QBullet: BJP Veterans’ Letter Bomb, Sunanda’s Reports and More
Read the top news and views of the day from across the papers.
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1. BJP Old Guard Lights Fuse of Rebellion on Diwali Eve
After the defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s old guard hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, demanding accountability.
The largely silent group of veterans, part of the BJP’s ‘Margdarshak Mandal’, demanded that a committee be formed that looks into the Bihar poll debacle.
Read the full story here.
Also read The Quint’s After Veterans’ Letter, Oppn Rakes up Delhi Defeat, RSS Remarks
2. A Belated Exit
The resignation of Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani comes rather late, according to an edit piece in The Indian Express. The piece goes on to say that Mani should have resigned when the first reports of impropriety surfaced. It also argues that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy made a mistake by supporting Mani in times when there is a great demand for higher accountability.
This, according to the editorial, exposes the Congress’ double standards in the state when it comes to tackling corruption.
Read the full piece here.
3. FBI Report Rules out Radioactive Angle in Sunanda Pushkar’s Death
A report from a US-based lab has ruled out speculation that Sunanda Pushkar’s death was caused by polonium poisoning. According to The Hindu, the report that was handed over in a sealed envelope has not only ruled out radioactive poisoning but also given the Delhi police the name of the substance that cause Pushkar’s death.
The report says the Special Investigation Team that is in charge of Pushkar’s death probe will now look at how the substance entered her body.
Read the full report here.
4. Capital Sees 30% Dip in Sale of Crackers
Increase in the prices of firecrackers along with the awareness of an environment-friendly Diwali seems to have worked in New Delhi. Shopkeepers complain that this year there has been a dip of 30 per cent in crackers’ sales as compared to last year, reports the Times of India.
Read the full story here.
Also watch The Quint’s This Hilarious Desi Diwali Carols Mash-Up Needs to Be Seen Now
5. Bar Bribery Case: KM Mani Corrupt in June, Clean in July, Probe Report Took U-Turn
In the second part of its investigation, The Indian Express examines official documents and court papers and finds out that the final report was diluted by the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau. Vigilance Director Vinson M Paul had reportedly sent a scrutiny report to investigator R Sukesan and told him that the case does not stand in the court of law.
Read the full report here.
6. Bihar Verdict: More Muslim MLAs, Fewer Women
The Indian Express takes a look, in its After THE VERDICT section, at the candidates elected by the people of Bihar. The report says that the RJD has the maximum number of Muslim MLAs followed by the Congress’ six MLAs and JDU’s five. The report says that according to the count, the Grand Alliance has 22 MLAs which will “give it flexibility of options while selecting Muslim ministers”.
Read the full analysis here.
7. Suu Kyi’s Political Skills Will be Tested in the Weeks Ahead
Aung San Suu Kyi might be very close to her dream of winning the Myanmar election, the counting for which is still underway, but she is still at quite the distance from becoming President. An edit piece in Hindustan Times, points out that Suu Kyi’s party will have to win every contested seat and “engineer defections from the military” to realise her dream of becoming President. And even if, and that’s a big if, she does manage that she will have several challenges ahead as head of state.
Read the full piece here.
8. Post Bihar, NaMo Denies He’s Lost His Midas Touch
An opinion piece in the Times of India scripts a fictional conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about BJP’s Bihar drubbing. The conversation stays around the defeat, Nitish Kumar’s Delhi prospects and economic reforms.
Read it here.
9. ‘Growing Intolerance’ Debate: Selective Outrage is Proving Dangerous
G Padmanabhan writes in today’s Hindustan Times that the intellectuals who have returned their awards now were nowhere in the debate about atrocities against Dalits, moral policing by fringe elements, incidents of rape or even the beef ban.
Padmanabhan clearly states that the problem seems to be an opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi irrespective of the incidents that are taking place in the country.
Read the full opinion piece here.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)