Assam blasts, MNS issue

Read in the Times of India about the serial blasts in Assam. I have included screenshots of some of the pages in the pdf at this link. What have we come to....

Several articles talked about the Assam blasts.
The front page:
Assam serial blasts kill 66 9 Blasts In 30 Mins

Page 4:
City Assamese stunned at the scale of attacks

Page 13:
"‘Ulfa could have been wiped out’ Army Slams Flip-Flop Policies Of Govts In Tackling N-E Militant Outfit"

The Govt. has been handling this issue with loose gloves. This attitude has been there for several aspects, for example with handling of the MNS activities in Mumbai... The MNS issue is much smaller in scale, but the symptoms are same.

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Articles about the MNS-sponsored "terror" in Mumbai:
Front page:
"Slap NSA on Raj, says Union cabinet"

Page 2:
"Father of dead UP man rejects state’s offer of Rs 2 lakh"

Related to a statement made by the father of the UP resident who was thrashed on a local train. Id suggest reading the entire article for the more interesting tidbits anout why he was beaten up, and why the Govt. offered the compensation.

"Patil takes on Lalu, Nitish Kumar"

Page 3:
"MNS mayhem: CM, dy CM under fire"

"Rly’s window angle may weaken its case: Lawyers"
The title does a good summary of the article content; it is lamentable that several authorities want to push issues under the carpet instead of finding the real solution. The article on ULFA extremists also speaks about a similar attitude regarding a different problem (Page 13): "‘Ulfa could have been wiped out’ Army Slams Flip-Flop Policies Of Govts In Tackling N-E Militant Outfit"

There is an article that throws light on how the Govt. can also be very efficient in tackling sensitive issues. Page 4 "Last two shrines on Santa Cruz Rd to be moved"; This one is about the success of MMRDA in moving shrines that fell on the link roads that are being developed. The shrines belong to different religions, and going by the article, the organization has been able to work across religious sentiments.

Page 7:
"Marathis are our brothers, says Rahul Raj’s father"
Rahul Raj is the dude who hijacked a bus at Kurla in Mumbai on Monday this week. By the looks of it, he got a heroes welcome in Patna. To quote the article:
"Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and PHED minister Ashwini Kumar Chaubey represented the state government at the cremation, which was also attended by Patna MP Ram Kripal Yadav and hundreds of others. The bier was carried by Rahul’s friends, even as the district administration had arranged a flower-bedecked truck for the purpose."

Page 18, editorial article:
"Not Yours Or Mine"
The article is about how Mumbai and its spirit is being damaged by political parties which are trying to look for short term gains. It quotes a policeman saying: “Mumbai kisi ke baap ki hahin hai”.


There are also two half-page ads about Indira Gandhi; in essence a tribute to her martyrdom. One ad is on the 4th page by the "Ministry of Information and Broadcasting" and another on the 13th page by the "Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, and Department of Higher Education". The money for this has probably come from the respective Govt. bodies.