Shadow over coal

Shadow over coal

If the government really intended to divert attention away from the coal block allotment controversy, as is being charged by the BJP, it looks to have succeeded with its decision to allow FDI in retail. The latest issues of Sangh Parivar weeklies, Organiser and Panchjanya, reflect that. Both journals were critical of the government on the issue of FDI in retail.

The cover story in Organiser has charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with having "capitulated to [the] US' demand for market access" by allowing foreign investment. Admitting that the decision was successful at diverting attention away from coal block allotments, the editorial in Organiser has projected this decision — along with the diesel price hike and cap on subsidised cooking gas cylinders — as the "beleaguered prime minister's... googly" against Congress President Sonia Gandhi, "akin to Indira Gandhi's bank nationalisation".

"In one stroke, Manmohan Singh has killed several birds. He has pleased his foreign masters, he has distracted the opposition ire [sic], foxed the Congress party into supporting him a little longer and won favours for the corporate class," writes Organiser. It also contends that the PM timed his decision to bail out US President Barack Obama as he runs for re-election, where Obama is charged of "losing American jobs to Asia while the large Indian middle-class buyers' market had been restricted to foreign companies".

The editorial in Panchjanya argued that the government ignored over six crore domestic retail traders while succumbing to "US pressure" to open up the retail sector. Organiser also highlighted Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's decision to pull out of the UPA government to assert that the ruling Congress betrayed its allies.

Sudarshan Loss

Both Sangh Parivar weeklies mourned the death of former RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan with extensive coverage of the life and works of the Parivar's former head. Series of reports and photographs in both journals pay homage to Sudarshan for inspiring generations of RSS workers. The attendance of top BJP leaders — L.K. Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Gopinath Munde, Ananth Kumar and Narendra Modi, among others — at RSS headquarters to pay tribute was highlighted.

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