- 2 months ago
This episode of News Today examines the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, where India, China, and Russia presented a united front.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You are with the news today. This is your prime time destination. News, newsmakers, talking points, news without the noise. Monday night, let's tell you what we have on a power packed show. The SCO has condemned the Behelgaam and Jafar Express attacks in one breath. Will the SCO really hold? Are we seeing the emergence of a new troika? India, Russia and China. Can we really trust the Chinese?
00:28We're going to have special guests talking on that. Also, Rahul Gandhi's Bihar vote yatra has come to an end. What did it really achieve? Among my guests, the Congress's media face, Pawan Khera, will join me on the show tonight. But first, as always, it's time for the nine headlines at nine tonight.
00:47On the show tonight, the big headlines.
00:51The SCO in China strongly condemns the Behelgaam attack in its Tianjin Declaration.
00:58SCO leaders condemn terrorism in all forms, specifically reject double standards in countering it.
01:05Amidst the Trump tariffs on India over Russian oil, Prime Minister Modi holds bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
01:15Both leaders also travel in the same car to the bilateral meet venue.
01:19India presses for an early resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
01:23U.S. President Donald Trump claims India offered to cut tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late.
01:34Calls trade ties with India.
01:37A one-sided relationship as he double downs on his attack on India.
01:42Punjab breathes under worse flood in decades.
01:47Over 30 people dead.
01:48Lax affected by flood fury.
01:50Several villages submerge due to swollen rivers.
01:53We'll have a ground report from Punjab.
01:57Rahul Gandhi claims on the last day of the vote,
02:00Adhikar Yatra and Biharu say claims that he will now drop a vote-chori hydrogen bomb soon.
02:07BJP hits back, accuses the Congress of insulting voters.
02:12The election commission informs the Supreme Court that objections in the Bihar draft voter roll
02:19can be filed after the September 1 deadline as well.
02:22Apex court orders setting up of paralegal volunteers to help the voters.
02:28Maratha reservation storm intensifies in Mumbai.
02:33Protesters block the streets demanding 10% quota.
02:37Bombay High Court comes down heavily on the protesters,
02:39says that they must call off their stir by 12 noon tomorrow and help clean up the city.
02:46Indian Army dismantles Trinohul Congress's Dharna Manch in Kolkata.
02:52After permission expires, Chief Minister Mamata slams Centre for Misusing Army for Politics.
02:58BJP claims Mamata's charge is Nautanki.
03:03And a powerful earthquake has jolted Afghanistan.
03:06At least 800 dead, thousands injured.
03:10India to send relief material to the quake-affected region.
03:13At this moment, U.S. President Donald Trump has made a big statement
03:31after the SCO summit that's taken place in Tianjin.
03:35Trump has said India has now offered, he claims, on Truth Social
03:39to cut their tariffs to virtually nothing, but it's getting late.
03:44Trump says India should have cut their tariffs years ago.
03:47Trump has doubled down on Russian oil charge on India,
03:51saying again that Russia is buying most of its oil and military products from Russia,
03:59very little from the United States.
04:01Trump is saying what few people understand is that we do very little business with India,
04:06but they do a tremendous amount of business with us.
04:10Until now, this is a totally one-sided relationship and it has been for many decades.
04:15So Donald Trump seemingly, some would say, getting more frustrated and more desperate.
04:20It's coming, of course, particularly on a day when the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
04:25statement in China on Monday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and cross-border terror.
04:32And it came on a day when you saw a real power league emerge with Prime Minister Modi,
04:39Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping,
04:44along with other leaders holding a series of bilateral and multilateral talks.
04:49Remember, the SCO declaration condemning terror also comes in the face of the fact that China
04:56has all along supported Pakistan and even during Operation Sindur was seen to be fully backing
05:03the Pakistan army.
05:06So is this alliance simply short-termism?
05:10India, China and Russia aim to somehow or the other stave the big bully off,
05:16that is the United States, or are we seeing a real rejigging of relationships in a multipolar world?
05:24Can India really trust China?
05:26Can India play a major role in settling the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?
05:32Or is this only optics and not realism?
05:36That's the big question we'll raise.
05:38Take a look at our top story.
05:46For two days, the world was following events unfolding in Tianjin,
05:52where the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was on.
05:56The spotlight was on three individuals and the two key bilateral meetings Prime Minister Narendra Modi had.
06:05The one between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping in particular,
06:09on Prime Minister Modi's first visit to China in seven years,
06:13New Delhi and Beijing reset their ties that were jolted by the 2020 Galwan clash.
06:19It is vital to be friends, a good neighbour, and the dragon and the elephant to come together.
06:44This year marks the 75th anniversary of India-China diplomatic relations.
06:50Both nations need to handle our relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective.
06:56The Ministry of External Affairs in its briefing on Sunday appeared optimistic yet cautious.
07:02They both agreed that the two countries were primarily focused on their domestic development goals.
07:13And in this, they were partners rather than rivals.
07:19The boundary dispute remains the biggest challenge.
07:22While President Xi does not want to define overall relationship,
07:26Prime Minister Modi sees peace at the border as crucial for good ties.
07:32In voicing certain principles related to this issue,
07:39the Prime Minister underlined the need for peace and tranquility on the border areas
07:47for continued and smooth development of bilateral relations.
07:54Prime Minister Modi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
07:59The Bonhomi was hard to miss.
08:00This at a time, the US has imposed 50% tariff on India for buying Russian oil.
08:07The Prime Minister travelled with Putin in the Russian leader's car from the SCO meet to the bilateral venue.
08:14The direct talks in the car lasted over 40 minutes, sources later revealed.
08:19Meanwhile, the 10-member SCO in its Tianjin declaration strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,
08:28including the April 22nd Pehalgaam attack.
08:31It also condemned terrorist attacks on Jafar Express and Kustar.
08:35The declaration called for an end to cross-border terrorism.
08:38It also opposes unilateral coercive measures of economic nature, alluding to the US tariffs.
08:46Prime Minister Modi's presence at the SCO meet and his Bonhomi with Chinese and Russian leaders sends out a strong message to the US.
08:55Faced with tariffs and trade threats, New Delhi is standing up to Washington.
09:01One could say the ball is now in Trump's court.
09:05With Gaurav Savant in Tianjin, Bureau Report, India Today.
09:09And joining me now is Aina Tangen, Senior China Policy Analyst based in Beijing.
09:22Appreciate your joining us, Mr. Tangen.
09:25My first big question.
09:26At the SCO, we've seen a joint declaration that condemns terror,
09:31that speaks out against double standards in terror,
09:35has a collective voice on Pehalgaam.
09:37And yet, the truth of the matter is, how does India square this up, Mr. Tangen,
09:44with the fact that China continues to support Pakistan,
09:47which by all accounts has been an epicenter for cross-border terror?
09:55Well, it's an excellent point, but here's the issue.
09:59What is the SCO about?
10:01It's about fighting terrorism, extremism and separatism.
10:05So, but you have to have a mechanism.
10:08It can't be just one country saying, oh, I know they did it.
10:12You need to prove to, at least not the international community,
10:16but at least the rest of the members of the SCO.
10:19And until they have a mechanism that people feel comfortable with,
10:23that can delve down and see.
10:25If there was a state-sponsored actor involved, they have to be punished.
10:30But it's far more weighty when you have a whole group and when a state actor knows
10:36that if they engage in this kind of activity, they're going to be found out.
10:41And they're not only going to be found out by their, I quote, enemy,
10:44which they don't care about, but they will be subject to peer review.
10:49Everyone will say, you're a pariah.
10:50And it could be the basis of kicking them out of the group.
10:54This is really the most effective way of dealing with a multi-polar world.
11:02No one has, you know, you don't have America and Europe using their colonial club
11:08and saying, we know better than you and we're going to tell you what to do
11:11and you're going to like it.
11:12That doesn't exist anymore.
11:13But the fact, Mr. Tangen, is historically we've seen, let's stick to the facts.
11:21Historically we've seen over the years, China has given its full support to Pakistan
11:26even when it's been exposed continuously in global fora for promoting cross-border terrorism
11:33against India.
11:34China has vetoed resolutions in the United Nations to proscribe groups like the J.S. Muhammad.
11:40But even individuals like Masood Azhar have got away because of the Chinese veto.
11:45China was fused to, was seen to have fused its military technology to aid Pakistan
11:50during Operation Sindur.
11:52How do you then build any kind of trust mechanism
11:55when China doesn't implement what it says in reality?
11:59Well, there is no mechanism at the moment.
12:05And the mechanism that was put in place, Sindur, was based on the evidence that was provided
12:11to India by India itself.
12:13There were calls for an investigation.
12:15It was rejected.
12:16That's different, though, from your first point.
12:19The issue of terrorism, I think, has to be taken very seriously when these people are called
12:24out.
12:24I think there has to be a consensus.
12:27But I think it's far better for India to push for a consensus as a leader amongst the
12:32group and say, listen, there cannot be double standards here.
12:36Once somebody is called out.
12:37Now, why?
12:38Why is China doing this?
12:41You and I both know Pakistan is not in the greatest of shape economically, politically.
12:47All right.
12:47This is a country that seems to be always constantly teetering on the edge of some sort of collapse
12:53or revolution.
12:55Problem?
12:56They have nuclear weapons.
12:58And you don't know who would seize them.
13:00But I can tell you one thing.
13:01In a revolution, the people who generally win out are the most extreme.
13:05They're the most organized.
13:06They're the most ideological.
13:07And they're the ones who want those weapons and are prepared to use them because they don't
13:13have any.
13:14They feel they're absolutely 100 percent right.
13:17So there is always a concern, despite the, quote, friendship, that you do not want this
13:22country descending into chaos.
13:24And that goes for India, too.
13:27Can you imagine?
13:28You don't know who you're dealing with over there.
13:30At least right now, it's the military.
13:32You have a kind of a measure on them.
13:35Imagine if you're dealing with some real wacko extremists who somehow worm their way
13:40into grabbing a bunch of nukes.
13:43It would be catastrophic for everybody, not just India and China, but the whole bunch.
13:52But all the more important, Mr. Tangen, that when it comes to this relationship that Beijing
13:58has with Raval Pindi, as I said earlier, China seems to have fused its military technology,
14:04providing full aid to Pakistan during Operation Sindhur, aimed at India.
14:10How do you then overcome a trust deficit with a country which was fully backing Islamabad only
14:17a few months ago?
14:18Why should we trust the Chinese at all?
14:20Well, the feeling was that India did not abide by the rules by having an independent investigation
14:29and was bent on collapsing the country.
14:34I mean, what was the endgame?
14:35Let's say India went in there and the military was so weakened and the people were so dissatisfied.
14:42You have an uprising.
14:44What good will come of that?
14:46That's my previous point.
14:47Do not push people over a precipice if you don't know what's on the bottom.
14:56No, no, but Mr. Tangen, Mr. Tangen, I think you're, you know, let's be honest.
15:01China has a relationship with Pakistan that is seen by India, not just by state, but by
15:07civil society here, as inimical to India's core interests.
15:11That China, therefore, has used over the years its special leverage with Islamabad in some
15:16way to target or weaken India, which comes to the question of the trust deficit.
15:21And one SEO handshake is not going to lead us to suddenly believe that we are partners
15:26and not rivals.
15:27Do you concede that or not?
15:31Yes.
15:32But, you know, you're thinking, I mean, I see this a lot when I'm on Indian television.
15:36There's always this perspective from India's side.
15:39India is correct.
15:40Somebody should be doing something for India.
15:42India is the victim here.
15:45But this is a regional issue, right?
15:49That's what SCO is about.
15:51It's not about India and the rest of the world revolving around it.
15:56It is about all of these countries having the same issues with separatism, all right, extremism
16:04and terrorism.
16:05And it's a question of how do you come together to fight that?
16:09Now, if China needs to be pushed, push them, but push them not by saying, OK, we're going
16:14to attack this country and possibly bring the government down, create chaos.
16:20And we don't know where it's going, but we don't care because we're mad.
16:24That's I mean, I understand.
16:25I mean, what happened there was terrible.
16:26But remember, I do not hear one word from India when busloads of people are intercepted
16:36by extremists in Balakistan.
16:39They're taken out side of the road.
16:42The men are shot and there is leave.
16:44There has to be equal outrage.
16:47Sir, sir, sir, sir, let's not let's not draw an equivalence and, you know, suggest both
16:53countries are victims of terror or China is a victim of terror.
16:57So is Pakistan.
16:58India has for the last 30 years repeatedly faced cross-border terrorism.
17:05Evidence has been glaring like after 2611.
17:07And yet China stood by Pakistan.
17:10I ask you, therefore, one last time, sir, this trust deficit question, I ask you because
17:15whether it is the boundary dispute, whether it's Arunachal, whether it's terror, India
17:20believes and legitimately so that China just doesn't want a relationship that is sustainable
17:27based on trust and good neighborliness.
17:30So everything that just happened right now and Modi's, you know, opticals, that was all
17:41false.
17:42Is that what you're saying?
17:43You're saying that your leader doesn't know he's walking into a trap or he's he's somehow
17:47been duped by these big, powerful guys.
17:51I don't believe it.
17:52I really don't.
17:54You're trying to you're trying to make this about what people are.
17:58You know, there are other narratives out there.
18:02It is not just one narrative and one narrative alone.
18:05India's India's narrative is India's.
18:08Everyone else has a different one.
18:10So this idea that you can only consider India's and that you have to do something for India.
18:14It's not a winner.
18:16I mean, this this let me finish just if I may.
18:19Yes, this was an opportunity for India to lead.
18:25You know, Donald Trump is afraid of a combined bricks because it dwarfs him.
18:32It makes him look small.
18:34It would be the bigger bully if it wanted to be.
18:37But it's a civilized grouping.
18:39They can go and they can tell Washington to do it.
18:42In the meantime, what is Washington trying to do?
18:45They're trying to divide everybody.
18:48Russia from China, China from India.
18:50I mean, you you've seen it.
18:52You can't tell me you don't have suspicions about what the U.S. was doing in terms of the general election.
18:58What happened in Bangladesh?
19:00The deal that they made with Pakistan, the 50 percent tariffs, these claims that, you know, Donald Trump is saying that he settled some more.
19:10Is that the mark of a friend?
19:11Is that the mark of trust?
19:12Sir, all the more, all the more important, Mr. Tangan, and this brings me to my final question, that whether it's the entire, whether it's our relationships bilaterally, whether it's at the SCO, whether it's at BRICS, there seems to be a short termism on all sides.
19:29Because of now the fear of the U.S. and a Trump led administration playing the role of a big bully that wants its way all the time.
19:37And that's what's led all the countries to come together, not because they really have any mutual friendship that can last.
19:45It all seems very short termism to me.
19:49And therefore, I wonder whether it will hold together.
19:51And that has been a narrative that's been pushed by who?
19:58By the colonial powers that subjugated you.
20:02India was 24 percent of the world's GDP before the British came.
20:06After they left, it was 4 percent.
20:08Are you telling me that that was the world order that you prefer?
20:12Did they bring you civilization?
20:14What did they take?
20:15Everything.
20:15I mean, this idea that somehow, you know, the old order is dying and you can choose two things.
20:24You can stick your head in the sand and say, I don't care.
20:26I'm just going to I'm going to do what's good for me.
20:29But that's a nihilistic approach.
20:31I mean, yes, you can say, oh, nations don't have friends or allies or enemies.
20:35They just have interests.
20:36Well, it sounds really good, pragmatic.
20:39But that comes right out of the playbook of Washington and the colonials.
20:42It's just what's good for them at that moment.
20:46If you want a better world and you're not prepared to invest in it, it's not going to happen.
20:51So if as a civilization, India believes from its past history and understands how short sighted these kinds of ideas are and takes up the mantle of leadership.
21:03I mean, the reason I say India could be the leader is because India was the balancer.
21:10It is not against the U.S.
21:12And it's not going to give up its relationship with the U.S.
21:14It's too intertwined.
21:16But the U.S. in the form of Donald Trump needs to be taught a lesson.
21:20And if it's if they go to him and say, look, we don't care how much, you know, you can put whatever tariffs you want on your people.
21:29That's up to you.
21:30And your people will decide at the next voting time whether they want you or not.
21:35But you cannot cynically play countries off against each other in the hope that they get less tariffs.
21:43This is right out of the colonial playbook.
21:45I mean, you know, I don't know what else you could say.
21:49I mean, this is a cynical ploy to divide everybody against everybody for whose advantage?
21:57Washington's, America's, not the American people, the elites, people who are making money from this.
22:04Let me let me leave it there, Mr. Tangan.
22:08I think it's you've given us some perspective from Beijing.
22:11Good to talk to you as always.
22:13Chris, you've made some pretty strong points.
22:16Thank you very much for joining me here on the news today from Beijing.
22:22I appreciate the strong questions.
22:24Only through strong questions can we have real dialogue and real thoughts.
22:29Okay, let's raise the big questions then.
22:35Can India and China really be partners and not rivals?
22:38You heard a perspective from Beijing there.
22:41Is the trust deficit too deep between India and China?
22:44Can China's alliance with Pakistan during Operation Sindhu be so easily forgotten?
22:49Is Trump tariff pressure the real reason for the India-China handshake?
22:55Will India, China and Russia now form a lasting troika?
22:58Joining me now, three very special guests, fine minds all.
23:01Brahma Chalani, leading strategic affairs expert.
23:04Kaval Sibbal, former foreign secretary, also served in Russia.
23:07Casey Singh, former secretary, MEA.
23:09I appreciate all of you joining us.
23:11Brahma Chalani, to you first.
23:12You've been quite skeptical over the years of China in particular,
23:16believe that India needs to be very wary of China.
23:19How do you see what's happened in the last 24 hours?
23:22That India and China suddenly talking about being partners and not rivals?
23:28Well, we should look at the larger context.
23:34We should not forget that this is Modi's China Reset 3.0.
23:39His China Reset 1.0 began soon after he became prime minister in 2014,
23:45when he invited Xi Jinping to India as the first important foreign leader hosted by him.
23:52But Xi Jinping arrived in India with an unusual gift,
23:55a deep Chinese incursion into the Chamar sector of Ladakh.
24:00Reset 1.0 ultimately failed because of the 2017 Doklam standoff.
24:06When that standoff ended, it was seen as victory for India's resolve.
24:12But within weeks thereafter, China quietly occupied the Doklam plateau.
24:17Today, Doklam is China's military stronghold.
24:21But the Chinese capture was obscured in India.
24:24Within a few months of the Doklam standoff,
24:27Modi initiated Reset 2.0 by reaching out to Xi Jinping.
24:32That led to the Wuhan summit and the summit in Mahabalipuram.
24:37But Reset 2.0 ended in disaster,
24:41with the Chinese military encroaching into key borderlands of eastern Ladakh in April 2020.
24:48That led to a series of border clashes and to a military standoff,
24:53which after more than five years has still not been fully resolved.
24:57Now, disengagement has happened, but not de-escalation or de-induction of forces from the frontier.
25:05Modi's Reset 3.0 began with the Kazan meeting with Xi Jinping last October
25:11and has been accelerated by Trump's economic war on India.
25:15But to launch Reset 3.0, India quietly dropped its demand
25:21that China restore status quo ante in eastern Ladakh.
25:27The MEA had said that status quo ante was a prerequisite
25:30to full normalization of bilateral relations.
25:34The army chief called status quo ante our first aim to achieve.
25:39But now, with little hope of getting China to roll back its encroachments,
25:44India is no longer seeking status quo ante.
25:47Instead, from the prime minister down,
25:50India is seeking, quote-unquote,
25:52peace and tranquility along the LSE.
25:56Recent history offers a stark warning.
26:00An emboldened China could spring another nasty surprise on India before long.
26:03We have had a series of nasty surprises sprung on us.
26:09So, yours...
26:10Yes.
26:12So, you know...
26:13I take your point.
26:15China has sprung a series of nasty surprises
26:18that therefore you believe,
26:20leaves you to believe that there can be no trust
26:24with a country like China.
26:25Kaval Simbal, take off from what you heard from Brahma Chalani.
26:28There is a sense that this is pure short-termism.
26:31Because of the Trump tariffs,
26:33we are suddenly looking at China as a potential partner.
26:38Do you really believe that this is a sustainable basis for foreign policy?
26:43I mean, just a few months ago,
26:45we were accusing the Chinese
26:47of fusing their military technology with the Pakistanis
26:51and it was based on hard evidence that defense experts were putting out.
26:54Well, you know, because of Trump's tariffs on India
27:00and the penalty tariffs,
27:02it appears as if Modi going to Tianjin
27:07is a response to that pressure.
27:10And the effort now is to establish a new kind of modus
27:15with India, with China.
27:16I don't think this is quite correct
27:19because when they two met in Kazan last year,
27:23Trump had not,
27:25there were no surprises like that on the tariffs front.
27:29It was, and then it's not only that.
27:32Before the two leaders met,
27:34the military fellows,
27:35God knows they met 20, 22 times.
27:38I've forgotten the figure.
27:39The other group,
27:40which has diplomats and military fellows
27:42led by the foreign ministry,
27:44they met again a score of times
27:46in between the special representatives
27:49that also met.
27:50Sir, but, sir, with due regard,
27:51Kazan was followed,
27:53sir, with due regard,
27:54with due regard in the chronology,
27:56Kazan was followed by what happened
27:58during Operation Sindhur.
28:00I come back to it.
28:01Is there a short-termism?
28:02It may be the way diplomacy has to play out
28:05in a multipolar world.
28:06Let's be more honest about that.
28:08We have to look for tactical, strategic alliances.
28:12I am coming to that,
28:14that the dynamics that we see
28:17between India and China
28:18is not related to what Trump has been doing.
28:22Now, with regard to Operation Sindhur
28:26and what have you,
28:27the fact is that we taught Pakistan
28:31a very bitter lesson.
28:33And now more and more evidence
28:34is coming out of the huge damage
28:36that was inflicted.
28:37And the Pakistani foreign minister
28:39has now admitted publicly
28:40that they are the ones
28:41who sought the ceasefire.
28:43And America had nothing to do with it.
28:46So all that tom-tomming
28:47about Chinese weaponry
28:49and all that you are mentioning
28:51about the giving access to them
28:52on Baidu and this and that,
28:54yes, from our point of view,
28:56this is a serious provocation.
28:58And we must therefore very carefully assess the future
29:01because Pakistan and China
29:03would now want to make up
29:04for the weaknesses in their defenses.
29:07And you can then see
29:08possibly much more military cooperation
29:11between China and India.
29:12But diplomacy cannot be such that
29:18you do not show some thinking
29:24and flexibility to manage
29:26very, very complex relationship.
29:28After all,
29:30we didn't even make a diplomatic relationship
29:32with China after 1962.
29:33No, I take your point.
29:35Therefore,
29:36this is part of managing
29:37relations.
29:38I take your point about
29:40about the need.
29:42Sir,
29:42what I call short-termism,
29:44you may call flexibility.
29:45Casey Singh,
29:46respond to what you've heard
29:47just now from Gawal Symbol.
29:48Do you believe that
29:51what we've seen here
29:52is a major breakthrough
29:53with Putin,
29:56Xi and Modi
29:57forming some kind of a troika
29:59or is this pure short-termism
30:01at the moment?
30:03I think it's tremendous
30:04amount of optics
30:05which were important
30:06if you have to handle Trump.
30:08Trump's reaction has already come
30:10on truth socially
30:11has already stated that,
30:13you know,
30:14India has proposed zero tariffs
30:15which are all lies.
30:17But the signal
30:18which needed to be sent
30:20to Trump was
30:21that you are driving India
30:23into this corner.
30:24For the last 25 years,
30:26quarter century,
30:28one assumption has been
30:29that India was critical
30:31to US's balancing of China.
30:34That assumption has been
30:35overturned by Trump.
30:37Now, therefore,
30:38we are looking for
30:39a new recalibration.
30:41And in that recalibration,
30:43you will have to reach out
30:44to China.
30:44You will have to reach out
30:45to the others
30:46because you can't be left
30:47in the middle ground.
30:48But you look at the...
30:50Just don't go to anything else.
30:52Just look at the
30:53Tianjin declaration.
30:57Now, one of the points
30:57in that is a condemnation
30:59of the US and Israeli
31:00attack on Iran.
31:03We've never joined
31:04that attack till now.
31:05We've never joined
31:06that condemnation.
31:07But this time
31:08to sign on to that declaration
31:10is again a signal
31:11to America
31:11that we are now
31:13rebalancing between you.
31:15We are going
31:15where India was
31:16after 1947.
31:18I mean,
31:18the current government
31:19may treat Nehru
31:20as a discard.
31:22But that's essentially
31:23what we were.
31:24That's essentially
31:25what non-alignment was.
31:27So there's a new kind
31:28of realignment
31:29taking place
31:30in the world.
31:31You've got China
31:32on one side.
31:33China will never
31:33accept India
31:34as a rival
31:36which should be allowed
31:37to rise in Asia.
31:39It wants to be
31:40a dominant power
31:40in the world.
31:41It wants just
31:42US and them
31:43and it realizes
31:45that India is coming
31:46on the rebound.
31:47And I'm sure
31:48India also knows it
31:49when we are engaging China.
31:50We know it.
31:50We have a weak
31:52set of cards
31:53we've gone to China with.
31:55They are not stupid.
31:56The Chinese know it
31:56and we know it.
31:58So relationship
31:59with China,
32:00it's always good
32:01to remember,
32:02will be always
32:02a combination
32:03of cooperation.
32:04I don't call it
32:05partnership.
32:06Cooperation,
32:07competition,
32:07and friction.
32:08All three
32:09will have to coexist.
32:11You have to balance
32:12all of them.
32:13All this hugging
32:14and handshaking
32:15is cooperation,
32:17competition,
32:19and friction.
32:20Cooperation,
32:21competition,
32:21and friction.
32:22Very,
32:22very interestingly
32:23put there,
32:25Casey Singh,
32:26Brahmachalani,
32:27you want to dive in?
32:28Here are two senior
32:29diplomats saying
32:30this is in a way
32:30a recalibration,
32:32perhaps forced,
32:33but it is a recalibration.
32:35At the end of the day,
32:36in a multipolar world
32:38that we see,
32:39we have to be nimble
32:41and flexible,
32:42which is one of the words used.
32:46Well,
32:46flexibility is important,
32:48and after all,
32:49we are seeing
32:50a world
32:51in great
32:52geopolitical flux.
32:54We are seeing
32:55geopolitical realignments
32:57happening along
32:59with
33:00fundamental changes
33:03in the economic
33:04order.
33:05And in that context,
33:08no two,
33:10no relationship
33:10can be static.
33:12So, in that sense,
33:14reaching out to China
33:16and seeking to amend
33:17ties with China
33:18is something to be welcomed.
33:20The issue is that
33:22whether,
33:23are we being guided
33:25by wishful thinking?
33:26Because wishful thinking
33:27does not constitute
33:28a path
33:30to progress.
33:32Are we
33:32seeking to re-engage
33:34China
33:34from a position
33:36of weakness?
33:38Did Modi go to China
33:39with a weakened hand?
33:40Because he went to China
33:41after the Trump
33:43tariffs
33:44and sanctions
33:45on India.
33:46He went
33:47right after,
33:48soon after,
33:48Operation Sindhuur,
33:50where
33:50India's own
33:51deputy
33:52army chief
33:53said
33:53that
33:54China
33:56was the
33:56invisible
33:57third party
33:57in that
33:59India-Pakistan
34:00conflict.
34:01Those are the more
34:03substantive issues
34:04to be discussed
34:05because
34:06for India,
34:07the meeting
34:07was also about
34:08geopolitical signaling.
34:10The dependence
34:10on Washington
34:11is not India's
34:12only option.
34:14And, in fact,
34:15India's,
34:16Trump's economic
34:16war on India
34:17is accelerating
34:18India's effort
34:20to bend ties
34:21with Beijing.
34:23And, but Xi Jinping
34:25is turning Trump's
34:26alienation of India
34:27into an opportunity
34:28to make
34:29New Delhi
34:30agree to fully
34:32normalize Sino-Indian
34:33relations
34:33largely on Beijing's
34:35terms.
34:36That is,
34:36without progress
34:37on the core disputes
34:39over security,
34:40trade, and the border
34:41that bedevil the
34:43bilateral relationship.
34:44It speaks for itself,
34:45as I mentioned earlier,
34:47that India has dropped
34:48its demand
34:49for restoration
34:50of status quo ante
34:52in Eastern Ladakh.
34:52In other words,
34:53we have accepted
34:54Chinese occupation
34:57of areas
34:58that were,
34:59that were,
35:00that were,
35:01that were being
35:03patrolled by Indians.
35:04Can I therefore
35:10ask you,
35:11Kaval Sibbal,
35:11a short answer?
35:12Have we gone into
35:13this with a weak hand?
35:15That the Chinese
35:16run the show
35:17and we simply
35:19have to
35:20just live by the fact
35:21that they will call
35:22the shots
35:23in this relationship
35:24or is this a
35:25relationship of
35:25equals in any sense?
35:27I think one could
35:29make another argument
35:30that we went
35:32with a relatively
35:33strong hand
35:34and I'll tell you
35:35why.
35:36We defied Trump.
35:38The only country
35:38defied the European
35:39Union,
35:40buckled down,
35:40South Korea,
35:41buckled down,
35:42Japan,
35:42buckled down.
35:44India stood firm.
35:45Number two,
35:46we gave a signal
35:47that we are not
35:48going to cease
35:48buying oil from Russia.
35:50We stood our ground
35:51on our relationship
35:52with Russia.
35:53This again
35:54was a show
35:54of self-confidence
35:55and strategic autonomy.
35:58These points
35:59cannot be ignored
36:00even by Xi Jinping
36:01and I think
36:02we are wise enough,
36:04we have experience
36:04enough to know
36:06that China
36:07cannot be trusted.
36:08We have to manage
36:09a very difficult
36:10situation
36:10which we will do
36:11but we have raised
36:12all our concerns
36:13if you look,
36:15read between the lines
36:16of what the Prime Minister
36:17said in his bilateral
36:18talks with Xi Jinping
36:19as well as his statement
36:21at the SCO.
36:22He's flagged
36:23all the issues
36:23of concern
36:24to us,
36:26to Xi himself
36:26but Brahma is right.
36:29He didn't talk about
36:30status quo.
36:32Let me leave it
36:34at that.
36:40Okay.
36:41Let me leave it at that.
36:42Kesi,
36:43you want a quick...
36:44I only have 20 seconds.
36:45You want a quick
36:45final word?
36:46What happens next?
36:48No,
36:48what happens next is
36:49we'll have to see
36:50how Trump reacts.
36:51That statement
36:52is not overly aggressive.
36:54Is he fully aware
36:55of what went on there?
36:57Either he escalates
36:59the battle with India
36:59and goes to 50%
37:01the rest of the trade
37:02which he has exempted
37:03or he starts
37:05becoming more flexible
37:06because he's coming
37:07under pressure
37:08for pushing India
37:09into this corner.
37:10And as Mr.
37:11said,
37:11Sybil said,
37:12it doesn't mean
37:13that we have bent over
37:14because the Prime Minister
37:15did when he was speaking
37:16say that no,
37:18I think we cannot...
37:20A settlement of the border
37:21is crucial
37:23to stability
37:24and bilateral relations.
37:26We continue to stick
37:27to that stand.
37:28So we'll have to...
37:29We'll have to...
37:30This will be diplomacy
37:31is challenged now.
37:32Okay.
37:32How to balance it.
37:33This is a new balancing game
37:35and we need to see
37:39where it goes from here.
37:44Let me leave it there.
37:45I appreciate all of you
37:46joining us.
37:47We live in uncertain times.
37:48You never know
37:48what tomorrow brings
37:49especially with Donald Trump
37:50at the White House
37:52but what we've seen today
37:53purely in terms of optics
37:54is extremely interesting
37:56because it shows
37:57just how flexible
37:58alliances have become
38:00across the world.
38:01I appreciate my guests
38:02joining me here
38:03on the news today.
38:04Let's move to our
38:04top domestic political story
38:06and it comes from Bihar
38:07where Rahul Gandhi's
38:08much publicized
38:10Vote Adhikar Yatra
38:11ended today
38:12in Patna
38:13with a grand rally
38:14of all the opposition leaders.
38:16Rahul Gandhi holding
38:17center stage there
38:18and made a serious charge
38:20during that rally
38:21where he claimed
38:22that after having released
38:24an atom bomb
38:25of Vote Chhori
38:26this time he was going
38:27to bring a hydrogen bomb
38:29against the BJP
38:30that would leave
38:31Narendra Modi
38:32with no place to hide.
38:34Listen in.
38:37BJP
38:38people
38:39listen in.
38:39Listen to the
38:53atom bomb
38:54of hydrogen bomb
38:56doesn't happen.
38:57It does not happen.
38:57yes
39:00yes
39:04yes
39:07yes
39:11yes
39:14yes
39:17yes
39:20foreign
39:27foreign
39:32foreign
39:37foreign
39:42foreign
39:47me
39:53I am
39:55I
39:57I
39:59I
40:03I
40:05I
40:07I
40:09I
40:11I
40:13I
40:15So what really has the Congress and the opposition gained from Rahul Gandhi's vote, Adhikar, Yatra
40:34and Bihar? Joining me now is the chairperson of the Congress's Media and Publicity Committee
40:39Pavan Khera. Mr. Khera, that direct question to you, what has the Congress really achieved
40:43at the end of the day? Critics are saying this was meant to be a Rahul Gandhi brand building exercise
40:48and attempt by the Congress to try and get some traction in Bihar, a state where in the past you
40:54badly lost out in recent times. Rajdeep, the so-called critics that you're talking about
41:03are the ones who are obsessed with brand, Mr. Modi's brand. I mean, we don't believe in branding
41:09and rebranding and what have you. What we've achieved in this Yatra is that vote-chor-garddi-chor
41:17has become a buzzword, not just in Bihar, but in several states now. People have understood
41:24that this is the crux of the problem. I think what we've been able to successfully do is to
41:30communicate our message in every street, every village, almost every house of Bihar. And as
41:36a political party, I think we are well within our right to take care of the messaging. And
41:42that's what we've done through this Yatra.
41:44No, but how are you going to convert that into votes? It's one thing to say you claim you've
41:52got your communication right. In the past, we've seen there's no organization on the ground
41:56to convert your messaging into votes. At the end of the day, you want to win an election.
42:00In the past, in recent past, we've seen Congress in Bihar has frankly been a bit of a non-starter
42:05because of your lack of organization.
42:11Rajdeep, all these are, I would say bromides that people keep talking about using against
42:19the Congress party that, oh, you have no organization, you are never on the roads, your messaging is
42:23wrong. Once we improve our messaging, now you will say your organization is not there. Well,
42:28don't forget Congress is there in Bihar, in every village of Bihar. We met several families
42:36who belong to the Congress, who are Congress supporters. All that we need to do is to organize
42:41them. And through this campaign, we have successfully mobilized a lot of those workers who were maybe
42:48silent all these years. They have come out. There is a lot of enthusiasm amongst our supporters
42:53and our workers. And a lot of new crop, young people, you know, queuing up to join the Congress
43:00party, to support the Congress party. This is what we witnessed in Bihar because the youth
43:04has understood that vote-chory is just the beginning. It ultimately leads to governments
43:11which are absolutely not bothered about giving you employment, not bothered about your day-to-day
43:16problems because they are confident they will steal an election and come back to power. This
43:22people have understood.
43:23Mr. Khera, today Rahul Gandhi, though, said in his rally that he has dropped an atom bomb
43:33with his revelations on Karnataka, now he will drop a hydrogen bomb. Now, all of this sounds
43:39very well. It will get you lots of reels on Instagram, social media traction. But what does
43:43it mean? What does it mean? What is this hydrogen bomb that he's actually talking about? Or is
43:48this, as again critics allege, hit and run politics could go and then allow the surround sound to take
43:54over? What is, what is, tell me, how is it hit and run when we expose Mahadevpura?
44:02What is the hydrogen bomb? After that, we follow it up to the last point. I'm coming to the hydrogen bomb.
44:09Just let's deal with the atom bomb first. So the Mahadevpura was not just a hit and run politics. It was
44:17something which we are taking to a logical culmination. Well, over the last two, three years,
44:21we kept questioning the way elections were held. And Mahadevpura was the answer to the way elections
44:26were held. That was the atom bomb. Now everybody understands that one lakh votes, fake votes in one
44:33assembly segment. It's just a sample. Wait until we get Varanasi. Who knows? We can also get Varanasi.
44:40But this hydrogen bomb, well, wait and watch. There's a lot of curiosity.
44:45No, are you saying the hydrogen bomb is Varanasi? Because Rahul Gandhi claims the prime minister will
44:50not be able to see the country after this, that Congress is claiming Narendra Modi will be out of
44:55power in six months. Is this simply empty boss? Let there be some surprise.
45:03No, no, no. You've seen Mahadevpura. You've seen Votshwari. You've seen how we exposed SIR. You've seen
45:09how we paraded the so-called dead people having chai with Rahul Gandhi. You've seen all of it. So,
45:15don't accuse us of indulging into hit and run politics. We are not doing that at all. And the prime
45:20minister knows it more than Rajdeep Sardesai that we are not indulging into hit and run politics.
45:29But the election commission, Mr. Kheda says that the Congress party or its supporters have not
45:34filed, hardly filed any claims and objections. If the SIR exercise in BR is so fraudulent, if there's
45:39vote chori, go ahead, file specific claims and objections. They claim, in fact, the only opposition
45:44party in BR filing claims and objections to the electoral list is the CPIML, not the Congress. And
45:50very few of the RJD either. Rajdeep, I must tell you this. And I think yesterday in my press conference
45:59also I said this, but I'll repeat it for you. The claims that they wanted us to submit through a
46:06format, in a proper format, through the BLA, were getting rejected by the election commission. They
46:12would refuse to accept those claims which were sent through the BLA. What was the option left to us?
46:18And why was the election commission doing this? No idea. Ask them. They are not supposed to say no
46:24to the complaints that were taken to them by the BLA. So the Congress had only, the only option left
46:30with us was to use our DCCs and give them 89 lakhs of complaints. It's not a small number.
46:38So ask the election commission. Why were you refusing to accept claims that were rooted through the BLA?
46:45Just to show to the Supreme Court that Congress and RJD have not given any complaints? I'm sorry.
46:50That's cheating. That's bluff.
46:57Can I come back to where I started, Mr. Khera? Was this vote Adhikar rally about projecting Rahul Gandhi
47:04as the magnet, the leader of the opposition? Because Tejasvi, Yadav and the RJD, by all accounts,
47:09surely are the main party of Bihar. The Congress is only a supporting ally. As yet, Rahul Gandhi has
47:14not even announced Tejasvi as the face of the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance. I want to
47:19understand, is the Congress going to take all opposition parties along with it and be ready to
47:24project the likes of Tejasvi as the chief ministerial candidate? Well, absolutely. I mean,
47:31there is, why should we even keep talking about issues that are done and dusted? I don't understand
47:36this. And Rahul Gandhi does not need branding at all. Bharat Choda Yatra established his leadership
47:43across the country as the chief voice of opposition in the country. He is the leader of opposition in
47:48Lok Sabha. Can you snatch that from him? But I still ask you, therefore, are you saying the vote
47:59Adhikar Yatra will actually transform Congress's fortunes in this election in Bihar? Or is this simply a
48:07pilot project that you've launched to see what impact it has? No, pilot project at all. Vote Adhikar
48:17Yatra started in Bihar, but is spreading like wildfire across the country. You've seen visuals
48:24coming from Madhya Pradesh. You've seen visuals coming from Maharashtra. You've seen visuals coming
48:28from Rajasthan, from across the country. Rajasthan, you don't even have an election until three years
48:34later. Yet people are out there on the roads raising the same slogan. This slogan has become a people's
48:40slogan. Vote Chod, Gaddi Chod.
48:43Okay, I'm going to leave it there, Pawan Khera. You're claiming that this is a people's slogan and this is
48:54an atom bomb which you dropped, which is going to be followed by a hydrogen bomb. We'll wait and see
49:00how that analogy actually plays out. But for joining me here on the news today on a day when your vote
49:04Adhikar Yatra ended. Okay, we'll wait for the hydrogen bomb and see whether it's a fuss bomb
49:11or it actually explodes politically. Thank you very much for joining me on the show tonight. Thank you.
49:16Thank you. Thank you. Under its worst floods in decades, more than a thousand villages have been
49:25inundated. At least 30 people have died. Rivers Ravi, Bias and Satlej are all flowing over the danger
49:32mark and there are desperate calls of help to try and retrieve the situation. Take a look at
49:39tonight's ground report from Asim Bassi in Punjab. Satlej, Bias and Ravi rages across Punjab,
49:53inundating nearly three lakh acres of farmland, hitting around 1.25 lakhs of people in the state
50:00and killing at least 29 people.
50:02Right here, this is Samrala Chowk in Ludhiana and just close to this is where what you see
50:11is a massive water logging. This is leading to flooding in cities. This is really at a point
50:19of time which could result in havoc. Now, a lot of people wading through waters, a key concern,
50:26but clearly what we've seen in massive cities, Jalandhar, Ludhiana all looking at major water logging
50:35because of the incessant drains. In Jalandhar city, water entered residential colonies.
50:41Citizens claimed they had approached the administration days ago,
50:45but no action was taken to clear the drains.
50:47Look at the sort of water which is gone and this is the living room, then this is the dining room,
50:55and this is where the water is gushed in and clearly this is something which could be very
51:00heartbreaking for any person who belongs here and there's no electricity. Look at this.
51:09Why is Punjab being inundated and can the accountability be really set as to who's really
51:26responsible for this kind of flooding mess?
51:29Gurdaspur, Mogha, Fazilka, Firozpur, Pathankot and Tarantaran are the worst affected in Punjab.
51:40Indian army along with the NDRF and civil administration have been deployed for relief
51:45and rescue operations. We are at Firozpur, Indo Park border and you can see right behind me is the
51:53fencing at 50 to 100 meters and we won't disclose the post which is but you can see the water flowing
52:02this side as well and that side as well because this is a Satluj river in Firozpur that flows along
52:08the borderline on along the fencing and to that side of the fencing you can see the water that has
52:14hit the flood that has hit and this side also you can see the fields the the crops how it's been damaged
52:21and 11 villages here that that on the borderline are majorly affected and this area of Firozpur
52:30there are total 100 villages that are affected and people here were evacuated were rescued from
52:36their homes still the water level is at where it was and still people are under that that in coming
52:43days water level can increase if the water being released from the dams the flood caused by incessant
52:50rain and swollen rivers have led to huge financial losses due to crop damage and livestock loss in
52:56punjab chief minister bhagwantman has constituted a high powered committee for relief work and has sought
53:0460 000 crore rupees from the center as relief funds
53:07the kamal jeet sandhu and aman bharadwaj bureau report india today
53:18kamal jeet sandhu aman bharadwaj reporting our thoughts and prayers with the people
53:22of punjab i want to leave you though with our image of the day and it comes from mumbai a city which is
53:27under siege not because of ganesh chaturthi processions but because of the maratha reservation
53:34agitation that has reached the doors of mantralay in mumbai large parts of mumbai have been blocked
53:42by the maratha reservation agitationists forcing this high court now to step in and demand that
53:48these agitationists be removed from the street and they clean up the city by 12 noon tomorrow we leave
53:54you with those images of a city as i said which finds itself under siege roads blocked traffic blocked as
54:02the maratha agitationists take to the streets of mumbai that's our image of the day thanks for
54:08watching stay well stay safe good night shubratri jai hin namaskar
Recommended
55:47
|
Up next
Be the first to comment