New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday showed a sting operation on demonetisation and claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party had benefited from the exercise.During the day, former actor Jaya Prada joined the BJP, which announced her nomination from Rampur.Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan was in town to promote his latest book, The Third Pillar. He criticised the Modi government for demonetisation and joblessness, as well as for not releasing jobs data.How did the media report these stories? What did they find the most worthy of attention?English channelsTimes NowThe channel ran the hashtag #KalakaarYaKaryakarta (actor or worker) as it discussed the influx of stars into political parties across the spectrum.In the Hot Seat discussion, anchor Navika Kumar spoke to Prada about her election journey. Recalling how she moved from the Samajwadi Party to Rashtriya Lok Dal to BJP, she asked how long will she stay with the saffron party. Prada replied, “People know the circumstances in which I have chosen this path. I did not leave SP, I was thrown out.”Kumar asked Prada if she has got close to the BJP only because her mentor and former SP leader Amar Singh also did so. “Amar Singh is not in BJP but he is a follower of the party and Prime Minister Modi,” Prada replied.Also read: Jobs and Basic Facilities Are Top Priorities for Voters, Survey FindsShe also handled the next question from Kumar – which was rather demeaning – quite well. “Is it that Amar Singh became ‘chowkidar‘ so BJP got Jaya Prada for free?” Kumar asked.Prada replied, “I joined BJP because Modi has worked for the honour of women and that is why I have joined this party.”NDTV 24X7In its programme Reality Check, anchor Nidhi Razdan took up the issue of “Electoral Bonds – transparent or opaque?”It ran with headlines like “Transparency in political funding” and “Paisa and politics: major loopholes”.On behalf of the BJP, Bhaskar Ghosh argued that as money for political donations is routed through banks, the transactions are transparent.This was countered by Jagdeep Chhokhar of the Association for Democratic Reform, who said, “If one agency and that too the government is the owner of or controls some information, it cannot be called transparency.” The channel also had a headline: “ADR: Over 50% funds from unknown sources”.Razdan also interviewed former RBI governor Rajan and discussed the issue of competitive populism with him.Rajan was categorical that technocrats don’t always have answers to people’s problems. The solutions provided by politicians also often do wonders. “To give an example,” he said, “the mid-day meal scheme was first was started by Tamil Nadu chief minister M.G. Ramachandran. Initially it was not focused on making children study more, but it ended up bringing more children to school and improved the education standards.”India Today TVRajan appeared on India Today today too, in conversation with Rajdeep Sardesai. The talk ranged from Congress’s NYAY promise to which party had the best vision.The channel also had headlines like “Is Cong formula possible”, “Competitive populism at play” and “India in Dole economics trap” to convey the gist of Rajan’s replies.Republic TVThe channel, in a programme anchored by editor Arnab Goswami, tried to corner Congress on its ‘Ram politics’. Through headlines such as “Ram bhakti a poll ploy now?”, “What’s Cong stand on Ayodhya” and “‘Ram Bhakts against mandir?” it targeted the party. The hashtag #CongRamBhaktLie also revealed which way the debate was headed.During the programme, the channel showed images of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and Mani Shankar Aiyar along with their questions on religion or existence of Ram. So along with Tharoor’s image, the caption read: “Calls Hindus divisive”. With Aiyar’s it was: “How do you know Ram was born there?”Goswami charged that these politicians are cheating people. “This is what hurts people,” he said, adding, “You say you believe in Hinduism, but you don’t believe in Ram.”Hindi channelsABP NewsThe channel also had a detailed story on Jaya Prada joining BJP. It recalled the sexist and belittling remarks made by Azam Khan against her – from calling her a “rangeela chaliya of Bollywood” to “nachnay wali”. It also showed Prada’s anger at being called names by a man she claimed she considered her brother. “Allah bhi unhay kabhi maaf nahin karega (Even god will not forgive him),” she said.Aaj TakThe channel talked about how the Congress is raising new issues to corner Modi every now and then. “Modi ki nahin, apni chunavi pitch par khelengay Rahul (Rahul will play on his own election pitch, not Modi’s),” one headline said.Another referred to the changing agenda and asked how it was altered within two weeks. It noted that from attacking BJP with the alleged scam in the Rafale deal to coining “chowkidar chor hai” and raising questions about the intelligence failure leading to the Pulwama attack and the authenticity of the Balakot airstrikes, the Congress has used different issues to target the BJP.Also read: Will Congress’s NYAY Really Mean Justice for the Poor?Stating that Modi answered most of these questions, the channel said Rahul Gandhi has since adopted a strategy to constantly change the line of attack.Zee NewsThe channel’s editor Sudhir Chaudhary ran an interview with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley with the headline “Rahul ki nyuntam aay yojana gamechanger ho sakti hai? (Could Rahul’s NYAY scheme be a game changer?)”Jaitley claimed the minimum income scheme was only aimed at hoodwinking the poor. He also talked about the Modi government’s welfare and poverty alleviation schemes, and said barring West Bengal and Delhi, all other states have been cooperating in implementing them.On the issue of BJP denying Lok Sabha tickets to party elders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi citing an age criteria, Jaitley said, “In BJP there is no seat of a person, all seats are of the party”.Jaitley exuded confidence that BJP would return to power because the face of the government “is honest, makes others honest, and is also aggressive on national security”.NDTV IndiaIn Prime Time, anchor Ravish Kumar showed how in Ghaziabad villages, the problem of stray cattle is costing farmers. He showed farmers lamenting that they have to spend lakhs on fencing their fields now. Also, they complained that the cost of the iron used for fencing has gone up by over 50%, even as the cost of urea and other agricultural inputs has also risen constantly.The channel also had a short story on Jaya Prada and announced that Shatrughan Sinha was like to jump ship and join the Congress on March 28.