BJP's got it wrong

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

For a party that claims it represents the mainline view, the BJP appears to have got it horribly wrong in opposing the Indo-US nuclear deal "" indeed, even the Hindi heartland newspapers appear to have endorsed the deal. In the north, Punjab Kesri was ecstatic enough about the Bush visit to get owner-editor Ashwini Kumar to write two front-page pieces "" one on how Bush put Pakistan President Musharraf in his place, and the other on how Bush's dogs had a cushy time in five-star hotels. Columnist Kuldip Nayar wrote an article on how Bush had finally realised the importance of India. Even the Dainik Jagran had a lead story on how Bush had thrown cold water on Pakistan's plans.

Among the Marathi newspapers, Loksatta wrote four editorials, two op-ed articles and a couple of other articles on defence and foreign affairs. It called the nuclear deal the jewel in the crown of UPA government's foreign policy and said L K Advani's comments were nothing but frustration. Another prominent newspaper Sakal also gave widespread coverage to Bush's India and Pakistan tour and, by and large, welcomed the deal. Sakal also reported the MoUs that were signed between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush. Maharashtra Times reported Bush's India tour on the front page but gave less prominence to the visit. Shiv Sena mouthpiece Samna was the only newspaper that wholeheartedly criticised the Bush tour and called it complete surrender by India before the US.

Every aspect of President W Bush's visit "" his delegation, the itinerary, and the purpose of the visit "" was given extensive coverage by the Telugu print media, right from front-page stories to business page articles to cartoons, besides centre-spread photo collages in the city tabloids. The dailies even ran viewpoints on their editorial pages on "nuclear energy, India and the US", two days ahead of the visit. While Eenadu brought out a special four-page edition on Bush's visit, Vaartha and other Telugu dailies dedicated more than two inside pages to cover the finer aspects of the visit. The Left parties' protest in Hyderabad on Bush's visit, his interactive meet with entrepreneurs at the Indian School of Business (ISB), and the time he spent at the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University along with Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was given prominent coverage on the front pages.

All three Kannada newspapers "" Kannada Prabha, Praja Vani and Vijaya Karnataka "" reported in prominent detail the US president's visit and the subsequent signing of the nuclear deal. All the three had edits on the nuclear deal and argued that it was a good way forward for India. The newspapers also felt this deal would benefit India's energy requirements to an extent.