UP results

Like all pundits, the Urdu press has been predicting a hung assembly in UP. Hyderabad-based Siasat writes in an editorial on May 5: 8220;Once again political parties and power hungry politicians will get an opportunity to do some jod-tod and serve their own interests.

Like all pundits, the Urdu press has been predicting a hung assembly in UP. Hyderabad-based Siasat writes in an editorial on May 5: 8220;Once again political parties and power hungry politicians will get an opportunity to do some jod-tod make and break and serve their own interests. The process of forming the government would expose many politicians and their real face will begin to emerge.8221; The paper says: 8220;Mayawati has given an indication that she has no compunctions about aligning with the BJP to form a government.8221; On Rahul Gandhi, the editorial says, 8220;his statements that he was not there merely for the election campaign but for a 8216;long innings8217;, reveal the real strategy of the Congress, that Rahul would need some more training before his political plans can be implemented.8221;

Delhi8217;s Hindustan Express on April 30, has written on the low Muslim turn-out for the polls this time. It writes, 8220;despite everyone saying the Muslim vote would decide, the poll percentage of Muslims has been falling in every phase.8221; The paper terms the fall this time 8220;unprecedented8221; and writes that there is 8220;increasing disillusionment with parties who are all the same at the end of the day8221;.

Close encounter

The 8216;farzi8217; fake encounter by the police in Gujarat has the Urdu papers as exercised as other language media. Mumbai8217;s Inquilab on May 6 writes in its lead, 8220;Killer officials beware, as investigations have made important progress8221;. The paper talks of how 8220;the entire issue of Ishrat Jahan and Sameer Pathan8217;s deaths will also be opened up.8221;

In an interesting twist, Hyderabad8217;s Siasat on May 8 quotes the Deccan Herald when it asks 8220;Has Sohrabuddin been killed as he was involved in the making of the damaging CD on RSS senior pracharak and BJP functionary Sanjay Joshi?8221; The paper tries to support this speculation by connecting dates of the CD8217;s release and Sohrabuddin8217;s arrest and encounter.

Kaun Banega Rashtrapati

Widely circulated tabloid Nai Duniya in an issue dated May 14 writes, 8220;the main issue is whether the sitting President, Abdul Kalam, would be renominated or not.8221; The paper says that 8220;both NDA and Sonia Gandhi do not want Kalam again. Sonia Gandhi probably doesn8217;t want him as he would not blindly follow the dictates of the party after the elections, and the BJP is trying hard to somehow put its own man, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, in Rashtrapati Bhawan.8221; The paper surmises that 8220;the Left want their own nominee to make it in the fight between UPA and NDA, but are silent at the moment.8221;

A confession

The outgoing 8216;Amir8217; president of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Dr Mohammed Abdul Haq Ansari, in an expansive, two page-long interview in the organisation8217;s mouthpiece, the bi-weekly Daawat April 28, makes a reference to women being left out of the mainstream and says that 8220;there is need to ensure full participation of women in the activities of the movement.8221;

He also admits to being overtly focused on the West. 8220;Despite our literature being comprehensive and useful, it has one shortcoming, and that is, it is purely in response to western civilisation and it doesn8217;t take note of Indian history, culture, civilisation, religions and traditions. As a result, it doesn8217;t motivate this country towards a moral, religious, intellectual and knowledge revolution 8212; either at the individual or collective level.8221; The former president says he did try 8220;training minds and character8221; but 8220;didn8217;t get the necessary response from within the organisation.8221;

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P.S.: Mumbai8217;s Inquilab on May 6 has reported that some dogs in Kerala are now getting to eat biryani. One Venugopal in Thiruvananthapuram has opened a 8216;Fast Food Centre for Dogs8217;. The 8216;special item8217; here is 8216;Dog Biryani8217;. The paper says 100 packets are presently being home-delivered at lunch-time, and the number of doggy bags is increasing. Venugopal has been quoted as saying; 8220;I am planning to open a shaandaar grand hotel for dogs next.8221;

Compiled by Seema Chishti