benefits. The economic impact of the GST ought to be the focus.”
Prime Time
The Rafale row
NDTV’s Vishnu Som discussed the controversial Rafale deal after senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and former BJP leaders Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha held a press conference Wednesday on the issue. Citing the government’s decision to not pick Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd as Rafale’s Indian partner under the deal and going for Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Limited, Bhushan said, “The point is you kick out an experienced company and bring out a new company which has no experience in making aircraft…” RSS member and lawyer Desh Ratan Nigam said the ministry of defence had no role to play.
“Your own guidelines say that no offset contractor can be selected without the express approval of the raksha mantri,” retorted Bhushan. “When the deal was done, old UPA policy was in existence,” Nigam replied.
Blast from the past?
On Republic TV, Arnab Goswami moderated a debate on an alleged Boeing scam under the UPA government in 2009 following a CAG report on suspected irregularities in a contract with the aircraft giant. The BJP’s R.P. Singh said, “The bigger issue is that the aeroplanes purchased were not up to the mark. They have compromised with the security of defence.” Questioning the CAG report, political analyst Nishant Verma said, “Why was the BJP silent till now?”