- 6 weeks ago
After weeks of squabbling and intense deliberations, Mahagathbandhan announced RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani as the deputy chief ministerial candidate.
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00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today. This is your prime time destination news,
00:05newsmakers, talking points, news without the noise. Thursday night, let's tell you what we're going to focus on.
00:11It's the big Bihar story that's breaking. The Mahagadbandan has finally named Tejasvi Yadav as its chief minister face.
00:21Could this be now Tejasvi versus who? How will this all play out?
00:26But also, Prime Minister Modi will not go to the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur to meet Donald Trump.
00:34What does that mean? We'll tell you that and much more as always on the news today.
00:40Let's get cracking with the nine headlines at nine tonight.
00:45No Modi-Trump meeting to take place in Malaysia over the weekend.
00:50Prime Minister Modi will only attend the ASEAN summit virtually.
00:54External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to represent India.
01:01U.S. tightens the noose on Russian oil, slams new sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies.
01:10Russia's stock market crumbles amidst growing concerns.
01:14The Mahagadbandan of the opposition announces Tejasvi Yadav as their chief minister face.
01:24VIP chief Mukesh Saani will be deputy chief minister face.
01:28There could be more deputy chief ministers as well.
01:31Prime Minister Modi, while addressing booth workers, says,
01:34The Jungle Raj will be remembered for over a hundred years.
01:41Delhiites continue to breathe toxic air.
01:45Sources say clouds seeding likely in the next three days.
01:48Cessna aircraft on standby.
01:51But all depends on weather conditions.
01:53The PDP extends conditional support to the ruling national conference in Jammu and Kashmir
02:00for the Rajasabaa polls, polling on the four seats to be held tomorrow.
02:08Amid Sabrimala gold controversy, Kerala's Gurvayur Temple Board accused of discrepancies.
02:132019-20 audit report reveals irregularities.
02:17Temple Board calls it fake news.
02:19Another big development in the Karnataka alleged vote theft or vote chori case.
02:26Sources say accused suspected to have paid around three to four lakhs
02:30to facilitate deletion of about 7,000 voters.
02:34A former BJP MLA also named now in the probe.
02:39An Indian trucker high on drugs goes on a ramming spree in Southern California.
02:44At least three people killed.
02:46Authorities say the driver was an illegal immigrant.
02:49India lose the ODI series against Australia after losing the second match in Adelaide.
02:56Virat Kohli gets out for consecutive ducks for the first time in his ODI career.
03:01For our top story tonight, amidst rumours of cracks within, the opposition Mahagadbandan
03:15has finally shown a united front ahead of the Bihar elections.
03:20Today in Patna, the Mahagadbandan named Tejasvi Yadav as their chief ministerial face.
03:26They also said that there will be deputy chief ministers, including Mukhe Sani of the smaller Vikashil
03:33Insan Party.
03:35Now, it appears that the RJD-led Mahagadbandan is saying,
03:40we've got Tejasvi Yadav.
03:42Who does the BJP-led NDA have?
03:45Will the elections be Tejasvi versus who?
03:48Tejasvi versus Nitish?
03:50Or does the chief minister face not matter?
03:53Take a look at the big development that's taken place in the battle for Bihar.
03:58Amid swirling whispers of cracks and chaos, the Mahagadbandan leader staged a show of unity
04:10in Patna, and the spotlight shone squarely on Tejasvi Yadav.
04:15The Congress Party's Bihar observer, Ashur Gheilod, declared Tejasvi the undisputed chief
04:21ministerial face of the alliance.
04:22Alongside him, Mukesh Sani emerged as the deputy CM pick, with promises of more deputy CMs
04:48from key cast groups, a clear power play to lock down EBC and Nishad Vots.
05:09Notably absent was Rahul Gandhi, leaving Gheilod to do the honours.
05:14Amid rumours of rift, Tejasvi showered thanks on the Gandhis and Malikarjung Khargev for their support.
05:20Tejasvi fired a shop salvo at the BJP, accusing the Nishad Vots.
05:50NDA of sidelining Nitish Kumar by refusing to name him as a CM face, calling it outright unfair.
05:56Even deputy CM pick Mukesh Sani didn't hold back from attacking the NDA.
06:23The BJP hit back, unleashing a fierce attack on Tejasvi and his family for their alleged role
06:44in multiple Lalu era scams, fodder, IRCTC and the explosive Land for Job scandal.
06:50The BJP hit back, including the Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots.
06:57The Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots, the Nishad Vots, and the Nishad Vots.
07:08Tejasvi Bhabu, who has given him tribute to his temple and to his temple,
07:13I said, I have done this, I have done that, and I will ask them, at that time, who was your
07:19head coach?
07:20You were your diptyism, right?
07:22So, you are doing what you are doing in this country?
07:24You are looking forward to seeing your bhrashtachaar, Nitish Kumar.
07:30The Mahagarbandan has finally got its team in place at the 11th hour, but still faces
07:35many friendly fights with the last day of nomination withdrawals, ending today.
07:43Bureau Report, India Today.
07:50My first guest is the Congress's Bihar in charge.
07:54Krishna Alavaru joins me, appreciate your joining us.
07:57Mr. Alavaru, one of the criticisms being made about the Congress and indeed the Mahagarbandan
08:02is all of this you've done at the 11th hour.
08:05You've named Tejasvi Yadav at the very end amidst all the conflict over seat sharing.
08:12Is this, in a sense, a panic reaction given the fact that you've had so much problems
08:19to keep sharing?
08:20Thank you, Ardip.
08:21Thank you, Ardip.
08:22I'm in the job.
08:23I think it's completely long to stay on the school.
08:26I think this should take the 11th hour.
08:28I think it's completely long to stay on the school.
08:29I think this should take the 11th hour.
08:31I think I'll give you some insight to how we can be approaching the heart and the
08:38place is not possible.
08:39The decision was taken in the middle of April that the CDM phase is very easily defined.
08:47I'm going to stop you, Krishna.
08:48I'm going to try and just hold on.
08:50I'm going to try and fix the network because we're having a problem with your audio.
08:54I would like the viewers to know exactly what you're saying.
08:57I just want to raise the big questions and just take it forward and then come back to
09:01Krishna Alavaru because, remember, will naming Tejasvi Yadav as a chief ministerial face work
09:08for the Mahagadbandan or not?
09:10That's question number one.
09:11Is the opposition bid to make the battle Tejasvi versus who going to work or not?
09:17Are the ghosts of Lalu Raj still haunting the opposition?
09:21I guess at the moment, Subod Mehta is national spokesperson, RJD.
09:25Amitabh Tiwari is founder, VoteVive.
09:27And Syed Zafar Islam, BJP spokesperson, is also joining us.
09:31We'll go back to Krishna Alavaru when we get the line.
09:34I want to get your first reactions to that.
09:37Before you tell me, Subod Mehta Ji, you tell me.
09:40RJD has, Mahagadbandan has finally named Tejasvi Yadav.
09:46Is it too little too late?
09:49You were talking to Congress so many days.
09:53Now you're happy.
09:54Was this the only reason that you were waiting for so long, Tejasvi Yadav's name?
09:59Rajdeep Ji, when you look back to 2020 Bihar Assembly election,
10:04you will find that the people of Bihar has voted for Tejasvi Prasad Yadav.
10:08It was a democratic hurdle created by then NDA government.
10:12And on few votes, we missed this thing.
10:17We could not form our government.
10:19Tejasvi Prasad Yadav would have been the chief minister then only.
10:23Tejasvi Yadav is a people's call.
10:26He's the people's leader who has been a chief minister, but due to a bureaucratic hurdle,
10:31he could not, you know, he was not sworn in.
10:34But now coming to the charges that has been made against us regarding the, you know,
10:40the press conference and all that.
10:42We all know that the seven party coalition is a rainbow coalition.
10:46We believe in the idea of India.
10:48We have, we believe in the idea of a democratic decentralization.
10:51We talked about A to Z politics of Bihar.
10:54Tejasvi Prasad himself talked about.
10:56We vote for the developmental plank of, you know, Prahi, Davai, Kamai,
11:00Sichai, Sunuai and Karwai.
11:02And when you look to the 17th month of Tejasvi Prasad Yadav,
11:05we have given more than 5 lakh jobs to the people of Bihar.
11:09We have given approximately 3 lakh jobs in the pipeline.
11:13And we have, you know, made those teachers a government employee.
11:17And moreover, we have also empowered the weaker section of the society.
11:21But looking to the charges made by the prime minister regarding our, you know,
11:25Prime Minister says Tejasvi Yadav's name is associated with Jangal Raj.
11:29Yes.
11:30He says Yadav family yane Jangal Raj.
11:32Yes.
11:33I want to refute that.
11:35You know, when you look to 1990 to 2005 and from 2005 to 2025.
11:41You know, when you compare Nitish Raj with Lalu Raj,
11:44you look to the human development index of 1990 to 2005.
11:49We developed, you know, 0.89% and Nitish developed only 0.59%.
11:54That means health, education and per capita income.
11:57Can you deny, can you deny the Jangal Raj charge?
12:00The charge that law and order broke down when Lalu Prasad was the chief minister.
12:05And now, according to the BJP, if Tejasvi comes back, the Jangal Raj will return.
12:10I want a quick answer before I go to the other guests.
12:12Yes.
12:13Look, when you look to the Jangal Raj, when you look to the national crime report bureau data, Bihar police data,
12:20when we left the Bihar government, the cognizance offense was only 95,000 in 2005.
12:25And now the cognizance offense has gone up to approximately 4 lakh.
12:29The total murder in last 20 years has been 70,000 murder has been done.
12:34So 35,000, you know, women has been raped and the 2 lakh sexual harassment cases is there.
12:41When you look to the DACATI, 1 lakh DACATI and 3 lakh burghari cases has been done.
12:46Nitin and I himself has come on the platform of the parliament and talked about that the third…
12:51You are going by NCRB, you are claiming NCRB figures show that there is no let up in the criminal activities.
12:57I just want to, for a moment, Sayyad Zafar Islam, you see, today by naming Tejasvi Yadav,
13:04in a way the opposition has thrown a googly.
13:07They are saying we have got a chief minister candidate now.
13:10Now you tell us who is your chief minister candidate.
13:12They are saying BJP is reluctant to name Nitish Kumar also as their chief minister candidate.
13:17If they win the election, they will drop Nitish Kumar.
13:20So it's Tejasvi Yadav versus who?
13:22Aapka Ka Kaun Hai Mukhe Mantri is what the opposition is saying.
13:27Well, let me…
13:30Well, let me respond to this question.
13:32Only fools will ask this question because we know that exactly we have something to show.
13:37We have a chief minister who has been chief minister for last 20 years.
13:41He is representing NDA.
13:43He is the face of NDA.
13:45He has been chief minister.
13:46He is chief minister.
13:47He is going to be the chief minister.
13:49There is no confusion.
13:50People understand that there is a difference between him and Tejasvi Prasad Yadav.
13:55Tejasvi Prasad Yadav was the chief minister.
13:57No, let me get that clear.
13:58You are telling us on the show.
13:59Out of compulsion.
14:00You are telling us on the show.
14:01If the NDA wins, Nitish Kumar is chief minister.
14:04Are we clear?
14:05You are saying Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister of the NDA wins.
14:09Right?
14:10You have any doubt?
14:14We have none.
14:15That's what I am saying.
14:17This entire campaign is led by Nitish Kumar and the election is fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
14:26Where is the confusion?
14:28They had to name.
14:29They were pressurized.
14:30Amit Shah said the electoral.
14:31Amit Shah had said earlier that elected legislators will decide.
14:35Oh my God.
14:37So that process is always followed.
14:42But there is no confusion.
14:43Is there any confusion?
14:44Is anyone within NDA saying that I want to be the chief minister?
14:51Unlike Mahagadbandan where somebody wants to put up their hand for chief minister?
14:56Nobody agrees.
14:57Rahul Gandhi wanted some.
14:59I heard that Rahul Gandhi wanted Tariq Anwar Sahar as their chief minister will face.
15:04Because he is a senior boss leader there in the state of Bihar.
15:07Then RJD wanted Tejasvi Yadu.
15:12There is a VIP party.
15:14He wanted chief minister.
15:15He wanted to be chief minister.
15:17Somehow he agreed for deputy CM post.
15:20So all these because of out of compulsion they have agreed.
15:23But people understand there is a jungle.
15:25Once you have named Tejasvi Yadu means you have put a stamp of authority about Jungle Raj.
15:32Where there is a people understand there is a difference between Jungle Raj and Jan Kalyan Raj.
15:39Sir, sir.
15:40We are saying Jan Kalyan Raj.
15:41Sir, sir.
15:42One minute.
15:43Nitish Kumar has tied up with Lalu Prasad in 2015.
15:45No Jungle Raj.
15:46Nitish Kumar ties up with Tejasvi Yadu.
15:49No Jungle Raj.
15:50When they are in opposition it becomes Jungle Raj.
15:52When they are your partners there is no problem.
15:55You see politics.
15:56Suvidha ki politics.
15:57Opportunism.
15:58No.
15:59That is true.
16:00That is the truth.
16:01Not at all.
16:02You are down today.
16:03When Nitish Kumar was with Lalu Prasad there was no Jungle Raj.
16:06No.
16:07Rajdeep you have to understand why he had to distance himself from Tejasvi Yadu because he
16:17could not.
16:18He saw that the kind of corruption he was doing there when he was the chief minister and
16:23Tejasvi Yadu was the deputy chief minister.
16:25He had to leave them behind because he didn't want to be a part of the government where under
16:30his own nose somebody is doing this kind of corruption.
16:34That is why he had to say goodbye to Bahagat Bandhan or RJD.
16:38But let me tell you a few things.
16:40People understand the differentiating factor between NDA which is Jan Kalyan Raj and Tejasvi
16:46Yadu is known for Jungle Raj.
16:48So Jan Kalyan Raj and Jungle Raj that's the fight people have.
16:52Okay you are saying the fight.
16:53Okay.
16:54I have taken your point.
16:55The fight is between your claiming Jan Kalyan Raj and Jungle Raj.
16:58Amitabh Tiwari you have been doing a lot of numbers and I will put up some of those numbers
17:02on the screen at the moment.
17:03Every poll that we have done both that you have done others have done clearly show that
17:10Tejasvi Yadu is ahead when it comes to the question straight question who should be your
17:15leader.
17:16Tejasvi Yadu roughly polls around 35 to 36 percent in most polls 36 percent.
17:22Nitish Kumar at 15.9.
17:24Is this an advantage that you project a leader?
17:27How much of an advantage does this give the Mahagat Bandhan if any at all?
17:31Now clearly there are two data points.
17:34One is that as per our vote-wife survey there are 15 percent people who said that they will
17:40be voting in the name of the CM phase.
17:43So CM phase or leadership is important.
17:46And secondly as you have mentioned across surveys including C voter or vote-wife and other
17:51surveys Tejasvi Yadu is leading against Nitish Kumar as the preferred CM phase.
17:58So I think these two data points clearly suggest that you need to project a leader in Bihar.
18:03And secondly clearly Tejasvi Yadu is the natural claimant of being the leader of Mahagat Bandhan
18:09because he is popular amongst youth.
18:12He is young and he is also fighting a let's say a fatigue battle with Nitish Kumar.
18:19So he is sort of in a way the face of future and trying to force a battle.
18:26Is he getting new voters?
18:28Amitabh Tiwari is he getting new voters or only traditional Yadu Muslim voters?
18:33And by making him chief minister candidate is there a consolidation taking place on the other side?
18:39Is he getting non-Mahagat Bandhan voters also?
18:43So see he is trying to get or expand beyond the MY vote bank.
18:48And that's why we have seen this time that both Congress as well as the RJD have given higher number of tickets to EBCs.
18:57And they have also announced the EBC deputy chief minister in the hope that the core vote bank of Nitish Kumar gets split.
19:05And some of it is a portion towards the Mahagat Bandhan.
19:09Secondly the youth which is 18 to 29 year age group is around 25% of voters.
19:15And we have seen that this age group exhibits the highest amount of anti-incumbency against the Nitish Kumar government.
19:23Because perhaps they do not relate with Nitish Kumar who is twice thrice the age or rather two and a half times the age.
19:29So I think he is attempting to expand the vote bank.
19:34But it's also a weakness in a sense or a negative of the announcement is that of course there will be charges of or a narrative of corruption.
19:43So it's a bit of a gamble, it's a bit of a gamble. Krishna Alavaru joins me because Krishna has played an important role as the Congress is in charge for BR.
19:56Many call you Rahul Gandhi's point person for BR.
20:00What was the strategy behind today suddenly at the last moment with nominations closing finally announcing Tejasvi Yadav as your chief minister candidate?
20:23You could have done this a month ago.
20:25So I just like to clarify, can you hear me okay?
20:32Yeah, I can hear you okay.
20:34Okay, great.
20:35So this wasn't a last minute panic decision as some of you are saying.
20:41I think this was a decision taken as early as mid-April.
20:46The decision was that there would be seat sharing, there would be a common agenda for Bihar,
20:52and there would be a common team that would implement the agenda.
20:57So we are now at a place where we have seat sharing out of the way.
21:01The common minimum program or the agenda is largely in place.
21:06And now we have, as per our plan, announced the team that would implement the agenda and vision for Bihar.
21:15It's a young team, it's a mix of experience and freshness and that's what we are offering.
21:22We are offering a vision for every segment of Bihar, for the women, for the youth, for the unemployed, for the students, for the farmers.
21:34But if you are saying, if I may just stop you, if you are saying Krishna, that you had decided on Tejasvi Yadav as your CM choice in mid-April,
21:42we are now on the last day of nomination in October, why did you hesitate?
21:46Was there, was there some kind of hesitation within your ranks that the moment you appoint Tejasvi Yadav,
21:52there will be the charge of Jangal Raj made today by no less than the Prime Minister,
21:56there will be the charge of corruption that the Yadav family has faced,
22:01that you were worried that you make Tejasvi Yadav your Chief Minister candidate, there will be counter-polarization.
22:09So let's get some facts straight. Today in Bihar, the BJP is de facto ruling the state.
22:21Nitish Kumar ji is unwell, and that's a fact that everybody knows.
22:28And it is the BJP which is running the state by proxy.
22:33We talk about Jangal Raj 20, 25 years ago. There is Jangal Raj in Bihar today, when the Prime Minister,
22:43Home Minister and the CM in face only Nitish Kumar are running the state.
22:48Crime is off the charts. You have daylight murders in the capital city.
22:54Big businessmen are unsafe, women are unsafe. So there goes a claim about Jangal Raj.
23:02Let's talk about corruption. I mean the BJP's faces.
23:07Kamrad Chaudhary, he is by far an exposed corrupt politician.
23:17Let's talk about their ministers. Let's talk about Jivesh Mishra.
23:22The man has been accused of selling fake drugs and making money.
23:27So the JDU and the BJP, Gatwandan, has no credibility whatsoever to talk about either corruption or crime, because right now Bihar is off the charts on both.
23:46From low-level corruption at the BDO, Tehsil and Thana, to the Chief Minister's office and the Minister's MLAs, we see unbridled corruption in Bihar.
23:58So I find it very funny when the BJP stands up and says Jangal Raj, which was 25 to 30 years ago, and corruption.
24:09Because if there is corruption in Bihar today, and there is unbridled corruption, the BJP and the JDU are solely responsible for it.
24:17I want to make one more point, right? Unemployment is a big deal in Bihar and in India.
24:26Now, when the Gatabandan was in power for about 17 months, we gave jobs, we conducted recruitment without a scam, without paper leaks, without corruption.
24:41That's a track record which before or after has not been matched by the BJP or the JDU.
24:49So they have a lot of questions to answer.
24:51In fact, I would want to ask the BJP and the JDU, you've been in power.
24:56You should go and ask votes on the basis of your achievements, your report cards.
25:01What are your achievements?
25:02Corruption, crime, poor education, broken health infrastructure, no jobs, paper leaks, mafia.
25:13This is your report card.
25:14So you should take your report card to the people of Bihar and say, this is what we have done for you.
25:18Give us votes and let's see what the people say.
25:21Okay, Krishna, I'm going to come back to you.
25:23But I think what you've said, BJP deserves a response.
25:28Zafar Islam, you're hearing what the Congress leader is saying.
25:33He's saying, let's fight this election on what's happened in the last 20 years.
25:37You're saying, let's talk about 1990s Lalu Prasad.
25:42When the Prime Minister says, Jangal Raj, he's referring to the 1990s in particular.
25:47Why not?
25:47Why aren't you fighting your election on the last 20 years?
25:50What has Nitish Kumar done?
25:51According to the Congress, Nitish Kumar is the puppet.
25:54He's only the face.
25:55The power is with the BJP.
25:57And the BJP does not want to confront the corruption charges of its own ministers, fake cert degrees, drugs, fake drugs.
26:04These are the questions that are being raised today in Bihar.
26:07And as Amitabh Tiwari said, there could be a mood for change among the youth.
26:12They just feel much younger than a Nitish Kumar.
26:14Well, Rajdeep, you will give me sufficient time to respond because you have given plenty of time for him to speak very comfortably.
26:28But when we speak, you interrupt immediately.
26:30So give me sufficient time to respond.
26:32First of all, as I said, we are projecting and propagating our own performance to the people.
26:39It is not like Mahagadband that their face could be Tejasui Yado, but not the people's choice.
26:50The people's choice is very clearly who they bless.
26:53They have always been blessing NDA government and Nitish Kumar.
26:57So that is why we are very confident to go to the people and seek their blessings because they repose confidence in NDA.
27:05Because there are two people who actually makes the difference in Bihar and in India as a whole.
27:12One, the Honorable Prime Minister, who has seen his credibility is unmatched.
27:16And he is seen as a vikas prush.
27:19So people like development and that's why people have a lot of confidence in him.
27:25And that's why they bless.
27:27And second is the governance model, the stability which Bihar enjoys is primarily because of the Nitish Kumar.
27:33Nitish Kumar is seen as somebody who has championed in governance model and everybody talks about him as Sushasar Babu.
27:42So people need both good administration, good governance model and the development and which is happening in last 20 years in Bihar.
27:48That's why you could see that people's aspiration was to have electricity, that electricity has been given to every single home in Bihar.
27:56The water connection now, water connection has reached to every single household in Bihar.
28:02And what these people are talking about, that they will give job.
28:05Tejasvi Adho time and again is saying that they will give job.
28:08Somebody, Mr. Alavaru must respond on your television channel.
28:12How much they have made this kind of announcement that they will give job to every household.
28:19So 2 crore, 80 lakh household is in Bihar, 30 lakh people already employed.
28:26So 2 crore, 50 lakh people, they have to give job where each job, where B category or C category will cost 39,000 per month.
28:36Tell me how much money you require.
28:37No, second, I am just telling you that all the commitment which has been made by Tejasvi Adho on the expenditure side of the budget is like amounting to around 40, 50 lakh crore.
28:52Where the budget is only 3.17 crore.
28:55His mother had left the budget at 23,000 crore.
28:58From where the revenue will come, let him respond, Mr. Alavaru.
29:01Let Krishna Alavaru respond.
29:03Krishna Alavaru, you are telling me Tejasvi Adho symbolizes job, symbolizes giving rozgaar.
29:10Truth of the matter is when he promises one job per household, 2.8 crore households roughly in Bihar,
29:17out of which there are only 30 lakh government jobs at the moment, where will the jobs come from?
29:20You see, isn't it that you all are now, because the NDA has given 10,000 rupees to women, more than 1.2 crore women,
29:29you are now saying our counter is jobs, but you don't know where the jobs will come from.
29:34So can Tejasvi Adho really fulfill the promise?
29:39Let's talk about our track record on delivering jobs, right?
29:43In 17 months, our track record of delivering jobs, we delivered 5 lakhs.
29:49Rajdeep, ask this match. Ask the match.
29:53Yeah, he is asking me, and if you will allow me to speak.
29:57It will cost the extra care.
29:58Yeah, yeah, give us the match. Zafar Islam, let him give you the match.
30:01Do you have the match, Krishna Alavaru, or is it just a tall, empty promise?
30:06So let's talk about the fact that we have walked the talk in the past.
30:11We have given 4 lakh jobs in a short span of time.
30:15And what we are saying now is that those outgoing...
30:20He will not be able to speak. He will not.
30:21No, no, you can't interrupt now. That's wrong, Sir Zafar. Let him complete.
30:27So, Mr. Zafar has to be a little patient, and he should firstly accept that their track record in giving jobs is not as good as ours.
30:35Now, the question is, how are we going to give jobs to those who haven't got jobs as of now?
30:40So there are multiple sectors in which we have plans.
30:44So we have plans of inviting private investments as well as public expenditure.
30:53There is an education city.
30:56There will be vocational training.
30:58There will be investments from Indian and international companies.
31:03And there's a full roadmap that we will be unleashing on the 28th.
31:07Rajiv, I want to interrupt him here, please.
31:10I think he has not heard the Jasmi Yado.
31:12He has not heard the Jasmi Yado.
31:14That is why he is saying private investment, private job.
31:17He has very clearly said, even today in press conference, show him the press conference that everybody will get government job.
31:24Show him the press conference.
31:26Mr. Raffer, it's valid.
31:28It seems he has not heard.
31:29Maybe he was excluded in the press conference. He has not seen it.
31:33Okay.
31:33What I am saying, I am posing a simple question.
31:36Government job.
31:37Does a private investment create the government job?
31:41Krishna, respond.
31:43What are you talking?
31:44I am asking you a very simple question.
31:46Okay.
31:46You have asked the question.
31:47Let him respond.
31:48Government job.
31:48You have asked him the question, sir.
31:50You have asked him the question.
31:52Show the courtesy of allowing him to respond.
31:53Krishna, I will respond to that.
31:55Government jobs or private jobs?
31:57Radheep, you should have asked this question.
32:00No, no, don't worry.
32:00I have asked the question, sir.
32:01You don't have to tell me what I have to do.
32:03I do my job.
32:03Go ahead.
32:05So, Zafar Iqbal, I think, should also have the courtesy to hear people giving answers when he wanted time to answer a question.
32:12So, let me try and make a few points.
32:15Zafar Iqbal should also hear what Mr. Amit Shah has said.
32:20Mr. Amit Shah has repeatedly said that Nitish Kumar will not be the CM.
32:24And you say he is the CM.
32:25Anyway, I am going to set that point aside.
32:26No, sir.
32:27Sir, let me correct you.
32:28Amit Shah.
32:28Can we discuss about the budget?
32:29Sir, Amit Shah has never said.
32:30Mr. Zafar Islam, just a minute.
32:33Let me answer.
32:34Sir, let me do my job of angry.
32:36Zafar, Amit Shah has not said Nitish Kumar will not be CM.
32:41He has said the legislators will choose.
32:43Let's be correct.
32:43Factually correct.
32:44That's the answer.
32:45But Krishna Alavaru very quickly.
32:47Because otherwise we will get caught in a tootu mehmeh.
32:49I want to ask you.
32:50Now, just a minute, sir.
32:52Now that Tejasvi Yadav has been named your Chief Minister, Mukesh Sani has been named Deputy Chief Minister,
32:57where does this leave the Congress and Rahul Gandhi?
32:59The BJP's charge is Rahul Gandhi has abandoned Bihar.
33:03He is missing.
33:05He has now left it to Tejasvi Yadav and Mukesh Sani.
33:08Congress is missing.
33:09How do you respond?
33:10This is a direct point they have made today.
33:12I don't think the people of Bihar are interested in what the BJP says about the Ghatbandhan or the Congress.
33:23We are a united opposition.
33:25We have an agenda for the people of Bihar.
33:29The agenda is a promise to solve the problems that matter to the people of Bihar.
33:34The BJP does not have a report card that they are willing to take.
33:40They are not willing to talk to us on the agenda that we have raised.
33:44And what we want to repeatedly say is we are not interested in what the BJP views are about the Ghatbandhan.
33:51What matters to us is the fact that the BJP's administration has left Bihar broken.
33:58And we have come with a roadmap that we hope will make things better.
34:03And that roadmap covers a wide variety of issues that the people of Bihar are fed up with.
34:10It ranges from employment to paper leaks to health to education to income to farmers for women.
34:18And that's what we want to talk about.
34:21There is talk that you will have three deputy...
34:23There is talk that you want to have three deputy chief ministers if you are elected.
34:27One a Dalit, one an EBC, one a Muslim.
34:30Is it that this is your rainbow coalition?
34:32One chief minister, three deputy chief ministers.
34:34Many will say that's a recipe for chaos.
34:37I think you're looking at this from a wrong lens.
34:41The way we are looking at this is that we have a vision and an agenda for Bihar.
34:47And we have a team of young people who represent different segments of the people of Bihar.
34:55And representation matters.
34:57A team matters.
34:58And together they will deliver on what we are promising.
35:01Okay.
35:02I'll let you come in, Mr. Mahesh Subot Mehta.
35:06But first, Zafar Islam, you tell us.
35:11Do you believe this election becomes Tejasvi versus Nitish?
35:15Or does it become Nitish plus Narendra Modi versus Tejasvi and Rahul Gandhi?
35:20Or does it become about the issues now?
35:22What for you is this election about?
35:26It...
35:26First of all, of course, I will respond to your question.
35:30But first of all, he said that it's a united opposition.
35:33But it's only in paper divided in reality because they are fighting in more number of seats that Bihar has.
35:41So they are fighting on 255 seats as against 243 seats.
35:46That only shows that it's a divided house.
35:48Away from that, what question you have asked, it is between Jangal Raj and Jan Kalyan Raj.
35:53Who has given Jan Kalyan Raj?
35:55It is NDA under the leadership of the Honorable Chief Minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar.
35:59So it is very clear, they can make Tejasvi as a face, but they don't have people's trust.
36:06People have confidence, time and again, they have reposed confidence in NDA.
36:10They will bless NDA.
36:12They know that their leadership of NDA is someone who really delivers toward the people's expectation.
36:18And Mr. Alavaru has not been able to give match.
36:21They have started speaking about capital expenditure, private investment.
36:26I asked a very simple question.
36:28Tejasvi Yadav has given the expenditure side of the budget.
36:31So Subodh Mehta, let me take that to the RGD spokesperson.
36:35Subodh Mehta, Tejasvi Yadav is making a lot of promises.
36:38Where will you get these 2.8 crore jobs?
36:43Are they government jobs, private jobs?
36:45Jobs where are they?
36:46Very easy to say, we will give them a lot of promises.
36:49Rajdeep Ji, I would like to pinpoint three things which the BJP spokesperson is continuously telling.
36:57About the Lalu Raj as a Jangal Raj.
37:00Lalu Raj is actually a social justice Raj.
37:03I tell you why.
37:04We have discussed Jangal Raj.
37:08You answer my question.
37:09Where are these jobs?
37:10Let's talk about Tejasvi Yadav.
37:12Forget Lalu for a moment.
37:13Tejasvi Yadav has promised a job per household.
37:17Where will the jobs come from?
37:18Look, Tejasvi Yadav is a person who is known for the idea of welfare of all is the happiness of all.
37:26And Tejasvi Prasad Yadav want to bring the limited section of the society into the mainstream in the participation of a political system.
37:34And he has promised jobs earlier.
37:38The track record is very fine.
37:40Now we have promised that every household the job will be given.
37:44You know, apart from...
37:44Where will the jobs come from?
37:46Yes, apart from 30 lakh jobs, there are approximately 20 lakh jobs still vacant in the different government departments.
37:54And moreover, when you look to the contractual jobs which are already there in the different departments of Bihar, it is approximately 50 lakh jobs which are already contractual jobs.
38:05We will have to create more departments, departments like urban development, like housing board.
38:11Where will you give the money if you give 30,000 rupees to each?
38:15But I just want Amitabh Tiwari to respond.
38:21Amitabh Tiwari, does Tejasvi Yadav go into this election?
38:24Does he go into this election with the burden of being Lalu Prasad's son?
38:28Is that a burden that he carries because of Lalu Raj or so-called Jungle Raj as the BJP calls it?
38:35Or does he go as a fresh-faced young leader compared to a tiring, aging Nitish Kumar?
38:41I mean, it is both.
38:44It is for the core voters of BJP and some of the floating undecided voters.
38:49He does carry the burden of being of the Jungle Raj, let's say, or the Adijad Jungle Raj.
38:56And for the youth voters, which is aspirational, he does present the new face of Bihar in a way or the future face of Bihar in a way.
39:04See, what is going to happen is that it seems that there has been some lack of coherence on these announcements by Tejasvi Yadav with respect to employment and the yesterday's announcements or day before yesterday's on the Jivika Didis.
39:20Because if he would have talked about generation of jobs, it would have still, I think, worked.
39:27But creation of government jobs, I think, is going to be tricky.
39:31So, this shows that there has been some lack of coherence because the Congress was not present in those, during those announcements.
39:39And that does not bode well for the alliance going forward.
39:43So, I think they will have to come up with answers on these two aspects because the BJP will be harping on these facts.
39:51And we are going to see a fascinating battle for sure.
39:55Let me, therefore, ask you, Krishna Alavaru, in conclusion, 12 seats, so-called friendly fights.
40:01One thing to project a chief ministerial candidate, what happens to your friendly fights?
40:05First, you've got to be united on the ground.
40:07Are you all united on the ground?
40:09Or are you happy to have your friendly fights?
40:11So, there are 95% of seats where we are contesting individually without quote-unquote friendly fights.
40:23There are some seats where we have tactically agreed to have two symbols because we feel that it may work to our advantage.
40:31There are some seats where we haven't reached agreement, and those seats are fewer than 10.
40:38And I don't think this is the first time friendly fights are happening, and that means, that does not mean that the united opposition is in disarray.
40:46We have friendly fights in Jharkand, we've had friendly fights in Jammu and Kashmir before, and we've formed governments in both the states.
40:54So, I think what, talking about 5 to 10 seats where we are having multiple candidates, is missing the elephant for the tail.
41:04I mean, you're harping on the tail, but the elephant is fine.
41:06What I would like to point out in return, is that the so-called united NDA in Bihar, hasn't been able to sit in front of the media and have a joint press conference so far.
41:20We've at least been very clear about the fact that we have a team, we are united.
41:25I need 10 seconds, Rajdeep.
41:27We are more united than the BJP and the JDU.
41:30Okay, you've made your... I've allowed you...
41:32And we have agreed on our team.
41:34Okay, I've exceeded my time, my producer says, on the, on the Bihar segment, but I'll give Zafar Islam 10 seconds, otherwise he will accuse me again of being unfair.
41:44What is your point that you want to make?
41:46Krishna Alavaru says, they are united, they've had a joint press conference.
41:50Nithish Kumar does not even address the press anymore.
41:53Nithish Kumar does not even address the press anymore.
41:56We are...
41:57Oh, we are working on the ground.
42:01All our NDA members working unitedly on the ground.
42:06Not coming to media, speaking about friendly fight.
42:10Thank you very much for the friendly fight.
42:12Fight as many seats, you have friendly fight, we welcome it.
42:17Because we know the consequences.
42:20It is a recipe of massive defeat for you.
42:22We are going to definitely, this time, achieve a historic win with a larger number of seats that we have ever achieved as NDA.
42:31Okay.
42:32Let me leave it there.
42:33I appreciate my guests joining me on the show tonight.
42:36We'll wait and see how the move to make Tejasvi Yadav as the chief minister candidate actually makes an impact, if at all, on the ground in Bihar.
42:45Let's turn to the other big story, the diplomatic distance between New Delhi and Washington, the on-off relationship.
42:52Well, now Prime Minister Modi has decided he will not attend the ASEAN summit this weekend in Kuala Lumpur,
42:58where US President Donald Trump is also expected to be there.
43:02What does this signal, particularly at a time when Trump has decided to even stiffen the sanctions against Russia on oil?
43:10Take a look.
43:15Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN summit later this week.
43:25Modi announced the decision on social media, ending all speculation about a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump.
43:34Instead, the Prime Minister will attend the summit virtually.
43:37External Affairs Minister Jai Shankar will represent India at the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 27th.
43:54The two leaders met the last time in February for a bilateral meeting at the White House.
44:03Since then, Indo-U.S. ties have hit a speed bump, with Washington imposing 50% tariffs on Indian goods, the highest on any country.
44:13After Operation Sindur, during the G7 meet in Canada, Trump in a phone conversation suggested the Prime Minister stop over in the U.S.
44:22But that invite was declined.
44:26The Prime Minister also skipped the UNGA meet in September and the Gaza peace meet hosted by Egypt in October, where they could have met on the sidelines.
44:38Yet the two leaders have spoken twice in two months.
44:41The latest, a Diwali call earlier this week.
44:45Trump once again claimed that India will stop buying oil from Russia.
44:52Well, I think I'll be talking to him about it.
44:54I think it's a little bit of a different talk.
44:56India, as you know, has told me they ought to stop, you know, it's a process.
45:01You can't just stop it.
45:02But by the end of the year, they'll be down to almost nothing.
45:06That's a big thing.
45:07There was almost 40% of the oil.
45:09India, they've been great.
45:11Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday.
45:13They've been absolutely great.
45:15Meanwhile, Trump has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies.
45:20Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to pressure Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
45:26The sanctions are set to take effect from November 21st.
45:31Sources say Indian state refiners are reviewing their Russian oil contracts to ensure no shipments come directly from Rosneft or Lukoil.
45:41News agency Reuters quoted Reliance Industries as saying it will recalibrate Russian oil imports to align with government guidelines.
45:53From India-Pakistan conflict to Russian oil imports.
45:57Trump has made many claims, which are contrary to the stand taken by New Delhi.
46:01The focus for now is on Indo-U.S. trade talks that are at an advanced stage.
46:08Bureau Report, India Today.
46:10Joining me now to understand why the Prime Minister has chosen not to go to the ASEAN summit, his former Indian ambassador to the United States.
46:23Lots of speculation.
46:26Mr. Arun Singh, former ambassador, joining me.
46:29How do you see the Prime Minister's decision to skip the ASEAN summit, not meet with Donald Trump?
46:34It comes on the back of the fact that he didn't also go earlier this month to the Gaza summit.
46:39Do you get the sense that the Prime Minister is avoiding Donald Trump for some reason?
46:43And if so, what is that reason?
46:48No, I don't think necessarily he's avoiding him.
46:51But I think the fact that a meeting has not been scheduled in the context of the East Asia summit.
46:57One interpretation could be that the trade agreement that both sides have been working on, that is so far not near finalization.
47:06Because if that had not been done and the two had met, and there was no specific outcome from that meeting leading to reduction in the tariffs on India,
47:15no, people would have questioned about the value of that meeting, particularly since state assembly elections in an important state like Bihar are due early next month.
47:25So that's the only interpretation that I would make, because it's not a question of avoiding.
47:30If you see over the last month or so, there have been repeated exchanges of messages between President Trump and the Indian Prime Minister.
47:38And I think on several occasions, they've also had telephone conversations.
47:43President Trump called the Prime Minister on his birthday, spoke to him on the occasion of Diwali.
47:47And in fact, very unusually, this year, I know that President Trump hosted the Diwali event at the White House in the Oval Office.
47:55Because in the past also, it has been hosted in the White House or the Executive Office of the President, but not in the Oval Office.
48:02So again, there is a signaling that despite the current differences, particularly related to tariffs, the President wants to keep the relationship stabilized to the extent it can be done and attaches value to the India relationship.
48:18So I think we should just say that perhaps the trade agreement is not yet ready.
48:23You're linking, therefore, the absence of Mr. Modi and not meeting Trump to the trade agreement.
48:28But there will be those, Mr. Arun Singh, who will link it to the fact that more than 50 times in the last few months, Donald Trump has claimed credit for the Indo-Park ceasefire after Operation Sindhur.
48:38On half a dozen occasions, he's claimed that the Prime Minister has assured him India will not purchase Russian oil.
48:43Many believe these are significant differences.
48:46Is it just about trade?
48:48Or is it that Donald Trump has a habit of seemingly embarrassing India and India wants to send a message?
48:54There's a difference between a phone call and a face-to-face meeting.
49:01So, of late, you know, while there are certainly issues on where there is disagreement,
49:07he's also adopted a more positive tone related to India and to the Prime Minister.
49:12And the two issues that you mentioned specifically, on the Russia issue and the oil purchases,
49:18today the U.S. has now gone ahead and sanctioned two major Russian oil companies, Luke Oil and Rosnet.
49:26And as a result of that, some of the criticism that Donald Trump has levied against India could, over the months, disappear.
49:33Because, you know, once these companies are sanctioned, U.S. would not allow dollar transactions for making payments to those companies for purchases that are done.
49:45So, after November 21, which is the date that the U.S. has set, it may become difficult for India to pay for any oil purchases that it does from Russia, from Rosnet and Luke Oil,
49:59going by the experience, for example, we had in the Iranian sanctions earlier, because U.S. would not allow dollar payments,
50:05European countries would not agree to Euro payments, so there would be no mechanism.
50:11And if you set up a rupee payment mechanism, then there would be huge accumulation of reserves in India,
50:16because we bought almost $50 billion worth of oil from Russia, and Russia has bought from what I understand only about $5 billion worth of goods from India.
50:25So, there would be huge accumulation of rupee reserves, which would not work to anybody's advantage.
50:30So, I think the Russian oil purchase issue, because of the latest step that U.S. has taken, could, over time, disappear gradually.
50:40So, that's one.
50:41On the Pakistan thing, you know, it's not something new.
50:44If you recall, way back in 2019, after being very tough on Pakistan in 2017, 2018, in 2019, when Donald Trump wanted to do a deal with the Taliban,
50:56he invited the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to the White House in July 2019.
51:01And then, in response to a planted question, he said that, I'm ready to mediate on Kashmir.
51:06And he said that the Indian Prime Minister had asked him to mediate on Kashmir, which simply couldn't be true.
51:10And the Indian Foreign Minister then made a statement in Parliament, that there's no truth to what the President has said.
51:16So, I think this is something that we've handled in the past also.
51:21Certainly, he wants to project that he wants to play a role between India and Pakistan, and that is something that's not acceptable to India.
51:29But I think those are things that can be handled.
51:32Okay. Arun Singh speaking to me earlier.
51:35Appreciate you joining us.
51:37Let's turn to tonight's Get Real India story, which comes from Bhopal.
51:41Carbide guns sold openly during Diwali have left more than 180 people, mainly children with eye injuries, in Madhya Pradesh.
51:52Take a look at tonight's Get Real India story.
51:55The hunt for louder and cheaper fireworks has landed over 180 people, mostly children, in hospitals across Madhya Pradesh, right after Diwali.
52:14They all used what is known on the streets as the carbide gun.
52:19A cheap contraption made of plastic pipe and uses calcium carbide, water and a gas lighter.
52:27Some of the victims,
52:57have lost vision partially.
53:00Some need procedures like corneal transplants.
53:04About 10 to 15 percent are very severe, which has caused severe visual damage.
53:11Whereas about 80 percent, they are moderate to mild cases.
53:16We have already started different surgical procedures so that stage by stage they can recover some injury.
53:24The carbide guns were being sold in the market for 150 to 250 rupees.
53:45When the calcium carbide, an easy available chemical, is mixed with water, acetylene gas, a highly inflammable compound, is produced.
53:56The gas lighter becomes the trigger.
54:00Even a small spark can cause a blast and cause serious injuries as the unfortunate victims found out.
54:08The injuries, they had impact of chemical which was used in the gun, plus there was a fire cracker kind of injury also, plus there was a blast kind of thing which occurred near the eye.
54:23So there was a combination of three kinds of injury, burn injury due to fire, then chemical injury due to that chemical use in the gun, and a blast injury because of the pressure of the acetylene gas.
54:37The guns, which were not subjected to any safety checks, were being sold blatantly in violation of all norms.
54:46The open sale of illegal carbide guns have exposed the law enforcement agencies of Madhya Pradesh.
54:54With Ravish Pal Singh, Bureau Report, India Today.
55:01Okay, let's turn from there to our good news today story.
55:04And I want to end the show on this good news today story.
55:06Sister Sabina from Kerala is winning hearts online after sprinting to gold at the age of 55.
55:14A viral hurdles run in a nun's dice has become a symbol of sheer willpower and grace.
55:22We salute Sister Sabina.
55:24Thanks for watching.
55:25Stay well, stay safe.
55:26Good night, Shubratri.
55:28Yayin, namaskar.
55:29Sister Sabina has become an internet sensation.
55:43A video of her running a hurdles race at an athletic meet in Kerala has gone viral.
55:49The 55 years old, a physical education teacher at the Dwarka UP school in Bayanad, won the gold medal at the master's meet.
56:06State Education Minister V. Sivan Kutti shared Sister Sabina's picture, calling her victory in nun's attire a symbol of willpower.
56:34Sabina says the race may be her last before her retirement in March.
56:42With Shibimol, Bureau Report, India Today.
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