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Jammu and Kashmir held Monday its first civic election in 13 years, but the threat of militants and a boycott by the state’s two major players translated to a voter turnout of just 8.2 per cent in the Valley.
The polls were The Indian Express lead story this morning, with the lede noting that the first of four phases “presented a stark contrast in voting patterns… with the Jammu region recording a turnout of nearly 70 per cent while the Valley logged just 8.2 per cent”.
The Telegraph has its own take on these numbers, writing, “Union home minister Rajnath Singh had on Friday literally predicted a 90 per cent turnout in the Kashmir municipal polls that began on Monday. He was bang on as far as the numbers go, only that more than 90 per cent of voters stayed away.”
The state’s overall turnout of 57 per cent was attributed to “massive participation” from Jammu and Ladakh.
The Times of India Delhi edition skips putting the news on its front page, but its Nation section opens with a report headlined “Fear keeps most J&K voters indoors, but govt unfazed”. “Most supporters of NC and PDP, the Kashmir-centric parties which have boycotted the elections, stayed home,” the report says.
Hindustan Times says the elections “were conducted peacefully”. The Times of India notes instances of stonepelting and violence in Kashmir, but The Hindu terms them “minor incidents”.
Meanwhile, The Indian Express consistently follows and puts on its front page India’s overwhelming, heartbreaking #MeToo movement.
“#MeToo ripples: AIB’s CEO steps aside, its co-founder sent on leave”, the paper reports as the fallout of the movement gathers strength. While AIB CEO Tanmay Bhat is accused of not taking action against friend and collaborator Utsav Chakraborty despite knowing about the sexual harassment he perpetrated, founding member Gursimran Khamba faces misconduct allegations of his own. Khamba has denied the charge.
A few pages onwards is an op-ed by journalist-author Mrinal Pande, founder of the Indian Women’s Press Corps, who writes, “Equality, in short, requires total change, a new jurisprudence, a new relation between our lives and law. It will be said that such a change will not be sustainable. But this is premature.”
“Such moments in the life of a patriarchy provide points of confrontation, and also openings for change,” she adds.
The Telegraph follows suit by outing its own founding editor, M.J. Akbar, in a piece titled “#MeToo finger at Union minister”. Quoting a tweet by journalist Priya Ramani who initially named him, as well as another anonymous source, the newspaper writes of that Akbar “is the first public servant in high office in India to be named since the storm broke last week.”
Another major headline of the day centres on a man called Nishant Aggarwal, who has been “arrested for leaking missile info to ISI” in Pakistan. The 27-year-old engineer of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd had, according to a report in The Times of India, “used a ‘coded game’ to send vital information to ISI agents in Pakistan”.
Prime Time
Violence in Gujarat
Aaj Tak anchor Anjana Om Kashyap asked who was responsible for the violence against migrant labourers in Gujarat.
On 7 October, Gujarat police arrested more than 300 people in connection with the attacks, which were allegedly triggered by the rape of a child by a labourer from Bihar.
Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta tried to defend party leader Alpesh Thakor, who has been accused of fueling the violence.
“Alpesh Thakor in no way is responsible for the violence in Gujarat. It is completely the fault of the state government,” he added.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “The chief minister is himself monitoring the situation, everything is under control as of now.”
#MeToo movement exposing celebrities
On India Today, Preeti Choudhry dwelt on the #MeToo movement, which has led to allegations of sexual harassment and assault against several celebrities.
Standup comedian Neeti Palta said it was time for women to speak up for themselves. Referring to AIB CEO Tanmay Bhat’s silence on sexual harassment allegations against Utsav Chakraborty, she added, “It was a flaw of Tanmay to continue working with Utsav Chakraborty. Was Utsav wrong, that is not even a question.”
Author Meghna Pant said, “It took just one voice to gain Independence, which was the voice of Gandhi, but for women to gain independence from sexual harassment, thousands of women need to come together.”
News it’s just kinda cool to know
The global average sea-level could rise by nearly eight feet over the next eight decades, and 50 feet by 2300, if greenhouse emissions continue to remain high, according to a study by researchers at Rutgers University, US. PTI reports.