Opinion Baffled by Bihar

Lucknow-based daily,Qaumi Khabrein in its November 25 editorial writes: “On the one hand, Nitish Kumar gave the proof of good governance. But on the other hand,he did not close his eyes to the grassroots realities of India,and particularly of Bihar — the arithmetic of castes — and proved to be a good ruler and a good politician.” The paper adds: “A seasoned player like Nitish will not sit quietly. He may need 10-12 more MLAs to get a majority for his party. If he succeeds in engineering defections in the opposition parties,he would not need BJP support. Thus in Bihar,the two allies have a ‘sleeping with the enemy’ type of relationship. It cannot be said who (and when) could knock the other out.”

The whole spectrum

Discussing the former telecommunications minister A.Raja,Delhi-based daily Hamara Samaj in its November 19 editorial writes: “Removing incumbents from their offices is not a solution. The real problem is how the guilty should be punished and (to ensure that) no scams recur… Should the licences of erring companies be cancelled? If this could be done,that would be a good message for the future,that no company should try to influence the decision of the government through use of immoral pressure… If the government agrees to probe the scam by a JPC,it is possible that the opposition’s anger will be contained. But who would compensate for the estimated loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer?”

Rashtriya Sahara in its November 28 editorial writes: “Vocal among those demanding a JPC are the leaders of the NDA,even though the entire country knows about the many big scams during NDA rule (at the Centre). Everyone knows how the names of Bangaru Laxman,George Fernandes and Jaya Jaitly came up in the matter of defence purchases. But what was the result?” The paper adds: “If the complaint was against corruption,strict action would have been taken against the chief minister of Karnataka for distributing bounty to his family members.”

Expressing concern at the suspension of Parliament proceedings,and blaming both the government and the opposition, Hyderabad-based daily Siasat in its November 29 editorial writes: “When the government has strongly rejected the possibility of probing the 2G spectrum scam by a joint parliamentary committee,why don’t the opposition parties consider alternatives?” The paper also writes that “the government’s stance of rejecting the JPC proposal indicates that it is afraid of the possible revelations of the probe.”

Dabangg badnaam hua

According to a UNI Urdu report in the Lucknow-based daily Qaumi Khabrein on November 24,the popular song from Dabangg,‘Munni Badnaam Hui’,has created a big row in Pakistan for reportedly being “a copy of an 18-year-old Pakistani song,‘Ladka Badnaam Hua,Haseena Tere Liye’. Noted Pakistani stage artiste Omar Sharif had written and sung this song in a qawwali format in the film Mr Charlie 18 years ago”. There is a mention of agitation in Pakistan over songs being “copied” by Bollywood,with Pakistani film director Shoaib Mansoor making a documentary on this subject titled Dhun Hamaari Aapke Naam.

Compiled by Seema Chishti