Nuked by the deal

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

The crisis affecting the central government was the lead story all of last week in the regional media. Once it became clear that the Left was serious about its reservations on the Indo-US nuclear deal, leading Hindi dailies played up the situation alluding to the threat the government faces.

Punjab Kesari's lead headline in its August 22 edition read: "No respite for government." The paper reported that even as the CPI(M) was set to meet in New Delhi to voice its protest to the deal, the Congress was sending feelers that it would not back down, considering the deal was inextricably linked to the Prime Minister's personal prestige.

Dainik Jagran took note of the "headless chicken" remark of Indian Ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen, which stalled both houses of Parliament on August 21, and forced Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterji and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to issue statements condemning Sen's comments, the paper reported. The story continued with Dainik Bhaskar reporting in its August 23 edition that the Opposition was refusing to back down on its demand to recall Sen.

Bhaskar, in the same edition, also drew attention to how the crisis in the government was affecting the stock markets adversely. Its business lead headline read: "Sensex closes below 14000 for the first time in three months." The paper reported that in spite of the US Fed slashing interest rates on primary loans by half a percentage to help global markets tide over the sub-prime crisis, the Indian bourses continue to head south owing to the political disturbance in New Delhi.

The market crisis received very little mention in the Kannada press, but the crisis faced by the UPA government over the Indo-US nuclear deal was covered extensively in all the leading Kannada dailies, on the front pages.

However, a number of local issues also dominated the newspapers during the week. Rameshwar Thakur's appointment as the new governor of Karnataka and the ongoing investigation into land encroachment in and around Bangalore were widely reported. The flood situation in the coastal districts continues to remain grim.

The transfer of power in the state from the JD(S) to the BJP, scheduled to take place in October, has caused anxiety among both parties. As per an accord struck by the two parties last year, the JD(S) has to hand over the chief minister's post to the BJP for the remaining term (20 months). But leaders of both parties are making a number of confusing statements. Most of the Kannada newspapers have criticised this.

Market leader Vijaya Karnataka said in its editorial, "The people of the state are not interested in the transfer of power. They want good governance and service. At a time when floods have caused widespread damage in the state, both ruling partners are engaged in mud-slinging. It is time they realised their duties."

Though the Telugu press gave little attention to the stock market crash, frontline newspapers Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi played up the nuclear deal issue prominently on their front pages. On Saturday, the fluctuations in the markets were discussed on their business pages as two-column stories. Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi, with headlines that read "Now better," stated that the market declined 216 points on the back of the sub-prime pressure, and expressed hope that the US Fed's action would have a positive impact on the domestic market in the coming week.

With headlines "Nuke threat to UPA government" and "Nuke test to UPA" respectively, Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi splashed the CPI(M)'s ultimatum to the UPA government to stall the implementation of the nuclear deal as the lead story on their front pages, besides dedicating two full inside pages to the issue. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister N D Tiwari taking charge as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh was the lead in the two dailies on Monday. Eenadu also carried an edit by Neeraja Chowdary on its front page the same day. "The countdown for the UPA government has begun and it may go for elections anytime between January and August next year," the newspaper quoted her as saying.

The news on the nuclear deal and the Left parties demanding that the 123 agreement with the US be put on hold hit the front pages of Tamil daily Dinamalar over the last week. The daily, in its edition dated August 23, carried a report on Left parties seeking a recall of Ambassador Ronen Sen over his remarks, on page 1. The previous day's edition had carried a report on CPI(M) General Secreaty Prakash Karat's remarks on the nuclear deal.

Reports on engineering admissions in Tamil Nadu, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's proposal to introduce the "no work, no pay policy" of withdrawing the daily allowance of Rs 1,000 from MPs who disrupt Parliamentary proceedings, making helmets compulsory for two-wheeler drivers in the state, the appointments of new governors for various states, among others, also dominated the front pages of daily over the past one week.