New Delhi: The Union Budget and the fallout of the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group vied for space on the front pages of the Urdu papers this week.
Meanwhile, the tussle over the ban on BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ continued to make the front page in all three Urdu newspapers — Siasat, Inquilab, and Roznama Rashtriya Sahara.
Various issues pertaining to minorities too remained on the front pages, as did the final leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kashmir, President Droupadi Murmu’s first address to a joint session of Parliament as the Budget session kicked off, and the Economic Survey.
Commenting on the Economic Survey’s 7 per cent growth projection for the current fiscal, editorials said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team seemed to be banking on guesswork rather than ground realities.
ThePrint brings you a weekly roundup of all that made headlines in the Urdu press this week.
Also Read: Kashmir Files tax-free but Indians can’t watch BBC documentary: Urdu Press slams Modi govt’s ban
Union Budget
A 2 February report on the Union Budget in Sahara said that the 2023-24 Budget paid special attention to the middle and salaried classes. The paper reported that the Budget evinced mixed reactions from the ruling BJP and opposition political parties. It also carried the reactions of BJP president J.P. Nadda, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Another report in the paper said that the Sensex had jumped 1,100 points with “lusty buying” by investors as soon as the Budget was tabled.
A 1 February Sahara editorial on the Economic Survey stated that in projecting 7 per cent GDP growth for the current financial year and 6.5 per cent for the next, Sitharaman and her team had once again set the qayaasi ghoda (loosely translated to mean guesswork) racing.
A Siasat editorial published the same day stated that while economies across the world are battling similar challenges such as slow growth and job loss, the Indian government, instead of trying to make the situation better, is busy trying to make it look better.
In a 2 February report, Inquilab quoted politician-activist Yogendra Yadav as saying that the Budget had nothing for farmers.
An editorial in the paper the same day stated that by calling the Budget the first of the “Amrit Kaal”, Sitharaman had in effect patted herself on the back. The editorial also took stock of the promises that had been made in the first Budget of Modi government 1.0 — a house for every Indian by 2022, doubling of farmers’ income and employment for 80 crore Indians. Nine years on, none of these had been fulfilled, the editorial said.
Calling the survey a document of “guesswork and distrust”, the editorial said that far from being the foundation for the next year, it was detached from ground realities.
A front-page report on 3 February in Inquilab stated that the budget for the ministry of minority affairs had been slashed by more than 38 per cent. The report further said that the budget for merit scholarships was down over 87 per cent and allocation for madrasas had been brought down from 140 crore to 10 crore. It also quoted Congress leader Meem Afzal as saying that justice was not being done to the weaker sections of society.
An Inquilab editorial published the same day, titled ‘Nothing much in the general budget’, stated that the budget neither has anything for the common man nor can it be called election-oriented.
Adani
Tremors surrounding the claims made by Hindenburg Research on the fiscal health of the Adani Group reverberated from the Sensex into the Budget Session of Parliament and made the front pages several times through the week.
On 3 February, Sahara carried three reports on the issue on page one.
The first was about the Reserve Bank of India’s missive to banks asking about their exposure to the group.
The second was about proceedings in both Houses of Parliament being suspended for the day after noisy scenes over the allegations made against the group and its subsequent drubbing in the stock market.
The third reported that the Adani Group was withdrawing its Rs 20,000 crore Follow-on Public Offering (FPO) after the fall in stock prices.
Siasat’s front page lead also reported the withdrawal, adding that Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani had promised to refund all those who had already invested.
Inquilab, meanwhile, reported that the Modi government was under siege by the Opposition and that there had been a ruckus in Parliament.
Modi government has repeatedly been accused of patronising Adani, although it has dismissed the allegation.
On 1 February, Sahara and Siasat both carried front-page reports saying Gautam Adani had been knocked out of the list of the world’s 10 richest individuals.
In its editorial on 2 February, Inquilab wrote that while it cannot vouch for the authenticity of the Hindenburg revelations, it’s clear that they had caused mayhem in the stock market.
Adani isn’t the only one to lose wealth, the editorial said, adding that the companies and individuals who had invested in group companies are also a worried lot.
Also Read: Urdu press hails SC’s Haldwani order, wants action against ‘officers who allowed encroachment’
BBC documentary
The ongoing row over the banned BBC documentary on the post-Godhra riots of 2002 continued to make the front pages of Urdu papers.
On 31 January, Sahara reported that the Supreme Court would hear the petition against the ban on 6 February.
On 1 February, Siasat reported that even as tension persisted in several university campuses across the country over the screening of the banned documentary, reports had emerged that the European Union too had instituted an inquiry into the 2002 riots, although the report had not been made public for the fear that it would adversely affect its relations with India.
On 3 February, Sahara reported on its front page said that the fringe right-wing group Hindu Sena had petitioned the Supreme Court for a ban on BBC in light of its documentary.
Budget for Minority Affairs
The significant downsizing of the budget for minority affairs and madrasas left saw editorials comment that minorities in the country are being deliberately pushed to the margins. Budgetary allocation for minority affairs was cut down to Rs 3,097 crore for 2023-24 from 5,020.50 crore.
On 2 February, all three newspapers carried reports about the budget cut for minorities.
The headline of a 2 February editorial in Siasat’ said minorities were ignored in the Budget and that the ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ slogan was hollow.
On 3 February, a Siasat editorial stated that despite the Modi government’s slogan, no effort had been spared to marginalise the minorities. The meagre assistance or schemes that were given to the minorities by the central government are being phased out in a gradual and systematic manner, the editorial said, adding that the budgetary allocation of Rs 3,097 crore for the minority affairs “is equal to zero”.
Inquilab’s headline said ‘Increase in the budget of minorities but lack of funds in the education scheme’. Sahara, on the other hand, ran the news under the headline ‘Tremendous cut in the budget of minorities’.
In its report, Inquilab stated that although the government has increased the budget for minorities, it was a small one, and that the finance minister had provided Rs 5,200 crore to the minority affairs ministry, which was later reduced to Rs 2,600 crore.
For context, the report was referring to the original and revised allocations for 2022-23, which came to Rs 2,612.66 crore.
On the other hand, Sahara wrote that there was a lot of frustration among minorities over the budget. Minorities, the report said, had hoped that the government would announce something for them in the last full-length budget before the 2024 general election, but this hope was not only dashed, but also that the budget (for minority affairs) had been slashed by 38 per cent.
On 3 February, Sahara carried Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s statement questioning the quality of a democracy where the ruling party doesn’t have a single Muslim Member of Parliament. He was referring to the fact that the ruling BJP has had no Muslim MP since last July, when the term of former minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi ended in Rajya Sabha.
Godhra train burning
The Supreme Court’s hearings of the bail petitions of some convicts serving life sentences for the 2002 Godhra train burning case also made headlines.
On 31 January, Sahara reported on its front page that the Supreme Court had asked the Gujarat government to respond to the bail pleas. The report quoted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing on behalf of the Gujarat government, as telling a bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that it wasn’t simply a case of stone pelting and that the convicts had also locked a coach of the Sabarmati Express, leading to several passengers’ deaths. The court listed the bail pleas to be heard in two weeks, the report said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: ‘Babri ruling opened floodgates for lawsuits like Gyanvapi’, says Urdu press quoting ex SC judge