The curtain came down on the winter session of Parliament, which saw the passage of a few high-impact legislation, including the G Ram G Bill and the SHANTI Bill, and some politically-charged debates, including the discussions on the national song Vande Mataram and electoral reforms. The session, albeit productive, was marked with intense confrontation between the government and the Opposition, which would now play out on the streets. The Urdu dailies, which kept the parliamentary proceedings in the spotlight, shifted the focus of their coverage accordingly.
Highlighting the outrage over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s bid to pull down a Muslim woman’s veil at an official function at the CM’s secretariat in Patna, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its December 19 editorial, points out that the Bihar BJP leader and Union minister, Giriraj Singh, has hit a new low in his attempt to defend Nitish’s “vile act”. “Giriraj has claimed that it was necessary for the Muslim Ayush doctor to show her face and identity while collecting her appointment letter from the CM and that Nitish had acted like a guardian,” the editorial says. “And then, Giriraj also said that whether she refuses her appointment now or goes to hell, that’s her choice.”
The daily states that while defending his ally Nitish might be a “political compulsion” for Giriraj, he has betrayed his “debased mindset” in the process. “As a Union minister, he should have reacted to the controversy with restraint. However, this was not the first time that Giriraj has made such a comment – and this is because the BJP leadership has never ticked him off over his inflammatory remarks.”
The edit says that while Nitish’s “mental stability” has been questioned, his act has drawn condemnation from different quarters from across the country and the world. “The least the Bihar CM must do now is to tender an unconditional apology for his action that sought to violate the dignity and autonomy of a Muslim woman doctor,” it says. “The BJP leadership should also rein in leaders like Giriraj, whose irresponsible remarks incite hate and disquiet in society.”
URDU TIMES
Commenting on the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti’s landslide victory in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its December 22 leader, points out that its outcome was virtually a replay of the November 2024 Assembly elections swept by the coalition. While the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a humiliating defeat, its key parties Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) could not cross a single-digit tally, with another constituent Congress also not making its mark.
The editorial notes that following the local body poll results, the political heft of BJP leader and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP president Ajit Pawar, has increased. Shinde has put up a good show, finishing second after the BJP. “While Uddhav has faced a blow, Shinde is in the ascendant. He has now reasserted that his party is the ‘real Shiv Sena’,” the edit says.
The daily states that these local body polls were the “semi-finals” for the state’s 29 municipal corporation elections, including the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, scheduled for January 15. While the MVA is stepping up to contest the upcoming civic body elections, this is unlikely that there would be “any surprises”, it says. The MVA continues to be in a disarray, with Uddhav’s bid to contest the corporation polls in alliance with his once-estranged cousin Raj Thackeray’s MNS adding to the confusion in its camp. “While the Congress is not accepting the MNS’s entry into the MVA, Uddhav has refused to give up on his reunion with Raj Thackeray. If the MVA closes its ranks, puts its act together, and executes a well-thought-out strategy, it may get a breakthrough. But this seems to be a tall order for the Opposition alliance,” the edit says.
“The BJP’s top priority now is to come to power in the Mumbai civic body. The BMC has long been a target of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the BJP would go all out to achieve it. The MVA faces an uphill task to counter the Mahayuti, which has established its dominance now.”
MUNSIF
Referring to the Modi government’s move to bring in Parliament the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 or MGNREGA, the Hyderabad-based Munsif, in its December 17 editorial, says that MGNREGA has been a landmark job scheme which has benefited a large section of people in rural India over the last two decades. (The G Ram G Bill was subsequently passed by both Houses amid fierce protests from the Opposition members).
“The government claims that it has brought the new law to strengthen MGNREGA and make it more effective. But why should it then rename the scheme, which was named after the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, and not any member of the Nehru-Gandhi family,” the editorial says. While MGNREGA, which guaranteed 100 daywork, had not been implemented properly in recent years with average daywork dipping to 40-50, the new law proposes 125 days of work, it notes. “The Centre funded MGNREGA, but its outstanding dues have been pending in West Bengal and other states.”
The daily says the fact remains that MGNREGA has been a “lifeline” for people living in villages over the years, especially during the Covid pandemic. “The G Ram G legislation has weakened MGNREGA, which was a demand-driven scheme. Now, this would under the new law depend on the directives of the Centre, which has put the onus of a significant part (40%) of its funding on states. There will also be a 60-day pause in its implementation during the peak agricultural season,” it notes, adding that the new law “undermined” the spirit of MGNREGA. “There has been a slew of schemes and programmes in various sectors, which were renamed by the Modi government over the last 11 years, which betrayed its failings,” the edit says, holding that “merely replacing schemes by renaming them does not mean governance”.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar kicked up a row after he tried to remove a woman's veil during a event. 
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