- 5 months ago
This episode of Super 6 provides an in-depth look at actor-turned-politician Vijay's mega political rally in Madurai, where the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief addressed his political opponents, including the ruling DMK, the BJP, and the AIADMK.
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00:00It was almost as if we were back in the films when we saw the images that came in from Talapati Vijay's rally that took place in Madre.
00:09Second, such a big mega public event that Vijay, that the TVK chief is holding in the run-up to the Tamil Nadu elections.
00:17And that's why it's our top focus here on Super 6.
00:19The images that came in were absolutely insane.
00:22Lacks of fans gathered, all just waiting to hear one man, Vijay.
00:27Now, all of that will lead to questions about whether he'll taste success in the elections.
00:32That's something, of course, that unfortunately we'll have to wait and watch for because it's going to take at least a few months for the jury to be out on whether Vijay is a successful politician or not.
00:41But what we can tell you is what Vijay stands for.
00:44What is the Tamaruga Vetri Karagam, which is Vijay's party?
00:46What does this party really stand for?
00:48Well, Vijay has made a couple of things clear.
00:50First, that he's against the DMK, quite known.
00:54Second, against the BJP, again, something we knew already.
00:57But third, interestingly enough, this time, Vijay also chose to go ahead and attack the AIA-DMK.
01:04Interestingly, he spoke about a lack of leadership in the AIA-DMK, referring to Dr. MGR, to Praichi Talaivar MGR and saying that,
01:11look, we need to have a better leadership to carry forward the AIA-DMK's legacy.
01:17That was pretty much all that he had to say on the AIA-DMK.
01:19But it's led to a lot of questions of whether Vijay has kind of realized now that there's no question of an alliance really happening
01:25with the AIA-DMK because of the fact that they are right now in an alliance, in a tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
01:33But besides that, you had a lot of taunts that got cheers from the crowd, with Vijay repeatedly referring to Chief Minister Stalin as uncle.
01:42He has a 50-plus year superstar, by the way, who's referring to the Chief Minister as an uncle.
01:47But it got huge cheers and that clearly was the intention when he made those particular comments.
01:52He attacked DMK on corruption.
01:54He attacked BJP on language.
01:57He attacked them on NEET.
01:58So it's issues we've heard about.
02:00There weren't any new issues that were raised.
02:02But clearly, Vijay's stand, or at least he's trying to project a stand, of being for the people of Tamil Nadu,
02:09of being the driver of change in Tamil Nadu politics.
02:12If you missed out on his mega address, we've got you covered here on India Today.
02:16Take a look at exactly what the superstar politician had to say earlier.
02:20Suddenly, the Bobby Ramos did this.
02:25Give up today.
02:27Let's see.
02:27We are going to have a team.
02:57You may have come in this game.
02:58They are a position for the suspense.
03:00You can do it by the suspense.
03:01But you can't get the name of the two people in the 2nd place.
03:10You can get the TV.
03:12You can get the DM.
03:18This is a surprise.
03:20You can get the weight pauler.
03:23Motheray Kidakku, Wait Polar, Vijay. Motheray Merkku, Wait Polar, Vijay. Motheray Matty, Wait Polar, Vijay.
03:49Motheray Kidakku, Wait Polar, Vijay. Motheray Kidakku, Wait Polar, Vijay.
03:54Mayalur, Vijay. Soda Vandhan, Vijay. Thiru Parungundram, Vijay. Thiru Mangalam, Vijay.
04:00Ussalabbetty, Vijay.
04:02He doesn't know who Anna is and who M.J.R. is. He has to learn a lot of politics. Just
04:29using their figures will not help him. He must know what they have learned. Anna had
04:36gone to prison five times before becoming a chief minister for the sake of the state, for
04:42the language, for the people. He must first get into agitation, holding his, for the sake
04:51of his policy and for the people. He wants to become chief minister. He is the only man
04:57who had stated that I am starting this party to become the chief minister of the state.
05:02And the people know.
05:04Okay. So those were some of the highlights of what Vijay had to say in that massive, massive
05:09event in Madurai. Look, the numbers were huge. Lacks of people who came together to see Vijay.
05:15But does that translate into votes? It's a completely different question altogether. And it relies
05:21upon several equations really coming together for Vijay. But to understand really what the impact of
05:27Vijay could be in the upcoming elections, I'm joined by our analyst, Dr. Subhansi Raman on this broadcast.
05:33We also have from the Dravidar Munetra Kargam, Selam Dharani Dharan, as well as Vinoj P. Selvam
05:38from the Tamil Nadu BJP. Vanakam to all of you. Just before I take this across to all of my panelists,
05:43I want to bring in my colleagues who are on the field there, tracking every update that came in
05:49Pramod Madhav and Anaka Keshav. Anaka, you've been in Madurai. You witnessed the action firsthand.
05:55You've seen the Vijay magic, as his fans like to call it. What did you think, Anaka? What was the
06:00biggest takeaway? Was it a flop? Was it a hit?
06:02Well, in fact, this was the most biggest and the most fiery speech of actor Vijay so far, where he directly
06:13hit out directly at Prime Minister Modi, the BJP, for having ties with RSS. And he says that by
06:20joining hands with RSS, Prime Minister Modi is cornering the minorities. That's the first time
06:25that Vijay has ever hit out at BJP for siding along with RSS while cornering the minorities. Vijay also
06:32opposed NEET, also took on a host of issues, including the Kachativa and appealing for the
06:38welfare of fishermen. Apart from that, Vijay also addressed the fact that, you know, the kind of
06:44crowd that he manages to pull off. He says that this isn't just frenzy. This isn't just fan following.
06:50This crowd will transfer and translate to votes, which will further send me to the Secretariat.
06:56That's the kind of statement that Vijay made. That's the kind of confidence that actor
07:00Neta Vijay is trying to, you know, exude. He also said that this alliance, you know, if at all,
07:08TVK does forge an alliance, it will not be a selfish one, but a most self-respect kind of one.
07:15What was even more interesting is the fact that he took the name of Captain Vijaykant. Remember,
07:19Vijaykant hails from Madurai. He praised Captain Vijaykant by saying that he had several opportunities
07:26before to meet him, but he made one thing very, very clear as to who his icons are. He says that
07:31Anna Duray and Purechi Talaivar, Dr. MGR, are his two icons. And for the first time, he also hit
07:38out at ADMK. He says that he's utterly disappointed by the fact that, you know, ADMK at this point is
07:45utterly rudderless. The fact that the party lacks leadership.
07:48On the attack on the AIADMK, Pramod, what did you make of that? Did you feel like, you know,
07:52just a tokenism attack of sorts by Vijay at the AIADMK that, you know, because there was so much
07:59of criticism and question marks and spotlight on whether he'd attacked the DMK, the AIADMK,
08:04he did that. You know, there were no uncle taunts at EPS, like he fired at Chief Minister Stalin.
08:10Shita, one thing is very clear. You have an amazing panel, and that is going to give an
08:13absolute analysis of what happened today. But the interesting factor that I want to highlight is
08:17that Vijay answered to every other question that he's been put forward about alliance formation,
08:22about him being a cinema karan, which means somebody from the cinema field. And also,
08:26he connected himself with a lion. He said that he's a lion, a lion will come alone,
08:31a lion will only hunt an animal which is bigger than him. And he also said that a lion will not
08:36eat a dead animal. So, there it's a lot of questions he's trying to explain. So, who is
08:41the bigger animal? Who is the dead animal? He's leaving it to us. But very clearly, he's claiming that
08:47the kind of contest is going to be only between TDK and DMK. And that way, even though AIADMK is
08:53having 66 MLAs, he's not even considering them as a party. He's claiming, in a way, showing that
09:00he has grown bigger than AIADMK. Now, will EPS accept this? Because as a leader of opposition
09:07party with 66 MLAs, somebody not even recognizing his party and talking in such manner, I don't think
09:13it's going to go well with AIADMK. Still, AIADMK and BJP wants to welcome Vijay Akshita.
09:18Okay, so we'll see how that plays out. But very clearly, terms and conditions of Vijay's laid out
09:28in that address, also to anyone looking to ally with him, is no to DMK, no to the BJP. So, I don't
09:33know how really the AIADMK can actually figure that one out. But thank you, Pramodha and Anaka,
09:38for joining us with your view. So, on this mega rally by Vijay, let me open this up to the panelists
09:43that I introduced earlier. Vanakkam, good evening to all of you. Dr. Sumansi Raman,
09:47I'd like to begin with you. What did you think of Vijay's speech? Was it pretty much the same old
09:51or did you find new power, new punch in his speech? To me, it looked like I was watching
09:56one of the movies. It looked heavily scripted. You know, the entire thing from voice modulation to
10:05frequently raising the pitch and so on. Honestly, I mean, did we learn anything new? Nothing.
10:14Absolutely nothing. Except that he intends to help the DMK somehow win the election by splitting the
10:20anti-DMK vote. Why would he reiterate the fact that the battle is only between the DMK and the TVK?
10:27So, what are you trying to say? You're saying you don't want the DMK, you vote for TVK. So,
10:31that is point number one. Point number two, the, you know, the sort of pity for the AI-DMK
10:39cadre who are left rudderless without a strong leader and so on. And the targeting of people who
10:45potentially looked up to Vijay Khan by invoking him, invoking MGR. So, he's making it very clear.
10:52His target is, his aim is to be a splitter of votes, which would help the DMK to come back to
10:57power. Now, that is clearly what has been sort of established today. And the target, I mean,
11:02he is basically, from an agenda perspective, what is he saying? He is saying retrieve kaccha teevu.
11:09He is saying scrap neat. All of these are in the DMK's, you know, list of election promises or a manifesto.
11:17So, I think that we have to understand that today we got to know very little extra in terms of what
11:23his policies or programs are. But we have now sort of come to the conclusion that he is potentially
11:33a vote splitter who is going to target the anti-DMK vote, whether it is the AI-DMK vote
11:41or those allied to the AI-DMK. So, that's basically what he's going to do.
11:44Are you suggesting then, Dr. Raman, that Vijay in a way is the B-team of the DMK?
11:51He, I would not call him the B-team, but he's a Trojan horse. And I think that he's making that more
11:56and more apparent. The point is to what extent he will be effective. Look, to me, this whole thing
12:02looks so filmy. It didn't, it did not register to me that he had an in-depth awareness or knowledge of
12:07what he was speaking. It was like watching a movie. But that works sometimes.
12:11It may work. It may work. You know, I don't want to go into it. There's a famous saying about this,
12:16but I don't want to go into it. I want to be polite. But honestly, the point is, he hasn't held a press
12:23conference. He hasn't met the media so far. He hasn't attempted to explain any of his policies or any of the
12:30reasons why he's taking a stand on anything. All we've had is, like the first conference. Okay,
12:36the first conference is an inaugural event in the one that he held in Vikramandi. That's fine. But now
12:42you're six months before an election and you won't tell people what you will do. Right? So I think it's
12:48a little strange. Okay, the DMK says ban need. Now, it's not that simple to ban need. Because without the
12:54Supreme Court agreeing to it or the government, central government agreeing to it, you can't ban it.
12:58So what is Vijay going to do? How is he going to ban it? How is he going to retrieve Kaccha Tevas? I mean,
13:04these are honestly... I agree. He's not given any solutions. He's spoken about what he wants,
13:08but not really how he's going to do it. The lack of depth is mind boggling. Okay. Honestly,
13:14I mean, if people are going to vote based on this, good luck to them. You're raising an important point there.
13:17And we'll talk about that, Dr. Raman. Let me just bring in the DMK and the BJP on this broadcast.
13:22Because Vijay's harshest attacks and sharpest criticism was for the Dravidamunetra Kargam.
13:28And the Bharti Jaratha party. So in that stand, in that sense, I'd say that the DMK and BJP together
13:34are in the same basket. But I'd begin with Salem Dharani Dharan. Mr. Dharani Dharan, not sure if you
13:39got Vijay's speech, but the loudest cheers were when Vijay was constantly attacking Chief Minister
13:44Stalin saying, referring to him as uncle. What did you make of that?
13:48Yeah, I think every political party in Tamil Nadu wants to fight the DMK. What it shows is that DMK
13:58is strong. So what is the 2026 election is going to be about? Even from what Vijay said,
14:03when he said that the battle is between DMK and TVK, the BJP says between DMK and BJP. BADMK says it's between
14:10DMK and CIMAN. So what clearly it shows is that the 2026 election is an election for the opposition
14:21space. Who will occupy the post of the opposition leader? So it's already the opposition parties are
14:27giving it to the DMK. That is a foregone conclusion that we are going to win the election. And then they're
14:36battling it out for the opposition leader space. I think it's a good space to be in as a DMK spokesperson.
14:44Of course, so because he sees us as an enemy, he is attacking us.
14:49You know, no one's going to deny the fact that the DMK is very powerful. But having said that,
14:54you know, there are questions about whether the TVK and Vijay constantly attacking the DMK is going
14:59to actually be cutting into your vote base, whether the maximum impact of a Vijay entering into the
15:04political scene in Tamil Nadu is going to be for your party.
15:08No, no, that is what I'm telling you. So what I'm telling you is that because he sees us as
15:12the opposition, like how ADMK sees us as opposition, BJP sees us as an opposition,
15:17Vijay sees us as opposition. So who you see as an opposition is a party that you will attack,
15:21right? In politics, when someone is not a threat, when a party is not a threat, when you assume that this
15:26party is not going to come to power, you're not anyways going to attack them. So he wants to occupy the
15:31opposition space, competing with the ADMK, BJP and Zeman. So he's attacking the DMK. But to win
15:39elections, you need to have grassroots, you need to have booth level workers. And you know, we've
15:43seen in the case of Shiranji, a lot of people came to see him, came for his conference, but it did not
15:49eventually convert into votes or into seats, because you know, they are fans and not voters. I think the
15:55Indian voters in the recent past month made the distinction very clear in Tamil Nadu and also
16:01else. You give the example, Darni Dharan, you give the example of Chiranjeevi. I could give you the
16:05example of Pawan Kalyan to flip that around. So we have had hits and misses as far as, you know,
16:10this superstar politician combo goes. Let me bring in Vinuj Selvam, who's been waiting rather patiently.
16:14Thank you for that, Vinuj. You know, at this point, looking at how Vijay has been constantly
16:20attacking the BJP, not so much the AI-ADMK. There will be questions about whether the BJP is turning
16:27out to be the AI-ADMK's Achilles heel in the sense that because of that alliance,
16:31there's no way the AI-ADMK can tie up with the TVK.
16:41Today, the conference of TVK has been completed. But unfortunately, just like what happened in
16:47Vikravandi last year, Vijay has not come out and told what he is going to be doing for the people
16:52when his party comes to power. It was all completely empty rhetorics, which we were hearing for 33
16:57minutes from the entire of Vijay's speech. And today, with no Locustandi, he wants to call himself
17:04the ideological enemy of the BJP. The BJP and DMK calling themselves enemies ideologically is because
17:10the BJP believes in nationalism, which is a very valid ideology. The DMK has its own ideology called the
17:16Dravidian ideology. But Vijay till date has not spoken about what his ideology is.
17:21He once says that Periyar is this role model. And then you call Periyar role model. On the other
17:26side, you have all the agams being conducted, homams being conducted for your conference to become a
17:31success. So it is a very contradicting party from the start itself. And as far as the rhetoric was
17:38going today, the performance on stage was good, but the speech was an utter waste. What are you providing
17:43for the people of Tamil Nadu? You want to attack all the political parties? You are well enough,
17:46you are welcome to do that. But what are you going to be doing? Apart from calling yourself a lion,
17:53what else have you come and promised to the people today? You know, all these people who had gathered
17:58after his ramp walk, almost about 50% of people left. And like Swamansi Raman had mentioned a little
18:05earlier, these were people who had come to watch an actor come up on the ramp and on the stage.
18:10They were not there to even listen to his speech. And it was more like a cinema rhetoric, which he was
18:15making on stage. And today he has attacked the NEAT again. So that is a very clear cut line with the
18:21DMK toes. Let me ask him a question. So you are a son of a famous director, a producer. So your father
18:27directed your first movie. Your first movie failed. And then four to five movies, you continuously acted
18:32and all those movies failed. But being a doctor is not like that. You know, a NEAT exam is necessary,
18:37because you cannot kill five patients to become a doctor. You are a failed actor. And then you
18:42acted in five movies, it failed and then you succeeded. But a doctor cannot be like that.
18:47You need to understand that. Just coming up and talking about NEAT, you spoke about Kachitiv.
18:51Who gave Kachitiv away? The Congress gave Kachitiv away even before you were born.
18:55But you are not willing to talk about the Congress. Maybe you are eyeing an alliance with the Congress.
18:59You want the DMX alliance to break. Maybe that's your idea. But you know, that doesn't mean that
19:03you just come and take empty potshots against political parties without knowing what these
19:08parties have actually done. You have no idea the number of, the lakhs of crows which have been
19:12given to Tamil Nadu for infrastructure development under Modi's government. No numbers are known to you.
19:16Dr. Raman, are we being a bit too harsh on Vijay? Look, he's a superstar. He's an actor.
19:21He drags these kind of massive crowds at an event. They expect a performance. They expect that
19:27superstardom to translate into real life. And that's what he's giving them. So are we being a bit too harsh and
19:32critical of Vijay Young? Look, I don't think we are being too harsh because we have given him
19:39time. I mean, it's more than a year now that he's been officially in politics. And you know,
19:46one expects substance at some point of time. You can't go on with rhetoric. You can't go on with
19:51movie dialogues. You know, well, it could, it will have an impact with his fans. I'm not denying that,
19:58that there will be a segment of the population which loves the dialogues, which loves the kind
20:03of rhetoric that he's putting out. But I think any sensible voter in Tamil Nadu, and you would have
20:08seen the crowd even today, are overwhelmingly the youth in the Manad. And I think your reporter is
20:15there and your correspondent could tell you that, that this is largely a crowd of fans. So those fans are
20:23going to vote for him. The point is, the average Tamil Nadu voter has got a few questions to ask
20:30Vijay, which so far have not been answered. And whether they will be answered in the run-up to
20:35the election, one hopes, we don't know yet. But right now, he seems to have a manifesto,
20:41which is basically a carbon copy of the DMK's manifesto. And he says that, you know, except for
20:48one or two things like stopping the Parandur airport and stopping the expansion of SIPCOT and
20:52stuff like that, more or less it is a carbon copy. His idols are pretty much similar to the idols of
20:58the DMK. So now what? I mean, you go and say that, you know, I am anti-DMK. How are you anti-DMK?
21:05What are you anti-DMK about? Now, are you objecting to the family that is controlling the DMK? What is your
21:12problem? Your manifesto is identical to the DMK's manifesto. At least whatever little that we know
21:19about you in public. So it's a very strange situation. Okay, you've raised questions where
21:26you're saying essentially that, look, Vijay is not giving specific answers on what he'll do. He'll
21:32talk about issues, but what will he do to address those issues? We don't know. But Dhani Dharan,
21:37at this point, does the DMK consider the DVK a force to reckon with? Look at the crowds that
21:43gathered at that rally. You know, if that converts to votes, I am saying if because we don't really
21:48know at this stage, but if that converts to votes, it could prove to be dangerous to the DMK. There is
21:53no denying that Vijay has a huge fan base, a loyal fan base and a young fan base at that.
21:58I think there is one thing that we all will agree here, the first time that,
22:04or very rare say that, or me, Sumanth and Vinojh P. Selam are going to agree on one fact. That is that
22:09we all have said and we all believe that the people who turned up are his fans. Even, let's say,
22:15if his movie is going to be released tomorrow, you'll see from today...
22:18Okay, we'll get back to Dhani Dharan. We seem to have lost his connection briefly there.
22:31I'll take this back across to him, but in the meanwhile, let me bring in Vinojh as well. Vinojh,
22:35on several of the issues that Vijay brought up, he also took on the BJP and the constant criticism
22:41that's coming from the TVK and Vijay in almost every single one of these events against the BJP
22:46is about language, saying that, you know, the BJP is against Tamil culture. This is something,
22:51of course, that we've had the opposition to the BJP constantly parity in Tamil Nadu. Now,
22:56Vijay also taking that line against your party. Exactly. So, that is what I'm trying to say.
23:06Vijay is nothing but speaking the script of the DMK over and over again. And he is only trying to
23:12help just like what his predecessor, Kamala Hassan, did earlier in 2021. He split the votes of the ADMK-BJP
23:19line just to make the DMK win. You know, even he was claiming that he's going to become a chief
23:23minister. But today, for just one Rajasabha MP seat, he has completely given away his party and
23:28all the pride to DMK and he surrendered himself to the DMK. And that is exactly what Vijay is planning
23:34on doing for 2026. You know, he is very well aware that he cannot win this election on his own.
23:40And he is taking pot shots at the BJP to make sure that, you know, he is able to help DMK in its cause.
23:46And that is very evident here. And what has Vijay done for the people of Tamil Nadu apart from acting in
23:52movies? And Narendra Modi and the government of the BJP has at every point of time a juncture
23:57starting from the Senghal in the new parliament to the Ganga Konda Cholaburam event, which has
24:02happened now. They have glorified Tamil, Tamil culture, Tamil language, Tamil heritage over and
24:06over again. Let it be the United Nations.
24:08We can't compare politicians and actors, which I think is rather unfair. We can't compare what an actor
24:13has done versus what a politician has done. So we'll have to judge him based on what he does now
24:17as a politician. But we'll leave it at that. Vinod Saddam, Dhani Dharin and Dr. Sumansi Raman,
24:22thank you very much for joining us here on India Today. I've run out of time completely,
24:27but we'll leave it to the viewers, to the Tamil voters to decide whether they see metal in what
24:31Vijay is saying here and what he stands for against the DMK, against the BJP, as he claims against the
24:38AIA-DMK too. This is, of course, the first of many, many glimpses that we're going to be seeing
24:43of Talapati Vijay in this new avatar of a politician. Whether he'll be successful,
24:47as successful as he was in his films is something we'll know in the months to come. But he's definitely
24:51attempting. He's definitely attempting to create that momentum using his fan base. So he's got that
24:57one step sorted because he's already got such a massive fan base, as was evident in the pictures
25:02that we saw today in that rally in Madurai. I'm here in Bengaluru. Behind me is the beautiful,
25:07iconic Vedanta. They're all lit up now. But let's talk about the issues in Bengaluru. I've been here,
25:13of course, for the last few hours, landed this morning. And what did I notice? Traffic, of course,
25:18is a nightmare. Infrastructure, not the best. Port holes are on the roads. And constantly,
25:23when this has been raised, the Karnataka government has conceded that, look, we don't have funds.
25:28So where are the funds going? Well, it's come to the fore now that the Karnataka government has
25:32actually sent 10 crore rupees to Kerala, to Priyanka Gandhi's constituency of Vyanar. We'll
25:38break down all the details, all the reactions, because this has become a big, big political
25:42fight. Let's get you that report first. And we'll open this up as my guests join me here in Bengaluru.
25:51Cash strapped Karnataka, going all out to help neighbouring landslide hit Kerala.
25:57Particularly Priyanka Gandhi's Vyanar Bastion, which saw a devastating landslide last year,
26:08ignoring its own cash crunch. The Karnataka government has sanctioned 10 crore rupees as
26:16aid for the 100 affected families. But what was meant to be humanitarian relief has quickly turned
26:23into a heated political controversy. The Karnataka BJP lashed out to Chief Minister
26:29Siddharamaya's priorities. They highlight that Congress is ignoring pressing cash crunch at home
26:35by sending crores to Priyanka Gandhi's turf.
26:40Just because Priyanka is MP, there is a political commitment for the present regime in Karnataka,
26:46they have given 10 crores. And on top of that, they have to manage the guarantee scheme,
26:50which they are not managing properly. So they are driving Karnataka towards bankruptcy.
26:56Congress, however, is standing its ground and calling the aid a gesture of compassion and national
27:02duty. See, these are all diversionary issues, trying to create divide between Karnataka and Kerala,
27:09between our people and their people. And these are all, see, we are all there for each other.
27:13And when we do something out of a humanitarian consideration, that should not be looked at,
27:18you know, in a suspicious or, you know, you know, in a negative manner.
27:24Meanwhile, in Karnataka, the ground reality remains grim. Over 100 families are rebuilding their lives,
27:31even as politics plays out hundreds of kilometres away in Bengaluru. Is this about people or politics?
27:39Bureau Report, India Today.
27:44Okay, so a lot of questions right now being raised over the Karnataka government's priorities,
27:48and whether that 10 crore being given as aid to Wayanad, considering, of course, that the district
27:54was hit by a landslide, is being given simply because of the association to Priyanka Gandhi Vajra.
28:01A lot of questions that the Congress will have to answer on this. And I'll open this up,
28:05because here in Bengaluru, we've decided to have our panelists join me. Since, for a change,
28:10I'm in the city. So, namaskara to both of you. We have Prashant of the Karnataka BJP,
28:16and Raghu Dodiri, who's just married in time from the Karnataka Congress. Namaskara to both of you.
28:20Raghu, if I can begin with you.
28:22Yes.
28:22What exactly is the justification to spend 10 crore rupees right now in Wayanad?
28:29Bengaluru has enough problems. I just witnessed that firsthand.
28:32Okay. First of all, why not people? Are they not humans? Are they not Indians?
28:37First of all, why BJP is criticizing this? I really don't understand why BJP is making an issue.
28:42So, if their own chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, gives a 10 crore, they'll make it as a
28:46and they say it's a great achievement and, you know, they're supporting to the humanity. At the same
28:50time, Andhra Pradesh chief minister, which is led by an NDA government, has given a 10 crore. Why
28:55BJP is not raising that? So, first of all, I really don't understand what's the hypocrisy behind this BJP.
29:00So, if Modiji gives 6,000 or close to 6,000 crores to the different countries on humanitarian ground,
29:06they say, wow, wow, Modiji, wow, Modiji. The same thing, if Sidramaya gives 10 crore to the
29:10Why not on humanitarian ground, they're raising this an issue. Okay.
29:13This is the ideological, you know, loss for the BJP.
29:15Okay. Okay.
29:17Prashant, you want to respond?
29:18Yes.
29:19Yes. Just because he wants to talk in a louder voice doesn't mean what he spoke was the truth.
29:25We, as BJP, definitely believe in Vasudhaiva Kutambakam and we have seen the vaccine
29:31maitri and how we have helped people. But the hypocrisy of Congress is called out here
29:36when an elephant, apparently belonging to Karnataka, trampled a man in Kerala. And at that time,
29:46the constituency was represented by the Crown Prince of Congress, Rahul Gandhi. Sidramaya announced
29:5215 lakh compensation, taking moral responsibility for, apparently, Karnataka's elephant trampling a man.
30:00Despite state having enough and more problems, the poor of the state not getting medical facilities,
30:06you had a lot of medical issues happening with infant deaths and, what do you say,
30:14deaths related to pregnancy in different parts of Karnataka. Sidramaya did not bother any of them,
30:18but he gave 15 lakhs. Now, with the economic advisor to the CM on record stating that Karnataka is short
30:26on funds, there is no development happening. Now, they have brought out an issue saying that humanity,
30:32fine, we are not against any humanitarian help to anybody, but just because it is represented by
30:37Priyanka, Vadra's constituency, Sidramaya wants to showcase his loyalty to the first family of Congress
30:43saying, whenever you are in power, whichever constituency you represent, we will try to do
30:48something for you. This is 10 crores. And also, Sidramaya also had pledged his support to build some
30:55homes and state that Kerala government had not responded. You know, the problem here...
30:59This only depicts...
31:00Okay, my question to my BJP friend, my question to my BJP friend, why are you not questioning your
31:05own Chief Minister, Mr. Yogi Adi Tanath? Why did he give him a 10 crore grant to the Vainadu?
31:10So, your own Chief Minister, you are questioning the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Sidramaya,
31:14give him 10 crore.
31:15I ask him that question, but meanwhile, Raghu also answered what Prashat has mentioned. He's given you a list.
31:19He's given you a list of expenses that the Karnataka government has taken care of,
31:24almost as if the Karnataka government is the caretaker of Vainadu.
31:26See, first of all, let me tell you, Akshata, let me tell you, the matter of fact is, India's,
31:29Bangalore is the only city in the entire country, which is getting 1.5 lakh growth development
31:34activities happening. And Bangalore, so why we are all struggling with the fund?
31:38Sir, have ministers not gone on record to say we don't have money?
31:41Yeah, because central government is not giving. All the money is taken away by the BJP government.
31:45Yatha, Raja, Tata, Praja. Wahoo, Gandhi, Pedal, Slice, everywhere. And now, outside,
31:51we've done some of the Congress spokesperson, our public lies.
31:53My friend, see, BJP, all the fund which is generated more than 6.7 lakh crore is given to
31:59the central, whereas central government is giving all the peanuts 53,000 crore. We are shortage of
32:04the fund. Then where do we get the fund? So, you don't have the funds and yet you're sending it to
32:07buy an art? The central government is not giving back to us. We are giving the fund to the entire
32:11country. We are contributing 9.4 percent of the total GDP of the country, whereas the central
32:16government is not giving. And one more point, Bangalore, where a central government under the
32:2115th Finance Commission was supposed to give 6,000 crore, they have not given for the development
32:25of the road under drainage. Why they have not given? Why these BJP MPs not even opening their mouth?
32:31Why BJP leaders are not questioning? No, BJP is right next to you, Prashant.
32:34Stop questioning him. See, look at the hypocrisy of Congress. They spoke about 15th Finance Commission.
32:4115th Finance Commission, not a single rupee is due from Karnataka. And if at all, this,
32:48what do you say, Karnataka's share got reduced when? In 2013, when Raghuram Rajan was in charge of it,
32:56when Karnataka's stake was reduced from 4.13 to 3.647 percent. Be that as it may, Sidramaya's
33:04borrowing in the last three years is 3,07,000 crores. And despite 3,07,000 crores,
33:11it is not spent on capital expenditure. There is no capital multiplier effect happening in Karnataka.
33:17It is being siphoned off in different names. Every minister in Karnataka Congress is employed in
33:22corruption, right from the CM, DCM. And your people have, ministers have resigned.
33:27Sir, you have to give evidence. Prashant, you have to give evidence of all that.
33:30Let me give evidence. Why not? Why not? Let me give evidence.
33:33See, let me give you my point. It was the CM on the floor of the house who accepted that the
33:38scam-involved Miki Corporation was not 187 crores, but it was 89 crores.
33:43Okay, the real one. Okay. Wait, wait.
33:45And Zameer Ahmed's controversy, when it was raked in by a Congress minister itself,
33:51there is no probe onto that. When allegations are made by the same Congress ministers,
33:56when Congress leaders make obligations against their leaders, no probe.
33:59Let us talk about that. Let me clarify what my friend has read.
34:02No, there is no clarification. No, no. You are just raising the facts.
34:04Okay, okay. One at a time. One at a time.
34:06We are all at points are coming out of the WhatsApp University from the BJP.
34:08No, what is WhatsApp University? What is WhatsApp University?
34:11Under the 14th Finance Commission, Karnataka was getting 4.75 percent.
34:16Wait, wait, please. Please wait.
34:184.13. Get your numbers right.
34:20Don't behave like a county.
34:22BJP Research Department, please give the facts right.
34:26Under the 14th Finance Commission, 4.75 percent was supposed to be the grant.
34:31Under the 15th Finance Commission...
34:34Wait, wait. Let me clarify. See, he has raised a serious concern.
34:39So, people of Karnataka, people of India are watching. Let me clarify this.
34:42Yes, go ahead.
34:42Under the 15th Finance Commission, so BJP was in power in the state and the central.
34:47They have reduced 1 percent, which has come down to 3.75 percent.
34:50Because of which, Karnataka has lost 89,000 crore, not one rupee. 89,000 crore has lost.
34:56If that fund comes back to us, we can make entire Bangalore as a golden road.
35:00Why BJP is not releasing that? What? Why are BJP episodes keeping quiet?
35:04No, no.
35:04Absolutely rubbish claim by the Congress.
35:06Because when the consultations were held for the 15th Finance Commission, it was...
35:12BJP campaign, who was the CM? Please check the facts.
35:19Check the facts. Check the facts. You will have to be fact-checked tomorrow.
35:23You will have to be fact-checked tomorrow.
35:25No, you please correct yourself.
35:26Okay, hold on.
35:28Okay, okay.
35:29The consultations were held for 15th Finance Commission.
35:31Please BJP Research Department, please give the facts.
35:33I'm going to shift from this.
35:35Raghu, you mentioned a point for which we haven't gotten an answer yet.
35:38Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also contributed.
35:40Chandra Babu Naidu, he's giving you a list there of all the states.
35:45So what's wrong with the Nataka government doing?
35:47Why are you criticizing Siddharamaya for that?
35:49No, no, no. There are enough and more reasons to criticize Siddharamaya.
35:53Wait, wait. There are enough and more reasons to criticize Siddharamaya,
35:56comparing with Yogi and Chandra Babu Naidu.
35:58Let us start the reason.
35:59I'll come to you, Raghu. Let him answer your question.
36:00When we speak about Vasudaiva Kutumbakam and helping our brothers and sisters in different parts of the country,
36:06we have no issues.
36:08Chandra Babu Naidu and Yogi Adityanath have not,
36:12have not, I repeat, pledged their state in debt to help Rahul Gandhi's constituency or Priyanka Gandhi's constituency.
36:20They have not done that.
36:21The development in Andhra Pradesh today, look at what happened in Andhra Pradesh from 2019 to 2024,
36:26and now what's happened in the last one year.
36:28I'm sure India today and actually they have done more shows on how, where anthropology is progressing,
36:33and especially UP, what was UP's per capita income in 2014,
36:37and now to where they've reached, it indicates that UP is progressing.
36:42They are also helping other states.
36:44Whereas Karnataka, you are short on funds, you are deep in borrowers,
36:483,07,000 pros you have borrowed, and your ministers are on record saying that there are
36:53no funds to even implement the guarantees.
36:55Therefore, this is a classic case of misgovernance, misadministration,
37:01and looting of the funds belonging to Karnataka people,
37:04and giving it to the first family of Congress.
37:07Okay, Raghu, you are saying there's no money because the central government is not giving it.
37:11I'll again ask the question, if we don't have money,
37:13why are we going ahead and taking care of humanitarian causes?
37:16The humanitarian causes in Bengaluru are pending.
37:18Okay, let me tell you the fact.
37:20So, I think we need to give the facts to the country and to the citizens of the Bangalore and Karnataka.
37:24So, why BJP, see, whatever they're rising today, so like Karnataka government,
37:29we have given almost like, for the development, 4 lakh crore budget.
37:34So, under the 4 lakh crore budget, so they're talking about debts.
37:38So, debts, during when Edurapa and, sorry, when Edurapa and Bhumai was the chief minister of Karnataka,
37:45in just three years, they borrowed 3.5 lakh crore.
37:49So, in 10 years, Modiji has borrowed 1,30,000 crore, which is 35 years of the Karnataka budget,
37:56not 1 year, 35 years of the Karnataka power.
38:00Let me come back, I'm going to answer, I'm going to answer.
38:03So, during the previous BJP regime, more than 38 innocent people were molded by BJP government
38:10because of not filling the pot hole.
38:11Not even a single such reports have been reported under our Congress government.
38:14No, you can't tell me that the roads are perfect right now.
38:16What?
38:17You can't claim the roads are perfect right now.
38:18No, I don't say.
38:19I took two hours to get here.
38:20No, no, no, you took two hours.
38:22Because, see, the Bangalore is a, international city is no more a Bangalore.
38:25So, it should have international infrastructure.
38:27Yes, that is the same question I'm asking.
38:30Why is the central BJP government is not giving the grants back to us?
38:33Whatever we are giving, and first of all, thanks, I would say thanks to my friend,
38:37accepting that Karnataka is number one is GDP growth.
38:40Number one is, you know, per capita income.
38:43You are giving, wait, wait.
38:44So, Karnataka is giving highest GDP.
38:47Karnataka is giving highest grass domestic product.
38:50Karnataka is paying highest tax to the central government.
38:52You are saying, Raghu, you are saying essentially that all of the tax payers from Karnataka are
38:57paying for humanitarian causes in Vyanat.
38:59No, all the fund is going to central government.
39:01Directly to central government.
39:02Yes, that is under the GST.
39:03So, they are saying 10 crore to Vyanat doesn't matter because most of the money is anyway going to the central government.
39:08See, I'm telling you, you know, without lack of knowledge, like their leader, they are speaking
39:13something here.
39:14You can't want, you can't revert something when they don't have enough facts and knowledge about
39:19this topic on which they are speaking.
39:21Be that as it may.
39:22Now, to say that in GST, if you have to boil down to GST, the components in GST,
39:28the state GST stays with Karnataka, it doesn't even go out.
39:32And the central GST, it goes to the pool and comes back as a divisible amount to all the states.
39:38And the integrated goods and services tax is a complicated formula as per which roughly 50%
39:43comes back to the states.
39:44So, therefore, whatever lies, their leader has been peddling across the country.
39:48Their spokespersons have been told to follow that, following it.
39:52We can't really foil them.
39:53But, like their leader's lies were out on national media in terms of voter survey and
40:00oat chowri, now these people's claims about, these people's claims about money going to center
40:06and not coming back are as same as Rahul Gandhi's claims about oat chowri, which the election
40:12commission has pointed out with facts and figures how Rahul Gandhi lied and he did not have data.
40:18Similarly, these people are talking without any data.
40:21So, let me ask you, are we not, Karnataka is not number one in GSTP, is Karnataka, is not,
40:29First of all in the entire country Karnataka is the only state which has crossed one lakh,
40:33one lakh as a grass domestic, this one, okay, so which means, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
40:42okay, so now we have been talking about the roads of Bangalore.
40:45Yes, of course, so because of the rain, there are some shortages, the government, we are just waiting,
40:50I think the Commissioner has already given an instruction to fill all the potholes.
40:54We have already given us 6,000 crore for the white tapping and first of its kind
40:58and you know we have brought in international machines to fill that
41:01and we have already filled 25,000 potholes earlier.
41:04So we won't hear any excuses of no money anymore?
41:06No, we don't have. We don't have any shortage of money.
41:10But what we are asking for our right, what I am criticizing the central government
41:14and the MPs and the BJP leaders, why they are not raising the voice before Mohd.
41:18Tomorrow, tomorrow, if there is a tragedy in Trishoore where there is a BJP MP,
41:24will the Karnataka government still pay 10 crore?
41:26Are they not humans? Are they not Indians?
41:29You tell me, you tell me.
41:30If BJP says they are not humans, if they are not Indians, I will stop giving.
41:34They are all our brotherhoods. My own friend has accepted that at Vasudeva Kutu number.
41:38So same way, why not like our other BJP government have given the grant,
41:44Karnataka has given on a humanitarian ground.
41:46So why Modi ji has given 6,000 crore to other countries?
41:49Okay.
41:50Why our own neighbors, why they have given?
41:52When they are struggling with our own...
41:53So then do we...
41:54Actually, one more point I just wanted to...
41:55Last point, quick point.
41:56See, when BJP was in power in 2009 and 2013,
41:59so Karnataka was under very serious, you know, landslide and flood.
42:03So their own BJP chief minister had written, requested 35,000 crores,
42:08whereas central government has not given...
42:10They have just given 900 crores.
42:12When Karnataka itself was under serious distress,
42:15why they have given, say, 8,000, 6,000 crores to other countries?
42:18Okay. Okay.
42:19Prashant, on humanitarian, is this allowed?
42:22Are we mixing politics for no reason into this?
42:25No, no.
42:26We are not mixing politics.
42:27The timing is suspect.
42:29And you look at the classic case I pointed out.
42:32The elephant trampling case.
42:34It was the candidate belonging to constituency of Rahul Gandhi.
42:38Compensation given immediately.
42:40Sidra Maya volunteered to build houses there.
42:42Kerala government did not respond.
42:44The reports are out in the public.
42:46It's not me making a statement.
42:48It can be verified through media reports also.
42:50And now, and this fifth taxi that Sidra Maya has taken to announce this,
42:54indicates that they are only wanting to please the Gandhi family,
42:58and nothing more.
42:59The state doesn't have money.
43:01They want to please their masters in Delhi.
43:03Because they know what happens.
43:04How Rajana was sacked over a single phone call.
43:07If you don't obey your masters, they have shown them their place.
43:10So immediately, Sidra Maya, if he doesn't release money to,
43:13why not constituency?
43:15Maybe his kursi ka, his sahidar, he may be changed.
43:20Therefore, to ensure that he proves allegiance to Gandhi family,
43:24he has made this payment.
43:27Take two minutes.
43:28Okay, I'll take two minutes.
43:29Take two minutes to wrap up.
43:30Okay.
43:31See, but I know sometimes I'm really...
43:32No, the allegation is Sidra Maya is pleasing the high command.
43:36Why Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Guttap Pradesh,
43:39is appeasing Priyanka Gandhi by giving 10 crores?
43:42No.
43:43Wait, wait, please.
43:44He's agreed that it is appeasement.
43:45Wait, wait.
43:46I'm questioning.
43:47He's agreeing that, he's appeasing.
43:48Wait, wait.
43:49See, my turn.
43:50Any payment according to Congress is appeasement.
43:52Okay, okay.
43:53Please, my friend.
43:54Why Yogi Adityanath is appeased?
43:55Please, my turn.
43:56Please, my turn.
43:57Please, my turn.
43:58Please, my turn.
43:59Please, my turn.
44:00Please, my turn.
44:01Please, my turn.
44:02Please, my turn.
44:03Are you sure you're using the word appeasement here?
44:04Why?
44:05Why?
44:06Why?
44:07Why BJP Chief Minister is appeasing Priyanka Gandhi?
44:08Let BJP...
44:09Well, let BJP confirm that.
44:10Okay.
44:11I have run out of time completely.
44:12Go ahead.
44:13If NDA and BJP have to appease Congress leaders, first family, I think Congress has got it completely
44:17wrong.
44:18Why you have given fund?
44:19Why have you given fund?
44:20Naidu has been appeasing by giving 10 crore to Priyanka Gandhi constituency.
44:25Let BJP confirm that.
44:27Okay.
44:28Quickly.
44:29I have run out of time completely.
44:30Go ahead.
44:31If NDA and BJP have to appease Congress leaders first family, I think Congress has got it
44:38completely wrong.
44:39Why have you given funds?
44:40Why have you given funds?
44:42No, no.
44:43Okay.
44:44Why have you given funds?
44:45We have no reason to appease Priyanka Gandhi.
44:46Why have you given funds to Afghanistan?
44:50Why have you given funds to Bhutan?
44:52There is no politics of hate.
44:54Our whole countrymen are selling under distress.
44:56Okay.
44:57Hold on.
44:58Okay.
44:59Okay.
45:00Let me complete now.
45:01By giving it to opposition MPs constituency also, we have displayed that we are not into
45:07politics of hate.
45:09Okay.
45:10Congress Chief Minister will respond only to his master's constituency and not anywhere else.
45:16I'm going to wrap it up. I made a blunder by making these two gentlemen stand next to me.
45:19I should have been standing in between them, but thank you very much for joining us.
45:23You can see, of course, that both of them have come together with your points prepared.
45:26Heated political debate there, but I'm going to wrap this up.
45:29I've completely run out of time.
45:31From here, the beautiful Vidhan Sado, all lit up behind me.
45:34Happy to be here. I'll be joining you tomorrow, 6 p.m., from Bengaluru.
45:38We're going to continue getting you all the updates from the southern states.
45:42Thanks very much for tuning in. Goodbye.
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