- 5 months ago
A political war has erupted over the Gaza crisis following the remarks made by Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who questioned the Centre’s ‘silence and inaction’ on Israel’s actions in Palestine.
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00:00good evening you're watching news track here on india today i'm akshita nanda gopal and this
00:11evening as we just showed you there a glimpse of the big political fight that's playing out
00:16over the gaza crisis with the congress the opposition constantly questioning the government
00:21saying why is there silence from the modi government on the humanitarian crisis that's
00:26playing out in gaza we're going to be decoding for you how gaza and the crisis that's playing out
00:32there the famine has now triggered a political war in india what does the government have to say about
00:37gaza what's really india stand on what's playing out between israel and palestine we'll be breaking
00:42all of that down for you first as always here are the headlines
00:46government sets ball rolling on impeachment of justice varma after cash hauled rao
00:54ellis speaker names three-member impeachment panel with the supreme court judge high court judge and
01:00lawyer
01:00supreme court back selection commission in hearing challenging the bihar voter roll revision
01:11says poll body right in not accepting adhar as proof
01:16delhi police breaks up india gate protest over supreme court's roundup stray dogs order
01:26celebrities post against top court order met with backlash on social media
01:31sacked karnataka mantri k and rajanna targets congress high command threatens to expose conspiracy plot
01:42bjp launches scathing attack on the congress top rocks
01:45supreme court grants interim relief to dairy owners of end-of-life petrol and diesel car says
01:56no coercive action to be taken for now
01:58but let's begin with a news break coming in sources telling india today on what really the congress's
02:17strategy is on this voter fraud uh showdown that we're witnessing now reportedly rahul gandhi's confirmed
02:24that there are going to be many more exposes as the congress has called it against the election commission
02:31now here's what we're picking up on the inside track of what played out in a congress huddle
02:36rahul gandhi has said that there are around 70 seats which congress lost
02:40with a margin of less than 50 000 in looks about constituencies
02:43the congress is working on these constituencies to see if these bjp victories are genuine
02:49and so rahul gandhi in faces will be putting out details of this remember that rahul gandhi just
02:55today when asked about his vote chori uh allegation claiming elections are rigged and whatnot he said
03:02picture abhi baqi hai now it looks like there's going to be an atom bomb 2.0 in rahul gandhi's words
03:08the first one last week was of course when rahul gandhi had alleged discrepancies in the voter roll in
03:16places like mahadevpura of karnataka he referred to the 2024 election results in several parts
03:21haryana maharashtra karnataka now reportedly the congress is working on a more extensive list which
03:27they say will be released face wise in all we're hearing in about seven to eight faces congress will
03:33be putting out data which they believe speaks volumes of uh what they call as vote chori taking place
03:40in seats and we understand about 70 seats the congress has narrowed it down to where they've
03:46lost to the margin of less than 50 000 votes again in the 2024 elections rahul gautam is joining us
03:51with more details on this rahul we understand that there are many more in rahul gandhi's words
03:56atom bombs to come from the congress
03:58well there was a very intense discussion that took place at today's meeting uh which was headed by rahul
04:05gandhi and attended by uh malik arjun karge and many senior leaders and and at that point of time
04:11sachin pilot said that you know uh we should look into the actual details and should not uh uh you know
04:19get into the uh this fact that uh uh if some people have lost elections you know their own failures and
04:25now they are blaming vote chori to which rahul gandhi has said that you know there are around 70 seats
04:31that we lost around uh with the margin less than 50 000 and therefore uh we are looking into the uh
04:38bjp victories uh in these seats and and once the data is out and therefore uh then we will uh will be
04:45taking an action see we have to really understand that uh the entire opposition is up in arms against
04:50election commission rahul gandhi is convinced that the 2024 uh mandate was actually stolen by bjp and in
04:57fact uh this is happening at the behest of the bjp uh by the election commission and uh the entire
05:03exercise is being programmed in a way that it actually benefits the ruling party so clearly uh you
05:09can expect that in coming days the congress party will be doing uh you know press conferences they
05:14will be releasing data about these 70 conferences wherein the congress candidate lost to bjp candidate by
05:20less than 50 000 margin and uh clearly you can expect that this is again going to be flashpoint
05:26because we all know when rahul gandhi gave data for mahadev pura which comes under uh
05:32banglore central seat at that point of time eci and bjp they both uh had gone aggressive and had
05:38gone correct and it's become the biggest political talking point so that's set the stage according to
05:43the congress for many more such exposures which we will track very closely thanks rahul for joining us
05:47let's move on to our top focus here on news track the showdown over gaza that's playing out in india
05:58it started off with congress mp priyanka gandhi vadra questioning the indian government stand asking
06:04why they're silent saying israel is committing genocide in palestine you immediately had a response
06:11that came in from the israeli envoy as well who hit back at priyanka gandhi countering her claims with
06:18figures ruvin azar said and lashed out of priyanka gandhi referring to what she said as deceit let's
06:24first get your details of this war of words that played out and then we'll decode this further for you
06:41it is the biggest humanitarian crisis the world is currently seeing the starvation crisis in gaza
06:49now a political flashpoint in india congress mp from vayanar priyanka gandhi vadra took potshots
06:56at israel and india over situation in gaza priyanka gandhi vadra accused israel of murdering over 60 000
07:04people and termed government of india's silence shameful priyanka's this post did not go down well
07:12with the israel embassy in india reacting to priyanka's post israel ambassador to india rubin azar
07:19also called her genocide remark shameful azar also highlighted how hamas is using gazans as human
07:26shields and forcibly taking away their aid to create hunger crisis but it did not stop here the
07:34congress party condemned israel ambassador's response and termed modi government silence as cowardice when
07:40it comes to speaking out on israel's action this is not the first time when priyanka gandhi vadra
07:46expressed her concerns over gaza in december last year priyanka had carried a bag with palestine
07:53written on it to the parliament earlier in june she slammed israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu
08:01for genocidal actions in gaza she even criticized modi government for abstaining from voting on
08:08un resolution for upholding legal and humanitarian obligations in gaza will the vyanar mps face off
08:16with israel spill onto the bilateral ties between new delhi and tel aviv bureau report india today
08:23okay let's open this up and talk about really what we're witnessing this political showdown over
08:32gaza pranayopadia editor india today global is with me also opening this up to mahima singh national
08:38spokesperson of the congress we have raga bavasti political analyst and advocate thank you all very
08:42much for your time pranay i'd like to begin with you to put a couple of things in context first
08:47on what really india's stand has been on what's playing out in gaza priyanka gandhi says the
08:52government has been silent has there been any statement that's really coming from the government
08:56of late there have been many statement uh akshita here because if you see uh during the course of
09:03like last two years uh of this conflict there have been many statement by the government of india and
09:07government of india has always you know as far as india as a state is concerned uh right from the
09:11united nation to various other platforms uh india has expressed concern and india has always beat
09:17russia ukraine conflict or beat the israel hamas conflict india has always advocated a peaceful
09:22solution and a resolution of a conflict through diplomatic means and diplomatic talks but as far as
09:27this humanitarian crisis is concerned india has sent the humanitarian aid to gaza uh also india has
09:33also extended its help uh in case of any possible solution uh as far as the conflict is concerned
09:39uh and india has also expressed its concern on the humanitarian crisis in gaza city but as far as
09:45uh you know uh there are many other aspects of it uh because india has strategic relation with with
09:50israel and uh even uh uh you know the during the discussion recent discussion uh on in united
09:56nation for a ceasefire india did vote in favor of of a ceasefire uh though in previous uh some
10:02resolutions india did abstain to express solidarity uh you know somewhat some kind of a solidarity with
10:07with uh the israel but yes uh india has always uh in favor of the two nation uh solution or the two
10:14state solution and india is out of south asia and asia india is the first country to recognize
10:18palestine as a state all right thanks pranay for joining us and giving us that much nearer clarity let
10:24me bring in now mahima singh as well as raga vavasti mahima singh to you first what really is the
10:29congress's contention here because as pranay has told us india stand really on what's happening in gaza
10:35and what's playing out between israel and palestine is also very clear
10:38jay hind i don't think it is uh it is ambiguous what the congress party's stance is and what has
10:46it been ever since this situation first arose uh you know uh during 80s uh and and i must remind you
10:55of desmond tutu's words here before i take you any further uh on our stance desmond tutu says
11:02akshita that if you're neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the
11:07oppressor now i was listening to your political editor uh and he says that india has expressed
11:14concerns in what language have we uh expressed concerns is that language clear enough have we
11:22given out a message clear enough to the world that we are against this sort of humanitarian crisis
11:28our honorable uh member of parliament srimati priyanka gandhi as well as uh our erstwhile
11:34president of the party srimati sonya gandhi ji and uh mp also both have raised serious concerns as
11:41had as has the congress party consistently raised when was it last in the in the history of independent
11:47india akshita you tell me that india was so indifferent to a situation like this but why are you saying
11:53we're indifferent mahima saying let me just read out for you what we've said at the unsc
11:57where india said very clearly that a ceasefire is a must in gaza and we've also made it very clear
12:04india said that we provide support to our palestinian brothers and sisters
12:10the the news coming in every day akshita you know from me from thousands and thousands of deaths of
12:19women and children then humanitarian aid workers and now journalists we do not see a stance clear
12:26enough from the indian government as it should have been we must remember that india was one of the
12:31first countries to have recognized one of the first non-arab countries for that matter to have
12:37recognized palestine as as a as an independent state in 1988 and ever since every forthcoming
12:44government has maintained that stance has stood up now what do you expect of a government that
12:50doesn't stand up against what's happening in manipur only i mean we have a genocide happening in our own
12:55country and it's been more than two years and the government chooses to stay mum so no wonder
13:00that when it comes to palestine the government is complacently being very quiet because it doesn't
13:07want to call out a spade a spade okay raga bavasti your opening comments the congress is alleging
13:13here that india is refusing to take a clear stand uh condemning the humanitarian crisis in gaza what
13:19do you think so the thing is that uh from whatever a little i know of the history of uh foreign affairs
13:26post westphalian nation states act in their own interest and foreign policy is not based on any
13:32teleological or ideological consideration in this case what seems to be happening with uh in with miss
13:39swajra is that she seems to be catering to a specific vote bank and she's well within her rights
13:45honestly to do that i don't mind that having said that uh i am not so sure as to what is being referred
13:52to as palestine here because there is gaza and there is west bank from whatever little i know of
13:59the conflict west bank is ruled by fatah which is the successor of the plo while gaza is ruled by an
14:05organization called the hamas which is basically engaged in the suppression of political opinion
14:11and it also jails dissenters and it's right a record when it comes to human rights is not ideal
14:16having said that this conflict began after what happened on the october on the 7th of october when
14:23all of these israelis who were celebrating at a festival were kidnapped we can go much further back into
14:29history people can say that okay israel came to being because there was a united nations resolution
14:33and then israel was attacked after which it grabbed land which it refuses to vacate by the way gaza israel
14:40actually is a region from which israel withdrew its forces in 2006 what we need to look at as a country
14:46is not at the morality of it we need to figure out as to what is best in the interests of our people
14:53now there might be some people in india who want to you know whip up some kind of a muslim sentiment
15:01and say that oh this is happening to your muslim brethren in gaza and the bjp government is not
15:06standing up
15:08i'll tell you what the fact is that in most of the arab world this issue has lost all of its salience
15:15they are westphalian nation states they act in the interests of their people they are allied to the united states which is allied to israel and they need the united states because they need to sell oil to the united states
15:22they are westphalian nation states they act in the interests of their people they are allied to the united states which is allied to israel and they need the united states because they need to sell oil to the united states
15:34so if all of these arab countries are behaving as per their pragmatic political considerations
15:40then why is it that the leader of the principal opposition party and she's a very important political leader
15:47is asking us to go against somebody who is the country which is a defense supplier
15:52and it is going to become a bigger strategic partner in the future
15:57no i'll ask
15:57just for the sake of vote bank
15:59i'll ask that question but quickly a follow-up one to you raghav about what's happening right now in gaza
16:04look this is a crisis that goes beyond taking political stance taking stance on you know a certain country a certain vote bank etc
16:13it goes down root root cause of what's happening right now is look this is a famine
16:17we're looking at thousands of people dying children going without food
16:21surely that is something that every country ideally should take a stand against
16:26so i will be very honest about it if israel supplies us weapons with which we can protect our citizens
16:32i'm not going to take any stand on what is happening in gaza
16:36because i'm concerned with citizens in india and their security
16:40i'm not concerned with what is happening in gaza
16:43that's my simple point if israeli military technology is helping us fight pakistan
16:48so be it i'm very happy with it i have no interest in embarrassing in gaza
16:53and this is exactly the reason why there are so many arab countries
16:58for whom the united states is a big consumer of their crude oil okay okay
17:04they are also sitting silently so why is it any of our business ultimately it's not our business
17:09okay that's your view that's your view prosperity of our citizens okay your view is clearly india
17:14one last point yeah even when dr manmohan singh was in power a similar policy was followed because
17:21thankfully foreign policy irrespective of who the prime minister has been in india has not been
17:27hostage to vote bank consider has not been hostage to vote bank considerations
17:31last one last one last one last one last one please jawarlal nehru ji recognized palestine
17:38because at that time the thinking was that israel was a western implant in that region
17:44so he was following the principle of afro-asian solidarity okay now afro-asian solidarity
17:50let me bring in maima singh please let me bring in maima singh she's waited very patiently for her turn
17:55she's waited very patiently for her turn maima singh go ahead what do you say
17:58to the allegation that look this is vote bank politics being played by the congress and hence the
18:02palestine sympathy you know akshita i want to quote the senior humanitarian affairs official mr ramesh
18:12rajas singham from geneva who has said that this is no longer a looming hunger crisis this is starvation
18:20pure and simple you know since july 1st 37 children have died of hunger in total 98 children are reported
18:30to have died from starvation this apart from 60 000 and another thousands and thousands that have
18:37been eliminated it's a plain ethnic cleansing that's happening there and then to hear from although
18:44although it's a sorry state of affairs that you do not have a have an official bjp spokesperson on
18:49your show uh to talk about such a serious topic of course that explains the bjp's eerie silence on this
18:56this humanitarian crisis and injustice happening in the face of humanity and the bjp chooses to sit
19:02on the edge but you have uh you know unofficial representative covering uh you know covering up
19:09for no maima singh please just in a way no make your point yeah yeah yeah no it's it is it is a part of my
19:17point why why do you think that this this is not what my point is it is very it is very it takes a
19:33very cold soul to be able to make remarks as he has made and i don't think i am at a place to condemn or
19:40to support i i do not know in what capacity is he he may be there in an independent capacity i would
19:46have liked to respond if it was a bjp spokesperson which you do not have which explains miss priyanka
19:51gandhi's remarks which explains the congress's contentions okay simply put simply put mahima
19:57mahima singh simply put let's mention raga vavasti as a citizen voice now what is the congress's
20:03response to the citizen voice who says india first why should i take why should i take a polarized voice
20:08and a cold uh stance as as a citizen of india's voice i talk to thousands and thousands a citizen
20:14on a weekly basis akshita and i don't think this voice resonates with any today against a supreme
20:23court order you have seen the kind of uh protests uh you know happening out on streets and we have
20:29seen on the other side also there's there's an order against um street dogs and people are speaking
20:34okay you know children are dying when we feel for children dying in india dying of dog attacks
20:40why are we not feeling for children dying in gaza palestine uh at behest of another nation
20:47which has a powerful army today iran warning it is it is a global crisis in making akshita and
20:54indian government choosing to stay silent is no less than being hand in glove in in that crisis
21:01are being made okay okay all right raga vavasti quickly your comment to this essentially maima
21:06singh saying look you have to put humanity first comments about my capacity it's frankly useless to
21:13respond to a brief list lawyer i have so many reported judgments that i don't feel like this
21:17having said that what i will say is this ultimately as humphrey appleby very famously puts it
21:25in yes prime minister the history of the world unfortunately or fortunately
21:29is a history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless this is how it has always been and
21:36to hold foreign policy that has an impact on the lives of 1.4 billion people under sashi tarurji
21:45very put it very well recently foreign policy is now not an arcane concern because the price of the
21:53food on your table ultimately also depends on the kind of foreign policy you follow
21:58my question to all the congress spokespersons is simple if the arab states where the population
22:06is almost entirely muslim they are not concerned with what is happening then why is it that we
22:13should be concerned ultimately if they are following pragmatic economic considerations we should also
22:19follow pragmatic economic considerations okay and my heart bleeds for every innocent soul
22:24unfortunately as an indian my heart bleeds a bit more for indian people than it does for people in gaza
22:31okay for people or even the hostages that were taken okay quickly if you want to debate the morality of it
22:37we have all seen how i'm running out of time what the kind of treatment was that was meted out to the
22:43hostages okay the manner in which this woman who was killed her body was lying on the truck so
22:49those images were also horrific to me having said okay i don't have time i don't have time i don't
22:55have time i have to i have to give i have to allow mahima singh to make her closing comments
23:00mahima singh quickly please
23:01akshita i would i would plainly say that this government must show some mettle come forward
23:09keep up the global policy standards that the erstwhile governments have left as a legacy for this
23:16government to carry forward and not not or not appear uh you know the world is watching how the
23:22government is treating its own people in manipur let the world not uh take forward you know that
23:27image of my country which it has not been like france came out uk came out today australia has come out
23:35okay the country that first stood with palestine seems to be sitting on the edge and that is certainly
23:41not uh uh an ideal picture that i would like to see of my country's okay diplomatically speaking
23:48as far as india stand goes we've made it very clear that we are for a two-state solution but
23:52thank you very much raghav avasti and mahima singh for your time and for joining us here
23:56on news track before we wrap this up quickly let's get across to breaking news coming in
24:00suresh reina has been summoned by the enforcement directorate for questioning tomorrow this is a in
24:12a betting case that he's been summoned by the ed india today had in fact reported just a couple of
24:19days ago that suresh reina is under the scanner of the enforcement directorate in a betting case
24:23and that he will be called for questioning very soon there have been several celebrities cricketers
24:29actors who've been summoned by the enforcement directorate for their link and tie-ups with
24:34betting apps largely in going ahead and advertising these apps which the ed maintains is illegal to
24:41run in the country so there are questions here of proceeds of crime going in as fees for these
24:45celebrities cricketers and actors in some cases is just over why they're associated with these
24:51illegal apps but suresh reina to appear before the enforcement directorate tomorrow we will track those updates
24:59and that's all we have time for in this edition of news track thanks very much for tuning in on the
25:06other side of a very very short break as well today with pranayupadia good night
25:10you
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