Opinion INDIA’s Zardari?

While Organiser has made the issue its cover story,asserting that “Robert Vadra’s sleazy deals expose Sonia family greed”,Panchjanya has carried a cover story showing how the “business of the son-in-law” has “disgraced” the Congress. Organiser claims that “after his marriage to Priyanka Gandhi,Robert has emerged as the Asif Ali Zardari of Indian politics”,reminding readers of how Zardari leveraged his late wife Benazir Bhutto’s position to charge commissions that earned him the nickname “Mr 10 per cent”. Organiser’s cover story laments that there is “no law in this country to take action against the VVIPs who plunder the country simply on the basis of their marriages”. Both weeklies have carried details of land deals of business firms linked to Vadra and sought to allege irregularities in the dealings.

ITALIAN CART

The diplomatic standoff with Italy over its refusal to hand India back the marines,as promised to the Supreme Court,has been used by both weeklies to take potshots at Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Panchjanya has carried an editorial alleging how every bit of the Congress-led government was “weighed down by Rome”. The Organiser,however,is more straightforward — its cover story declares that one of the “privileges of being Italian under Sonia Raj” was that one “can get away with murder and loot”,with pictures of Ottavio Quattrocchi,the marines and the AgustaWestland chopper. The article stresses that “Italy is a holy cow,and as long as the Congress-led UPA government is in power,Italians can get away with murder”. The article suggests that “Italians are smart in assessing from past records that the Congress government in India led by Sonia Gandhi will never do anything that would shake the apple cart”,in the form of decisions to “send back the Italian ambassador and sever economic and diplomatic ties”.

PAKISTANSPEAK

Panchjanya has flagged its report on RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (All India Representatives Meet) on the front page,with a full-page report on the first day’s

highlights of the three-day meet in Jaipur last week.

The article,while providing details on the participation and the activities,inadvertently admits that only 425 “elected representatives” participated among 1,395 delegates expected. This works out to only about 30 per cent of representatives being “elected”,a surprising figure given that RSS micro-manages the BJP’s affairs.

The report highlights the Parivar’s disapproval of the Pakistani parliament’s resolution on Afzal Guru. Condemning the move,the Sangh described it as an “interference in the internal affairs” of India. It has described the move as “doublespeak” on Pakistan’s part,pointing out that Islamabad refused to accept the body of 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab while it is now trying to glorify Afzal Guru.

Compiled by Ravish Tiwari