This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Anand Vardhan, Raman Kirpal, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by MK Venu, Founding Editor of The Wire, and award-winning investigative journalist and author Josy Joseph.

The panel begins with a discussion on the recently signed “historic” India-UK free trade agreement. Venu argues that the BJP’s intention behind this FTA is to have a “fresh start” in global trade negotiations: “In the last 11 years of the Modi government, the narrative they built, led by Piyush Goyal, is that all the FTAs signed by the UPA government were bad for India, that they were being used as a conduit for Chinese goods.”

The conversation then shifts to Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation as vice president. Abhinandan asks who will oversee the Rajya Sabha “with the parliament session already happening, and all sorts of noise and protests”.

Explaining the legal framework, Anand says, “Article 67 says that till the next vice president is appointed, he will have to continue. But he has made it clear that he will not be attending the House.” 

Venu draws a pattern of abrupt and unexplained resignations among the Indian political and bureaucratic elite: “There is a striking parallel in the manner in which Dhankhar, CBI chief (former Director) Alok Verma, and (former Election Commissioner) Arun Goel abruptly left. What is it that drives leadership in the Modi-Shah regime? There’s intrigue, there’s cloak and dagger, there’s paranoia. Paranoia accompanied by complete power. It’s a paradox.”

Commenting on media speculation around Dhankhar’s resignation, Anand says, “Journalists and public and social media commentators cannot say the simple thing that ‘we don’t know’.” Jayashree adds, “It doesn’t matter if there is any value to these theories. What matters is that you have a story,  a source, the source has said something outlandish, and that is your headline.”

The panel then shifts to the Bombay High Court’s recent verdict on the 2006 Mumbai blasts. Raman explains: “It’s a 576-page judgement talking about how the police have manufactured evidence in very great detail…This particular judgement has put a huge question mark on this state-specific law MCOCA.”

Drawing from his decades of experience reporting on intelligence and security, Josy says: “One of the things that has always struck me was the impunity with which our police and investigative agencies are able to do pure malicious things and get away because there is no prosecution for malpractices.”

Josy also sheds light on the complexities of police functioning and the political pressures that often influence investigations. “I think in India today, the most difficult job is not being a journalist or not being an NGO worker. I think the most difficult job is to be an honest government official.”

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