Front Page
It’s become the norm for the mainstream papers to carry different page 1 leads. The Indian Express leads with the central government’s outreach plan sending 36 ministers to Jammu and Kashmir. The Times of India carries the Supreme Court panel’s statement on 1984 anti-Sikh riots slamming the then-Congress government and Delhi Police for its lack of interest in booking the rioters. Interestingly, Hindustan Times chooses the US-China trade deal as its lead story.
No Hindu edition in Delhi, today.
The pink papers, Business Standard and The Economic Times, lead with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezoz’s $1 billion investment in India to help 10 million small and medium businesses.
Central govt to send ministers to J&K: Express notes, “Centre plans outreach: 36 Ministers will go to Jammu and Valley this week” and writes that it will be sending five of those ministers to Kashmir and the remaining will visit “districts in Jammu to spread info on schemes”.
In another report from Kashmir, Express states that “four days after one of its officers” DSP Davinder Singh “was caught with two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, the J&K Police… said they were open to a probe into his alleged role in the 2001 Parliament attack case”.
SC panel on 1984 rioters: TOI writes that the Justice Dhingra criticised the Union government and Delhi Police for their “utter lack of interest in booking 1984 anti-Sikh rioters and for trying to hush up the criminal cases.” The report also features a table titled, “1 FIR, 1 officer, for 498 cases”, which notes that 498 instances of rioting, arson and looting “were clubbed into one FIR and probe given to one Investigating Officer”.
US-China trade deal: HT’s choice to lead uncharacteristic: the report, “US, China ink deal seen as a ceasefire, not truce”, is accompanied by a timeline detailing the events leading to Phase 1 of the trade deal between the world’s two economic powers — US and China.
The second lead of the daily also focuses on China but this one hits closer to home: “China isolated on J&K in informal UNSC talks”. Raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nation, the report says China and Pakistan did this “in part to embarrass India on the international stage and, in part, to stoke fires in Kashmir Valley”.
Aadhar, Passport for NPR details: TOI’s lead story on the flap reports that “sharing details of Aadhar, passport number, voter ID and driving licence during the planned National Population Register (NPR) exercise will be mandatory if you possess these documents”. This is despite the fact that in December last year, commerce minister Piyush Goyal had said that sharing Aadhar details would be “optional”.
Other: In its second lead, TOI reports that a senior executive gets three years’ jail unfer POCSO for molesting a teen actor on a flight, over two years ago.
And still on sexual harassment, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Express reports , “10-year record at SAI: 45 complaints of sexual harassment, 29 against coaches”. The report, based on an RTI, notes a staggering list of data points such as “45 cases reported, 24 SAI centres where complaints were filed, five coaches penalised with pay reduction, [and] two coaches’ contract terminated”.
Opinion
The Indian Express: After five years of the launch of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), Express notes that “there are indications that the power sector is once again in trouble”. In “Power Replay”, it writes the losses of state-owned distribution companies (discoms) and their dues for power purchasing have surged. According to Express, this suggests that the scheme has failed to “engineer a sustainable turnaround in discom finances”.
As the government plans to launch a new scheme to address this, it writes that the scheme should focus on altering the incentive structure at the state level. The aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses were supposed to be brought down by 15 per cent but the gap between average cost per unit of power and the revenue realised continues to be wide.
Express welcomes the planned scheme, which focuses on reducing electricity losses, eliminating the tariff gap, privatising discoms, and having distribution franchisees. However, it also suggests that penalties should be imposed for not meeting the targets laid out.
The Times of India:In the context of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s statement on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the protests happening in India against it, TOI writes on how immigration can create wealth in the society. Nadella’s wish that he wants to see a Bangladeshi heading Infosys or creating a next unicorn, refers to the sensibility that made America “a shining city on the hills”, it writes in “Idiom of Hope”.
Unfortunately, TOI notes, a different mood prevails today about immigrants across the world. “The enlightened mood towards immigration is fading”, it writes. According to a National Foundation for American Policy, 55 per cent of start-ups in the US has at least one immigrant founder, it writes and notes that India must not close down before it opens up fully.
Prime Time
Prime Time debates Wednesday were consumed by different issues. India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai brought a ground report from Shaheen Bagh.
Zee News reported the Modi government’s acceptance of the Justice Dhingra Committee report on the role of Delhi Police in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, while NDTV Indiaand Aaj Tak featured the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s press conference on DSP Davinder Singh’s arrest, and noted that many questions were left unanswered.
NDTV: In ‘Left, Right and Centre’ anchor Nidhi Razdan questioned TMC MP Derek O’Brien on why West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is angry with the Congress and didn’t attend the anti-CAA meeting. To which Brien retorted, “You can put the same question to the DMK. They didn’t come to the meeting either.”
O’Brien, then explained that this was a citizen’s movement and that’s a good thing. Razdan was persistent in her questioning, “So, you don’t want to answer the question of why she is angry with the Congress?”
Brien, continuing to evade the question: “The Left has its own issues” and asked, “Where were they when Mamata Banerjee was hitting the streets?“
Republic TV: #AfzalGuruGangBack was the debate here, on how those who supported the 2001 Parliament attack convict have re-emerged. Moreover, the channel added that “Afzal backers are using the arrest of police officer (Davinder Singh) to portray the terrorist version as gospel truth”.
In an interaction with Kashmiri columnist, Ifra Jan, anchor Arnab Goswami said, rather presumptuously, “Don’t heckle, we know how strongly she feels for Afzal Guru, a damn terrorist”.
Goswami left no doubts towards his own inclinations and said, “Viewers, I will give you an expose on shamelessness, the shamelessness with which one of our panelists will fight for a convicted terrorist”.
Zee News: In ‘Taal Thok Ke’, anchor Aman Chopra asked whether Congress will fight on the citizenship act issue from Lahore, in light of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s recent visit to Lahore where he discussed India’s political situation. He pointed out that many major regional parties failed to show up at Sonia Gandhi’s all-party CAA meeting. “No Maya, Mamata or Akhilesh, so then Imran and Bajwa?”, he asked.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that he could never dream anyone could go to Pakistan at such a time and spread such poison about India. He claimed Aiyar had on many occasions used anti-India language.
Political commentator Prem Kumar pointed out that the Opposition in the country might be weak, at which point Chopra interrupted him — “Weak how? They are stronger now with Imran-Bajwa”.
Aaj Tak: On ‘Breaking News’ with Rohit Sardana, Aaj Tak reported on Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad getting bail, but pointed out that there were many conditions — including not going to Shaheen Bagh, staying out of Delhi for four weeks and reporting to the Saharanpur SHO every Wednesday.
Sardana also pointed out that Azad was asked by the Delhi court to “respect institutions and the Prime Minister”.