- 5 months ago
The big talking point of this episode of News Today is the ongoing crisis in Nepal, detailing the divisions amongst Gen Z protesters regarding national leadership, with figures like Sushila Karki and Kulman Ghising emerging as potential candidates.
Category
ЁЯЧЮ
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today. This is your prime time destination news,
00:05newsmakers, talking points. Thursday night, the big story once again from across the border in Nepal
00:11where the Gen Z protesters are now divided over Kaun Banega Prime Minister, who will be the Prime
00:18Minister. Big also, Prime Minister Modi lavishes praise on Mohan Bhagwat on the RSS leader's
00:2575th birthday. What does that mean? And the big international story, Trump ally Charlie Kirk
00:32assassinated. Who's behind it? And what does it say about American society? All that and much more.
00:39But first, the nine headlines at nine tonight. Nepal remains a country divided. The Gen Z group
00:47ready to accept the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila, but former chief of Nepal
00:54power board. Kulman Ghi Singh also in the race.
01:01A big win for forces against Red Terror in Chhattisgarh. Ten Naksals killed in Gariyaban district.
01:08Top Maoist leader Manoj Balakrishna killed. He had a bounty of one crore on his head.
01:14Vice President elects C.P. Radhakrishnan to take oath tomorrow at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 a.m.
01:24President Daupadi Murmu to administer the oath.
01:29Prime Minister Modi praises RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday, calls him a living example
01:36of Vasudhaiva Kutubbakam. Congress takes a jibe, calls it a desperate bid to curry favor with the RSS.
01:46A political war breaks out after the Karnataka government proposes to rename Shivaji Nagar Metro
01:52and Bengaluru after St. Mary. Maharashtra chief minister now calls the move an insult to the Maratha
01:58Warrior King. Shock murder case in Hyderabad. 50-year-old woman's throat slit, bludgeoned to death
02:05by a pressure cooker by domestic workers. Culprits captured in CCTV but still absconding.
02:13Donald Trump announces a Presidential Medal of Freedom for Charlie Kirk.
02:19Blames the radical left for his assassination but the shooter remains at large.
02:24A big headway in India, U.S. trade talks. U.S. team to visit India by September end.
02:32U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik Doh says we'll sort out trade deal only when India
02:37stops buying Russian oil.
02:41And Elon Musk versus Sam Altman over OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji's death.
02:46OpenAI CEO Altman says Suchir died by suicide. Musk rejects the claim, says he was murdered.
02:54But our top news is all that's been happening in the turbulent neighborhood with Nepal struggling
03:04to pick up the pieces after 48 hours of total unrest. Amidst the destruction and chaos, Gen Z
03:10protesters are continuing their push for change. But the path is far from smooth. From jailbreaks
03:16and clashes to tense negotiations, the nation now facing tough questions about who will lead it
03:21through the crisis. Let's tell you all that's been happening today. Nepal's youth that was united
03:26against the government is now divided over who will be the next leader. One group of protesters backing
03:31Sushila Karki, former Chief Justice, while another wants Kulmang Ghi Singh, former chief of the Nepal
03:37Electricity Authority, as their next leader. Gen Z protesters also clashed today outside the Nepal army
03:43headquarters this afternoon on the issue of negotiating with the army and the road ahead
03:48for the country. The protesters brawled amongst themselves in the middle of the road. An uneasy
03:54calm remaining on the ground in Kathmandu and other areas. Government offices are in ruins
03:59even as the curfew remains in place. The ministerial quarters that were set on fire lie in a charred
04:05and damaged trade. Don't visuals are showing the aftermath of the arson. After the unrest, Nepal
04:11security is tied at the Indo-Nepal border with only oil tankers being allowed to cross into India.
04:17SSP and Bengal police have tightened security at the Pashupati gate. Indians stranded in Nepal are
04:22being allowed to come only after strict questioning and investigation. An Indigo flight departed from
04:28Kathmandu for Vishakapatnam with 144 Telugu citizens who were stranded in Nepal. In-flight visuals
04:34captured the joy and relief among those on board.
04:41Okay, as Nepal therefore remains on the edge even now with no clear sign over who will be
04:48taking over the Himalayan Republic, I am joined by the country's leading journalist, editor of Himal,
04:54Kanak Mani Dikshit joins me. Appreciate your joining us, Mr. Dikshit.
04:58Let's get this very clear. At this time yesterday, we were doing breaking news that Chief Justice
05:05Sushila Kharki will lead the interim government. Now we are told more figures coming out.
05:11Kulman Ghiseng is one of the names. There's also Balendra Shah, the Kathmandu mayor. It seems that the
05:16Gen Z protesters are divided and don't know who will now lead the country. Do they have that kind of power?
05:24Can you explain why this division over who will succeed or who will be the next prime minister in Nepal?
05:32Rajdeep, thank you for having me. The negotiations over who will be, who will lead the interim government
05:40have barely begun. However, some of the very imaginative minds among some of your colleagues
05:47in the media in India have decided to appoint the interim prime minister in Nepal. It was suggested,
05:57Sushila Kharki, she has been reluctant, who is the ex-Supreme Port Chief Justice, she has been reluctant
06:04in the beginning. But apparently there are, there is no meeting of minds among aspects of the Gen Z
06:13generation. Remember the Gen Z is an entire generation. Among them, there are some genuine individuals
06:21and there are some self-appointed latecomers who call themselves Gen Z. So it's to begin with the entire
06:30history making of Nepal as of now and we're at a history making moment was triggered by the Generation Z
06:39Gen Z or Z in South Asia going in for a three-hour dharna on the 8th of September. And by the, by the
06:55very organizers of that Gen Z dharna saying that we have been infiltrated but we have already won the day,
07:04go home safely. So since then it has been a roller coaster of violence of the first day, 19 dead,
07:14through extreme police firing, more dead, 25 in all, 300 plus wounded. So we're still counting the
07:24incredible devastation. We have not even, it has not even sunk in yet because we don't even know so much.
07:29In the middle of this, certainly discussion has moved ahead. Who's going to be heading the caretaker
07:35government? Clearly we'll have to have one. Can I just stop you for a moment to go back to the Gen Z
07:40or Gen Z? Because I think here in India, we're trying to understand what is this Gen Z and Gen Z
07:47revolution or who really are the faces of this revolution in Nepal? Is there more clarity now
07:54as to what, is there a, is there a clear line of leadership within Gen Z or Gen Z? Is it similar
08:02to what we saw in Bangladesh where the student protesters eventually were, were trying to dictate
08:08terms to the establishment? Are we going to see that also playing out in Nepal? Do they have that kind
08:15of clout and power that they will decide and not the political parties or even the army as to what
08:21happens next in Nepal? Firstly, there is some more clarity than earlier as to who are the representatives
08:30of the Gen Z. Certainly they don't represent the whole country's youngsters and youth, but they do
08:38represent a significant and alert slice of individuals with access to social media and a lot of them
08:47influencers and podcasters and content creators and others. And there is no doubt, Rajdeep, that the initial
08:55call for the sit-in and the rally on the 8th of September was very politically astute, talking about
09:06corruption, talking about good governance, etc. But then it clearly got overtaken
09:15by individuals claiming to be Gen Z and it was infiltrated. So you talked about the political
09:23parties and whether there is any similarity with what happened in Bangladesh. I do not think the
09:31Generation Z in Nepal will get ultimately to dictate terms as seems to have happened in Bangladesh,
09:39primarily because today, as of till yesterday, there was sanata, there was so much violence and so much to
09:49digest the kind of countrywide mayhem of the kind that we can get into if you have the time. But let
09:56me just say it was unprecedented in not just the modern history of Nepal, but the history of Nepal,
10:03the violence that we saw the day before, yes, on the 8th. But then after that, the political parties,
10:11civic society and others have activated themselves today. The ex-president, Vidya Devi Bhandari has spoken
10:20up, the Nepal Bar Association have spoken up, the two political party personages of the high level
10:29have spoken up, all of them saying, the constitution is not dead. Parliament is not dead. And we are here
10:37and the president has a role to play. So this is, as we stand today, that is a development story,
10:43development story, Rajdeep.
10:45Where does this leave the army in particular? Because the Nepal army chief was the one who
10:50stepped in yesterday. And he was seen to be the one, Ashok Raj Sikdal, who was trying to sort of
10:58cobble together some kind of an interim government. Do you believe that the army has that kind of
11:03cloud that they will then decide what happens next in Nepal? Historically, the army of Nepal has always
11:11followed the government, whether it is the royal government of the king or the democratic and
11:17republican governments subsequently. They also have to be worried of their international image,
11:24because it is a very large contributing force to the UN peacekeepers. That is an element also to
11:31keep in mind. Besides that, the army definitely was in a hard place because Nepal was left with a
11:37political vacuum. Some of that political vacuum may be of the army's own doing. We do not know that
11:44right now because we are told that one of the we have heard that one of the reasons Prime Minister K.P.
11:51Oli stepped down was because the army told him they can no longer provide him support. We do not know
11:58that yet. But the army needs to be questioned for all the difficulties that they may have in their own
12:06functioning needs to be questioned. Where were you when the country was burning? Where were you when the
12:12edifices of our nation state, the parliament, the parliament and the supreme court and as well as the
12:23government secretariat, all of them within your security command and within two kilometers of your
12:31radius of your office? Where were you that whole day when the public was in such distress? Anyway, be that
12:37as it may the army did come onto the streets the night of the 9th 10 pm and since then thanks to the army
12:46there has been calm on the streets. So there is time now to breathe and and the civil society as well as
12:55the political forces have begun to regroup as I see it. This is my personal perception. You're saying
13:02they've begun to regroup. Let me ask you a question that is under the surface but still bubbling there.
13:08Whether there are any external forces that are involved in this? Is this purely a domestic
13:15revolution, if I may use the word revolution, that has taken over the country? There was talk,
13:22are there external forces at all involved in this? The Chinese, the Americans, do they all have
13:29some kind of role to play or should we call this purely internal Nepal's rebellion? It's very, very easy
13:37to fall for conspiracy theories and Nepal indeed has been subject to interventionism constantly,
13:46particularly from the southern neighbor, which is your country and your government. However, in the
13:53present case what I would say is that both New Delhi and and Beijing would like political stability in
14:05Nepal and they will run with what is handed to them even though certain wings of those governments
14:13may be proactive and those are wings that do not bring out press releases so one doesn't know. But I could
14:19tell you this much as I understand it. One is primarily it is uh the the mayhem okay besides the
14:28dastardly act of the police of killing 19 on the first day and 25 in all um peaceful protesters well
14:36some of them were trying to break through to the parliamentary grounds but they didn't have guns in
14:41the hand and they could have been tackled very in according to the protocol of how you manage riots
14:48and Nepali police was not able to do that. That is the first day. The heart-stopping continuation
14:53of the violence happened the next day when Kathmandu Valley and large cities all over were aflame
15:00and during this time um one doesn't know who was doing it but I can tell you there were one can
15:09also discuss who is benefiting from this chaos without having been involved in it. Who is benefiting?
15:16Who is benefiting? Who has benefited from the chaos? Before I get there I because otherwise I'll link
15:22them too much too quickly to the violence let me just say that they were clearly anarchists about
15:28those anarchists were probably firstly pure anarchists secondly those who may have been involved with far
15:37right uh forces and the far left forces um could be some ex-maoist combatants who got involved
15:45right could be the hindutva rss fed extremism that is also rife in Nepal even though they have not been
15:52involved in violent activities they have been organizing in Nepal all of those act in entities could try to
16:01foment a situation where the constitution collapses uh the parliament is no more and the president is gone
16:11and then it's a free for all and for those people who believe that free for all because they are on
16:16the outside it could benefit them perhaps this is a conjecture. I have a minute can I ask you are you
16:23today on Thursday a little bit more hopeful of peace and stability of some kind returning at the earliest
16:30than you were let's say three days ago when the violence was let loose across the country are you hopeful that
16:36Nepal is resilient enough to be able to to move ahead let me say this then yes I am um today was a
16:45turning point yesterday and the day before were not but I must say this much that to to your audience
16:51that yesterday you had a guest from Nepal a commentator who said that the constitution was dead
16:57I would like to through this same pulpit tell your audience that the constitution of Nepal is not dead
17:04and there are enough people in Nepal rising up to try to save our constitution because it was it was made
17:10up by a collected constitutional assembly over eight years and it is an inclusive constitution it cannot be
17:17sent down the river that easily okay on that hopeful note uh Kadakmani Dixit always a pleasure talking to
17:25you thank you very much uh for giving us your perspective I know you've gone through very difficult days
17:30uh but let's hope uh things get better and the sun rises once again over Everest thank you very much
17:38for joining me there thank you from Kathmandu thank you okay let's turn from Nepal back home to the top
17:44political story here in India today was the 75th anniversary of 75th birthday of Mohan Rao Bhagwat the RSS
17:54Sarsang Chalak widely seen as one of the most powerful people in the country and interestingly
18:00Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned a glowing tribute to Mohan Bhagwat saying that his tenure had perhaps
18:08been the most uh significant in the hundred year history of the RSS. Modi went on to call Bhagwat a living
18:17example of the principle of Vasudeva Kuthumbakam someone who had dedicated his entire life
18:23to social transformation remember all of these comes at a time when there have been questions over
18:30strains in the RSS BJP relationship after the 2024 general elections and also much talk over whether
18:37the age of 75 would be seen as a retirement age all those reports seem to have been scotched take a look
18:46at this report and then we look at the RSS's role and that of Mohan Bhagwat
18:52time to date it has been a very much respected ability than whatуВлуВ╣уБзуБЩуБн has poured into sub premier
19:05to be seen as one of the largest, country of Sanskrit. So the insecurity is related to a local.
19:08St╨╕╨▓╨░╤В╤М╨░ not only into Mr. Shafirweru RSS is related to╧Гfour and the Alexandoooo
19:16Seva, Samarpan, Sangathan and Pratim Anushasana,
19:23who is not aware of such a great nation,
19:28is the greatest NGO of the world.
19:33Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time spoke about the RSS
19:37in his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15.
19:43Nearly a month later, the Prime Minister has written an article
19:46lauding Mohan Bhagwat on the Sarasang Chalak's 75th birthday,
19:50which incidentally comes in a year the RSS celebrates its 100th Foundation Day.
19:57The Prime Minister has called Bhagwat's tenure as RSS chief,
20:01the most transformative period in the organization's 100-year journey.
20:06He added that Bhagwat is a living example of Vasudeva Kutumbakam,
20:10describing his leadership as one inspired by the principle of Nation First.
20:15The Prime Minister said,
20:17Bhagwat is a strong votary of Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat.
20:21Modi ends his article wishing Mohanji a long and healthy life in service of Maa Bharati.
20:29In March this year, Modi had visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur for the first time
20:35after becoming the Prime Minister.
20:38Bhagwat too had lauded the Prime Minister's handling of Operation Sindur
20:42following the Pehalgaam terror attack.
20:46Earlier, however, Bhagwat had sparked speculation with his remarks
20:50on what leaders should do when they turn 75.
20:54Quoting the words of RSS thinker Moropanth Pinghle.
20:58The RSS chief later clarified it was a remark made in lighter way.
21:17The Congress has called Prime Minister Modi's praise for Bhagwat a surrender to the RSS.
21:22The Congress has called Prime Minister Modi's praise for Bhagwat a surrender to the RSS.
21:24Lilz A ь╢Фwad of the RSS in despite the fact that Nedda s'aabh came in the early 2014-04s
21:36that no need to be in pain with RSS.
21:37We have such a strong in favor of the RSS.
21:40Our demonstrator racism has helped us,
21:43that we have some strong in favor of the people who have seen the same.
21:45The person who saw his statement or writing actress
21:49While Prime Minister Modi and Mohan Bhagwat have been effusive in their praise for each
21:59other over the last few weeks, the BGP and RSS are yet to agree on a name for the next
22:05BGP president.
22:06Does the Banhomi also indicate a decision on that front can be expected soon?
22:13Bureau Report, India Today.
22:18So what really is the role of Mohan Rao Bhagwat as the RSS Sar Sanchalak celebrates his 75th
22:25birthday?
22:26How do we interpret the Prime Minister's gushing praise for Mr. Bhagwat?
22:31Joining me now is S.Gurumurthy, RSS Ideologue and Editor Tughlaq.
22:35Appreciate your joining us, Mr.Gurumurthy.
22:38The Prime Minister has said that Mohan Bhagwat's tenure has been the most transformative in
22:43the 100-year history of the RSS.
22:46Is there a bit of an exaggeration or do you believe that there is a reset in ties given
22:52the fact that only a year ago, BJP president J.P.
22:55Nadda was saying the BJP doesn't need the RSS, we can stand on our own.
23:00What explains this sudden effusive praise, both Independence Day address and now on the
23:04birthday for Mohan Bhagwat?
23:07You see, if this Independence Day address or this praise had come in any context other
23:16than the 100 years of work of RSS, maybe there could be interpretations which may help contextual
23:27news-making by the media.
23:29See, the RSS has completed 100 years and it's a very unique organization.
23:34People may or may not agree with its goals or way of functioning.
23:41That it has transformed the ecosystem of the country is something undeniable.
23:45It has brought about tremendous amount of changes in politics, so there is a context to acknowledge
23:53the RSS.
23:54That is how the Prime Minister's praise of RSS in his Independence Day speech.
23:59Sir, but if I may stop you for a moment, the context that you are talking about, you had
24:04leaders like Guruji Golwalkar who were sarsangchalak for more than three decades.
24:09Are you telling me that Mohan Rao Bhagwat who's been there for more than a decade today is a
24:14more influential figure than even Guruji Golwalkar or is it simply the fact that now BJP is in
24:20power, Hindutva has been more legitimized than it was when Guruji was the sarsangchalak.
24:25That's the real change.
24:29See, you are not allowing me to complete.
24:30Please go ahead.
24:31If, but for this 100 years as the vantage point from which the RSS will look at itself and its past and future,
24:44which of which Narendra Modi who is a product must also be doing, this praise of RSS in the
24:52independent state speech as well as his reference to Mohan context will be out of place.
24:58So there is a context in which he says that, one.
25:01Number two, the RSS was built by the its founder as well as Golwalkar and then Badasar Devres
25:13who had held very long tenures as the sarsangchalak of RSS against great adversity.
25:21They have functioned under adversity which forced unity, which forced a sense of purpose working
25:28together in all the Parivar organizations.
25:33But the RSS began witnessing a new situation where it was not facing state adversity.
25:43In the situation, ecosystem had changed in favor of the RSS.
25:49There is a benevolent government and not an adversarial government.
25:53In which the way the RSS functioned is very, very important.
25:57This is where we have to compare the Sarvasevasan-Congress relationship and the RSS-BJP relationship.
26:06Sarvasevasan was also conceived as a moral monitor of the Congress party.
26:12But Sarvasevasan became dependent on the Congress government's largest.
26:17With the result, it got sidetracked.
26:22It could not achieve its goal of monitoring, morally monitoring the Congress.
26:29But the RSS, in spite of the fact that in a favorable situation, a benevolent government
26:36which looks at RSS favorably and not adversely is in power, the RSS kept cool.
26:44The Sarvasevasan's greatest contribution is when the tallest leader of the world, who
26:51is the Swamsevak, who has delivered all that the RSS has been aspiring for for the last 60,
26:5770 years and has become some kind of a phenomenon in the mind of the RSS Swamsevak on the one hand.
27:06And the RSS as an organization which has to lost far, far beyond any government on the other.
27:15Mohanra Bhagavat has been able to maintain the identity of the RSS in the face of this huge phenomenon of Modi as the towering leader.
27:25And also maintained the dignity of the functioning of the stature of the Sarsangachala.
27:32This is what Narendra Modi acknowledged.
27:35It's interesting the way you are putting it, but there will be those who will challenge that by saying the RSS is now proximate to political power.
27:46And as a result of being so proximate to political power, it has benefited hugely.
27:52It has been able to ensure that its people enter universities, various institutions, newsrooms.
27:59And therefore, the RSS has never had it so good.
28:02Therefore, there is the RSS now has huge amounts of control and influence that it can exert.
28:09So, where is the compliment that you are giving the Sarsangchalak?
28:16The Sarsangchalak is a beneficiary, some would say, of what has happened.
28:21You see, Dr. Achin Vanayek, one of the great left thinkers, wrote in 1990s.
28:30Yes.
28:31I still recollect his words.
28:33There has been no proper study of the RSS by the people who do not agree with RSS, who are detractors of RSS.
28:42With the result, we will not know how the RSS functions.
28:46The RSS will function even if there is no BJP government.
28:51It will function if there is a BJP government.
28:55But the RSS has a working relationship with government is very different from RSS being dependent on the government.
29:04What I am saying is, the RSS work will never be dependent on the government.
29:10That Mohan Rahas, Bhagwat has achieved.
29:13And this is transformative years because all that the RSS had hoped to achieve, aspired to achieve, longed to achieve, has been achieved from 2019 to 2024.
29:28But you don't think it has got more politicized as a result?
29:31You don't think that the RSS, which claimed we are apolitical, has got more politicized in the last decade?
29:38They are the ones out there running in some way the BJP's campaign, especially at state level.
29:46You don't think that that has in any way contaminated the RSS?
29:50If you will believe me, I have been associated with the RSS at fairly higher levels from around 1977 and even during the emergency.
30:05There were three phases of the RSS work, which I have seen intensely.
30:10One, the adversarial phase, in which the emergency, then return of Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
30:20Right.
30:21And then the Ramjan Bhumi movement, when the whole world converged against the RSS.
30:27I had seen this phase.
30:30Afterwards, the melting of the national polity, partly accepting the RSS.
30:38Even those who were detractors of RSS began accepting the RSS and the BJP forming coalitions in the late 1990s and early 2000.
30:47And the next phase is when Narendra Modi led the BJP to a massive victory.
30:56So, these are the three phases in which I have seen.
31:00In every phase that RSS is politicized was a very regular charge.
31:06During the JP movement, the same charge was there.
31:11Mr. Gandhi used to make the same charge.
31:13During the Ramjan Bhumi movement, the same charge.
31:17The RSS has got politicized.
31:19See, the RSS has a political view, just as Swami Vekananda had a view about politics.
31:29Though, in fact, there are different assessments about Swami Vekananda.
31:33When you are a nationalist, you have a nationalist attitude to politics also.
31:37But the question is, what you mentioned, Mohan Rabhavad is a beneficiary of the power, is what you have missed understanding the RSS.
31:48Nobody can buy the RSS.
31:50Okay.
31:51Let meтАж
31:53Okay, no one can buy, but let me ask you this, sir.
31:56A year ago, you will recall Dr. Bhagwat's, Mohan Bhagwat's remarks, for example, where he spoke out against Vyakti Puja, where he warned that no individual should think himself to be bigger than the organization.
32:09Many saw that as attempts to sort of downsize the personality cult that had been built around Mr. Modi, who had called himself a non-biological god in a way at the time.
32:19Then there was talk of 75 years, Magdarshak, Mandal, will Mr. Modi, who turned 75 in a few days, be asked to slowly retire?
32:27Will Mr. Bhagwat himself retire?
32:29Is all of what we have seen, this praise, part of this attempt to scotch all of that?
32:34That there is a clear division between the RSS and BJP, between Mr. Bhagwat and Mr. Modi.
32:40And Mr. Bhagwat is, as you are saying, in a way, the ideological mentor driver of the BJP.
32:46Rajdeep, your question is longer than my answer.
32:49I will tell you what it is.
32:50Sorry.
32:51The 75-year issue, I was actually eyewitness to what was happening in 1990s, when there was some stagnation in the RSS leadership growth.
33:04Many old leaders had continued and some of them were even seen to be physically not very active.
33:13So, a discussion took place in the RSS.
33:16We are seen, we are a youth organization and we cannot have leaders who are not physically seem to be active.
33:24So, they said, we will have a normative age of 75, at which anyone can say, hereafter it is not possible for me, I will go.
33:32It is not a rule, because in RSS, nobody retires, unless the organization allows them to retire.
33:39But when a person gets into the RSS, it is his work for life, particularly a Pracharak.
33:46So, at 75, somebody will say, no, it is 75, I will go.
33:51Then the organization will take a decision whether they should go or not.
33:54This is even for RSS.
33:56So far as the BJP is concerned, this rule was never applied.
34:00I will give you the standing proof.
34:03That when Advani became the party president in 2004, after the RSS decided in 1997 or so, that about the 75 years, Advani was 77 years.
34:15So, when you may ask why Advani and others were upgraded into the Marga Darshak Mandal.
34:24Because it is a generational change in the BJP.
34:27It had nothing to do with age.
34:29That generational change meant that a new generation has come to power.
34:34Are you saying the RSS is comfortable though with the idea of a personality cult around a political leader?
34:40Is Mr. Bhagwat comfortable with that?
34:42No, I tell you the Advani ji, this is a subject which I have always discussed with Advani ji.
34:49Advani ji used to tell me, Guru, even though we are a parliamentary democracy, our elections are almost presidential form of elections.
34:59We have to project a leader.
35:01In fact, in 1999, the BJP election manifesto, the suggestion was Atal ji's picture should be on the front page.
35:11Advani ji's picture should be on the back page.
35:15Shikandar Bhakt was the man who said this.
35:18Advani ji said nothing doing.
35:20Only Atal ji should be there on both sides.
35:24Because he has to be projected as a leader.
35:26Okay.
35:27This country, unfortunately, unfortunately, from the time of Jawarlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, it had become some kind of a leader-driven political election.
35:38So, the BJP had to follow that.
35:41Okay.
35:42So, but one thing in BJP is that nobody can institute personality cult in the way in which it happened in the Congress because BJP is a consultative party.
35:53Can IтАж
35:54I know decisions have been taken in BJP, which may not be completely to the liking of the prime ministers.
35:59Can I, can I though, can I though stop you for one final question?
36:03Who do you believe is the more powerful person within the Sangh Paribar? Mohan Bhagwat or Narendra Modi?
36:08It's a bit of a googly.
36:09See, Sangha and BJP function parallelly, but there is connectivity.
36:16The Sangha recognizes that there are areas, for example, Sangha may have a particular view about foreign policy and all that.
36:24It will only tell the prime minister or it may tell deceives its view, but final decision taken by the government, the RSS will accept because the government is more endowed with the knowledge on the subject.
36:37Okay.
36:38They have greater competence.
36:39This parallality as well as convergence is a very special feature of the working of the RSS and the BJP.
36:46And this is not understood outside. They always think these are competing organizations, they are competing leaders. No.
36:52Okay.
36:53It's not correct.
36:54Can I, therefore, just push you one time to, what is the one thing about Mohan Rao Bhagwat that we don't know, that you know, that makes him, according to you, so special?
37:06You see, he has managed the most difficult period of facing, not adversity, but prosperity. In the prosperity, in the sense, acceptability. RSS are always fought against the views against it.
37:25He has had a huge amount of turn in favor of the RSS and the system, but he has not allowed the RSS to become dependent on the BJP for any purpose. I can tell you this much.
37:37Okay. Let me leave it there. Let me leave it there. Interesting to hear your views as always, S. Guru Murthy. I appreciate you joining us here on the news today. Thank you very much.
37:51Thank you. Thank you so much.
37:53The RSS-BJP equation. Okay, let's turn from there to the big international story today, where shock and bloodshed on an American campus in Utah.
38:04Charlie Kirk, one of Donald Trump's closest allies, was gunned down in front of a live audience, mainly of students.
38:11The assassination was caught on camera, reigniting urgent questions about the rise of political violence in the U.S.
38:17Donald Trump has gone even a step further, blaming the radical left for targeting his aid. Take a look at our next report.
38:28Charlie Kirk, a key ally of President Donald Trump, is shot dead. The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA was on the stage addressing students at the Utah Valley University when he was fired at.
38:46The shooter is believed to have been on the roof of a building across the road, more than 100 yards from the stage, where the right-wing activist was speaking.
38:57The event was part of Kirk's American comeback tour.
39:00This morning I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday's shooting. It is a high-powered bolt-action rifle.
39:12That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analyzing this weapon.
39:24Investigators have also collected footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis.
39:31The police arrested two people, but released them later. Multiple agencies, including the FBI, are involved in a manhunt.
39:40The only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from close-circuit TV here on campus.
39:48We do have that. We're analyzing it. But it is security camera footage, so you can kind of guess what the quality of that is.
39:56But we do know dressed in all dark clothing. But we don't have much better description other than that.
40:03Kirk was a rising star in the conservative network.
40:10President Trump called him a true patriot and vowed to hunt down everyone responsible for the killing described by Republican leaders as political assassination.
40:21U.S. flags across the country have been lowered to half-mast.
40:27Grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah.
40:34Charlie inspired millions, and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.
40:42This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.
40:53Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden posted messages on social media condemning the murder.
41:03Kirk's assassination marks the latest in a dangerous surge of political violence in the U.S.
41:10Last year, Trump himself was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania, narrowly surviving with a year wound.
41:22Governors' homes have been torched. Judges have faced threats.
41:27And in December, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a brazen Manhattan hit.
41:35Today, American people fear political violence is becoming the norm.
41:42Bureau Report, India Today.
41:47And joining us on that big international story today is Anna Oakes, a journalist based in New York.
41:52Appreciate your joining us, Anna.
41:54I've just seen U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social saying that Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth
42:02who's been assassinated because of the rhetoric of the radical left.
42:06He's holding them directly responsible for the assassination of his aide, Charlie Kirk.
42:12How do you respond to that? Do you agree with what Donald Trump is saying?
42:17Well, first, I think it's a really devastating event that has happened.
42:23I think it's just an indication of how what a tragic situation the entire country finds itself in that we that people are driven to such violent forms of action.
42:40I will say they have it seems like they have they're looking for a specific person.
42:46But there is no there's no information on the motives of the shooter.
42:50So while President Trump is portraying this as a politically motivated action from the left, we don't know if this if the shooter was from the left, in fact.
43:01But, you know, just to press you on what Donald Trump has said in that video.
43:06For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals.
43:15Is this also a reflection then of the hyper polarization that we are seeing in the United States quite apart from the easy availability of guns?
43:24But just a hyper polarized issue where moment or a killing like this happens, there will be these attacks made by one side on the other.
43:33I think absolutely. Yeah. I mean, this is one in a law, an increase in political violence that that we've we've seen over the past several years.
43:45So actually, most incidents of political violence have been coming from right wing extremists.
43:52But I think it's absolutely a indication of of polarization.
43:58I think that there's an always an impulse to to blame this on rhetoric or to really find out what the what the reasons for this are to attribute blame.
44:09But until we know who the shooter was and what their motives were, I think it's it's important to stay cautious.
44:15OK, John Rosamondo also defense and this joins me from Washington, D.C.
44:20Mr. Rosamondo, what's your sense? Is this a killing which has been occasioned by the ideological positions that Charlie Kirk took?
44:30Or is it premature to suggest who is behind it? Because the U.S. president has already bramed the radical left.
44:37Well, let's put it this way. This looks like it has all the earmarks of a professional hit.
44:43I mean, the way that the shooter was lined up with the stage, the fact that the bullet hit Charlie Kirk in his carotid artery, which would have killed him instantly.
44:55There's a lot of talk in intelligence circles about the potentiality of whether a foreign intelligence organization or maybe even the Latin American cartel sending a message because Charlie Kirk was one of President Trump's strongest supporters and one of the people who was most instrumental for him returning to power.
45:17I mean, it was the cartels. It would be like, don't come after us, we'll come after you and we'll hurt you with the people you care about the most.
45:27But but do you do go along? We've seen in recent times senators being targeted, people who've taken strong ideological positions becoming very vulnerable.
45:37Is there that element which has crept into American politics, especially after Donald Trump's taken over that American society is just too hyper polarized and therefore any public comment immediately attracts huge attention from those across the ideological divide?
45:55Could that be a reason?
45:57Well, I think it's too early to assess a motive. I mean, I think that the fact that this was set up and the way that the assassin was able to escape shows this was not just simply someone going crazy with an AR-15 or going crazy with a political figure.
46:23This has all the earmarks of a professional hit job.
46:28Should that therefore, Mr. Rosamundo, make it more worrying that if it is a professional hit job, it obviously suggests that a huge security lapse quite apart from the easy availability of guns, which is now a major issue across the United States.
46:44But the fact that you're saying it's a professional hit job should actually make it even more worrying, some would say.
46:51Well, let's put it this way. The security was supposed to be paid for by Turning Point USA.
46:57No one could have, in their wildest mind, have anticipated this kind of hit.
47:06I mean, it was done with a bolt-action rifle using a high-power .30-06 cartridge that would not have been covered by any of the gun control measures promoted by Democrats.
47:18So, I think that, you know, this is going to cause a lot of high-profile individuals to reconsider how they engage people for their own safety.
47:30Anna Hoax, as a final word, do you believe that this is, in a way, a wake-up call for American society and politics, which, as I said, in recent times has seen other such killings take place?
47:44Is this something that will wake up the system as to the toxicity of some of the kind of discourse taking place in American society at the moment?
47:54I certainly hope so, but I do think it's really important not to draw conclusions or spread theories about the motives of the shooter before we have actual information.
48:04So, I think it's quite irresponsible to be even just repeating...
48:10It's the President of the United States, not me. It's the President of the United States who's already attributing motives.
48:15Yes, and also the speaker right before me, John, I think, saying that this could possibly be an act of cartel violence.
48:22There's absolutely no evidence or motives to back that idea.
48:28So, I think we really need to be careful in spreading, feeding into this, like, xenophobic language that is only...
48:35This language itself is feeding this polarization.
48:38You want a final word on that, John? Are you feeding into the xenophobic language?
48:43I think that my colleague here has little understanding of geopolitics or of geostrategy.
48:52It has absolutely nothing to do with...
48:55I mean, the fact that she's bringing in race here is a sign of her lack of information and her...
49:01I didn't say race at all.
49:02...her failure of information and her desire to present propaganda and disinformation.
49:09Okay, let's leave it there. I think what is very clear is that this has certainly shaken America.
49:16It has certainly provoked the President of the United States to make pretty strong comments,
49:21already virtually accusing the radical left of being behind it.
49:25We'll wait and see as to who really was responsible for the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
49:31Thank you both very much, Anna and John, for joining me there from New York and Washington.
49:38A 50-year-old woman has been found murdered inside her own home in Hyderabad.
49:44What makes the crime even more disturbing is that the killers are suspected to be her own househelps,
49:49people she had trusted for years.
49:51The incident has not only shaken Hyderabad but also raised fresh questions about safety in the four walls of one's home.
49:58Take a look at tonight's special report.
50:01It's every family's worst nightmare.
50:13It's every family's worst nightmare.
50:25A blood-curdling murder in the urban hub of Hyderabad.
50:29A blood-curdling murder in the urban hub of Hyderabad.
50:33A woman murdered in the place she considered to be the safest, her own home.
50:3850-year-old Renu Agarwal was murdered by those she trusted, her househelps.
50:47In a horrifying act that's now led to many families rethinking having helped stay at home.
50:51She was hit repeatedly with a cooker.
50:55She was stabbed with a pair of scissors, her hands and feet tight.
51:01Gauri images have emerged of the horrifying crime.
51:05So Gauri that India today cannot air the footage.
51:08When her husband tried to call the victim, after not answering the calls,
51:13the husband contacted the management of this apartment who had broke into the house
51:17and found the woman in the pool of blood where her throat was slit and head was smashed with a cooker.
51:24The police have registered a case and sent the body for a post-mortem examination
51:29and further investigation into this matter is underway as the culprits are still at large.
51:37What's even more disturbing is that one of the male helps has been staying with the family for the past nine years.
51:43Just ten days ago, he brought his relative to the house
51:46and now both of them are suspected to have committed this heinous act.
51:50The monsters are still out there, but the incident has sent shockwaves across Hyderabad.
52:1615 days back somebody came along with the existing servant who has probably created all this plan and made this happen.
52:25Police immediately reacted. Within very few minutes they are here and all night they were searching with the clues team and stuff.
52:32So they have responded very quickly.
52:34Another trusted house help turning murderer.
52:38This incident is another reminder to be careful of who we allow inside our homes.
52:43With Abdul Bashir in Hyderabad, Bureau Report, India Today.
52:47That's all that we could pack in on the news today.
52:54Thanks for watching. Stay well, stay safe. Good night. Shubratri.
52:57Jai Hind. Namaskar.
52:59How'd you bye for today.
53:01Listen to me.
53:03So I'm not that, have you gone.
53:06How'd you update your
Comments