Exit polls oust Maya

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

Exit polls suggesting a clear lead for the Samajwadi Party in the just concluded Assembly elections in UP dominate the front pages of most papers. "SP clearly ahead in UP", reports the Times of India. The Mail Today says "Exit polls oust Maya". The Tribune and the Hindustan Times report that according to the exit polls UP will witness a hung house.

A Metropolitan court rejecting the plea by Zakia Jaffrey to make public the report of the Special Investigation Team or SIT that probed the Gulbarg Society massacre in Ahmedabad in 2002 in which her husband, former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffrey was killed, is widely noticed. "Zakia's plea to make SIT report on Gujarat riots public rejected", writes the Tribune. Similarly the Times of India says, "Court rejects Zakia's plea to open SIT report".

In its special front page lead "Govt probes snooping by Army equipment", the Indian Express writes that despite denials by the Defence Ministry about Mr A K Anthony's office being bugged, the government and intelligence agencies are verifying specific information' that off-the-air-mobile phone interception equipment was deployed for passive interception by a section of the Army brass.

The Times of India reports on its front page that in the wake of pilots threatening to stop work if they were not paid their salaries, Kingfisher airlines has warned of a shut down. Highlighting Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily's preion for the troubled airlines the Pioneer writes, " Mallya has to take proactive interest to save KF, says Moily".

In what could be good news for elected representatives, the Hindustan Times says that now funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme, MNREGA will be made available to MPs to help them connect with their constituencies.

In international news, most papers highlight losses for Iranian President Ahmedinijad in the recently held parliamentary polls in the country. "Ahmedinijad's faction losing ground" reports the Asian Age. The Pioneer writes, " Ahmedinijad rivals leading in parliament vote".

And finally, if any more proof was needed about why plastic waste can be dangerous, the Asian Age reports of the death of a Giraffe in an Indonesian zoo. And guess what the autopsy revealed....20 kilograms of plastic in its stomach.