Don't step on my turf
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
| Dainik Bhaskar's reporting was the most comprehensive of the lot. The paper included a list of the recent judgements that had purportedly excited the PM's ire. The chief among these are the recent stay on OBC reservations in educational institutions and the January 11 judgement which said that the laws included in the Constitution's Ninth Schedule were not immune to judicial purview. The report was accompanied by a picture of the PM and the CJI at the seminar. Rajasthan Patrika's headline was a stern "Don't cross limits". The paper quoted the Prime Minster on the need for the three organs of democracy""the legislature, the executive and the judiciary""to not encroach upon the working of one another. Punjab Kesari highlighted the presence of state chief ministers at the occasion with a picture of the chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat. |
| The Jet-Sahara deal finally came to a close this week, and the Hindi press celebrated the occasion. Playing on the Hindi word 'sahara' which translates into support, Bhaskar's headline read, 'Jet ko mila sahara' (Jet acquires Sahara). The report elaborated on Jet Airways' corporate history and how the deal would benefit the carrier""by way of its increased market share and acquisition of landing rights. Rajasthan Patrika took this news on its business page, and combined it with Educomp's acquisition of a 76 per cent stake in Three Bricks e-Services to paint a larger tale of the growing appetite of Indian corporates to consolidate their positions by gobbling both domestic and international businesses. |
| The Jet-Sahara merger also figured prominently in Marathi newspapers like Sakal, Loksatta and Maharashtra Times. However, it was only Loksatta which found the issue worth writing an editorial on. The editorial retraced why the deal could not take off earlier, analysed its political angles and expressed the hope that mega mergers like Jet-Sahara and Indian-Air India will ultimately benefit the consumer. |
| The war of words between the Prime Minister and the CJI on judicial activism was carried by all newspapers on their front pages, along with editorials on the issue. Maharashtra Times and Sakal said that it is important to maintain a healthy balance between the executive and the judiciary even as one's interference in the other's affairs should be discouraged. Loksatta, on the other hand, opined that in a democracy, the people's will is supreme and is reflected by representatives in the Parliament and assemblies. They are therefore the ultimate guardians of the people's interests, the editorial added. |
| The Jet-Sahara deal received very little coverage in Kannada newspapers. Developments relating to the issue were carried in the business sections of the newspapers as a single-column item. However, the PM's comments directed at the judiciary made for the lead story in all Kannada dailies for the Monday edition. The news was given prominent display on subsequent days as well. |
| The second largest daily, Praja Vani said the "confrontation" between the legislative and judiciary was a dangerous trend: "The confrontation between the two important pillars of Indian democracy is not new. However, it had not reached the PM-CJI level in the past. Both the legislative and the judiciary are conferred with supreme powers under the Constitution. Both should be complementary to each other. The confrontation should end at the earliest." |
| The other issue that grabbed headlines in the Kannada press was the alleged remark by the Infosys chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy on the national anthem. Members of the legislature, which is currently in session, latched on to the issue, demanding action against Murthy. |
| With the Maharashtra police's lathi charge on Telugu Desam Party activists stealing the limelight, the Jet-Sahara deal took a backseat in the Telugu print media on Wednesday. |
| With headlines that read 'Maha Anarchy' and 'Maratha Lathi on TDP', leading Telugu newspapers Eenadu, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi splashed the lathi charge as the lead story along with four-column photographs of the police's attack on TDP activists who were trying to proceed towards the controversial Babli project site opposing its illegal construction. The Jet-Sahara deal was relegated to their business pages. |