This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist Chitra Subramaniam and Newslaundry’s senior reporter Basant Kumar.   

This week's episode featured a wide-ranging discussion on corruption, accountability, investigative journalism, and alleged embezzlement of donations made to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The conversation began with a debate on whether corruption remains a political issue in India. Drawing on her experience exposing the Bofors scandal, Chitra Subramaniam argued that a journalist's role is not to bring governments down but to pursue the facts relentlessly. “I was not looking to bring a government down, I was just going fact after fact, and then the government fell by the weight of their own contradictions,” she said. Emphasising the larger purpose behind journalism, she added, “It’s my country that matters… good journalists are patriotic because they are doing it out of love for their country.”

Abhinandan raised concerns about the growing public indifference to corruption despite repeated exposés. Reflecting on the current political climate, he remarked, “Corruption was a huge issue. I think what this government has successfully done is kill all hope.” He argued that when citizens feel there will be no consequences for wrongdoing, cynicism takes over and accountability weakens.

Manisha highlighted how the media ecosystem has changed over the past decade. According to her, major investigations once gained traction because television channels amplified newspaper reports and kept pressure on governments. “Now, with that amplification layer gone, a lot of stories make a splash in our ecosystem, but they die.”

The discussion then shifted to Ayodhya, where Newslaundry reporter Basant had spent five days investigating allegations of theft and irregularities linked to donations to the Ram Temple.

Sharing public sentiment from Ayodhya, Basant said residents were angry and disillusioned. He recounted conversations with locals who felt that stealing from donations made in faith crossed a moral line. One local religious leader told him that even thieves often donate to temples in the hope of gaining virtue, making the alleged embezzlement particularly disturbing.

All this and more.