With battle lines drawn for the Assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the Urdu dailies wrote about the state of play there, especially J&K, where Assembly polls are taking place after 10 years. Two other issues dominated their coverage over the week: the Centre’s move to scrap the controversial lateral entry hirings and its decision to bring in a new Unified Pension Scheme. URDU TIMES Highlighting the ground work being done by various contenders for the upcoming three-phase J&K Assembly elections, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its editorial on August 25, notes that the Congress and National Conference (NC) have announced their alliance, adding: “The BJP is not looking buoyant about its prospects in these polls. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had not contested any seat in the Valley." The daily points out that the BJP has launched an attack on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi over the alliance with the NC, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah firing away a set of 10 questions at them on the NC’s manifesto promise to seek restoration of Article 370. “Shah has asked the Congress if it also supports, like the NC, the reinstatement in government jobs of relatives of those involved in stone-pelting, and whether it also supports nurturing terrorism in J&K,” the editorial states, adding that such questions are “misleading and polarising”. “It also betrays the BJP’s double standards and frustration as the party had itself joined hands with the NC during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA regime.” The NC’s poll document seeks dignified return of the Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, the daily notes. The manifesto also calls for curbs on imports of apples in a bid to protect the interest of local apple growers, which might have “upset the BJP”, the edit says, making it clear that the alignment between Rahul and NC leader Omar Abdullah seems to be a "formidable" electoral tie-up. ROZNAMA RASHTRIYA SAHARA Referring to the Narendra Modi Cabinet’s move approving a new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for central government employees, the multi-edition Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, in its August 26 editorial, notes that the pension issue has become a political hot potato in the past few years, with a large section of employees seeking a return to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Tapping into their resentment against the National Pension Scheme (NPS) or the new pension scheme, several Opposition-ruled states returned to the OPS for their staff, it writes. “Faced with this mounting political challenge, the Modi-led NDA government has now unveiled the UPS, which some are calling its masterstroke. The irony is that the UPS is meant to replace the NPS that was brought by the then Vajpayee-led NDA government from January 2004 to replace the OPS.” The edit states that the UPS has various significant features — ranging from assured 50% of average basic pay over the last 12 months of service to assured family pension, to a minimum pension etc., even as the government raises its contribution to the pension scheme. It points out that the Congress has reacted cautiously to the UPS, with its leaders shying away from opposing it. “Kharge has just called the UPS move another U-turn made by the Modi government. Professionals’ Congress chairman Praveen Chakravarty has welcomed the UPS, calling it prudent.” The daily writes that the Modi dispensation has been facing intense heat over two major issues, among other things: the NPS and the Agniveer scheme. “The government seems to have resolved the NPS issue now. It is however yet to defuse the Agniveer row. After a string of rollbacks, it must be feeling relieved over the resolution of the pension tangle.” INQUILAB Commenting on the BJP-led NDA government’s move to cancel the UPSC advertisement seeking applications for “lateral entry” to 45 posts across 24 ministries, including of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab, in its leader on August 22, says the government’s about-turn came following the Opposition’s pushback, which called the proposal an alleged attack on the Constitution as it "undermined" the reservation rights of Dalits, tribals and OBCs. Although Rahul Gandhi took the lead in opposing the proposal, he was soon joined by other Opposition leaders and even some NDA allies like the LJP (Ram Vilas)’s chief Chirag Paswan, the editorial says. “This marked the third time since it took charge in June for the third term that the Modi government has been forced to roll back its decision. Earlier, it had to send the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill to a Joint Committee of Parliament for scrutiny. It has also withdrawn the new draft broadcasting regulation Bill.” In contrast, the daily states, the Modi government had during its first two terms barely withdrawn any of its moves regardless of any opposition to them. “It projected itself as a dominant government that would stick to its call and never retreat. Even in the case of the three farm Bills, the government repealed them only after a year-long agitation by farmers that was marked by many deaths and the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Besides, UP was then also headed for the Assembly polls,” it says. The editorial notes that the BJP’s allies have clearly started to make their presence felt, making prompt intervention on major issues. “The credit for the rollback in the lateral entry hirings would however go to Rahul and other Opposition leaders, who raked up the issue so effectively that it triggered fears in the BJP over the possibility of risking a further erosion in its support among depressed and backward communities, which was seen in the recent Lok Sabha polls,” it says. “The point remains that in a democracy people’s power is paramount. It was the public mandate that stalled the BJP at 240 seats, way behind its ‘400 paar’ target,” the edit says. “Whenever the Opposition parties check any controversial government move, it would reflect the power of their increased vote share. In the 2014 and 2019 polls, people had not empowered them. So the government had then run without any significant checks and balance. Evidently, things have changed now.”
