Hafta 484: Modi’s Adani-Ambani dig, UP and Maharashtra polls, BSP scion’s sacking

This week, Newslaundry ’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Raman Kirpal are joined by journalists Girish Kuber, Sunita Aron, and Sudipto Mondal.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech accusing the Congress of receiving money from industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, Sudipto says this news is not headline material but rather “gossip material”. He adds that the talk on the ground is “ nahi mila kya is baar ”, suggesting that the corporate houses put their weight behind the Congress in this election.

On the elections in Maharashtra, Girish says, “There is no state-wide agenda in these polls. There are 48 constituencies and 48 election agendas.” Sunita points out the BJP’s big challenge in UP. “The BJP has set a target of 75 seats, but after Rahul and Akhilesh came together, there is better chemistry and coordination [in INDIA bloc].”

The panel then discusses the BSP’s prospects and the sacking of its leader and Mayawati’s nephew, Akash Anand, from the post of national coordinator. Sudipto counters Abhinandan’s argument of the BSP being the BJP’s B-team, saying it “doesn’t come with a sensitivity” that the party represents a politics “different from all other parties” and represents “the most oppressed sections”. He adds, “The pragmatism that other parties show is appreciated a lot more than the pragmatism these parties [including the AIMIM and VBA] show.”

This and a whole lot more. Tune in!

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. Song: Kan Kar Gal Sun Makhna

Timecodes

00:06:27 - Modi’s Adani-Ambani speech

00: 16:20 - Headlines

00: 24:04 - Maharashtra elections

00:29:49 - UP elections

00: 35:54 - Akash Anand’s sacking

01:11:06 - Letters

01:30:12 - Recommendations

References

Press Freedom Week offer

Why Maharashtra worries the BJP

What’s your ism

Mallikarjun Kharge’s Ism: An Ambedkarite manifesto for the Modi years

A critical battle for Minorities | Hyderabad | Owaisi

Dead serious

Girish Kuber books

Sunita Aron books

Presenting NewsAble

Recommendations

Sunita

Amar Singh Chamkila

Maamla Legal Hai

Girish

Einstein on Politics

Sudipto

Was Chamkila the voice of Dalits and the working class? Movie vs reality

Why Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi is the only force that can counter Hindutva in Maharashtra

Raman

Amar Singh Chamkila

Priscilla

An analysis of SC constituencies

Abhinandan

The Other Song | Dir: Saba Dewan

BBC: The Global Story | US Campus Protests

Check out our previous Hafta recommendations .

Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta & Priyali Dhingra, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh.

. Hafta 484

Sting: [00:00:00] This is a News Laundry Podcast, and you're listening to NL

Abhinandan: Hafta. Welcome to another episode of Hafta in the midst of, I guess, the peak of the election. We're like in the middle of it. right in the middle of it. And earlier this week, it was the third phase that concluded in Maharashtra, Gujarat and some other parts, which we will come to.

Uh, but before I introduce the panel, I want to remind everybody that we have an offer, which is the press freedom week offer, where we're giving you one plus one subscription for friends, relatives, et cetera, who you think should be encouraged to pay to keep news free. You buy one subscription, you get one free.

So this is a good time to set it up. So you can also support and support. Ad free, non sponsored journalism, which all our journalism is. And I hope you've been following all our stories. So why are [00:01:00] you seeing the studio so empty is because Manisha is off to, uh, Lucknow Lucknow. Atul just got back from Bengal yesterday, or maybe today.

Raman: He came back last night, uh, yesterday, but he's going to Patna

Abhinandan: and, uh, and Moul got back also fairly recently. So Yeah. Things are hectic. Uh, and all this is only possible because you guys are subscribing. So thank you so much. Keep that going. Uh, avail of the press freedom week. And we have one more announcement, a very important one.

Newsable, which is our website app is now accessible. Uh, last year, the media rumble, we previewed newsable. It's a set of features and systems that kind of rejigs a lot of our website and app and makes it. Available and accessible to people with disabilities. Uh, so it has the following kind of features.

It has read aloud function. It has voice search function. It has keyboard navigation. It has dyslexic fonts. I didn't even know, [00:02:00] uh, you know, you, there was separate setting for fonts, if you have dyslexia, it has reader mode, it has podcast transcript subtitles and contrast themes for colorblind users, uh, you can read a note in the links below by Chitranshu who oversaw this entire project on the engineering efforts and more about the features.

Please write and tell us what you think. If you are a user who is disabled and or not, or no someone who is, please write to subscription at news laundry. And we'd love to hear from you and what more we should add on that app, because I believe it is probably the first news app in India that is. Disabled friendly.

So do check it out and thank you. I've said this before we got this idea at a news, at a event of news laundry subscribers, where someone who had a visual impairment came up to me and said, you know, I should be able to use your app without the help of my family. Uh, so thank you young man for. nudging us in that direction.

So do check out [00:03:00] unusable app. And now let me introduce the panel to you. So with me in the studio is Raman Kirpal. Hi. Welcome sir, editor in chief. Joining us online. Let me start, uh, from the top left of the screen as I see it is Sunita Aaron. Welcome Sunita. So Sunita is a journalist. She's a political analyst and An author based in Lucknow.

Oh, uh, Manisha is coming there. Maybe she can hang out with you and figure out what's up. Uh, Sunita is consulting editor and former executive editor, Hindustan Times, Uttar Pradesh. She has previously authored Ballots and Breakups, The Games Politicians Play, and Akhilesh Yadav, Winds of Change. And the dynasty.

So you can check out any of her books. The links will be in the show notes below. Welcome Sunita.

Sunita: Thank you.

Abhinandan: Uh, and then joining us is Girish Kuber, who is the editor of the Marathi daily Lok Sabta. Thank you for joining us Girish. Appreciate you being the time. Thank you. Uh, like I said, he's the editor of The marata of the Indian Express [00:04:00] Group, author of the Tatas, how a Family Built a Business and a Nation Maharastra the Making of a Renaissance state and the Invisible Enemy.

His recent piece in the Indian Express is why Ttra Worries the BJP. The link will be the shown its below as it'll be the link to his books, the Invisible Enemy. About what? Garish, urban, al

Girish: Basically, basically biological warfare, you know. Oh cha. I thought it's completely different thing. Yeah,

Abhinandan: I thought it was urban Al and maybe three has bought the rights and we'll be seeing a film manager

Girish: that, that I can think of.

Only post-retirement ,

Abhinandan: or you do that you, you can take retirement tomorrow.

Girish: You have us a topic to touch in this atmosphere. ,

Abhinandan: uh, and joining us from. Bangalore is our next superstar. Suto Manal. Welcome Suto. I hope you have been watching his podcast. What's your, [00:05:00] uh, at least I'm thrilled with it. I hope you guys are watching it.

Share it widely.

Audio insert: Charism, Marxism, liberalism, deism, feminism. Gandhi, what role are these great big isms of the 20th century playing in the 21st century? What relevance do they have today? We have a tree. I'm an atheist in

Raman: the same way as I'm an a leprechaun. Why have there been casteism existing in the country still today?

Feminism is

Audio insert: by definition the belief that men and women should have equal rights. The nature of the system is to be as mean and rotten as you can, uh, to try to The national elections are around the corner and what better time than now to talk about isms. I'm Sudeep Tom Mandal and welcome to this special election series of what's your ism.

Abhinandan: I think it's, you know, growing into one of the most important podcasts, which has amazing conversations. Link is shown below, share and, uh, make sure you follow that. Uh, his recent profile was on Malik Arjun [00:06:00] Kharge as part of this election coverage, which is again supported because. All of you allowed us to do non sponsored journalism.

Uh, and he's the executive editor of the News Minute, which is now part of the News Laundry family. So welcome Sudipto.

Sunita: Thank you.

Abhinandan: Before I get into the headlines, because that may take me about four or five minutes, just want to quickly get one little sense of, you know, of, um, what's happened so far, at least in the election.

Uh, this morning I saw in the, uh, Uh, newspaper. The front page was because of this clip of the Prime Minister.[00:07:00]

Indian expresses. How much did Ani Banani give you? P Congress? Rahul says, let de probe them. Uh, and then they've done a fact check. No. Sudden silence the Times. India also. Front big headline now. I am I was just curious and I'd love to know what the panel thinks I mean, I saw it as a passing speech during a speech everyone payloads everybody else But it doesn't really mean that someone has abandoned one industrialist and clutched on to the other I was a little surprised to find this on the front page of all the newspapers, but again, I'm not a journalist and I have not really been, I just want to get the views that why is this [00:08:00] so important to be on top?

Because he has named Adani, like what's the big deal? Don't they do that in every election? Everybody? Uh, you know, you want to go first Girish?

Girish: Yeah, I mean, it, it indicates the horrible contradiction. Uh, number one, Rahul, uh, till now used to accuse, uh, BJP forming in hand in glove with the Andhari Adanis and Ambanis, number one.

Number two is that, uh, it's just not the mention. The, the, uh, allegation that, uh, uh, I mean, it's just not against Rahul. Uh, he also has painted, uh, these two industrial houses, uh, officially we can say, uh, uh, And the number three is, uh, uh, truck full load of cash tempo, but you, you see

Abhinandan: this as an indication of something more than just political rhetoric, because where he made the speeches, Telangana Adani's got some [00:09:00] four ports there.

It's a local issue. Or do you think that it is also veiled threat to those guys that don't put your weight behind anybody else? Yeah.

Girish: Yeah, that's exactly I was coming to that, you know, so there must have been the political gripmine in the story is that this, uh, government, these two houses, uh, must have paid significantly, uh, for electoral, uh, election expenses to Congress.

And it must have been. Take a note of, you know, so it must be a kind of a warning to them, you know, I mean, uh, that, that also, uh, is an angle, but interestingly, uh, he talked about cash and from my point of view, I mean, what happened to the demonetization? It was supposed to

Abhinandan: be against the That no one even mentions.

There should be no cash with anyone to actually And yet, you know, hundreds of crores are being recovered.

Girish: Promises to, uh, eliminate, uh, basically black money also. So what happened to that? That really didn't

Abhinandan: work. Uh, yeah, Sunita, what do you make of it? Is it big [00:10:00] enough to be on the front page? Top headline in all the newspapers?

Just because it's Adani Ambani? I mean, why? So,

Sunita: uh, I think any political It becomes interesting, and especially when you have a Dhani and a Bhani. And, uh, it has been basically Ram Gandhi's, uh, you know, if you look at it, there is a Dai tribe going on. But this time the Prime Minister took it, uh, took the initiative of naming them.

Definitely there is a message. I, I 100 percent agree that there is a message. Perhaps both as well as to the whole and the teams. I think, I don't know, ever since this election started or even before that money, uh, stacks of money you have, you have seen being recovered in various rates. So what? We're talking about black money, uh, going away after the demonetization.

I think Ed and CBI have recovered a whole lot of too money. They're very amount [00:11:00] money, so black money is in circulation as it, and, uh, if you look at it every phase, the narrative changes. Uh, from every phase and nobody's talking about electoral bonds, uh, a subject that would have been talking about.

Nobody's talking about the manifestos and all that. Every phase there is a fresh issue which they discuss. Maybe they're trying to, you know, there's so much of critique factor. It's entertainment also.

Abhinandan: Oh yeah. Also. I mean, I, I mean, I was watching TV day before yesterday. I thought Sam Pitroda had become the prime ministerial candidate from the Congress.

Then I realized it's just general, but, uh, so they thought, uh, from you, headline material, this, this statement, it is on neck of the woods, Telangana,

Sudipto: but gossip material, definitely, because you know, uh, you know, they described as a game of tests and all of that, right. It's an open, uh, I mean, you have a hundred moves, Which open up as options.[00:12:00]

So in this scenario, the, the talk on the ground after this, uh, statement from Modi was simply, nahi mila kya is bar. Right. Because obviously, you know, it's as you know, that's the first thing that comes to mind. And that's the first thing that I, you know, I picked up from a lot of people. I was in Hyderabad and things like that.

And, you know, you could see on social media, a lot of people are saying, does that mean that the money has moved elsewhere? Does that mean that, Uh, industry is now betting on some other parties. I mean, so many speculations. I think these speculations are what need to be discussed because until the elections, what do we have to do exactly?

Because this is one of the speculations I really loved, you know, where people were talking about that means something has happened. Adani Ambani have not given any money to the BJP. Maybe they've given it to the opposition. These are the exciting conversations we should bring into this thing, right? Uh, these speculations.

So who, who, who's

Abhinandan: in Telangana right now from our team? Shabbir

Sudipto: was there a little recently. Oh, yeah. So please check out this very, very, very important story from Shabbir, which is up on [00:13:00] YouTube. Shabbir Ahmed is our Tamil Nadu Bureau Chief, but he's also somebody who's covered the South over the last 15 years.

He was in Hyderabad, went to the old city, and brought a very, very important story from out of there, which actually, uh, should, should, uh, you know, make the OACs reflect, if not anything else, right? Because what he talks about is, uh, you know, what, what state old city of Hyderabad is in. So he goes into those places.

He speaks to the people over there. There's a very important person in that video. I'm not going to tell you right away. Uh, you should go and watch that video. But there's a very important person in that video who Shabbir features in, who says that I am stepping out of the election. I could have given this guy a real run for his money, but I'm stepping back in the larger interest of TK.

Let there not be a

Abhinandan: divide in the votes. You

Sudipto: know that. Yeah. Yeah. Divide in the votes. This is a very, very important story. It talks about interest of TK. Right. It talks about how in the whole of the whole city, there's just one hospital. Right. And the OACs have been in power for how many years now? So these are critical things.

And, [00:14:00] uh, the last thing I want to say is that, you know, uh, you know, then I mean, you must have seen the reporting of the news, but of course we take, um, uh, the right thing very seriously. We do definitely go after them without any apologies, but I think we also hold the so called secular parties to higher standards and that's a very important, uh, thing, you know, to do, because I think we have to do that.

Abhinandan: You know, on that, I've been getting a lot of calls from many leaders who are upset at the interviews that have been conducted by our team, uh, that, uh, have you also become Modi, Bhakts? So my only, you know, counter to them is I say, I say, you've forgotten what interviews are. You see, because everybody sees the interviews that Mr.

Modi gives. Opposition leaders think they'll also get the same interviews. Basically, if, if let's say Rahul Shiv Shankar or, uh, you know, one of these Godi media is interviewing PM, the expectation is when the journalists who are not Godi media interview opposition, they should give the same treatment they give to PM.

When they don't get it, you know, they [00:15:00] start calling me that your reporter has asked this. I said, but that's their job, right? Why should they not ask you questions? It's because Modi's not asked questions. I think Leaders have forgotten what an interview is, but before I go to the headlines and I'd like, you know, the grapevine from UP and Maharashtra from our guests, Raman Sir, do you think this is headline material?

Raman: It was a speculative dig at Rahul Gandhi. And I think PM openly for the first time has spoken Adani, you know, in this fashion.

Abhinandan: That's a big deal.

Raman: Uh, so, so, and, uh, speculative dig with lots of gossip value. So, yes, I think media will lap it up, but I think Express has done a good job by also fact checking.

Right next to it. Yeah. And, and, and, and just listing out, uh, you know, all the Rahul Gandhi's speeches in which he has spoken about Adani in a bunch.

Abhinandan: No. And also I think in the context of today, you know, Haryana governor. [00:16:00] That they are, they'll support if the Congress forms a government and this whole Haryana government being in minority, clearly the people are hedging.

So I guess it's, it's justified if people think that there may be a slight change in the power dynamic in the center, but I'll just get to the headlines where we get into the detailed discussions, I guess. The Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday sacked her nephew Akash Anand as the party's national coordinator and a political successor, quote unquote, until he attains maturity.

Uh, this comes off 10 days after the MCC violation was registered against Anand for using objectionable language. And I've also got a, uh, a list of all the speeches he's made in the last couple of weeks. Then on Tuesday in the phase three of, uh, the Lok Sabha polls, Baramati among 11 seats went to the polls in Maharashtra.

This is the Pawar bastion. Uh, elections are heating up there. Uh, Modi called Shraddha Pawar a wandering soul. Pawar said the PM has lost his balance. Uddhav [00:17:00] Thackeray was addressing a rally in Kolhapur. He apologized for ever seeking votes for the prime minister. And meanwhile, another little Lattu has been thrown with Pawar saying smaller parties should merge the Congress, but the voter turnout on third phase total was 61.

44 percent and we'll come to this. Then, uh, Haryana, three independent MLAs, like I said, we drew their support to the BJP government and joined the Congress camp. The Congress has demanded fresh election in the state. JJP's Dushyant Chautala announced that he would support any move to topple the BJP government, but I read a piece today that you cannot actually conduct a poll right now or even a floor test.

I'm not sure what the rules for that are, but maybe the other senior veteran journalists would know. Then the Arvind Kejriwal bail plea, uh, which was being heard on Tuesday, that is two days ago. The Supreme Court underscored that interim relief will only be granted if KGY does not discharge any official duties, as it may have a cascading effect.

They had said that the next hearing is going to be Thursday next week, but apparently they're also hearing it tomorrow. But [00:18:00] as we're recording this, the ED has said that they will file a charge sheet tomorrow. They have named him as an accused. Yeah.

Raman: But I think, uh, the, uh, the newspaper reports, uh, today's, they suggest that tomorrow is going to be the bail plea, right?

Decide not hearing.

Abhinandan: Oh, they'll decide. They'll

Raman: decide.

Abhinandan: Okay. Because the court did say that we may decide on Friday itself.

Raman: So there are reports.

Abhinandan: So does, does today them naming him accused and refiling a charge sheet have any, I mean, implication on that or?

Raman: I don't know whether the Supreme Court is going to take note of it because charge sheet means the trial in the, uh, you know, uh, lower courts.

So Supreme Court has nothing to do with the charge sheet.

Abhinandan: Then former Karnataka minister H. D. Revanna was arrested by a special investigation team in an abduction case. His son and the primary accused Prajwal Revanna has still not been located. He's supposed to be somewhere in Germany. Then Jammu and Kashmir, five Indian Air Force personnel were [00:19:00] injured in Poonch district on Saturday after militants fired at two vehicles.

One security officer succumbed to the injuries a day later. Then Prime Minister Modi has been speaking, and in case you're wondering why I'm only talking about Prime Minister Modi's speeches, well, he's the Prime Minister, so one should hold him to a higher standard. In Telangana, he claimed Congress had stopped criticizing industrialist Mukesh like we discussed.

At a rally in Madhya Pradesh, he claimed Congress will decide Indian cricket team based on religion. There's a prime minister of India by the way. In Telangana, he alleged Congress wanted to defeat President Murmu in the president's poll as his skin color is dark. He always keeps it classy in his speeches.

In Maharashtra on Tuesday, he said choose between Vote Jihad and Ram Raj. Then BJP's was summoned by the Karnataka police on Wednesday in connection with a hate video posted on X. I'm sure many of you are aware of that vile video about Muslims taking up SC share. But the Election commission asked twitter now called x to remove the video.

They did not ask bjp to remove it [00:20:00] for whatever reason then uh Sam petroda on wednesday stepped down as chairperson of the indian overseas congress Because of his remarks on that. We are so diverse. I mean, I honestly think his remarks are not Racist or bizarre. They just spun in a direction which is Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. It's, it's

Girish: not a time to discuss anthropology and

Abhinandan: Yeah, exactly. And also the messaging has to be very quick.

Sudipto: Yeah, exactly. Fossil,

Abhinandan: I mean, during, during the run up, you only save what will benefit you, and that's. Not a word more. Then the elect, uh, then the enforcement directorate recovered unaccounted cash worth 25 crore from the house of domestic worker employed by Sanjeev Lal, the personal secretary of Jharkhand's rural development minister, Alamgiri Alam.

The kind of money that people keep as cash, man, just blows my mind. Then the Telangana police will reopen investigation of death of University [00:21:00] of Hyderabad's Dalit research scholar, Rohit Vemula, who died by suicide in January 2020. 2016. Uh, this was reported by the News Minute. It came hours after the media report said Telangana police had filed a closure report on the case.

And in fact, there were many reports of him being denied his identity. Uh, we shall discuss that as well. Then Air India, I'm sure all of you are aware of yesterday, 90 flights were canceled. By the 100 senior cabin crew members reported sick. Only 25 have been fired. I want to know why were 25 fired and 300 reported sick?

It would be interesting to see. Today the government has issued a warning or whatever notice to Indian Airlines that no one should be inconvenienced. And the Delhi High Court has ordered the release of NewsClicks human resource head Amit Chakravartty nearly four months after he was granted pardon after running approver in a case filed against the news website.

Meanwhile, the founder, Prabir still languishes in jail and we've done the report on the charge sheet, right? Yeah. [00:22:00] And some of the most bizarre claims have been made in that.

Raman: Absolutely bizarre. And there are no corroborative evidences and no material evidence to six. Uh, you know, um, six statements that have been recorded under section 164.

So the entire chart sheet is apparently on, uh, you know, on the basis of this, uh, 164 statements. And, uh, we are still trying to get a hold of, you know, the entire chart sheet of 8, 000 pages, which has got several annexures and the story lies in the annexures. Yeah.

Abhinandan: And that's the same week Times Now did an interview with Modi, where Modi did not have to say that there is nothing wrong with our democracy.

The anchors are only saying, if it was a dictatorship, we would not be able to even ask you. Isn't that true? It's embarrassing. Yeah. These guys. And then days after AstraZeneca admitted in court its vaccine would lead to thrombosis, the company on Wednesday announced that it is withdrawing the vaccine globally [00:23:00] due to a surplus of available updated vaccines.

They made it clear that the side effects have nothing to do with them withdrawing it. Those people are speculating otherwise. And in this week's video. Former Delhi Congress Chief Aravindar Singh Lovely joined the BJP for the second time. And this time he said, I will never leave again.

Raman: Yeah. No, he said he'll quit politics.

Abhinandan: But he will not leave BJP.

Raman: But he will never ever join Congress

Abhinandan: again.

Raman: That's what he said.

Abhinandan: Then Radhika Khera, former National Coordinator of the Congress Media Department has also joined the BJP. Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh, Beena Assembly seat, Nirmala Sapre, also joined the BJP. Former AAP MLA and Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajkumar Anand joined Bahujan Samaj Party, BSP.

And he has not jumped from any party, but, uh, Shekhar Zaman, after his fantastic revival in, uh, Hiramandi, has joined the BJP. So we have, you can watch [00:24:00] Hiramandi and then say, he's not contesting elections, do what you want. So let me, uh, now just come to the panel, you know, since it was, um, Maharashtra that just went to the polls, I noticed, uh, this, there was an India Today anchor who described the clash of, uh, Supriya Sule and her sister in law as, uh, you know, the wife.

versus the sister, as if they have no identity of their own. Like basically it is Ajit Pawar's context. Ek ek patlab, one lady is fighting another lady. They were not even named. Ajit Pawar's wife fighting Ajit Pawar's sister. Mane ka beta, aap karoge gender ki baatein. And later at night, they'll do this gender shender.

Humain hi toh vice chairperson, women hai yeh wo. But at least what we got from the people I spoke to, and you know, Girish, you a veteran of that space, the people genuinely are very conflicted because they have genuine love for the family, [00:25:00] uh, and they don't know which way to go. So what do you make of an election like this?

Because I think there was an article a few weeks ago in Express that Maharashtra is a pollster's nightmare. So let me put you through that nightmare and tell us how are you reading what's happening there?

Girish: No, it's quite confusing. Number one thing is that there is no statewide agenda for this polls, you know?

So there are 48 constituencies and 48 elections, 48 elections agendas, you know? So there is nothing that binds the entire state and also as far as this power thing is concerned, uh, see, see how politics plays out, you know, it, it was, it was not, uh, initially Ajit Pawar's wish to fill his wife. Uh, that's what everybody and the political sources say it was bjp who was insisting uh, uh on Building a power is better off, you know, because that's that brings out Divide in the family and the whole agenda this election [00:26:00] And since last, uh, two and a half years is to, uh, demolish two political families, the Thackeray's and, uh, Pawar's, you know, that's been a big challenge for the BJP because they are, uh, in the way of BJP managing the state, which is number two in, uh, uh, yeah.

But what is

Abhinandan: Sunetra Pawar's background? Has she ever been a part of, I mean, uh, never,

Girish: ever, never, ever, never, ever.

Abhinandan: And she's not from a political family either.

Girish: Yep. The political family in this instance, he married to power family. It's not like she

Abhinandan: comes from another political family. Oh, I see

Girish: nothing.

Nothing.

Abhinandan: Okay. So no clear agenda here. I see. So, but is there a wager that is Mr. Sharad Pawar still the big guy who will decide everything there or his,

Girish: his still very much there. And that's, that's exactly troubling the BJP, you know, the man is, is I mean, uh, that's what I wrote in the Indian Express. I mean, there are two, uh, miscalculations.

One is about ADI power's, uh, influence. [00:27:00] Uh, they thought he will bring in lots of votes and some constituents will, uh, be with him. Uh, I, and another miscalculation was, uh, uh, senior power's kind of a tenacity to take on the challenges. He is, I mean, to, to use that word. He is at a sweet spot because he is not going to.

Gain anything, uh, uh, except proving his, uh, medal, you know, again, but he has nothing to lose. I mean, that's how he's looking at the battle. And this, this election has brought down JI power to just one constituency that is bar. The man couldn't go out, uh, until the elections were over. I mean, uh, he couldn't even attend Prime Minister's rally for his own candidate in, in Usman in another.

So this has actually, uh, exposed, uh, ADI P'S limits and also it has brought to, uh, a kind of a, a dangerous level if he loses. And, uh, there is, is every chance that his wife may, uh, not get elected. Uh, that [00:28:00] will be kind of a serious, um. Uh, climb down for himself in the BJP because what is, what is he going to, uh, argue for in, in, uh, following, uh, assembly elections?

Aap apne BB ko bhi nahi jeeta paye and the number of seats. As it is, he's got just only four seats. Uh, I mean, uh, uh, yeah.

Sunita: Can I come in

Abhinandan: here? Please, yes. I was coming to you only.

Sunita: Uh, in fact, I was in Pune, uh, sometime back and I met some NCP leaders and workers. Now, their dilemma is huge. Their loyalties are to the Pawar, senior Pawar, but they see the future somewhere with Ajit Pawar because, you know, he's the political figure, whereas, uh, Pawar, senior Pawar's daughter is not so much of the figure.

So they were in such a dilemma and said, we never thought that Pawar will, family will have any such problem. They thought they are very united and they'll never have any debt and they went to the extent of saying that Ajit Pawar should have opted for jail instead [00:29:00] of deputy chief minister's position.

He would have emerged as a leader of Maharashtra if he had gone to jail, if that is what he was. So it was very interesting and the, yeah. Devendra

Girish: Padanavis used to say ahead of elections, rightful place for Ajit Pawar is Arthur Road Jail. And this is public statement by Devendra Padanavis. So, so it matches whatever he said.

And as for

Sunita: the gender issue which you raised, you see, She got the ticket because she's Ajit Pawar's wife, so perhaps she never came out. Supriya is a different thing. She, uh, Sharath Pawar was grooming her. So it's very unfortunate that when wives and daughters are fielded, they lose their identity.

Abhinandan: Yeah, it happens completely.

But, uh, you know, staying with you, Sunita, you've You're in UP. Um, also this book that you wrote on Akhilesh Yadav, what do you make of [00:30:00] him and his, uh, whole identity? At least last election, it appeared to some that he wasn't very serious. He was fighting because, yeah, that's my job, but there was no passion there, uh, because he was getting too comfy and he's not struggled his way to where he is.

So what do you make of your state where you are in, but I will just want to. Take this one little opportunity to show what he said to Anina K during an interview, which, uh, I saw, I was like, cello na . While NA's budgets run the channels with ads, no matter which political parties, he's saying that people should subscribe.

I was like, wow.

Audio insert: a YouTubers. But you see, Akhilesh has to come on the stage till today. So there will be some talks. We have some personality that you have to come here. [00:31:00] You should not say this. No sir. I just want to say that. You should not say this. Because if I answer it, it will look bad. People may not agree with me.

But people are trusting YouTubers and YouTube channels more. They think more, there is more truth and honesty in the news. You should not say this. Okay. Whoa. Subscription. Okay. Political party. Donation. Okay. Channel.

Sting: But, uh, yeah, Sunita, what do you make of UP? You

Sunita: see, uh, right now, as you look at it, it's, it's the state, again, once again, which is going to decide where BJP stands.

Like, a lot of analysis has been done that South is going to decide. South will decide whether they're going to rule the country but UP will also play an important role. Having said so, they have fixed their target of 75 and now after Rahul and Akhilesh came together, a better chemistry, better coordination, [00:32:00] they are giving a big challenge to BJP.

Now challenge in terms of what? Are they going to win seats or they're going to just reduce the victory margins? Because I think in 2019, about 40 seats were won by a margin of two lakh plus. And the BJP remains a very, very strong force here. So as I look at it, they're getting crowds. They're getting cheers, claps and everything.

Let's see whether they get votes in the same quantum. But BGP has a definite edge. Whether they get 75 or they get 60 plus is what people are discussing right now.

Abhinandan: But, um, you know, what about Mayawati? What role does she play over there? I mean, I saw Amit Shah, I mean, two things. I saw Amit Shah's rally for this whose son was the accused in running over those farmers.

And he was saying, hum inko bahut bada aadmi banayenge

Audio insert: and what [00:33:00] not. Har ek jalek kahte hain, ki humare sahansat ko mantri bana dena bhaiya. Har jalek kahte hain. Magar kheeri walo, aapko to humne banaya banaya mantri dilne ka kaam diya. Ki Ajay Mishra ko It's not

Abhinandan: quite, I mean, I mean, there is just, it's very sad.

I guess our electorate doesn't really give a shit, but to talk about this man in such The second most powerful man in the country talk like that is quite embarrassing, but a, I see, uh, the chief minister quite underused and absent in the UP campaign, uh, is that because he's, and, and, and I don't know about his role.

I mean, that whole accusation that comes at her, that, you know, she, Also there's speculation she's [00:34:00] removed Akash because, uh, I mean, there's a list of speeches that he made and all these speeches of his Gorakhpur, Nagina, Unnao, they were all attacking the BJP after which he removed him because she doesn't want that to be the primary enemy.

Is there some, uh, in your view, merit in that theory?

Sunita: Okay, now quickly I'll answer the first issue that you raised about farmers, uh, killings and other things. that you You know, all these public issues don't get votes. The elections are not decided. I don't know why. The voter which they protest year round, Unnao, Hathras, all these cases, but when it comes to voting, they don't vote on these issues.

So that answers your question why politicians get away with it. The second you were talking about, um, The Chief Minister. My, uh, Chief Minister. Chief Minister He's a brand in the sense that, uh, there are only three star campaigners who are moving around for other, uh, Modiji, [00:35:00] Amit Shah ji, and Rajshan. I'm not seeing

Abhinandan: many of his, uh, speeches or videos.

Is it just that he's not being covered, but he's done doing as many, you know,

Sunita: sometimes because, uh, the national media, uh, is obsessed with the national leaders more than, uh, The state leaders, but there is a demand for you. Uh, today, uh, you like it or you don't like it. Irrespective of that, he's a brand.

He's a person who's in demand. Um, as people are demanding from Maharashtra also, I know for sure that there were some calls that they wanted that he should address meetings there. Mandir is not an issue there. Though Hindutva is not such a big issue. It's more of a, uh, the splits in the parties and the confusion that prevails in

Abhinandan: last time.

Bihar didn't want him. He wanted to come. They said, don't come.

Sunita: Yeah.

Abhinandan: Okay.

Sunita: I think that you're talking about, you see, he returned from London in 1719. [00:36:00] He was made national coordinator. And about a few months back, I think in December, she announced him as a successor. Bye. Bye. Mayawati has been under pressure to announce her successor and she always said that I'll do it at the right time and it will be somebody very young.

Now, I'm 100 percent sure that Mayawati must have groomed him all these years, as Kashidam had groomed her because they run a university of their own in which, you know, you know how Mayawati was, I think she used to make more, uh, blitzwing attacks than what Akash did. What Akash started getting crowds, Akash, there was attraction, but few things, uh, you can say it's a matter of young blood or whatever, few words that can be avoided.

He used them and there was an F. I. R. Now, there are two ways people are describing it. One, that Mayawati was overprotective about him. She did not want him to get the blame [00:37:00] for her poor show. And she will launch him again in 2027 when the state elections are on the corner. Then there is another view in which they're saying that she came under BGP pressure because the first two phases she created, uh, problems.

For example, I'll give you one constituency made it where BP had

she. You know, caste is very important to explain, which used to be a BJP vote back. So some tickets that she had given people thought that she's trying to revive. She's trying to recover and with Akash making very aggressive and generally Dalits in West UP, they were very upset with Mayawati after she, she became very reticent, is not visible at all.

So Akash tried to bring her on the social media. That social media was flooded by all these things. [00:38:00] And so it's very clearly one, I think, uh, and one more thing, which people said that BSP, they were rumblings against his appointment because they say, uh, even a made, uh, she don't know and promoted anybody from the family.

So even they expected that, yeah, cause even cause she,

Abhinandan: I'm the very, that Very dramatic.

Sunita: Having said so, Mayawati is not the one to listen to anybody as Kashiram has never bothered about anybody's protest when he was, you know, elevating Mayawati. So there are two reasons, uh, clearly that, uh, somewhere, uh, she did, uh, uh, rub feathers in BJP camp.

Second, Perhaps she got the message that she's not winning seats. She's not doing very well. And why should, uh, she's launching now. Okay. So it's

Abhinandan: basically, she's protecting him. So, okay. So, you know, [00:39:00] coming to our third panel before we come back into the studio, uh, uh, the same accusation and even, you know, I'm always on the fence on this because I'd also asked, uh, when I met him, because at least in my meetings, then he seems very You know, he speaks his mind the way he goes at Modi Shah.

No one in parliament has the guts to talk like that. Yet you keep hearing that, you know, wherever there is a chance of a vote divide, he will land up there. Like he has no chance in UP, but he'll come. He had no chance in Delhi, but he came and started talking against AAP rather than talk against BJP. That he is, there's a, you know, it's a fixed match.

He's going to divide the vote of whoever the BJP opponent is, which is why you'll see his brother's never arrested. You know, Omar Khalid, everyone can be arrested for doing nothing. His brother makes the most inflammatory speeches. Nothing happens. The same Sorry, he contested in

Girish: Maharashtra also. He has one MP from Aurangabad.

Abhinandan: Right. But then he had a chance of winning. He did, but in Delhi, there's no chance. So that same [00:40:00] acquisition made about Mayawati. So on the one hand, you know, at least I used to have that position that no one should be beholden to someone else that I will not Poach on your turf, you fight my battles. I'll come and fight my own.

But the frequency with which it happens where the attack is often on the non BJP. I'm sometimes wondering if you're doing politics, then you're doing politics, right? It's like what Sam Pitroda said is not incorrect, but it's just the dumbest thing to say during politics. And if you're a political party, then you see what is political expediency, not what is the, you know, Always the right thing to do.

So on that, is there any such thing in the south, in the Langan also about OEC? And what do you make of Mayawati, uh, this acquisition of Mayawati and in, in your view, why, why do you think Ash has been removed?

Sudipto: Alright. A lot of things there. Just, you know, so one of the things I feel, which is, uh, usually, uh, that the approach, you know, the, the, the way these [00:41:00] parties are described, right?

A and, uh, you know, the criticism about them just because they are not, I mean, they cannot be right. They cannot be hin because they're Hindu in the first place in, in the traditional sense of what we understand to be Hindu. So there's no question of them ever practicing Hindu right now. The other point about them being this meeting and all of that.

Does not, I think, uh, come with a lot of sensitivity to the fact that these parties represent a kind of politics which is different from all other politics, uh, all other parties. In the end, the electoral fray in India, right? You have, uh, you know, what are you, the Congress, the PRS, and all of these things.

They are parties which represent sections, powerful sections of society. And these, the other three parties, which we talked about, represent the most oppressed sections of society. Uh, [00:42:00] society. And what we don't appreciate is the limited political options that are before them in, you know, in terms of finances, in terms of what they can, uh, you know, what kind of hard, hard positions they can take.

I think, you know, the, the, the pragmatism, uh, that other parties show. You know, uh, is appreciated a lot more than the pragmatism that these communities, I mean parties from these communities, when they play pragmatic politics, somehow there's this moral judgment that they might, they're probably playing, uh, BJP politics or playing, uh, this B team politics, but more, more importantly, now, now let's consider what, even if, uh, Mayawati does decide to go with the her.

with the BJP, right? And there is this interesting conversation around how Modi might not be, you might not be able to completely defeat Modi this time. You can turn him into a lame duck. Right? The man who walks around with this big chest, right, will be reduced to that other man who was there, who's considered a very big liberal, very secular watch by, [00:43:00] right?

Watch by was watched by because, you know, he was under the control of, um, I would be, you know, many, the

Abhinandan: term,

Sudipto: the term, the term I want you to kind of mull over is the embrace of this, right? The, the, the case of that kind of a politic, right? Where you embrace the thing and you make sure that the, the politic doesn't go down the road.

It's gone in the last 10 years. Now that tell me is it regular politics or is it communal politics? That considering also that you have today, some people who are allegedly

Girish: secular.

Sudipto: Now, tell me about the BRS, these other regional parties, each of them even for that matter in the case of the NCP, right?

We're talking about Shahrukh Bawar and Aditya Bawar. The, a lot of people on the ground are talking about how. Hey man. Thank you. Bye. He has eggs in both baskets. So the power family basically has elements on both sides, you know? So, uh, at any moment, I mean, like, for example, David Gowda. When his son went away to the BJP, he was howling and crying saying, Oh my goodness, I will, I've always [00:44:00] been a secular guy and all that.

Now we know that that was drama.

Abhinandan: Yeah, but that's, no, but on one thing on that, uh, uh, Sudipto, now let's take the example of Tipra Motha, right? Uh, Burman, Prajyot.

And I, I know him personally, he's a fantastic guy and he was, he did not hold back when he used to go at Modi Shah. Whether publicly, privately, he did not, but he has gone with them there. But the difference there is they have given him something tangible as an offer on the tribal identity, that council, right?

They have said here, take this. He said, okay, I will take this. Now I'm coming with you. Mayawati hasn't been offered anything like that. I said, there has been offered anything like that at most. So that is why I don't think while I get the sentiment you're going with, but I don't see any evidence of that.

I mean, if there is a that

Sudipto: I'll get one in a second, but it [00:45:00] promotes, right? It's a great party to bring up in the conversation about this kind of politics. Now, this is a state in which the population was a hundred percent tribal because of the policies of the left government over there because of the, uh, the kind of, uh, uh, I mean, it was the left and it's history and it's and it's relationship with refugees who are coming from Bangladesh is a very, very complicated history in which I would say that it has played a more more of a negative role than a positive role.

And because of its policies in the last year since I mean two years since the 16th, it has become for 50 60 percent Bengali and 30 percent tribal. I mean, this in another part of the world would have been considered genocidal. Right now the interest of a community like that which is suddenly overnight become a minority in its own land.

Okay. The kind of politics it will have to play will have to take into consideration what so called secular parties have done, right? So therefore, I mean, I'm just putting that.

Abhinandan: Yeah, but, but he was given something tangible. When has Mayawati been given anything tangible? It's I mean, I'm not talking

Sudipto: that. I don't [00:46:00] know what the deal is and all that.

I

Girish: don't

Sudipto: know. That will

Girish: probably play out. Yeah, I'll just come

Abhinandan: back to you, Gita. Once again, Girish, could you go ahead? I'll just come back to Sunita.

Girish: Same can be argued about Prakash Ambedkar. He was not given anything tangible, uh, uh, uh, according to political, but he's always considered as a, as a, as a BJP's B team.

Nope. So they have a, a unique term for such people. They gotta vote . Hmm. Right. They'll cut

Abhinandan: into a vote. But, but, but, uh, you know, garish just staying with you and then I'll just come to sun. I'll come back to you. So, because you're gonna be with us throughout until the end garish, you know, uh, Baha has been the hub of the social revival movements, the reform, whether it's, you know, the les, whether it is Abeka, you know, the biggest giants, the literature, uh, theater.

But yet as a political force, why, why is it UP the one or, you know, the other parts that, what, what, what is it that [00:47:00] makes Maharashtra where these people come from? But finally the politics there Does it is not consolidated the way it is successfully been done in some other states?

Girish: See, uh, I mean, what you said is right.

It's, it's a land of, uh, it's all this political thought. Even extreme right was also born in Maharashtra. Yeah,

Abhinandan: exactly. Now everything comes up.

Girish: Gandhi's killer also is from Maharashtra and Gandhi's guru also. Is from maharashtra both belong to the same caste, you know, in fact kanchi was Ideologically trained in maharashtra.

He was in

Abhinandan: pune

Girish: Came in contact with ambedkar. I thought when he was working for the uh, Defense workshop in pune. So that is true and that and there is another thing about maharashtra, you know, maharashtra as a society has has never backed fully, uh Regional parties, you know, it's always was has sided with the National parties right even after even after emergency when entire india was [00:48:00] witnessing indira gandhi was completely being wiped out Maharashtra stood by her.

So so unlike south or or say west bengal. There are genuine Genuine local parties, you know something that has done work in maharashtra. She said on its own when balasabh thakre was around It never gained. Uh, I mean not even half the Uh, state, you know, so this is something peculiar to Maharashtra, I suppose,

Abhinandan: but, uh, you want to weigh in on this whole thing before I go to Sunita on, is it, is it about, like Sudipto said, they are just held to a different standard because their community, and I remember, uh, you know, in, in, uh, you know, many of the writings of, uh, Baba Ambedkar also him saying that for our community, whether it's the Brits, or whether it's a ruling Brahmin class, it's the same for us.

And in fact, uh, and he has very mischievously used this quote, uh, Arun Shourie and called him a British toady in that book, Worshipping False Gods. But I mean, it makes rational sense for your interest and for your community's interest, but [00:49:00] what do you make of it? Is it more the Tipra Motha kind of politics they're playing or is it, you know, it, it is more to help the community as a, you know, He's helping the community is different.

Helping yourself and your family that keep me out of jail, make sure I'm rich and I'll do your bidding. That's, that's, that's not helping the community in any way. So that's,

Sudipto: yeah, I'm just an additional point over there. So what is that? Hey, look at the NBA. You know, the fact that it, you know, it has not been treated a single Muslim candidate in the whole of Maharashtra.

Right.

Abhinandan: When

Sudipto: we talk about votes, but to our kids, yeah. So are you like, who's, uh, who's voter you're cutting and what you're trying to represent is also an important concern. Yeah.

Girish: I

Abhinandan: agree. I

Girish: agree. And this is, this is, see, uh, uh, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Prakash Ambedkar, uh, just because they share the same surname and family, uh, we need to, uh, uh, separate, you know, as a political entity.

Currently Prakash Ambedkar plays a different politics. So that, that, that can't be, I've [00:50:00] seen him in since, uh, When Pramod Mahajan was around and was managing Maharashtra, the way his candidates were fielded in constituencies. See, in last election also, 2019, as many as six, uh, yeah, six places, six constituencies, Congress lost because of Prakash Ambedkar.

So even now, uh, till the last moment, there was a, uh, uh, kind of a discussion, uh, uh, debate whether he will be joining. He kept on giving mixed signals, uh, so Dalits per se, he, he can't be, uh, said about, uh, uh, uh, credited with kind of an, uh, own office of Dalits, you know. See, look at Ramdas Athole, the biggest faction of Republican Party of India.

Hmm. So he's with the BJP,

Abhinandan: right?

Girish: Right. So, so there is always an effort from the establishment to divide those forces who can't, uh, they can't manage, you know, this can be seen in that light. So they have, they have successfully divided [00:51:00] Dalits. Uh, half of them are now with the BJP. Most of them are behind Prakash Ambedkar, but then, then still, uh, there is a, there is no,

Abhinandan: there is no clarity.

It compromises the negotiating platform. Sunita, go ahead. You want to weigh in on this same subject, right?

Sunita: Yeah, yeah. You know, uh, Kashi Ram was in Pune when he decided to, you know, launch a Belgian movement and it started by building a network of schedule cast officers. Should you cast, uh, intelligent here?

It was not that he launched a party in one day. He, the way he traveled, because I've been to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, he used to start from, uh, Maharashtra, come to Madhya Pradesh, get down there, cycle his way. Just, uh, just organizing the official class. So, I have seen how committed, devoted the schedule cast officers are to the cause.

I'm not saying my ability per se, but to the cause. One thing. Second, Dalits wanted a party of their own [00:52:00] and Mayawati gave them. They said, we don't want a party which makes, like, Congress has also projected Jagjit Mishra, Meera Kumar and others. But they said, well, they belong to a particular party and they don't have the freedom to take decisions.

They did not do politics like Mayawati did. The way she promoted and empowered Dalits, I don't think so any other party has ever done. Right. Now, the third question you said was what BJP has done for her. She became Chief Minister for the first time.

Abhinandan: Yeah.

Sunita: BJP. Second time, BJP. Third time, BJP. Fourth time, independently.

Where the problem occurred was when the BJP bargained for a national alliance with BSP and she was not willing to do it. She said, no, I'm not because that time she thought that if she, they ally with me, they'll take away my votes. So it's not that BJP had not given her anything. They saw their own advantage.

You see, that time BJP was, [00:53:00] It was not so robust as it is today. It was also a party which was growing at that time. And they needed somebody who can, like, it was post Babri demolition. So Mayawati was the first party to come with them. And it helped them to, you know, in a way, shed. That untouchability that, that they had got that time in those days politics.

I hear you.

Abhinandan: So there's a history there, which one tends to forget, but you know, I'll just come back to this quickly. And I know Girish and Sunidhi have to go quickly, but if you just stay for another 5 10 minutes, I'd really appreciate it.

Sunita: Yeah, yeah. No issue.

Abhinandan: Okay. Raman sir, you know, on this, I mean, I, I I just feel that while I completely get the logic of, of what, you know, Sunita and, uh, suto said, I mean, lemme take the example of the Shahi Ma of Delhi.

He's no longer a political entity. I don't even know who it is now, but, you know, back in the Shihi days early, you know, he was an entity like the Shahi Ma of Jama Maji would decide in

Raman: nineties, in 90 he was,

Abhinandan: yeah, when I was in News Track, he had serious clout. Um, [00:54:00] and, uh, BJP made him irrelevant. I mean, it was always already on the way.

And I remember back then. Of course, one could not, you know, who is a Hindu to say that who should represent the Muslims? If they want to follow him, they follow him. But in Delhi, it was known he was leading a wonderful life. There was nothing being done for the entire Chandni Chowk area. You know, usko kuch bhi maaf tha, no matter what.

So he was, but yet, Uh, you know, him throwing the rest of the city governance under the bus so that at least my community gets, but his community got nothing. I get the logic, but I don't see it because even Ambedkar while in his writings, he was very clear about how British leaving would leave his community At least under the British, there was a rule of they could not be, you know, treated like this.

Although, uh, when we interviewed Manoj Mitta and he uncovered all those laws, I don't think anyone done that kind of primary research on, they were actually laws written by the British, where there was a separate law for Brahmins. They could get away with [00:55:00] murder literally. You could murder and you would not be punished.

Whereas if you have a schedule cast way lower. So even the British wrote those laws, it wasn't like they were very fair. Well, he never went out and actively participated in a protest saying no British state, British state Congress go back. He got the bigger picture, which is why he was a leader, which is what we expect of leaders.

I mean, I can say, are you save my business and I'll back your government no matter what you're doing to the country.

I don't expect that from a leader, whether that's Mayawati or Shaheem Ahmad, and again, you know, who am I to decide? I just think that's a rational point, which, which can be made. But on that, what is your take on all of what we've said, you know, cause we haven't come to you yet.

Raman: Now, uh, since we are discussing Mayawati, I feel that she is a reluctant politician.

Uh, she. No. No. No, not now. Since 2019. Okay. If you see her politics and the way the number of votes that has been written, just [00:56:00] look at, uh, you know, just quantify the things, the, in the manner, the, uh, you know, the, uh, the leaders were chosen for, uh, elections. Okay. The way the, People have left parties, there's a BSP, and then the number of votes polled to BSP since 2019.

So you're saying she's

Abhinandan: reluctant because of the dip or the dip is because she's reluctant?

Raman: No, no, no, she is reluctant, which, uh, entirely for a different reason. Uh, she is reluctant with the, BJP has got, you know, uh, No, no, not power. They have got the case. They are serious charges against her. And they can put, I mean, the very senior DGP rank officer of the UP.

He has told me that, uh, she has

Abhinandan: too much

Raman: very explicit terms. She has been told that this is the jail number in, uh, You know, the heart that she's going to get it. So she is, I [00:57:00] think is pretty, she's very reluctant. Her politics is crippled right now. And, and, uh, you know, uh, for, uh, I wanted to say something out of the context, this Anand nephew, we have interviewed him and, uh, he is very fond of news laundry.

And, uh, he, we asked all these

Audio insert: questions to him. Joe economic model. Um, which, uh, I feel is a flawed model. Unemployment in the last 47 years. I think that model has not worked.

Raman: There have been a lot

Audio insert: of

Raman: instances

Audio insert: where BSP has remained silent. That is Team B.

Issues.[00:58:00]

Raman: So he was pretty critical of, and I was also. Wondering that, how, uh, is he outspoken how Mati has allowed him to, you know, go that far? Mm. Uh, because I have, I have said previously also, uh, on these issues, uh, on Mati, uh, she is not fully, uh, you know, uh, practicing her politics, but

Abhinandan: maybe it's also age, right?

I mean, no, I mean, I, I remember seeing it at a peak like that, you know, just the body language, the energy, the. aggression she had. I mean, age may, but he's extremely outspoken guy. I mean, I, I saw some of his bites, but,

Raman: but I think, uh, what, uh, even Sunita was talking of too. Two things, either BJP, she's in BJP camp.

I think it is the BJP camp which is, [00:59:00] uh, the, which has crippled her politics.

Abhinandan: Right. So I think Sudipto want to say something. Yeah. Come on Sudipto now. No, no, just

Sudipto: to give you a cricketing analogy that when the wicket is bad and the bowlers are mean, you play different, right? You're not, not getting out. Not getting out is a very big deal.

If the, the way the BSP is structured, Mayawati is the queen bee. You can't take the queen bee out of the nest,

Abhinandan: right?

Sudipto: If she goes into prison, it's very different from, you know, somebody else going into prison from another party, which might have, you know, wider array of leaders, a larger cadre base, uh, you know, so many other things at their disposal.

So, and I think, you know, this, um, uh, It's a little ironic. So when he was attacking, uh, uh, Azad, this Chandrasekhar Azad, he's saying there are these people who play this politics, politics of aggression and, uh, you know, counterattack and hit back and all of that, you know, they go and stir up trouble, but when trouble starts, they run away.

Right. And when the cases fall and when those kinds of things happen, they [01:00:00] go away. And that is, that was Akash Anand's criticism of, uh, Chandrasekhar Azad. Uh, what's his name? Chandrashekhar Azad. And this can be, uh, said of, uh, Jignesh Mewani also. And it's a matter of fact, because Jignesh Mewani, for example, uh, he will, he did this entire, uh, chalo una and all of that, you know, uh, gaya ki poos tum rakho, haath sod denge, pyaar sod denge, and all of that.

He has this huge valley in Una. And then what happened? The exit route out of Una were blocked by the upper caste people so that the 15, people who gathered for the meeting could not leave the town of Una and whoever went to the border was getting beaten up. And I've reported about it. And the same man who said we will hit back and all of that, he vanishes from the spot and leaves for Ahmedabad, leaving all the 15, 000 14, 000 people over there to figure out their way back home.

Right. Balubari Sarvaiyya is the main target of that attack. Right. Uh, which is, uh, the Una attacked his family and he was the one who was the main, uh, you know, person who was tripped and paraded. Uh, uh, he was sitting in the police station till 9 o'clock in the evening. Hoping that you would get a ride back [01:01:00] home to Mota Samadiala, which is his village.

Right? And Jigvesh Mewani was nowhere a part of that scene. And there is some truth in this thing of playing for the cameras, which the BSP doesn't do. Right? So for Aga Khan to have done that, to have put the entire party and line and structure at risk, because my Clear Actually. That's very interesting.

Abhinandan: Yeah, that's very interesting take. I never thought of that. Basically what they were trying to do with op, you put a win than man in jail. You know, OP can't disintegrate. I mean, it kind of can, and in my, this case, that's even more because in Uppe it's way more competitive. Delhi is geographically tight.

You just have to control like a very small area. But, uh, yeah, so, uh, you know, before we letter to. Uh, guests from outside the News Minute News Laundry family go. Uh, Girish and Sunita, your closing remarks and your recommendations before we say goodbye. Uh, on all of this or, or, uh, anything more that you think we may have missed in the current week of election heat.

And is this the peak you think from now it'll be downhill? [01:02:00] Or there's still some more action to come? Why don't I go to Sunita first?

Sunita: I think there's more action to come at least in, uh, UP and I, I think in other parts also. Uh, we are heading towards Ayodhya and Varanasi. So let's see how, uh, the temple dhoom ram dhoom will be on play, which was not being played so far.

Uh, uh, elections in any way, whatever the narrative is always a really interesting and exciting experience. So, and let's see how this aka will also unroll. How would it impact, uh, Sam party because she has changed candidates in putting cons and, uh, John and some cons. Uh, it's very clear. It's, it's BGP Advantage bgp.

So let's see. And then, oh yeah,

Abhinandan: of course. That's, that's, I forgot all about that.

Sunita: So[01:03:00]

M met a lot of things are coming out from M Met. Yeah, so I, uh, the, the, to watch is M met this time. It's between Smriti Rani, the five brand leader and the manager of the company. So we have a lot of things happening.

Abhinandan: I see. And Girish, closing remarks from you about this election, anything you want to add?

Girish: Yeah, Baramati was for the media actually. The real battle also will be, now Mumbai is yet to come, you know. So when Adani's and Ambani's are already there in the play. And by going to polls next week will be much more fun, uh, city with something like 40, 000 crore budget, which is bigger than even six smaller state.

So that will be the real, uh, play, you know, out in the open for the political, because Mumbai matters a lot for the BJP as well as for the Shiv Sena and Mumbai BJP has never had their own strength. So is [01:04:00] Congress, uh, Congress after. Uh, eighties and nineties, uh, have lost city, uh, phase, you know, and the connect and the only four that matter till now was Shiv Sena and now which is, uh, really split.

So it's good fun. And

Raman: Girish, it will be really fun to watch here Muslims voting for Shiv Sena.

Abhinandan: Yeah. Can you imagine? I mean, 20, 25 years ago, you could not even imagine.

Girish: In fact, that was when. I think. For them the choice could be lesser evil, you know, that that might be the Case and now and what what sujith said is right actually suddenly All the secular forces are supporting shiva sena.

I mean when she was secular. Yeah, exactly Kind of uh, uh what you call, uh, Somebody from the bjp migrates to congress becomes secular someone from the congress comes to Suddenly becomes Rama Bhatt, you know,

Abhinandan: [01:05:00] but it's so contextual politics, you know, forget Muslims. Even if I were to take my case, I don't, when I, uh, when I just started, they sent me from Delhi to Bombay.

So it was a three person operation. And we used to work out a narrow end point in the office. And, uh, that, uh, I don't know what had happened, that Jessica Lal thing had happened, I think in Delhi or the year before that, and I went and I said something about Bal Thackeray. I said, you know, what does he think?

He said something like ridiculous. So the accountant in India today said, Hey, Delhi ka bahu, and I was 23, 24. Delhi mein sab chalta hoga, don't talk about Balasaheb like this here. I was like, I said I'm in the India office. The accounts guy there, the admin, he said, you don't talk like this here. I was like, seriously, you, my colleague in India is going to threaten me that I can't talk about Bal Thackeray?

I remember I wrote this searing piece about Bal Thackeray for NDTV like four or five years later. And now when I read it, I'm like, dude, today I look at Uddhav and his son as the mellow forces, [01:06:00] you know? How far have I come? Why blame others?

Girish: I, I fully agree. I asked Uddhav because in one of the Lok Sabha, he, he, when he started talking about global bombing, I said, you are telling Shiv Sena guys about global bombing?

I mean, there can't be a bigger joke than, on that, you know. But the funniest part was that Balasaheb Thackeray was never Hindutvabadi. Shiv Sena was never Marathi. I mean, Shiv Sena is like a, what do you call, uh, uh, an organization of Lampans, you know, the way it came up. The political structure, it got much later, you know, I mean, when they realized the, uh, uh, utility of being in power, but as a, as a, as a political structure, Shiv Sena was not, not, not never.

The force we reckon with, you know, Two of

Sunita: your parties don't have any structure, the Shinde and the Ajit Pawar. Yeah, yeah.

Girish: The Shinde There is

Sunita: no structure at all.

Girish: Under the BJP, uh, uh, support. Otherwise, these parties will vanish.

Sunita: And your election [01:07:00] in

Abhinandan: charge is

Sunita: from

Abhinandan: UP. But so much, Sunita and Girish. Before I say goodbye, uh, your recommendations for the week that could enrich the lives of our listeners, other than your books, which the links are in the show notes below.

Anything else you want to recommend? Sunita, you want to go first?

Sunita: You know, I, I was told, uh, till September when I was holding the editor's chair, I was only reading the mails that were flooding my mailbox and nothing else, you know, uh, I used to run away from other things. Uh, films I never saw, but two I saw recently.

Uh, and one was that, uh, CDs, uh, both were very interesting. And I think they were very close to reality. And, uh, mom, let me get a, uh, I never liked it as an actor, as a politician. But as an actor, he was pretty good and Shamkeela was just beautiful. I love

Abhinandan: Shamkeela [01:08:00] and the treatment also. I really liked it.

Sunita: So these two in people have not seen

Abhinandan: must. Although I mean, the one criticism I got from people, I really liked it because I get the context of Shamkeela. He was from the, you know, most pichla hua varg of Punjab, which is also hugely casteist. Um, in fact, they have this very horrible term for people from, you know, the Dalit community became Sikhs, but people who have no context of Punjab said, Oh, that was an under current.

We didn't get it. So I was like, maybe that was a wasted opportunity. It may, it should have been maybe spoon fed because someone who's from the south of Bengal. doesn't know Punjab. They said, Oh, that was that angle. I was like, you didn't get it. They said, no, we didn't get it. I was like, Oh, damn. Okay. But I loved the film.

Sunita: Otherwise listen to the brilliant singing of kids on one of those programs. Oh, we have such huge talent. I love it. Yeah. So I think

Abhinandan: you want to say something if I go to Ganesh with for the recommendation.

Sunita: Sorry,

Abhinandan: sorry. So let's start again. You froze. You froze. [01:09:00] Wait, you froze there for five seconds. So just start again.

Just go out and come in again. So that, uh, yeah, if he exits and comes in again, it'll be better.

Girish: In a minute. I'll talk about my, uh, yeah, yeah. The really weak on this OTT and the new city, but the book, which I'm reading is absolutely fascinating and I'm sure. I would love to actually recommend to all of you, you know, it's, it's called, uh, Einstein on politics and his thoughts on politics.

It's so timely to read, you know, it can, it can get good relief actually in the terrible heat of Indian politics. What was his politics? Was, was His thought on politics, basically being internationalist, you know, and, and, and, because currently, why it makes sense, looking at the Israel and the Gaza and sudden talk about being anti Semite and those things, you know.

I mean, uh, this is, this is really an eye opener.

Abhinandan: Right. Well, thank you so much, Girish. Thank you, [01:10:00] Sunita. A pleasure having you looking forward to what you have to say about elections. Hopefully we'll speak again in the future.

Sunita: Sure. Thank you so much. All right.

Abhinandan: Bye bye.

Sunita: Bye everybody.

Abhinandan: So we had lost Sudipto because of technical glitch.

Yeah. You were saying something about Chamkeela before the network went bad, got bad on us, Sudipto.

Sudipto: Yeah, yeah. I was just trying to plug another piece that appeared in, uh, the The news minute it was by uh, Dr. Shubhkaram Deep Singh. I hope I'm saying the name right. Uh, it offers a very interesting point of view on Chamtila, a counter narrative.

Uh, uh, so, you know, there's all of it, which the film has shown and there is, there's a lot that it leaves out and that's what the piece is about. So please, uh, yeah, I mean, you should take it out definitely because you're from there. I definitely will. Giving a shout out.

Abhinandan: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'll, I'll definitely read it for sure.

But, uh, so just stay around for a bit more. We'll just address some of the emails that have come because I want to plug a story that News Minute has done. And we've got, got actually a email from a subscriber on this. So before the subscriber's mail was read out, I was [01:11:00] thrilled to see that News Minute had already done a story on it.

Uh, so this is, uh, I'll move to the emails. Uh, we only entertain the communication of subscribers. So if you're a subscriber, you can send your mails. To podcasts, that's a plural with an S, podcasts at newslondon. com. Please in the subject line, write Hafta because there are emails that come for other podcasts as well.

So podcasts at newslondon. com, Hafta in the subject line, or you can just click on the link below. It opens out this window and you can send your communication directly. So please do send us your communication, your critique, your suggestions, whatever you think we're doing well or not well, what do you think we should improve on?

It would be very useful. So this email has come from a subscriber who doesn't want us to name him. He says, I'm writing this letter to request an investigative report on Rohit Vimula's case by News Laundry. Rohit's father's caste, Vadera, is considered OBC Nandra and [01:12:00] it seems like this fact has been exploited in the police investigation and he sent a link.

A history of the wire clearly covers the complex aspects of Rohit's identity in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh. Vadera slash Bhovi community is categorized as SC. So, if Rohit was born in Karnataka, he would have been a Dalit? Question mark, actually. The caste system and Dalit realities are complex and it requires a heart with sympathy and sensitivity to even try to understand the issues.

Smriti Rani was out to have her cave. We are now to discuss not about Prajal Rewana, but to attack RG after the clean shit. Rohit Ambedkar deserves at least the truth, if not justice. I understand this has already been done. Uh, this report cause I, I didn't read the report, but I, I, I saw something had been.

Done on his identity post this, or was I reading an old piece of, uh, which had been replugged?

Sudipto: Uh, so no, we've done a couple of pieces. Then, uh, you know, there's a whole lot of material that has come out of New Revelation that the, uh, case has been closed. I was in Hyderabad, I just [01:13:00] returned this morning. Uh, pretty depressing scene out there.

Uh, but yes, in terms of, uh, uh, setting the record straight, uh, there are a couple of pieces we've already done, uh, Pooja Prasanna, our reporting chief is pulling out an LME episode just on the Rohit Vemula issue. Uh, LME is our premium show, uh, you know, uh, uh, let me explain, uh, yeah, so Pooja is hosting that.

So this episode is going to be about Rohit Vemula. So a lot of these questions will be answered over there. And I also, I mean, I, I. I love the, uh, the way this, uh, subscriber of yours ended the thing saying that truth is not justice, right? Uh, and I think that is, uh, sometimes the only thing you can expect because look at, uh, you know, justice in the cases of all these big, big atrocities that happen.

In the case of Rohit at least, uh, not at least, I mean, I don't know how to put this, but, you know. He wasn't lynched by a mob. He wasn't burnt alive. He wasn't stabbed to death by, you know, and these things have happened. Or [01:14:00] publicly

Abhinandan: flogged like the cases in Gujarat that we saw, right?

Sudipto: Yeah. Okay. Uh, in, in the same Telugu state, in Guru and Karanchedu massacres happened in, in, in, you know, Kherlanji, uh, Kambalapalli, in Karnataka, Bathani Tona, the list is endless.

Right. In these kind of heinous cases also, uh, we've not seen conviction. So my hope from this entire legal process is pretty, uh,

Abhinandan: But to address one of the questions, uh, I don't know what Pooja's, let me explain will be about. I'm guessing it will be about the investigation and how, um, I saw you were very upset with the, Um, I think that was Pooja's interview only when he pretended that he didn't know about this, right?

That was Pooja's interview, if I'm not, if I'm not wrong. Yeah.

Sudipto: And then there's exactly the Pooja's interview. Pooja was in Hyderabad as well. Pooja did a bunch of great interviews from there. Please check those out as well. Uh, you know, KTR, this, this, this, this, you know, the person who has inherited KTR's party, all of that.

Uh, you know, it just shows that, uh, you know, out there people were thinking, humne system hina diya. [01:15:00] And then you, then after a few years, you have some KTR guy saying who, when did it happen? Rohit Vemula, uh, which year, it? Three, four years ago? Five years ago? And then Pooja corrects him and says, no, it was in 2016.

Raman: No, but I think, uh, You

Sudipto: think you've changed the world and then you see No, but, but, but just I think he needs, I

Raman: think he needs, he wants investigation To be done now because the government has come out with the report. So we need to fact check that report and we need to find out and is that a

Abhinandan: public document?

Raman: Who really is? I think they have submitted.

Abhinandan: No, but just this one question to a subscriber. And after that, you know, I'll take your recommendations and let you go. Sto, uh, I Is Pujas piece gonna be about the investigation? Uh, because this one question about the, about the complexity of identity. Mm. Uh, that bit if, you know, if, if she's gonna explain, we can wait for that.

But if hers is only about the investigation, then that is [01:16:00] something that is a specific question here. Mm.

Sudipto: See, I, I don't really know. I mean, I, I, I, uh, I, I try to keep myself like complete, I will not like, I gave her a few points and stuff like that, but I think, uh, you know, I, she'll know best as to what her area of focus is going to be.

Like you said, there is the question of the identity. There's the investigation itself. Right. And then for me personally, I think the bigger question is the politics behind it, because when something like this happens, the focus should, I mean, it's often on the. Things that you said. Yes, I mean, is he a Dalit?

What is this question of identity? And to that Rohit himself is better refers to that point, right? Where he says that I was reduced to my immediate identity. It's not about his identity. It's about what happened to him in that campus. You know, how he was treated by the, uh, management, how, uh, So that the, you know, the union government use it might against the students, all of that.

So that actually is the real question. It's about impunity. It's, it's about how laws exist, but they don't apply. And they don't apply because of impunity. The impunity comes from the fact that there's a bipartisan consensus between all parties of [01:17:00] all, which are led by. feudal landowning upper caste, uh, individuals, right?

And there is a bypass on consensus over there saying that we may be PRS, Congress, this, that, all of that. This, this Dalit issue though is not part of ours.

Abhinandan: It never becomes the mainstay in any case. Right. So, uh, before I ask you for your recommendations for the week, uh, so they, uh, just one question I know this was a part of the newsletter, the newsman newsletter.

So there are some VJP leaders who don't want to campaign for your star te Just Bangalore. Is that right? And why? What is, what is it? Is it he's too precocious or He's too, I mean, inside information,

Sudipto: I dunno. I, I've just come back from . Okay. Ask. But is a very polarizing figure. See this where I say that, you know, communist say class is the basis and everything else is super structured in South Asia, India.

anything else. superstructure, entire. I [01:18:00] mean he lives in a entire. I mean he lives in a

Have,

but there I much, I'm getting some of these time.

Abhinandan: Right. Okay. And your recommendation for the weeks, Vito?

Sudipto: Um, uh, definitely that piece on . Uh, you definitely should . I'll read it.

Abhinandan: I've made a note of it already. I will for sure. Yeah.

Sudipto: Okay. Then there was another piece, uh, and this is so interesting that both the, all the conversations, uh, in our, uh, after this, this time was also about Maharashtra.

So there's a great piece from Maharashtra, uh, written by, uh, a BBA supporter. You know, and I put it out there saying that this is a VBA supporter and I put out this piece, [01:19:00] uh, in which he says that, uh, VBA is the only secular anti Hindutva entity in that entire Maharashtra cauldron, right? And when I shared it, I shared it with the provocation saying that, hey, here's a supporter of the VBA saying this.

I'm sure there are rejoinders out there, there are counter opinions, I'm sure, but if there are, then please write in. I'm putting out another shout now saying that if there are counter opinions, write, you know, write in. Give us a piece, you know, we'll publish it. We'd be happy to publish because journalism is about creating a conversation in society, right?

If you have a counter view to, uh, send that in, but for now, read this piece, uh, from, uh, uh, his name is Shogun Gaikwad and it's edited by one of our best, uh, in, in TNM, Binu Karnakaran, he's edited the piece. So that's one of our big pieces this time.

Abhinandan: So find in the link below, you can just click on that and read it and, uh, you can mail it.

Uh, to say that though, or you can just mail it to podcast and use one, we'll forward it to so that though, but thanks so much. So that though, good luck. Look forward to more of your podcasts and do check out his watch season. [01:20:00] We are all so thrilled and impressed with that show and we hope it becomes bigger and bigger.

We have big things planned with it. Have a fantastic day and don't waste water in Bangalore, buddy. I believe it's a crime. Oh,

Sudipto: it's

Abhinandan: rained!

Sudipto: So we're going to Hyderabad. It rained in Hyderabad the day before yesterday, like, food. Yesterday also there was a little bit of showers and then Bangalore also started raining and we are like now Chalo, well done, chalo.

Abhinandan: Saved, saved. Excellent. All right, man. Have a good week.

Raman: Okay. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Abhinandan: Bye.

Raman: Bye. Bye.

Abhinandan: So I'll go with some of the other males, but we will not go over all of them because, you know, Anand isn't here. Shardul isn't here. Manisha isn't here. Uh, Jayshree is not here. So, um, this one is from Naveen. Hi. I hope you read my letter on Hafta.

I've been following NL for the past five years and I'm a huge fan of your reporting. I see the news laundry growing and growing and doing ground reports and appreciate much [01:21:00] for your reportage. Congratulations to the Ramnath Goyenka award as well. I was a student, please listen to this, our young Naveen says, I was a student when I started listening to news laundry and your constant support and emphasis on if you're a student, don't buy it.

We'll give it to you for free. That made me buy the annual membership immediately when I got the job. I keep emphasizing to my friends also to follow NL for Factual News. Naveen, thank you so much. That's what I've always said, pay it forward. Uh, I'm so glad that college students like you who learn something in college and say we should, you know, value journalism.

I'm not going to name the college, but there was a college, whenever I'm invited to colleges, I always, you know, I mean, honestly, I said there has to be a reason for me to, like, fly from one city to the other, give a lecture, fly back, because at this age, I don't really enjoy it. So we say, okay, we will give bulk subscriptions to 100 year subscribers, 50, 80 year subscribers.

Because that helps us convince them, when they get jobs, that [01:22:00] you should pay to keep news free. So a college, one very well known college in India, who I had gone to, has just written to us and saying, please stop sending us students mails. Uh, because we are scared we're being investigated for, you know, political activity on campus and, uh, your mails can get us into trouble.

Uh, I said, well, since you're so paranoid, I will A, I only came there so that we could give you free subscriptions so that your guys can learn. And if you want to raise a generation of cowards, good luck with whatever your college is planning to do. So if you're that kind of college, don't call me because I don't want to fucking come and lecture at these kind of pathetic institutions who are even scared to receive a mail from News Laundry.

So, yeah, but we'll stop the mails to you, something about you, good luck with the car words you'll bring up there. Then Kumar Aditya says, and he says in 251 words, but I will reduce it. That is a spectacular takedown of Rushdie on last week's NL Hafta. Brutally yet respectful. I'm sure that even Rushdie would have a chuckle.

Recently, the proud passport thing blew up on social media [01:23:00] thanks to Palki Sharma's Ekta Kapoor esque style of narration on how she was fidgety and ashamed of producing a passport at Aipaz before 2014. Now we all know this is bullshit, but this bullshit is quite old. Many years ago, I was watching Anant Bhatwardhan's War and Peace, and in that I came across a section where narrating a story on how Pokhran nuclear tests solved a personal problem of one student in the US, ironically named Amit Shah.

So the passport thing was actually conjured up 25 is still being bandied about. I wonder if we are such big fools, because clearly the current crop of whatsapp uncles would have heard this in 99. And the link is below. And two, on a fellow subscriber's letter involving BJP people on podcasts so that they put across their point of view, well I think inviting political parties on hafta is a bad idea.

They are wedded to their narrative which usually is based on falsehoods. And they have to defend it. Uh, that's a modus operandi. There are enough people doing that on TV and YouTube. I completely agree with you and that's why we don't get spokespersons. We'll get a columnist. We'll get someone, but we don't get, because then the quality of the conversation here just [01:24:00] goes downhill.

Yeah. And, and we really don't want to do that. So, um, but thank you for that. Uh, then Vivek says, after watching the second episode of Claim Versus Reality by Srinivasan Jain. I think people are mixing two different issues. One is a family holding complete control over a party versus family members joining the same profession.

There might be an overlap in scenarios, but I think they are different issues. You can watch the latest episode of Unfiltered by Samdheesh with Tej Pratap Singh where Samdheesh asks something along the lines of Will there ever be a time when someone outside the family will lead the RJD and you can see Tej's reaction There is always a question of merit when nepotism is involved and BJP is hypocritical about it in regard to its allies But I think dynastic politics is a completely different issue.

The entity is not controlled by a family. I'm not sure, but I think the most recent example of JDS would also come under this. Would like to know your thoughts on it. Keep up the good work. So what do you think, sir, on this? I mean, I, I'm not sure exactly. [01:25:00] I, I don't know which claim versus reality, but I think he's talking about,

Raman: I've seen that basically, uh, I'm not talking about Srinivasan, but, but, uh, when it comes to dynasty politics, I believe that as and when we have a good leader, uh, I think it will automatically happen.

It like, like it has happened when VP Singh, uh, was dominating the party. Uh, uh, and it happened when PV Narasimha Rao. Was the real Congress chief. So, so, so, so I think, yes, uh, I don't see anything wrong right now in dynastic politics. I think that things will get, I only, my only problem is with the BJP or with anybody, any other political party, which raises this issue.

And yet they fall for the same kind of politics. So, so, so I think this is quite hypocritical.

Abhinandan: I see. [01:26:00] So, uh, yeah. This is from Anonymous, and I think this email is to that Mucchad, so I guess I'm the Mucchad. So, okay, so Anonymous says, I see you skipped my last mail. I was trying to be sarcastic. I don't know the context, Anonymous, but Abhinandan, there is a lot of fearmongering regarding nuclear energy.

There is not that much that humans have created that can survive an earthquake of magnitude 9. 1 on the Richter scale. And a follow up tsunami. Also, small scale nuclear power plants are not near as dangerous and can't be contained in the case of disasters. Nuclear power is needed in a lot of industries to replace fossil fuels because Renewables just won't be able to generate the consistent voltage required in those industries like steel and aluminum.

Problem is nuclear plants can't be left on the hands of the private sector. Government has to own the projects or be in partnership with the private sector [01:27:00] because nuclear plants can go wrong in ways other power plants simply can't. But currently our government is in a mood of privatize everything so we have to change that first.

A government has no business in not being in business. And his last mail is This is to that Mucchad, you got a lot of those hopeful subscriber mails, so let me ground you a bit. I bought the NL subscription with the well being allowance that I got in my first job. Well, I hope you're being well then. I had 3, 000 remaining in that allowance and If I wouldn't have used that money in time, my company would have eaten it up at the end of financial year.

So I had two choices, Hotstar or News Laundry. Hotstar is easily piratable, so I went in News Laundry. This year I've already used up my allowance, so tough luck. I'm also planning on quitting the job for higher education, so I'll have to survive on meager savings for the foreseeable future, so no subscription during that period either.

Well, Anonymous, from Muchhad to you. Since you will be going back to education, you'll be a student, write to me at abhinandansekri [01:28:00] at gmail. com. As long as you're a student, we shall give you a free subscription and also whatever events we have in your neck of the woods. invite to that as long as when you get a job, get yourself a subscription and buy one for someone else.

I've been another secret gmail. com. Good luck with your higher education. And don't worry, you don't have to buy a subscription.

Raman: I

Abhinandan: must tell you. So this child in our family came up with the most innocent and Disarming question and I was like, why didn't I think of this, you know, when we were driving this, Modi ki guarantee, so he says, yeah, what is he giving guarantee of?

Then I thought I said, yeah, good question. I, I don't know what he's giving guarantee. He's just saying Modi ki, so just of what? Because all these ads end with Modi ki guarantee. But, uh, so there are a lot of other mails, but because no one is here, there's some to all of us, some to Manisha specifically, [01:29:00] uh, some about the thumbnails.

So, I will, um, read one more, which is Manan Shah's. Manan says, the most horrific thing about the whole Prajwal Rivanna sex tapes is, That this guy is from the family of ex Prime Minister of India. Such crimes are often brushed aside saying that illiterate poor people do this, who do not understand consent, but this is so horrific.

This guy grew up with the possibly the best education, social and financial means, comes from a respected background, but psychologically how such a person could commit something like this is beyond my understanding. Also, we enter Germany using a diplomatic passport. Germany would not allow anyone to enter using a diplomatic passport unless the Indian government has notified them.

That's a rule in Vienna Convention and Germany out of all countries is more strict when it comes to such rules. It's obvious the foreign ministry of India did notify Germans of him entering. Germany even follows these rules with other developed non EU countries. I doubt they would have made an exception for India.

So, yeah, I mean, I don't believe he would have left the country without. Yeah, the prime minister doesn't let [01:30:00] MPs go for a convention to Singapore for education, etc. So we'll read the rest of the emails next week when everybody's back, hopefully. Uh, so let me leave you with what are our recommendations for the week.

Raman Sir?

Raman: Uh, Moopnayak has done a series of, uh, you know, political stories. Uh, the series is, uh, you know, focusing just on the Shrulkar's constituencies. So we speak so much about, uh, you know, the development of this, uh, schedule class and also we thought, why don't we pick up these constituencies which are represented by the schedule class only and what all has happened.

So the five or six stories that we had planned. So I think that series I'll definitely recommend. Then the two, uh, movies, uh, the biographical movies, one was some Killa of course. And, uh, uh, second, uh, Imtiaz Ali has done. beautiful job, I [01:31:00] think, with the film. Uh, um, maybe, I mean, I'm not so much into his songs, but, but I think he has made it beautifully.

Uh, and the second is, uh, Priscilla, uh, this is, uh, biographical. She was wife of, uh, Elvis, uh, fabulous, uh, movie, uh, very well made. Uh, of course, it is her. Truth. Uh, so you, uh, but, but I, I really loved that movie and, uh, very well made, as I said, and also, uh, you know, gives a glimpse into the personality of this great singer who was very, very, uh, you know, patriarchal.

So good, good movie, which is on Mubi, M U B I.

Abhinandan: Right. So my recommendation of the week, uh, the following one is because everyone has been talking about this super, Crap series, which this guy has been such a wonderful spoof [01:32:00] of Janab I a Rukhsat that what's it called here on Monday

Raman: here

Abhinandan: so The other song it's a documentary film on Rasool and by every effort if I've referenced it several times on this podcast But I finally found on YouTube.

So that is one recommendation that I have. And my second recommendation is actually a podcast. Uh, and this is about the US campus protests. It's an interesting take. It's a BBC podcast, which is part of the global story. So these are the two I would recommend and I will say goodbye with a thank you to a sound recordist Anil Kumar and to a producer Priyali who also has been traveling around, I think, Bengal or wherever, all over the place.

Where? Kerala and Karnataka. Kerala and Karnataka. Okay, I was off by several thousand miles, but that's okay. So do subscribe, pay to keep news free, tell your friends and relatives. If you've been seeing the quality of interviews that are [01:33:00] being conducted. Uh, that's what you get when you have ad and, uh, large corporation supported media.

Media should be supported by your money. So when you are sitting in front of a chief minister, a prime minister, a Lok Sabha candidate, you're not quaking in your boots and trying to suck up to them, but you're doing the job of a journalist. That's only possible if journalism is supported by you. The link is in the show notes below or go to newslondon.

com and subscribe and support journalism. We will see you next week. Have a great weekend.[01:34:00]

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