- 18 hours ago
The top focus of this episode of 5 Live is on the Lok Sabha showdown and the deaths of three teenage sisters in UP's Ghaziabad.
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00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor. This is 5 Live. It's been a day of massive showdown, one in Parliament and also a day of massive thinking of what happened in Ghaziabad. We're going to take you through all those developments. First up, the headlines at this hour.
00:21It's a big day in Parliament today with Prime Minister Modi set to speak at 5pm. Counter, the charge is leveled by Rahul Gandhi. Congress threatens to disrupt the speech and also unless the leader of opposition, Rahul, is allowed to speak first.
00:39Team Violet's book versus book in Parliament after Rahul Gandhi doubles down on his attack based on the memoirs of former army chief Vane. BJP Nishikant's Dube counters with several books, citing Congress scandals from Nehru to Bofors.
00:57Sardar versus Gadar jibes fly thick and fast as Rahul straighter jibes at now BJP MP Bittu. BJP MP Bittu, Desh Ketushkan, retort then came right after BJP counters with Sikh leaders also coming together for a press conference.
01:17Supreme Court issues notice to election commission on Mamata's anti-SIR plea. SC says poll panel must file reply by Monday. Bengal government to give a list of officials on poll duty. Supreme Court notice also to Bengal poll panel.
01:41Text cleared for new government formation in Manipur. Remedy issues notification for immediate removal of president's address.
01:47Press in Manipur after 12 months.
01:55Gasyabad, mass child suicide horror. The three teen sisters who jumped from a high rise to death wrote a letter as well saying that they are sorry.
02:08This is an alleged suicide case, an alleged case of them jumping because the parents took away the phone because they were too hooked on, according to them, to K-dramas.
02:22All right, the stage is set for the first showdown in Parliament. Anytime now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be speaking there in Parliament.
02:41What we have heard from our sources is that Home Minister Amit Shah did meet with the Prime Minister before his speech in Lok Sabha.
02:49Now, there is a lot of anticipation on this speech. Remember, the Congress is saying that they will disrupt and if Rahul Gandhi is not allowed to speak as well.
02:59The past two days, we have seen MPs getting suspended. We have seen voices being raised as well, all because the opposition felt that they did not have a voice in the Parliament.
03:11Piyush Mishra, my colleague joins us for more on this. Piyush, is it all set? Is the Prime Minister all set for five o'clock?
03:20And what exactly is the strategy there? Because the BJP at this point knows very well that Congress will be disrupting.
03:27They want Rahul Gandhi to be allowed to speak first.
03:31Well, that's right, Asharal. What we are now given to understand is that MP Marendra Modi is going to speak any minute from now and he is going to reply to the motion of thanks to the President's address.
03:41Most likely, the Prime Minister is going to highlight the main features of the budget, how beneficial it is going to be for the people of the country.
03:49The Prime Minister will also focus on how this budget is a budget for Vitsit Bharat.
03:53But on the other side, the Congress party has its own strategy and that's the same strategy which it has been adopting for the last two days.
04:01You would have seen how the Congress leaders have been raising slogans and they are creating ruckus and because of that,
04:06around seven Congress MPs and one deaf MP were also suspended.
04:10All these MPs were also still protesting right here at the Makar Zwar of Parliament.
04:16Sources are telling us that when PM Narendra Modi will come for speaking in Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's budget,
04:25that Rahul Gandhi will try his best to hand over the book of General Narawane.
04:32Remember that a few minutes back, Rahul Gandhi had also shown that book to media and now he has also decided to hand over that book to PM Narendra Modi.
04:41On this, you know, announcement which Rahul Gandhi has made, what we are told from our sources that BJP also has a strategy in place.
04:51BJP will ensure that PM Narendra speaks and PM Narendra addresses the nation in a proper manner.
04:57There is no ruckus created when PM Narendra speaks.
05:01For that, you know, BJP will also ensure that all the points which PM Narendra Modi is going to raise reaches out to the people.
05:09So, both the parties have their strategies in place. Rahul Gandhi is best to hand over the book.
05:15On the other side, BJP will ensure that this does not happen and a proper speech of Prime Minister can take place.
05:26So, as we are speaking, the MPs who were suspended, they are still there at the Makar Dwar and they are protesting.
05:32But on the other side, the remaining MPs of Congress and opposition, they all are there inside the Lok Sabha.
05:38And when Prime Minister will speak, we are expecting a lot of sloggering.
05:42Alright, Piyush, just a quick update over there.
05:44The house did sit in but within minutes, it's now been adjourned again.
05:49Because we are made to understand there was some ruckus that took place inside the house.
05:53Let's play back those pictures if we can of what's happening in the Lok Sabha.
05:56So, exactly at 5 is when the house did sit into session.
06:01You saw some ruckus there.
06:03We saw people on both sides of the aisle actually get up.
06:06We are made to understand that there were some sloggering that was taking place.
06:10And immediately, on the basis of that, the house was adjourned.
06:15It was barely a minute or so that the house actually functioned.
06:18And there it has gone back to it.
06:20So, Piyush, it looks like there will be a delay.
06:24Generally, in cases like these we have seen in the past, that the government actually sits down with the opposition.
06:32There are these back channel door conversations that take place.
06:35And they arrive at a common point.
06:38That, okay, do not disrupt when the Prime Minister is speaking.
06:41We will allot you so much time.
06:43Okay, speak after.
06:45Or, okay, not four speakers, but two speakers.
06:48They always come to a compromise.
06:51Is that a struggle with BJP and Congress at the moment?
06:57Are they not speaking to each other?
07:01Well, so they are.
07:02In fact, the government has tried its best to have a consensus built.
07:06We have ourselves seen the meetings being shared by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Virla.
07:11He has been talking to the various leaders from government as well as from opposition.
07:17Union Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Piyush, he also had a meeting with a deputy leader of the Congress Party, Gaurav Gogoi,
07:23at the chamber of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Virla.
07:26You know, a few minutes back, there was a meeting between the opposition MPs and the government MPs
07:33in the office of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Virla.
07:36But it seems like opposition is not at all ready to let the issue of General Naravne go and win.
07:43They want to continue to raise this.
07:45They want the government to answer on the claims which Rahul Gandhi is making.
07:49Though BJP has made it very, very clear that if something is not published,
07:53if something is not in the public record,
07:56how can that be even discussed here on the floor of the house.
08:00In fact, BJP MP Nishikand Dubey had also come up with around 15 to 20 books.
08:05You know, those were published during the UPA era.
08:09There were many books, those were also banned during the UPA era.
08:12And now he wants, which means that BJP wants a discussion to take place on those books first
08:17and then a discussion on Naravneen, Naravneen's book can take place up.
08:21So we are now seeing...
08:22Okay, Bhush, let me just quickly give an update.
08:24Since you're standing outside, Lok Sabha has now been adjourned for the entire day.
08:28They will resume tomorrow morning at 11.
08:31So perhaps goes back to the point I was trying to raise.
08:34They have not managed to build consensus with the opposition
08:37and the reason why they've decided to actually adjourn the parliament.
08:43Well, that's right.
08:44The consensus has not been built.
08:46And that's why, once again, we are now seeing how House has got adjourned.
08:50It will resume tomorrow at 11 a.m.
08:52PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to speak at 5 p.m.
08:56And, you know, even before Prime Minister could speak,
08:59we saw massive ruckus, massive sloganing taking place at the part of opposition.
09:05And that's why the House had to be adjourned.
09:07Prime Minister wants to speak in the capacity of leader of the House.
09:11And when leader of the House speaks, a motion gets passed.
09:13And this was a very crucial motion.
09:16It was the motion of thanks to the President's speech on budget.
09:20If Prime Minister would have spoken, a lot of things would have come out as to how the government is preparing
09:25as far as its strategy on budget is concerned,
09:28what will be the government's agenda for Vixit Bharat budget and how it is going to move.
09:34Prime Minister would have unveiled a lot of things which the government is looking forward to do.
09:38But that has not happened.
09:39In fact, it all started, so we need to remember, it all started with what Rahul Gandhi did.
09:44He was given an opportunity to speak on this.
09:46But he chose to come up with a book which was not published.
09:51And then he said that it is published in magazine.
09:53When he did that, Lok Sabha's speaker made it very clear that the rule of Lok Sabha states clearly
09:59that anything which does not relate to the current topic of discussion,
10:03which means the discussion on motion of thanks to the President's address,
10:07you are not allowed to speak.
10:08Moreover, something which is not published, which is not in public domain,
10:11cannot also be discussed.
10:13And that was the ruling which was given by Lok Sabha's speaker.
10:15But Rahul Gandhi decided not to listen to what Lok Sabha's speaker was saying.
10:20And multiple times it happened, for at least two days we saw the Lok Sabha's speaker
10:25requesting Rahul Gandhi to speak on the President's speech, but he did not do that.
10:30Following which we have multiple times seen how the House has been getting adjourned.
10:35No discussion on the President's speech has taken place.
10:37And finally, today when the Prime Minister was to speak,
10:40Help us understand, today when the Prime Minister was expected to speak,
10:44yes, the occasion was a vote of thanks,
10:47but Prime Minister would have also spoken and attacked the Congress Party, right?
10:52He would have attacked, expectedly, Rahul Gandhi.
10:55There was supposed to be a clarification issued on the US deal as well.
10:59A lot of those pressing issues were going to come up in the Prime Minister's address.
11:03Isn't that correct?
11:04That's right, but Prime Minister can speak only when the House is in order
11:08and the House is not in order because of the continuous ruckus and sloganing
11:12being done by the opposition MPs.
11:15Today when at round 12 noon,
11:18Pew 12, the Union Commerce Minister,
11:21was making his statement on India-US deal,
11:23a lot of ruckus, a lot of sloganing happened
11:26and even we could not hear what Pew 12 was saying
11:28and that was not the proper speech.
11:30Though we have tried to understand what has so far
11:33and what is the government's message on this Indo-US deal,
11:40but the point here is that in amidst the continuous ruckus,
11:43it was not possible to speak
11:45and that's why when House was not in order,
11:47you look so far, the Speaker has decided to adjourn the House
11:50until 11 a.m. tomorrow.
11:51All right.
11:53Just to update our viewers who are just tuning in,
11:56we were all actually looking forward to hear from the Prime Minister
11:59at 5 o'clock from the lower house over there,
12:05which is Lok Sabha,
12:06and the Prime Minister was going to address the nation.
12:09It was supposed to be the occasion,
12:10it was supposed to be the vote of thanks on the budget session,
12:14but there were a lot of issues being discussed in Parliament
12:17over the past couple of days
12:18and the expectation was that he's going to come
12:21and give a very fierce response.
12:23Now, somewhere in the middle of all of this,
12:24consensus has not been met between both the benches,
12:28between the government and the opposition
12:30and that's the reason why House has now been adjourned
12:37and adjourned for the day it will convene tomorrow at 11 a.m.
12:44All right.
12:44Let's tell you a little bit more about what exactly happened.
12:46Now, chaos continued to reign inside Parliament
12:49even before this adjournment,
12:51a day after Rahul Gandhi brought up
12:52former Army Chief General M.M. Naravani's memoir in Parliament.
12:57The BJP hit back with its own book attack.
13:00So it became book versus book.
13:02BJP MP Nishikand Dubey walked into the House
13:04holding up books on alleged Congress sort of graft,
13:08including one of that of Bofor's scam.
13:11Now, that triggered loud protests from the opposition benches.
13:14The situation quickly escalated with opposition MPs now tearing papers,
13:19throwing them inside the House,
13:21while torn sheets were also hurled back amidst the commotion.
13:25Now, tearing paper and putting it back, like we said,
13:27it's become a book versus book fiasco at the moment.
13:31Torn sheets are not new.
13:32We've seen it for the past couple of days as well being hurled.
13:35Some MPs being sort of, you know, suspended for the rest of the session as well due to that.
13:40Now, Congress MP, meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi,
13:44then accused the BJP of using Nishikand Dubey to deliberately disrupt proceedings.
13:49She has alleged that Dubey was doing the government's bidding
13:52and sent in only to create disruption,
13:55so that nothing else could be actually spoken about.
13:58So there is politics on both sides.
14:00A lot of it true.
14:00A lot of it peddled as well, as it always happens in India's democracy.
14:04But this is where we are.
14:05We have not had a functioning parliament for the past couple of days,
14:09and today was no exception.
14:21All right.
14:21So those are the pictures on your screen from earlier in the day
14:24on how pictures, paper was actually thrown again.
14:28And the speaker there, you can see, like, that little glimpse over there.
14:31And like I said, not the first day when the paper was actually held earlier.
14:35Yesterday as well, papers were, you know, torn and thrown.
14:40And all those slogans were made inside parliament that led to also suspension.
14:45Piyush is back with us for more on this.
14:48So, Piyush, could we just reflect a little bit on the work that has been done
14:54in parliament in this budget session?
14:56The budget session, of course, went, you know, the day of the budget actually went as expected.
15:02You are laughing at that point because you are thinking, you know,
15:05can it really happen in the middle of all this politics?
15:08Can work really take place inside parliament?
15:10We have seen suspensions.
15:11We have seen political, you know, slurs being used.
15:15We have seen sloganeering.
15:17We have seen people on top of their benches.
15:19We have seen protests outside on the steps of the parliament as well.
15:21So it has been a full political drama.
15:24Not much work.
15:26Well, a lot of drama has happened.
15:28We have, but we have witnessed.
15:30Sooner of the day when budget was tabled, all the MPs listened it efficiently.
15:36And they all were paying attention to what Nehra Sidraman was saying.
15:40After the budget was tabled, the House got adjourned.
15:43And all opposition MPs, the whole state, all government MPs, they supported it.
15:48The next day, the discussion on motion of thanks to the president's speech was to take place.
15:53And that is the normal procedure, which is always followed in Bajak Tachana.
15:57When this was to happen, it was Sarvan Sonuval, Union Minister, who comes from the state of Assam.
16:03He, you know, supported the motion of thanks to the president's speech.
16:07After that, Tejashti Surya, who comes from the state of Kanatka, he seconded the motion.
16:12And soon after that, the leader of opposition speaks.
16:15And it was Rahul Gandhi who started speaking.
16:17And the moment he started speaking, he...
16:19Just hold on to that.
16:21There's more detail coming in on what exactly happened at 5 o'clock inside Lok Sabha today.
16:28And stay on with us as I give all those details to our viewers as well.
16:32Now, what happened inside?
16:33Let's get you an insider's perspective from Lok Sabha.
16:36The opposition parties were all set with slogans and posters.
16:42TMC, Congress, SP.
16:44All of them decided to have posters and banners in their hand.
16:49Slogans also ready.
16:51The opposition MPs and ran and went up to the BJP MPs as well.
16:55That's what happened inside parliament right before it had to be adjourned.
16:59And the Prime Minister's speech could not take place.
17:02Now, we are told that Anurag Thakur, Kiran Rajiju, Ashwani Vaishnav as well,
17:08then started talking with opposition leaders, trying to build a consensus.
17:14All right.
17:14We also know that the opposition MPs ran into the well.
17:18The opposition MPs went up to BJP MPs over there.
17:21We know Jipendar Hudda also got into the mix of it.
17:25My colleague Himanshu saw that entire scene unfold and joins us now.
17:31Himanshu, explain to us what exactly happened at 5 o'clock in Lok Sabha.
17:36Look, in Lok Sabha, the congressman was brought to the holdings.
17:42And after that, there was an agreement.
17:43And after that, the chair, he had done the work of Sadhan for the time.
17:48With me, Ravni Singh, Bittu.
17:50Bittu, when you came to Sadhan, what happened to Rahul Ghani?
17:55I was the former state, I was the former president of the
18:14Shona, I was the former president of the Shona,
18:17and he was the former president.
18:18He's the former president of Shona,
18:20Thank you very much.
18:50All right, we'll get back to Himanshu in just a bit.
18:58Let me cut across to my colleague Aishwarya also joining us for more on this.
19:02Aishwarya, we saw barely the Lok Sabha sit in for minutes.
19:08I was taking a note on my clock.
19:10It was barely minutes where we saw some ruckus and that was that.
19:14There was some sloganeering.
19:15There were some banners as well.
19:16Just put this in context for us.
19:17What happened?
19:18Well, you know, Sonal, let me just tell you what exactly happened before what happened at 5 p.m.
19:23You know, from about 4.40, let me tell you, all the opposition leaders, the top leaders, in fact,
19:28you know, if we speak about the TNC, then it was Abhishek Banerjee who walked in with Paua Bhoitra
19:32and Kalyan Banerjee.
19:33Temple Yadam was also present with the majority of the MPs from the Somajwadi Party.
19:37Priyanka Gandhi, let me tell you, walked in 10 minutes before the Prime Minister was supposed to speak,
19:42which tells you that the opposition was fully geared up.
19:45You know, I was sitting in the gallery and what I noticed was that there was a lot of preparation
19:49that was being done by the opposition.
19:51They had banners, Sonal.
19:52They, in fact, also were speaking about what they need to speak together, unitedly,
19:57once the Prime Minister starts speaking.
19:59So there was a lot of coordination that was happening.
20:01You know, I, at one point of time, even, in fact, saw Mahua Bhoitra walk up to Supriya
20:05and they were speaking and getting ready to ambush the government and to stand up
20:10and to do a lot of sloganeering when the Prime Minister speaks.
20:13As soon as the clock hit 5, we saw that Sandhya, right, she came and she sat.
20:18And as soon as she sat, we saw that some of the MPs, including Dipendir Huda, from the Congress,
20:22all of them rushed into the well.
20:24And within minutes, barely two minutes, you know, 5.02 was when the House was being adjourned.
20:29But even after that, let me tell you, the Puckers did not stop this, Sonal.
20:32And we did see how the top leaders of the BJP were trying to calm the opposition leaders,
20:36top leaders like Ashwini Vaishnav, Kiran, and in fact, even Anurag Thakur,
20:41he was also seeing trying to calm the opposition leaders down.
20:44The House has now been adjourned.
20:45But let me tell you, from what we understand, this is just the beginning.
20:48The rest of the days will be like this, a very stern opposition on one side
20:52and the government on the opposition.
20:55Right, right.
20:56But, Ashwarya, generally these negotiations that were happening in the floor of the House
21:01should have happened, you know, as a back-channel conversation.
21:05Generally, these discussions happen in the chambers where the government negotiates
21:08with the opposition, says, okay, let's come to a consensus, let's make the House run,
21:13we want the Prime Minister to speak, we will also give you.
21:15So there's a middle path that is found before the session actually starts.
21:19In this case, it seems like no such conversation took place.
21:23There was no behind-the-scene coordination done.
21:27No, Sonu, you know, I don't think that we can say that there were no meetings that have taken place.
21:32In fact, a lot of meetings have taken place.
21:34But the opposition, you know, inside the chamber, they speak something else.
21:37But when they are in the Lok Sabha, you know, the kind of preparation that I saw with my very own eyes,
21:42there were banners, there were posters, there were slogans that were being discussed.
21:46The opposition believes that Rahul Gandhi should have been allowed to speak.
21:50And the entire Congress is now rallying behind it.
21:52In fact, Samaj Wadi Party also believes that today Rahul Gandhi is not being allowed to speak.
21:56Tomorrow it could be Akhilesh Yadha, Vimpal Yadha.
21:58The DNC believes it could be Abhishek Banerjee.
22:00If he wants to speak something, he will not be allowed to do so.
22:03So how to ambush Prime Minister Marendra Modi?
22:06How to ambush the government?
22:07That's the focus of the opposition at the moment.
22:10And from what I understand, this is what the BJP understood very, very clearly.
22:15Because when they came, before the Prime Minister came, they could see the banners, the hoardings.
22:20And that's the reason why we saw the House being adjourned.
22:23Not just that, you know, as soon as Sandhya Rai sat on the chair,
22:27we saw a rush of close to 50 MPs, all of them into the well.
22:31So it was very, very clear that it was all said to become extremely stormy.
22:35Yeah.
22:36Ashwarya, you know, the sad part is we can't see any of that on television
22:39because none of those shots get shown to us.
22:42So one has to be really present like you inside the parliament
22:45to actually give us news of what happened.
22:47That's the sad reality.
22:49But tell me, in middle of these negotiations,
22:52you know, back in the day, there used to be mediators.
22:55I know at one point, Rajnath Singh used to be that man
22:58who used to build consensus between the benches.
23:01At this point, in this Narendra Modi government
23:04and in the opposition with Rahul Gandhi as LOP,
23:08who's that sutradhar?
23:09Who's that one person who's negotiating between the two benches
23:12and trying to make the house run?
23:16Sonal, unfortunately, you know, I think you and I,
23:18we both will have to go and look for those kind of people
23:20because that's the big snap is missing.
23:22You know, we did see today when Amrath Thakur,
23:25when he was speaking with Dependu Singh Khuda,
23:27you know, he had put one of his arms on his shoulders
23:29and there was a little bit of a laughter there.
23:31But when we speak about hard negotiations,
23:33that is something which actually is missing.
23:36The opposition believes that they are not being given enough time.
23:38They also believe that as the leader of the opposition,
23:41Rahul Gandhi should be allowed to speak.
23:43So this, in fact, has become a rallying point.
23:45And we've also seen how the other opposition parties also,
23:48because it's not just the Congress party, Sonal,
23:50that came with those banners, the TNC also, they had posters.
23:54Ahilya Bhai Holkar, those posters were in the hands of the Samajwadi Party MP.
23:57So all of them had come fully prepared
24:00and they wanted to disrupt when the Prime Minister was speaking.
24:03Now, this is something that the BJP and the ruling party did not want.
24:06That's the reason why we are seeing the house being adjourned.
24:08And you rightly pointed out, you know,
24:09earlier we had people who actually became a bridge
24:12between the opposition and the government.
24:14Unfortunately, it seems like neither the government nor the opposition,
24:16they do not want to have those kind of conversations.
24:19They do not want that kind of consensus.
24:21How sad. How sad. How utterly sad is that?
24:24But for the moment, we leave it there, Ashwarya.
24:26The Congress is clear.
24:27The opposition, the rest of them are rallying behind them
24:30and saying that they need to have a voice in the parliament.
24:33After all, that's what parliament democracy is all about.
24:36The government not having any of it.
24:38And the result of that is that the Prime Minister's speech,
24:41which was supposed to happen at 5 o'clock,
24:43now the House is adjourned.
24:44We'll have to wait and see what happens next.
24:47Sorry, Papa. I'm really sorry.
24:50Read everything in this diary.
24:52Everything written in here is true.
24:55I am very, very alone.
24:57My life is very, very alone.
25:01These are the words, now the last words,
25:05of three sisters, 12, 14 and 16.
25:10And together, they jumped to their deaths
25:13from the 9th floor of their apartment building in Gazaabad.
25:16Three young lives, gone in seconds.
25:22But why?
25:23Because their parents took away their phones
25:26and refused to return them.
25:28Because they were worried about their children's growing obsession
25:31with the internet, specifically with the Korean culture,
25:35the Korean culture, cake pop and also Korean food.
25:39Paakhi, Prachi and Nishika.
25:42Children who should have been in classrooms,
25:44dreaming of futures, laughing with friends,
25:46instead felt trapped without a screen.
25:50This is not just a family tragedy.
25:53This is a chilling warning.
25:56A warning about internet addiction,
25:59about digital obsession,
26:02quietly hijacking young minds.
26:04About how online culture can stop being entertainment
26:09and start becoming identity escape
26:11and in this case, survival.
26:15Are we noticing the warning signs in time?
26:18Are we really talking to our children
26:20or just talking at them?
26:23Are we equipped to handle this growing crisis
26:26of internet obsession or are we as parents
26:29and as society failing in our basic duty
26:32to guide our children onto the right path?
26:37And this is the dark side of the web
26:40spread across India.
26:42We've already told you about the three teenage sisters
26:44who took their own lives in Gazaabad,
26:46allegedly of course here.
26:48But on the very same day,
26:49in Bhopal,
26:50a 14-year-old boy also ended his life.
26:54Online gaming addiction was suspected
26:57and his mother had taken the phone away.
27:00Same pattern, if you see.
27:03Go back to December of 2025.
27:05In Lucknow,
27:05another 14-year-old boy died by suicide
27:08with mobile addiction under the scanner.
27:11In September of 2025,
27:14again in Lucknow,
27:15a 13-year-old took his life allegedly
27:17after losing his father's money,
27:2013 lakh in mobile games.
27:24In August of 2025,
27:27a 13-year-old died by suicide
27:29after being stopped from playing online games.
27:32Different cities,
27:34same pattern.
27:36Yet another chilling reminder
27:38that unchecked digital addiction
27:40is claiming young lives across the country.
27:43Now this heart-wrenching triple suicide
27:48in Gazaabad only adds
27:50to what we already know.
27:52Internet addiction amongst children in India
27:54is no longer a warning sign.
27:56It's a full-blown crisis.
28:01From rural villages to urban high-rises,
28:04the picture remains the same.
28:05Children are glued onto screen,
28:08eyes locked on phone,
28:09childhood being rewritten,
28:12one scroll at a time.
28:14And the data,
28:15well, that backs it up as well.
28:18Nearly one in four children,
28:2022% that is,
28:21spend more than six hours a day
28:23on social media,
28:25OTT platforms and online games.
28:28Another 27%
28:30clock between three to six hours,
28:32while 22% spend one to three hours daily online.
28:36Just 6% manage to limit their screen times
28:40to under an hour.
28:42And barely 12% say
28:44they hardly spend any time online at all.
28:47The survey of nearly 20,000 young respondents
28:51lay bare how screens dominate their lives
28:55from social media and OTT platforms
28:57to online gaming.
28:58These numbers offer a chilling glimpse
29:01into how deeply digital engagement
29:03has consumed young minds.
29:06Out of nearly 17,740 respondents,
29:1070% say they are hooked to videos
29:13and OTT platforms
29:15like YouTube and Netflix.
29:17And this is by their own admission.
29:1964% admit of heavy use of social media,
29:22Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat,
29:24while an equal 64%
29:26are deeply engaged in online gaming.
29:28Another 28% are active
29:31in other online activities
29:33and a striking just 21% say
29:36they are not addicted
29:38to any of this.
29:41So it's a chilling story indeed.
29:44But what exactly happened?
29:47And what was environmentally like?
29:49My colleague Sneha
29:50is actually inside the house
29:53and she gives us a glimpse
29:54into what that room looked like.
29:57What did the life
29:58of this very broken family look like?
30:01I don't know.
30:18This is the balcony.
30:48इसके लिए उन्होंने यह चुकि नवे मंजिल पे हैं,
30:50तो जाली, अलग, शीशा, अलग,
30:52यानि दोहरा प्रोटेक्शन यहाँ पे कर रखा है,
30:55और हाइट आप देखिए,
30:56कितनी जादा कर रखी है,
30:58ताकि तक्रीबन यह चार फिट की हाइट है,
31:00Because this will happen during this, that they would dang if they meth had a good breath.
31:06Now, this tool şimdiati height report has been used.
31:13They used this tool.
31:15This tool has used this tool for birth.
31:19This tool has been done with the stone.
31:21This tool has remained on this point.
31:23And then this tool, children got stuck in the works.
31:26And souffle has all taken from from two hours ago.
31:29We are the very spot
31:59where the bodies of the three young children was found.
32:02This is the apartment from which the children jumped to their death
32:05from the ninth floor of this apartment in Ghaziabad.
32:08And this is where at about two in the morning
32:11where the bodies of the young children, 12, 14 and 16 were found
32:15and now marked by the police and cordoned off.
32:18Obviously, it's a scene of crime
32:20and that's the reason why this entire area has been cordoned off.
32:22But this is where the body of the children was found.
32:25Questions remain on why these young girls took their lives.
32:29Neighbors tell us that at least for two years,
32:31the children weren't going to school.
32:33The family has indicated and the neighbors have indicated
32:35that there was a problem, some sort of a problem of gaming addiction.
32:39The very spot where the bodies of the young girls were found,
32:43this is now completely cordoned off.
32:46And several questions remain on whether the parents did something
32:49to, in fact, offer help to the children if there was addiction
32:52was any sort of professional help sought.
32:56It is being said that the children were being prohibited
32:58by the parents to overindulge in online gaming activities.
33:02But was any professional help sought?
33:06This, in fact, case raises several questions on this entire matter
33:10of triple suicide, a horrific crime.
33:12All right, so let's cut across to an expert now
33:17and try and understand what led to this.
33:21Okay, Aparajita Bharti is back with us on the program.
33:23Aparajita, and to all our viewers watching,
33:25let's just clarify this because earlier in the day,
33:28there were a lot of reports that said that it was this blue whale
33:31kind of game that took away their life.
33:33Then some said it was some Korean game that took away their life.
33:37That's not the case.
33:38What we have got is verified information from the police
33:41and that's the only version one can bank on at the moment
33:44is that the girls were all fans of K-drama, K-pop,
33:50this, that and the other.
33:51And that they did have a lot of even Korean dating apps,
33:55food, songs, all of that on their mobile phone.
33:59But the immediate trigger for this alleged suicide,
34:02and I'm calling it alleged with a lot of caution
34:04because we still don't know,
34:06has come because the parents took away their phones.
34:09This immediate step has been taken by the three sisters
34:14because, and in their diary, they have written
34:16that because they went cold turkey.
34:19One fine day, they said, okay, enough of your,
34:21and they took away their phone,
34:22and that's when this harsh step has been taken.
34:25Now, this is problematic, dangerous,
34:29worrying at so, so, so many levels,
34:31but, Prachita, help us understand.
34:35A, the problem, as I know already,
34:37is the fact that there was addiction.
34:38You have to catch it early.
34:40But here, the immediate trigger used to be
34:41that even when you do take cognizance of the fact
34:45that my kids have become addicted
34:46or there's too much of one thing happening in the house,
34:49this is not the way.
34:50Absolutely, Sonal.
34:57I think it's a very sad incident
34:59and, you know, something that obviously should have not happened,
35:04and I hope that, you know, there were ways
35:07in which it could be prevented.
35:09We know that, you know, gaming,
35:12I mean, in the morning,
35:13there was a lot of confusing reports, as you said,
35:16about the gaming culture
35:17and the fact that there is one app
35:19which led to this outcome,
35:21but now we are understanding
35:23that there is a whole ecosystem around children.
35:26Yes.
35:26Children, and they were completely into it.
35:29And I think the fact that
35:30they were also not going to school
35:31since last two years,
35:33so that also means that, you know,
35:35they were not living a normal life.
35:36Abhlaska, again, there's a reason
35:38why I didn't bring up all those details
35:39because it's not verified.
35:40That's not what the police is saying.
35:42In, you know, in cases like these,
35:44there is so much information that floats around.
35:46It's very important to, you know,
35:48safeguard what we don't say.
35:50So, you know, I'm not going there.
35:51I'm just saying what we know so far
35:53is that they were addicted to Korean drama.
35:55The parents were upset about it for a while
35:57and one fine day they took away their phones.
35:59That's all we know, for sure.
36:00Right, right, right.
36:03So I think, Sonal,
36:04that is exactly what I was also trying to say
36:06that we have to understand
36:07the entire ecosystem around the children.
36:11You know, it's one part of it is that,
36:13you know, they had this digital addiction.
36:15The second part of it is that
36:17since when did they have it?
36:19Did they have enough of a support ecosystem around this?
36:23Because, you know, we often,
36:27I have been on this program
36:28and we've discussed social media bans,
36:30I think just two days ago
36:31and whether that is something that you should do.
36:33This is exactly the point that I was making
36:36that what all will you ban
36:37once you give a phone to a child?
36:40They are exposed to not just one kind of platforms,
36:43they are exposed to all kinds of platforms
36:45and it is impossible for any government,
36:48any parent, any adult
36:50to keep a track of what their children are accessing.
36:54So a lot of these apps,
36:56I have also been searching since morning,
36:58since this news came up.
37:00There are so many of these apps
37:01that, you know, we have no idea about,
37:03but they are extremely popular among teenagers.
37:05So we have to invest in the difficult part,
37:11which is educating young people also.
37:14Yeah, I'll tell you, I'll give you an instance
37:16because a lot of parents, including me,
37:20they are very disturbed with this news.
37:22Absolutely.
37:23A, the problem is that you should not,
37:25like the ideal situation would be
37:27that your child is screen free.
37:29The ideal situation would be
37:30that they are not addicted.
37:32If they're not screen free,
37:33at least they have regulated screen times,
37:35they know what is good from bad
37:36and they're not dependent on screen.
37:38That's the ideal thing.
37:39But, you know, I was interacting
37:41with another mum on my news floor
37:43and she said that, you know,
37:44I said, but, you know,
37:45the parents should have just not done this.
37:47She said, what do the parents do?
37:49Today, the kids will answer back,
37:51answer back to say, this is my privacy.
37:53I don't want to share what I'm doing on my phone.
37:55What will I do then?
37:56How does a parent respond to a situation like that?
37:59It could be a teenager.
38:00There's hormones, there's changing,
38:01they're just realizing what rebellion is.
38:03We've all been through that phase.
38:04We know how hard we were on our parents, right?
38:06But this is a dangerous world.
38:08In the world of social media,
38:09this gets dangerous, not laughable.
38:13Absolutely, Sunil.
38:14And I'm not discounting the difficult task
38:16that parents have today
38:18in knowing where to draw the line, right?
38:21But I do think that when it comes to cases of addiction
38:23and any kind of addiction,
38:26there is a time when, you know,
38:28it clearly crosses over
38:30into it becoming a medical problem.
38:33Therefore, we, for example,
38:34have a shut clinic at Nimbans, Bangalore,
38:37which is actually specifically dedicated
38:39to gaming de-addiction
38:41because it has been identified
38:43and I think the World Health Organization
38:45also has specified that it is a medical issue
38:49and it has to be dealt by medical practitioners as well.
38:52So while what we were talking about,
38:54I think what we have been talking about
38:56is day-to-day, you know,
38:58control and day-to-day direction by parents
39:02and how that is navigated in the family.
39:05But when it crosses over
39:07to becoming a medical addiction,
39:09then obviously you need guidance
39:12as you do with any other disease.
39:13That's a good point.
39:13That's a good point.
39:14You're saying treat addiction in the family
39:17like any other addiction,
39:19alcohol, drugs, otherwise.
39:22You're saying screen addiction is as bad.
39:24So don't go cold turkey.
39:26Do not think that you'll just snatch away the phone
39:28and the problem will be wished away.
39:30No.
39:30It's taken months if not years
39:32to come in
39:33and set into your child's consciousness.
39:36It will not go away.
39:37Please treat it like so
39:39and take them to a professional.
39:41That's a good point to note.
39:42But help me understand this.
39:44When, what is the solution then?
39:47What do you do?
39:47Do you go seek professional help in this case?
39:50Or do you go back
39:51to this entire concept of parenting?
39:53I was reading this somewhere
39:54that, you know,
39:55as parents you have to be stern yet warm.
39:59And I didn't understand the concept earlier
40:01but then it sort of came to me
40:03that you have to be stern about your action
40:04but you have to be warm in the way you do it.
40:06You have to give them the environment
40:08to grieve and grieve with them.
40:10Staying stern on that action.
40:11Is that what's required?
40:14It's so hard to do as a parent, I can tell you.
40:15No, so I think, Sonal,
40:19one thing that we have to understand
40:21is that parents' bandwidth is also limited, right?
40:24So we have to be empathetic towards parents as well.
40:27How much are we expecting them to be,
40:30you know, on the,
40:32like, just have their attention on always.
40:35They always have it
40:36but I think with the digital ecosystem
40:38that has become more complex.
40:40But I think when things go into addiction,
40:43then there are some very clear signs that,
40:46you know, WHO has spoken about
40:49generally with any kind of addiction.
40:50There are sleep patterns that get disturbed.
40:53There are some social patterns that get disturbed.
40:55There is too much self-isolation.
40:58So those are definitely kind of warning systems
41:01where you as a parent
41:03should be able to seek help
41:05from outside of your family
41:07and seek professional help
41:09if you are able to,
41:10to get past that.
41:12So then you know that
41:13it is kind of going beyond the usual parent.
41:17But when it comes to usual parenting,
41:19one of the things that I do want to say is,
41:22and I've said this earlier also,
41:24we need some sort of, you know,
41:27guidance to the industry also
41:29in terms of making their products age appropriate.
41:33Now, those have to be agnostic
41:35of social media platforms.
41:36They also have to apply to gaming.
41:38They also have to apply to AI.
41:40They have to apply to everything
41:41because you never know
41:43what shape or form will a new app come in.
41:46You know how it impacts.
41:47You know, my heart goes out to the parents
41:49because so much of blame is put on them.
41:51And, you know, you often think,
41:52in this case, what happens is,
41:53you often think that there are three kids.
41:56So they must be playing.
41:57You feel like they're engaged.
41:59But look, what even siblings together.
42:01Like, this is an eye-opener
42:02in so many ways, this entire story.
42:04I'm afraid that's all the time we have,
42:06but we'll continue our focus on this story.
42:07We'll take it up again tomorrow
42:08and inviting any questions or feedback
42:10that our viewers also have
42:11and would love to take it up here
42:12on the program
42:13and provide some answers for the moment.
42:15Aparajita, thank you so much for joining us.
42:17To all those parents watching,
42:19keep your faith, keep your calm.
42:20Times are tough, but we'll sail it through.
42:23We'll see you again tomorrow.
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