From the Urdu Press: ‘Rahul must halt Yatra, launch Cong Jodo campaign’, ‘Cynical towards farmers, govt wants privatisation in agriculture’

As the agitating Punjab farm leaders rejected the Narendra Modi government’s offer and decided to resume their“Dilli Chalo” march on Wednesday to push for their various demands, the stage is set for a new round of showdown between the farmer protesters and the BJP dispensation on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls. The Opposition is looking to latch on to this row to boost the narrative of their poll campaign after having got a talking point on corruption in the wake of the Supreme Court’s judgment quashing the electoral bonds scheme. These stories dominated the Urdu dailies over the week, even as they tracked the continuing series of defections from the beleaguered Congress party.

URDU TIMES

Commenting on the state of affairs in the Congress, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its editorial on February 18, says that at a time whenRahul Gandhi is engaged in leading his East-to-West Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to create public awareness for the cause of justice, his party continues to lurch from crisis to crisis. “The Congress has been reeling from a wave of desertions, with one senior leader after another jumping ship to cross over to the BJP,” the editorial says. “So, Rahul Gandhi should first undertake a Congress Jodo campaign to fix the problems of his party. Otherwise, what will remain of his Yatra’s objective if his party unravels?”

The edit also says that it is high time the Congress did some soul-searching as to why its veteran leaders are bent on leaving. Senior Maharashtra Congress leaders, including ex-CM Ashok Chavan, Baba Siddique and Milind Deora, recently quit the party. Now there is buzz about Kamal Nath poised to follow suit. “These are extraordinary developments. The grand old party is getting fragmented, falling