This week's top stories span tragedy and triumph. The Hathras stampede shocked the nation, while political tensions escalated as Rahul Gandhi challenged PM Modi. In Andhra Pradesh, a surprising alliance emerged with Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy sharing a stage. On a brighter note, India's cricket team brought joy to millions by clinching the T20 World Cup, uniting the country in celebration amidst challenging times.
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#OneindiaEditorsRoundtable
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#HathrasIncident
#PoliticalShowdown
#UnexpectedAlliances
#CricketWorldChampions
#OneindiaEditorsRoundtable
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello there, this is the yet another broadcast of Editors' Roundtable,
00:05the weekly run-up of all the developments that have made headlines in the country.
00:09And as we promise always, we are bringing you editors from all the pin codes of the country.
00:14And starting on the screen is Kanhaiya all the way from the Telugu land of Andhra Pradesh.
00:22Then we have Keshav Karn, editor of One India Hindi.
00:26Ajin Stephen from One India Malayalam, from Kerala. Ritesh Ghosh from One India Bengali.
00:32And Avinash Sharma, the man whom you saw most on the screens until yesterday for the cricket fans
00:38that he covered the event of the trophy and the victory lap that the Indian cricket team had.
00:46Avinash, you are still in Mumbai, I see. And how is the weather there? I mean,
00:50the cricket fever must be up, but what are the fans saying now?
00:54And how was the event yesterday, a big day?
00:57Actually, it was very chaotic, Mangaj. I mean, I have not seen anything like this before in my
01:04life. I actually wrote a column late at night that I've been to some big religious gatherings
01:12in the past, but it's the past, everything. I've been to Rathiatra, I've been to the Mahakam,
01:17I've been to the Durga Puja, resurgence and all, but I have not seen the sea of humanity
01:25that we all witnessed yesterday in Mumbai. It was something which was out of the world.
01:32Surreal, chaotic, whatever adjective you wish to give, you can just give.
01:38And they say the city of dreams, Mumbai never sleeps, and actually it was not sleeping
01:43till late night. There was a lot of commotion in and around the Bankede Stadium
01:50last night, and we all know the Green Drive, it's a hub for visitors, tourists. It is always buzzing
01:57with tourists late till 2-3 a.m. in the morning, and it was something similar. And as far as the
02:05weather is concerned, the gods are quite kind. It's been raining all day, and even now I'm
02:11standing just outside the IKEA store in Mumbai, and it's a very pleasant weather out here.
02:18Right, Avinash, a few of the critiques did mention that this particular gathering that
02:25happened, the sea of humanity that showed up to show support and solidarity with the Indian
02:30cricket team. Some said that when would India learn how to manage drought? Was it chaotic?
02:36I mean, because this gathering came at the back of the Hathra stampede,
02:41so a little speculation was there. How was the crowd managed there?
02:46I think because of the proximity of the Churchgate railway station and the Marine
02:53Drive to Bankede, the Mumbai police and the officials there are quite used to, because
02:59it's always chaotic whenever there's a cricket match happening. But yes, there was commotion,
03:04a lot of commotion. I saw a couple of guys fainting in front of my eyes. They were later
03:11on taken, I mean, they had to wait for at least an hour or so to be taken to the hospital.
03:18Actually, two of the guys I saw, and the roads were littered with the footwear. I mean,
03:27we can imagine what kind of a commotion and chaos it was. I mean, if you've just lost your shoe,
03:33you cannot get it back. Unfortunately, even I lost one of my mics. So it was chaotic. It was
03:43very chaotic. The official number was around 5,000 policemen were managing a sea of humanity with
03:53the figure which says around 3 lakh people were there. And at that moment, within a proximity of
04:02three to four kilometres. But I did not feel the way the Mumbai police is accustomed to dealing
04:12with such chaos. Things could have definitely gotten out of hand. Right, right, right. I mean,
04:18I would request you to maintain a little bit of headroom also, for the next round of questioning
04:23that I'll be coming back to you. I know it's a bit windy there. But by the time you fix your
04:28frame there, Ajin Stephen is there with us from One India Malayalam. Ajin, obviously, as
04:35Avinash is mentioning, the cricket fever obviously refuses to die down. But down south in Kerala,
04:40also, Sanju Samson was one name that is directly linked to the state. And his name also often pops
04:47up the name of Hardik Pandya. How are both of them related? Actually, let's talk about Sanju,
04:54because it's always been a luck factor for a Malayali to be part of Indian World Cup winning
05:00squad. It has happened in 83, 2007, 2011. So it's like a history repeating every time. And actually,
05:08even though Sanju didn't get a single match at the World Cup, but he was really happy. You've
05:13seen him lifting the cup, posting some photos on social media. Because Sanju has been waiting
05:20for this kind of opportunity for a very long time. In 2015 only, he made his debut. And after
05:27so many years only, he could came back to the Indian team and play some matches. And he had a
05:32great IPL. And after that, he came to the squad. But didn't get a chance. But it's okay for him.
05:39And the connection with Hardik Pandya is a bit of a social media. Because Mumbai fans are very
05:46strong. Mumbai fans are very strong at the down south, especially in Kerala. There are a lot of
05:51fans who are supporting Mumbai Indians. So they were very happy with Hardik Pandya's decision to
05:55come back to Mumbai. So already people hated him for a very silly reason. But after the World Cup,
06:03so many people realized though he had won the World Cup for us, the last hour magic that he
06:09had done the class on this weekend. So everything it's like social media is celebrating in Kerala
06:15for Hardik Pandya. A lot of posts are coming. A lot of people are talking about it. A lot of
06:20people are creating contents on social media praising Hardik Pandya. And we should know,
06:25we should not do such things to a cricketer. Because he has made the greatest comeback in
06:32the history of cricket. Right. You have raised a very valid point, Ajin. And Avinash, if I could
06:39ask you, we saw the full interaction of the Indian cricket players with the Prime Minister
06:47Narendra Modi. It was produced today. It was released today on Prime Minister Modi's
06:52YouTube handle also, where Hardik Pandya spoke with the Prime Minister about the same feelings
06:59that the last six months that he faced, the criticism, the booing that he faced, and how he
07:04overcame that. What kind of sentiments do Mumbaikars have, especially with Rohit Sharma in
07:09the toe, coming from the Mumbai lab? And it all started with Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma
07:16in IPL? Yes, definitely. I asked this question to so many fans that what are their feelings
07:25about Hardik Pandya, who actually just two months back was one of the biggest villains
07:31for the Mumbai public in particular, because they were booing him, calling out names,
07:40and he was not getting the respect that Indian cricketers should be getting. But apparently,
07:45they are also feeling sorry for him. And actually, what I could make out while speaking to the fans
07:54was Hardik Pandya was not the direct target. Actually, the target for the fans was the
08:03Mumbai Indians' team management. Because team management does not have a pace. When you talk
08:09about a team, it's always the captain who represents the team, who leads the team. So,
08:15in a way, Hardik Pandya became a scapegoat because fans were not happy with the way
08:20the entire team management dealt with Rohit Sharma. And they unceremoniously
08:27made Rohit had to exit from the team. So, that was one of the reasons why fans started booing
08:34because he was replacing their favourite lad from the local lad. And because of the fact that Rohit
08:42Sharma was replaced by Hardik Pandya, Hardik became a soft target. And now, they are of the
08:49view that yes, this lad, this cricketer went through a lot over the period of the last three
08:54months. But actually, they are all happy and they are hoping that the bait in which Rohit
09:00has passed on to Hardik as the Indian captain, potential Indian captain of the B-20 SIs,
09:05and now also of the Mumbai Indians' team, they will be coming out in good luck to support
09:10Hardik Pandya, the India captain in the B-20 Is, and also Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians'
09:16captain. So, fans, the emotions are now mellowing down. The sentiments are mellowing down. And
09:23the way Hardik was given the reception, when Rohit called, just listen to what Rohit was saying,
09:28and the way he performed, and the entire crowd started cheering, chanting Hardik, Hardik. It
09:35showed that whatever animosity was there, it's all nothing of the past. And Hardik has certainly
09:44won over the hearts of thousands, if not millions, also of Mumbai culture.
09:49Absolutely, Abhinash. Hardik Pandya did say that he did not want to respond at that time,
09:55six months ago, what was happening, but he wanted to respond with his actions, which he did. And
10:00tables have turned. Thank you so much, Abhinash, for joining us all the way from Mumbai. We'll let
10:05you go. I know you have some interviews lined up, so long as you are there in Mumbai. Thank you so
10:09much for joining us. Kanhaiya, coming to you, the twin states, the Telugu-speaking states,
10:15Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, winds of change. I hear Ravindra Reddy and Chandraprabhu Naidu
10:21both are going to meet the Prime Minister, or maybe they have met the Prime Minister,
10:24but they are coming on the same stage. What does it mean?
10:28Yes, good evening, Pankaj sir and the other editors sitting out there. Yes, first of all,
10:34let me begin with Chandraprabhu Naidu's Delhi tour. Yesterday, he had two days, two busy days,
10:41meeting all the Indian ministers. He met the Prime Minister yesterday. And on the other hand,
10:47even Ravindra Reddy too had met the Prime Minister. So, both were on the same agenda. Actually,
10:54they wanted some financial help to the state because both sides are actually under
10:58financial crisis. So, what the main important point here is Chandraprabhu, who is being the
11:05major partner for NDA. So, now, it's very interesting whether the centre will have a
11:11look at him or not. That is one question. Many people are looking at too. And Chandraprabhu
11:18had actually asked, he met the Finance Minister Divya Sitaraman because she is also,
11:27she's somewhere, somehow connected to Telugu states. So, he met her and asked for financial
11:32help. And also, he sought help in completing this Polavaram project, etc. And tomorrow,
11:41there is a, it is a big day actually. Now, what we are, what I'm getting the news is that
11:47Chandraprabhu had actually flown from Delhi to Hyderabad and he's in the midway. He'll reach by
11:536.30 here. And the city of Hyderabad has literally turned yellowish, meaning that it's of TDP,
12:02wherever we see, there are actually big hoardings welcoming, welcoming Chandraprabhu.
12:09For the first time after he taking over as the Chief Minister, he's entering the city.
12:12So, here, but this was not seen in 2000, way back in 2014, because again, there were two rivalries,
12:20KCR and Chandraprabhu. But now, it's in Telangana, it's Congress government and
12:26Revath Reddy is leading, Revath Reddy is leading the state as Chief Minister.
12:30And both have, both are in sync, because both have good relations, good cordial relations,
12:36because he's of, he's from the TDP school itself, the current Chief Minister of Telangana.
12:42So, they have good relations. Personally too, they have good relations. When he was actually,
12:48Revath Reddy was behind bars in vote for vote scam, even wearing Chandraprabhu's name,
12:56was also involved. At that point of time also, it was Chandraprabhu who took the responsibility to
13:01actually hold Revath Reddy's daughter's marriage. So, such kind of intimacy is there between them.
13:09So, now, Telugu state people are looking for a better, a bright output, actually.
13:14So, this is, you know, what happened, KCR, two former ministers, KCR and Y S Rajan, they both,
13:20they were, actually, they were aligned together. And, but from 2014 to 2019,
13:28it was KCR in Telangana and Chandraprabhu in Andhra Pradesh. So, they didn't have much of
13:34cordial relation, because there was a case also, vote for vote scam was there. And then,
13:40so, everybody knows Chandraprabhu had to move to Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad was the common captain
13:46for 10 years. So, now, tomorrow, it's a big day for two Telugu states. Tomorrow evening,
13:52both the Telugu state CMs will be coming on to one, coming on to one platform. They'll be
13:57discussing as the, what, what, how they have to get on from here, how Telangana will help Andhra.
14:06And moreover, the issues that remain unsolved till today in the state reorganization act,
14:14what are the issues? So, they will be discussing on those lines.
14:17Absolutely, Kanhaiya. Very interesting. We have seen it in the past that these two Telugu speaking
14:22states, they contest elections or elections are fought in these states on the basis of
14:27doles and government support and promises. In Telangana, we have seen for the last 10 years,
14:33KCR government was Dalit bandhu, Dalit raitu bandhu schemes, all of them, where a lot of
14:39strain comes on the exchequer. And now, the new chief ministers of these two states, obviously,
14:44Babu Naidu and Revanth Reddy, asking for money from the centre. So, interesting times,
14:49interesting. I have one quick question. Is Revanth Reddy going to join BJP?
14:55It's a big question. I'll tell you, see. Actually, Revanth Reddy, he had actually,
15:01he's currently away from the administration. He's purely focusing on his, I mean, he's purely
15:08focusing on how to save his seat now. Because it's only, magic figure, it is 65 and he's got
15:16on 64 MLAs. So, now that he's going on commerce trading, actually, almost all now that TRS, now
15:24BRS, MLAs from BRS, almost now the party is vacated. All the MLAs are switching to Congress.
15:32So, on that, the lines, you know, he might be, he's playing a safe game.
15:39Revanth Reddy is playing a safe game. Like, he's pulling the MLAs. He's even,
15:46you know, there are still some ED raids going on in the BRS. So, it's all a game happening. We can
15:55actually, it's very, it's too early to predict, but I can sense our media community, you know,
16:03many of the senior journalists, they are actually sensing that something might take place in the
16:08month of October. So, there might be a toppling or something like that.
16:14Okay. So, what you're saying is that fearing some of the ED reprisals or the government crackdown,
16:20the BRS or TRS MLAs or leaders are joining the Congress party, not as of now,
16:27they have not made their way to the BJP. Is that so?
16:30Yeah. Yeah. MLAs are not made to the BJP, but since Congress is in power, so nobody knows
16:38when things might change, you know, when actually, when BJP start pulling the MLAs from Congress,
16:47you know, what we have seen in Maharashtra case, they have actually put Shinde,
16:51they have projected Shinde and then a faction has moved to Shinde. So, the same thing might happen,
16:57no surprise if Rev. Reddy chooses to be on the BJP side.
17:02And I think Congress must be sleeping with open eyes.
17:06I'll have to mention a point here. Why? Because whenever you see, whenever Rev. Reddy is meeting
17:12any union minister or prime minister, something like that, you know, Big East, he's never met
17:17alone. There will always be a Congress, a pure Congress man. Yesterday, there was Deputy Chief
17:22Minister Bhatti Vikramaditya along with Rev. Reddy. It's not for the first time. Earlier also,
17:27when he met the Big East at the center, you know, he was never, he never met alone.
17:32Oh, okay. Okay.
17:33I think Congress still doubts you.
17:37Well, yeah, I mean, given his past, as you were mentioning earlier, comes from the RSS background,
17:41has been with the TDP also, and now with the Congress.
17:46Thank you so much. Always a pleasure to speak to you, but I won't hold you back on this
17:51final day of the weekend before the weekend starts. You have lots of copies to take care of.
17:55We have two big events in Hyderabad. One Mohammed Sinaj parade is there and now
17:59Chandrababu's parade is there. So, Hyderabad, people are actually traveling to their home
18:04very fast because there will be a huge traffic again. So, many people in the office have vacated
18:08and I see, because in our offices, you know, there are many software employees,
18:13they are running away at four o'clock itself.
18:16Anyway, I mean, from the world of cricket to the field of politics, I mean, you have got best of
18:22both the worlds. Enjoy it as long as it lasts. Thank you so much, Kanhaiya, there from One
18:27India, Telugu. Ajit and Hritesh both are there, but I'll have to quickly take a question for Keshav.
18:34The whole nation was shocked this time around with the Hathras incident. Many are saying that
18:43the media coverage, the way it is happening is lukewarm. The accountability hasn't been fixed.
18:49And also a grave error at this scale where around 80,000 people had to come up, but more than three
18:57times more than the stipulated numbers came and gathered at that congregation. How is this possible,
19:05first of all? And secondly, how do you see it? Because for the BJP ruled state of Uttar Pradesh,
19:12this thing is not a good scenario that at least Yogi Adityanath would have dreamt of.
19:18No, definitely, not only for a BJP ruled state, but for any state for that matter.
19:24And I am appalled, rather agonized for the so many lives lost. See, this is a stampede,
19:34we can call it an accident happened. And, you know, blaming media is just, you know, too small.
19:41What media can do, they can just, you know, make a fuse and cries. That's all we can do that.
19:48Accountability is not fixed. Those who are responsible are still moving free. I don't know
19:56if it has happened in past as well. So many incidents, so many unfortunate stampedes,
20:02chaos has happened in past, people lost their lives. And then it, you know, we,
20:09we, you know, managed to set some SIT, some sort of investigation, and then we see Vashi reports,
20:18nothing happens beyond that. So the time has come. Not only about this stampede,
20:25I rather wish the government of India should bring in some blasphemy law, I think,
20:34and nab these so-called self-proclaimed godmen. They are just spreading the fallacy, the fallacity
20:45and, you know, putting people's lives on stake otherwise as well. Not through the stampede.
20:53So the time has come. And Yogi Adityanath has been a strong chief minister. He has,
21:01you know, created his larger-than-life image through, you know, strong decisions.
21:07Bulldozer Baba, I think bulldozer will come out this time as well.
21:10And those accountable, those responsible will not set free.
21:15Right. So obviously, just reading up very quickly on, you know, what the police version says until
21:22now, as you were mentioning, these self-proclaimed Babas, he is still out of the woods, still
21:29outside the FIR ambit. And that is what is concerning here. How do the police navigate
21:35through this very complex scenario, whether the organizers who invited the Baba, how much he is
21:41responsible now, there are talks that he stayed there when the stampede happened. After that,
21:46he left the scene. You can have the version of FIR, which is there in place. So Baba looks to
21:54be getting the clean chit. It is being said that Baba had already, you know, left the spot.
22:02I mean, it does not matter. The problem was assembled on the name of this particular Baba.
22:09And he cannot, you know, just wash his hands of the responsibility. He must come forward,
22:17take the blame with humility and compensate all those families, all those gripped families.
22:25Absolutely, absolutely. No doubt about that. And we also need some sort of, I would say,
22:32control or, you know, a lens on the fact that the way the self-proclaimed Babas are also
22:40popping up. I mean, that is also something we thought the government should bring in the
22:45blasphemy law. I mean, who can be the next to God? There is no one.
22:52Well, that's why we call them self-proclaimed. Keshav, stay with us. Ritesh and Ajin there.
22:57Ritesh, very quickly, talking about politics, Prime Minister Modi mentioning Sandesh Khali
23:03and the recent flogging incident of West Bengal in the same breath. What does he mean? He received
23:08a very not so favorable response from Mahua Moitra also on Day 1st of the Parliament. How do you
23:14read that? The first thing that you mentioned about PM Modi mentioning the Chopra incident,
23:21as well as Sandesh Khali incident. He was mentioning that a woman was being flogged and
23:26nobody came to rescue her. Instead, some people are taking pictures and videos. On the overall,
23:35what he was trying to say that the law and order situation in Bengal is in deep crisis. And for
23:41that, he indirectly blaming TMC. So on that, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghosh, she wrote a letter
23:52to the Rajya Sabha chairman saying that PM should not be giving selective lectures. And then from
24:01TMC, they requested to expand the speech of the Prime Minister on that particular incident.
24:07Now, the point what I'm taking out from this, like this atrocity against women,
24:14the violence against women, this issue, BJP is trying to highlight this for last few years in
24:22West Bengal, particularly in West Bengal. Every election, BJP high leadership came over here and
24:30trying to narrate the same thing again and again. Now, the thing is, what BJP is trying to
24:39say about this law and order situation, sometimes and most of the times, I think these things
24:44happening with the people who are in the lower segment of the society, these people, especially
24:53women, if you see, and interestingly, these are the women's who are getting 1000 rupees
25:00grant from West Bengal government from DD government. So one hand, BJP is alleging that
25:07the women's are not safe in Bengal, directly or indirectly, and these women are getting paid
25:131000 rupees from DD government. So I think, overall, if you see from the political angle,
25:20BJP has to change their strategy in addressing the people of West Bengal, especially when
25:28more than 2 crore women are getting Lakshmi Bhandar, that government scheme that when
25:33where PMC is giving 1000 rupees to women. And if BJP is trying to address them with this law
25:39and order situation, I think that will not work. So this is the thing. And when you talk about
25:46Moha Maitra, when he was finished his speech and just about to go, that time Moha stood up and
25:55started his speeching and she started with like, don't go here, hear me. So what PM has refused
26:03and went away. And yeah, so Moha Maitra, we know the episode before the election when
26:12what happened with her membership was...
26:16It was revoked, yeah. And she also mentioned that, telling the Prime Minister that you came
26:21to my constituency twice. So why don't you listen to me and then go?
26:25Yes, yes, yes, definitely. I mean, the kind of, what I say, the kind of
26:36scenario she has faced before the election and during the election,
26:44it was just the normal outburst that Moha Maitra expressed herself in the parliament.
26:49And what she said like, much like Lord Krishna protected Draupadi, the people of Krishna Nagar
26:56have protected me. And the very interesting thing she said, like,
27:07so that sum up his mentality of fighting back BJP in the coming five years also.
27:16Right. Absolutely. Again, from the field of politics to the field of cricket,
27:21there are chants and praise going on for Dada, Sourav Ganguly, for the victory in World Cup
27:28cricket, T20. How do you see that? Yeah, it is there. It is right after India
27:35winning the World Cup. There is a social media campaign from Dada's followers, maybe.
27:40They started writing that not to forget Dada's contribution in winning the World Cup.
27:46When Dada was the VCCI president, Sourav Ganguly was the VCCI president,
27:51he, in his regime, during his regime, Rahul Dabir was selected as a chief coach. And
28:00we all know the Virat Kohli episode, what happened that time during that and Rohit Sharma became the
28:09white ball captain. And now we see the result. After two years, we got the World Cup. After
28:1513 years, we got a ICC trophy and 17 years T20 World Cup. So, somehow, Dada's fan are feeling
28:23that Dada's contribution is also there for winning this World Cup. Very much so. I mean,
28:29you're right. When the choice of the captain and choice of the coach, both were clashing back in
28:352022. I remember, obviously, the whole country was watching it with bated breath who comes up.
28:43Stay with us, Ritesh. Arjun, you have been waiting there for so long patiently. Obviously,
28:50talking about cricket and Kerala, I mean, do you see the same sort of sentiment? Help us understand
28:58for those who haven't traveled to that part of the country. How is cricket imbibed in Kerala?
29:04Are there enough, as they say, Kerala's backwaters are very beautiful.
29:09Is there enough ground for the kids to actually go for those lusty shots?
29:14Actually, I still remember a scene where, after India winning 2011 World Cup, they were saying,
29:23sports show can exclusively happen for cricket at Jamuna Naidu Stadium in Kochi.
29:29And after talking to him, I realized, okay, a lot of parents are coming with their kids
29:37full of their passion to be a cricketer. So, I think that time has come back to Kerala because
29:43a lot of kids are actually very passionate about cricket. So, I think that time is coming back in
29:51Kerala too. Because that was the initial point where cricketers were not, that was initially
29:58celebrated in Kerala. Because initially, there was only Shannon Sampson after a lot of years
30:03in play. So, that gave motivation to a lot of players. So, I think that time is coming back to
30:09Kerala. And I think, although handball cricket, tennis ball cricket is not as celebrated now.
30:16It was street by street. Everybody is a fan of Jack Sparrow.
30:24Yes, that's how it is in the rest of the part of the country also. But thank you so much,
30:28Ajin, for joining us and taking time out for this One India Editor's Roundtable.
30:33Keshav, talking about Modi and Rahul, this was a battle of epic proportions. We saw a battle
30:41back in Barbados, where India came triumphant. And this time around, in your opinion,
30:46whether it was the NDA or India, which came up triumphant in the battle in the Parliament House?
30:52Yeah, actually, it is a win-win game for both the sides.
30:55Both, just as a result of these elections.
30:58Yes. So, the morning casts the day. Now, we have seen how these five years are going to be.
31:06So, the opposition has got as much strength as needed to keep the ruling parties on the toe.
31:15Rahul's speech was definitely full of passion, aggression, and he definitely grabbed the
31:25attention of people. And moreover, the so-called mainstream media. We have witnessed the debates,
31:35the primetime shows happening on Rahul's speech for the first time in my experience. So,
31:45that's a very good point.
31:46Yeah. And so does Modi always have. Whenever Prime Minister Modi speaks,
31:51it becomes a punchline. It becomes a tagline. So, there's nothing new about Modi. But definitely,
31:58what we saw was a new avatar of Rahul Gandhi. And this is going to be continued. What was not a
32:05welcome sign when Rahul put all the allegations, whatever he wanted to speak, taking a bit of
32:12privilege of being in parliament, everything went well, the ruling party accepted it. And
32:20at times when they rebutted, they rebutted with all decency. But when the terms came
32:28for the Prime Minister to speak, the Lok Sabha was full of chaos, full of, you know, noise.
32:36And Rahul Gandhi, as a leader of opposition seemed to be persuading the opposition party MPs to come
32:46into the bill and not allow Modi to speak, which is not a welcome sign. Despite that,
32:53as a seasoned politician, he kept going on, he blasted at the Congress party,
33:02Rahul Gandhi himself, his speech was full of humor, and all the kind of soft and hard attacks
33:12as well. Then the opposition decided to walk out. So, people have, during this election,
33:21sorry, I'm going a step back. But during this election, I think everything, all the states
33:28that Congress has placed a spot on, and not during this election, they have, people could
33:35not notice, we just missed it. But Congress had started preparing for it for last two years.
33:42Remember, choosing Khargir to be the president of Congress party. If Khargir was not the president,
33:50somebody from the Gandhi family or for that matter, even Shashi Thakur, a Brahmin from Kerala,
33:56was the president of the Congress party. Now, they could not have a bring in the kind of
34:04conviction in their statement when they were attacking, when they were flaking BJP
34:10for abolishing the constitution or demolishing the reservation system. They could not have that
34:19kind of conviction. And it could not have gone well down to the people. It has helped.
34:26Choosing Khargir as a president has helped. And remember, what Sonia Gandhi could not do,
34:33what Rahul Gandhi could not do, Khargir did it. Yeah, absolutely. This opposition,
34:42not one side, but Congress alone, the victory, though they are far, far away from the magic
34:50figure, but why Congress is celebrating is, this is nothing short of a victory.
34:58They have doubled their seat. And remember, in the 70 years of democratic history of India,
35:04Congress has first time fought on less than 400 seats. So it has also got better.
35:14And then everything, you know, choosing candidates, replacing Rahul Gandhi from Raibar Eli,
35:18choosing candidate for Amethi, everything was spot on, dealing with the coalition partners,
35:24all went well. If the coalition partners were not there, Congress has not done so much compromises.
35:30They would not have been able to reach at this stage. You can see Madhya Pradesh,
35:35Satish Garg, whatever Congress fought alone, they could not have that kind of, you know,
35:41strike rate. Uttar Pradesh also for that. Yes. So Congress has got a lot. So they need to,
35:49you know, show that kind of maturity also. And the responsibility is on their soldiers as well.
35:56They cannot, you know, shy away from the kind of belief, the kind of trust,
36:02the voters of this country have shown towards the Congress party. I think with age, you get
36:11better. With experience, you get better. Rahul Gandhi has got both. He has got better for the
36:18ruling party. He has got better for the class who has been supported him and the Congress party.
36:28In coming time, I would like to see the better synergy between the ruling party and the opposition
36:35and the constructive, you know, course of proceedings should take place rather than
36:41noise and cries. That is most desired also, Keshav. But last few sessions, if I remember,
36:49both the monsoon session, the winter session or the budget session, quite an acrimonious scene.
36:56So if we go back six months to one year there, we'll keep an eye there. One quick question to
37:02Ritesh in his vicinity, Keshav, one of the chief ministers of Jharkhand, Hemant Sured, came back
37:08and now has taken oath. What a turn of events once again. Ritesh, do you think that
37:16Hemant Sured's arrest, as many would say, just like Arvind Kejriwal's, was an eyewash?
37:24Because everything has fallen back into place once again, just after the elections.
37:29It may be. Everything can happen. Just before election, he got arrested, just like Kejriwal,
37:37and now he is free. So this may affect the politics of Jharkhand, definitely, because he
37:47is now again, he is going to rule again as a chief minister. And this belt, especially in
37:57our Jangal Mahal side also, Jharkhand, Jangal Mahal, Chhattisgarh, this Adivasi belt,
38:03this belt is, there is a power battle between BJP and the opposition on whom to get the support of
38:13Adivasi. Tribals, obviously. So in the coming days, we will see more fierce battle. I think
38:21this is just the beginning. More battles to come, I think. Absolutely. Keshav, you know,
38:30looks like by elections, obviously, NDA had an upper hand in Jharkhand also, like they had in
38:36Bihar. But do you believe that Hemant Soren's sway on the tribal population, at least, still remains
38:43intact? No, definitely, it is going to be. And let us not forget that, you know, sending Hemant
38:51Soren behind the bar has costed the BJP. The numbers of JMM's MPs have increased. They have
39:02won four seats. Okay. And when the court granted bail to Hemant Soren, the court blasted at the
39:17probe agency also for their modus operandi. So these all are taken as a setback to the BJP,
39:25of course. Okay. And but see how clever Hemant has become. Kejriwal had got bail to run the
39:36campaigns before election. Hemant did not. Yes. Despite his party got something, Kejriwal failed.
39:45And in upcoming elections, yeah, and how quickly Hemant is, you know,
39:52taking the stock of the situation. He came out. Sorry, I'm again going a step back when he was
40:01going behind the bar when he was sent to the jail. Yeah. The rumour was just that Kalpana Soren,
40:10his wife is going to be sworn in as the CM of the state. But then there was a revolt in the family.
40:19The sister-in-law of Hemant, she just started protesting. Then there was protest
40:28in the party itself. JMM itself. Yes. Hemant only cleverly chose Champa Soren.
40:35Hmm. So Champa Soren being a stalwart, he, you know, balanced it well. After
40:44Hemant coming back, Hemant must have smelt the moon. And he stopped, you know,
40:53the state from having another Manji. Manji, I mean, Chetan Ramaji of CRR.
41:00I was about to say that. Chetan Ramaji is to Nitish Kumar. Champa Soren is to...
41:07Champa Soren is not a rookie. He's a stalwart in JMM, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is next to
41:14Shibu Soren and Hemant Soren. And not to forget, he has immense popularity
41:20in the Kolhan region. So in Jharkhand, different pockets. JMM, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is
41:29very strong in Santhal Parna. And in Kolhan region, West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Chaiwasa,
41:37Sarai Khela, Kharsawa. These regions, this guy Champa Soren has immense popularity.
41:44And not to forget this time in this parliamentary election, one seat JMM has won from this Kolhan
41:53region also. And once he received the chair, nobody wants to give it back. Hemant has felt
42:03that. And he curbed all the, you know, dissatisfaction, protest very, you know, nicely.
42:13Did not let any voice of dissent come out. And yeah, he's back in action.
42:20Not many, you're right, Keshav, are able to do this. And there are so many of them.
42:29But again, the way this guy Champa Soren has expressed, I am sure BJP would have just,
42:37you know, freed their horses. And we can see something in the time to come.
42:43Right. Gentlemen, thank you so much for this very comprehensive
42:47roundup of the week from several parts of the country. Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar,
42:52and then Uttar Pradesh is something that dominated the proceedings down south. Also,
42:57we see a winds of change possible in the twin Telugu speaking states and also how Kerala
43:03celebrated the World Cup victory. Thank you so much for watching this space. We'll be back
43:07next week, same time on this space on One India. Subscribe to One India channel and never miss an
43:15update.