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Mandir politics joins Bulandshahr on front pages, Mallya and May too make surprise entry

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Mandir politics remained the focus of papers today but Vijay Mallya got a look in too along with Donald Trump and Theresa May and talk of opposition unity.

Otherwise, newspapers went ‘exclusive’ on page 1, with everything from Jignesh Shah’s Rahul and Priyanka connection (The Indian Express) to a reminder that 30 lakh people in Assam are off the NRC register (The Times of India).

The rally in New Delhi for a temple in Ayodhya was framed as a warning to the government from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to keep its ‘promise’, as the Hindustan Times put it. “We have to recover our debt from Modi… We will not let you leave the post of PM until you build the Ram temple,” is how The Indian Express quoted Hansdevacharya Maharaj, a prominent religious leader. The HT page 1 photograph caught the one-two lakh strong saffron wave in the national capital which disrupted traffic, as TOI and HT pointed out.

The verdict in a British court today, on the extradition of Vijay Mallya to India, was curiously missing from the front pages of the pink papers (Economic Times and Business Standard) but he’s there in The Hindu, HT and TOI which interviews him.

“I fear politically motivated lack of fair trial,” in India, he claimed and wondered why his offer to settle all dues was being ignored: “It is obvious that the government has told banks not to accept any offer… I became a poster boy for bank default,” TOI quotes him as saying.

The other big page 1 story is the continuing police saga in the Bulandshahr mob violence. The latest development of the investigating officer being hastily transferred makes news across the newspapers: “Another cop removed…” states HT. The Express had earlier quoted Additional Superintendent of Police Raees Akhtar, the fourth officer to be removed since the violence, to say, “Our main concern at this moment is to find out who killed the cows. After all, it was the killing of the cows that led to the protest which resulted in Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh’s murder.”

Meanwhile, the Express found another Uttar Pradesh MP, Meerut’s Rajendra Agrawal, more interested in cow slaughter than the death of a police officer. “The probe team should also include within its purview why no action was taken by the SHO in connection with the FIR lodges regarding cow smuggling,” he is quoted as saying.

The Hindu gives Opposition talks in Delhi today page 1 top billing. “To give unity a boost”, it writes, almost hopefully.

In an exclusive, Express investigates how the Gandhi siblings leased their Delhi farmhouse to Jignesh Shah’s Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) while the UPA government investigated the National Sport Exchange Ltd, a company promoted by FTIL and questions its propriety: “Facing probe by UPA govt, Jignesh Shah’s firm rented farmhouse owned by Rahul and Priyanka.”

For ET, the state assembly results tomorrow was the lead of the day: “D Street tense as BJP ride in big states seems bumpy,” it states, although in editorial comment it points out that the verdict Tuesday should not be “over read” as a verdict for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

That only 10 lakh people of the 40 lakh who were missing from the first National Register of Citizens in Assam have registered since, worries TOI because “30 KL in Assam may lose right to vote” (page 1).

International news, normally firmly kept on the inside pages, gets HT into a flap on page 1: “You’re fired!” headlines US President’s latest top official John Kelly’s departure from the White House as Chief of Staff. And the paper reminds us that it’s “May day” in Britain tomorrow, as Parliament votes on Brexit.

A TOI editorial warns of India’s possible problems with Chinese tech giant Huawei following the arrest of its chief financial officer, Wanzhou Meng in Canada: “Her arrest… is only the tip of the iceberg as Huawei’s telecom equipment could provide Chinese intelligence services access to everyone’s electronic communications,” it writes.

Prime Time

On prime time TV news, everyone was tripping on different issues.

While the mandir meet in Delhi dominated day time coverage across channels, it was Zee News that led with it in a debate. “Was the arrival of “Ram bhakts” at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi the final order from the people to form the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya?” it asked.

Thousands of people have gathered at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan for the VHP rally, ahead of Parliament’s winter session commencing Tuesday.

BJP Union minister Giriraj Singh said, “The demand for Ram Mandir is not that of Hindus but of the 100 crore Hindus present in the country.”

But the Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Yadav rebuked the meeting for disrespect: “These people do not have any faith in the Supreme Court, they are just trying to play division politics in the country.”

Republic TV turned its attention to the election results Tuesday and wondered if the winner of the state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh would be the favourites in 2019 general elections.

Senior journalist Kanchan Gupta felt the election was crucial for the BJP: “Clearly, the biggest investment in this election is the BJP’s because its stake is the highest.”

Political commentator Acharya Pramod Krishnam took another angle, wondering if “for the first time BJP’s biggest leader is bigger than the party”. He added that “Modi is to blame” if the party loses in the polls.

India Today chose to concentrate on Telangana, with anchor Rajdeep Sardesai looking at exit polls that suggest a comfortable win for Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). In the 119 members strong Telangana assembly, at least 60 seats are required in order to claim a majority and form the government. Exit poll results showcase TRS comfortably cruising way past the 60-seat mark.

TRS spokesperson Abid Rasool Khan, Congress spokesperson Salman Anees Soz, as well as Telugu Desam Party (TDP) spokesperson Rammohan Rao, all said they would form the government in the state.

While Khan said, “We are not looking at any post-poll alliances,” Soz insisted “…Congress will be forming the government in Telangana.” Rao dismissed the exit polls: “(they) are not the reality.”

News it’s kinda cool to know

China Saturday launched a spacecraft named ‘Chang’e 4’ to land a spacecraft on the largely unexplored far side of the moon. The spacecraft will study the lunar surface and will also perform radio astronomical studies, reports the Associated Press.

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