Whither Congress ?

Urdu mainstream dailies have given a lot of coverage to the state election results. Rashtriya Sahara writes on February 28 that the 8220;recent three state elections have rung alarm bells in the Congress camp8221;. The paper says that if the party8217;s 8220;apathetic approach to the common man, especially price rise, continues and it makes no serious effort to stop the BJP, it would meet the same fate in UP.8221; Its Page 1 headline reads, that in Punjab, the Congress 8216;Oundhe mooh giri8217;, it has fallen flat on its face even as 8216;Uttarakhand kamal ki god mein8217;, Uttarakhand lands in BJP8217;s lap. On the same day, Delhi-based Hindustan Express writes that the Congress has managed to 8220;salvage some pride8221; in Manipur or 8216;Kucch laaj bachi8217;.

SP8217;s mascot

On March 1, in a Page 1 8220;exclusive8221;, Hindustan Express writes that Delhi8217;s Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, held a 8220;covert meeting8221; with the Samajwadi Party SP general secretary Amar Singh at the latter8217;s residence. According to the report, it was planned that some senior members of the UDF a 8216;Muslim8217; front formed in the state last year would attend the meeting, but that did not happen. The paper says that Amar Singh evaded questions about the subject of the meeting, and the Imam did not deny the meeting. The paper writes that 8220;for a while, the SP has been looking for a senior Muslim cleric, prior to the polls, and it now looks like they have found one.8221;

Questions on 8216;Q8217;

Controversial Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi also figured prominently in the Urdu papers. Kolkata and Delhi-based daily, Akhbar-e-Mashriq writes in an editorial on February 26 that 8220;the entire episode of his being detained, the CBI keeping it under wraps, and the Congress8217; defensive posture, create many doubts and damage the image of the party.8221; The editorial also writes that 8220;the Gandhi family is trying to skirt clear of him, whereas, Quattrocchi has given a recent interview, saying that he is proud of being a friend of the Gandhi family 8212; and that their children are of the same age and friends.8221;

On Samjhauta Express

The attack on the train has been widely commented upon. An editorial in Hyderabad-based Siasat on February 20 described the bombing of the India-Pakistan train last month as an act of frustration by 8220;votaries of terrorism8221;. Recently, India and Pakistan have got together to hasten the peace progress, and this has resulted in the appeal of extremists on 8220;both sides8221; having diminished. So, the paper surmises, 8220;the extremists are picking on innocent targets8221;. National Herald8217;s Qaumi Awaz on February 22 writes in an editorial that, 8220;violence on the Samjhauta Express may lead to paaidaar aman stable peace between the two countries8221;. The paper asserts 8220;it may result in both neighbours letting go of their past8221; and 8220;in view of the statements against terror made by the Pakistani foreign minister, it is now necessary for the Pakistan government to put down militants acting against India from occupied Kashmir in order to ensure a peaceful climate and mutual trust.8221;

Still counting

Rashtriya Sahara carried a news item on February 16, quoting the former chief minister of Jharkhand, Babulal Marandi, who has accused three Jharkhand ministers of having recently purchased currency-note counting machines for their homes. According to this report, Marandi wants to know why the purchase of these machines was necessary.

Compiled by Seema Chishti