As the air in Delhi turned toxic in the past few days, some of the Urdu dailies highlighted the need to tackle the issue on priority and formulate a concrete plan to fight pollution all through the year. Other dailies put the lens on BJP’s election campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand which they claimed was communal.

Urdu daily Rashtriya Sahara noted that the impact of air pollution was so profound in Delhi and its surrounding areas that people dread the onset of winter, the time of the year when Delhi’s air quality touches toxic levels.

Taking note of the deteriorating air quality index, the Supreme Court stepped in on Monday, underlining the delay in implementing the measures to curb air pollution. “There is a lot of talk about air pollution, but there is a need to seriously try to deal with it even on normal days and find ways to get rid of it permanently,” stated the Sahara editorial on November 19.

“The seriousness of this has to be understood by every individual along with the governments. Steps have to be taken to deal with it. Every factor contributing to an excessive increase in air pollution must be eliminated. People have to pay attention to their health. They should avoid going out of the house as much as possible, wear a mask when going out, take care of the air in the house, keep the windows and doors closed, use air purifiers, use public transport more than private vehicles,” the editorial suggested.

In an editorial, the Urdu Times urged voters in Maharashtra to exercise their democratic right and vote. “As intense campaigning for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly came to an end on Monday evening, it’s now up to the voters to elect a new government in the state. You should vote on your own free will without being influenced by anyone. Your vote is your voice. Your vote will decide the future of the country,” the daily wrote on November 19.

“The government and the Election Commission have also taken a lot of steps to spread awareness regarding the importance of elections and left no stone unturned to inform people about their democratic rights. A holiday has been declared in government offices and private companies have also been requested to declare a holiday in their offices so that every citizen of the country can exercise their right to vote. All this is important because it has been observed that the percentage of voting in urban areas is lower than in rural areas,” the editorial said.

The daily said the lower voting percentage in urban areas was really surprising as polling booths are mostly located in neighbourhoods and there is no problem with commuting as well. It further said the situation in Muslim localities was not encouraging either.

The daily delved into the economic conditions of the Muslim community to drive home the point that elections give them a chance to help improve their current situation. “The community lags behind all the parameters of development, be it education, economic and political. The responsibility of the community is even more to go out and vote, and raise their voice through democratic means,” it said.

The Siasat flagged the BJP’s “communal campaign” in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. “Election campaigning for the second phase of voting in Jharkhand and the single-phase Assembly elections in Maharashtra came to an end. Almost all the political parties carried out this campaign with great intensity and tried to influence the voters. No effort was spared to sway the voters and accusations were also made against each other. However, if this election campaign is carefully examined, it becomes clear that there is no effort left by the BJP to spread communal hatred in both Jharkhand and Maharashtra,” it wrote in an editorial on November 19.

“At every opportunity, divisive issues were raised by ignoring the fundamental issues. Attempts were made to fuel hatred and rifts between different sections of the society. In Jharkhand, it was said that the Hemant Soren government wants to give reservations to Muslims and Congress is planning to take away the reservations of the OBC classes. Thus, despite being in power at the Centre, the BJP has tried to spread hatred among sections of the society. Apart from this, the party gave a very provocative slogan ‘Batenge toh Katenge’. A complaint was also lodged with the Election Commission. It is a different matter that the Election Commission did not consider it necessary to take any action on this matter,” the daily wrote.