- 17 hours ago
This edition of 5 Live focusses on the fresh violence that has erupted in Manipur's Ukhrul following which the government has suspended internet services and imposed a curfew. The violence erupted between Naga and Kuki groups in Ukhrul.
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00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Sonal Meroth Tagapur, you have tuned in to 5LIVE.
00:07Today on the program we talk about the two stark realities that exist in India.
00:12Now we all know life is pretty cheap in India, but for some it comes at a price.
00:18Two starkly contrasting incidents from Kanpur lay the truth bare in front of us.
00:24On one hand, a VVIP brat, sort of moors down vehicles and pedestrians in a speeding Lamborghini.
00:32Shivamishra, the son of a tobacco baron KK Mishra from Kanpur.
00:36And more than 40 hours later, no arrests, instead visible attempts to shield the alleged entitled offender.
00:45On the other hand, a newborn dies in a fire incident.
00:51The NICU of a private hospital, also in Kanpur.
00:56For 4-5 hours, the case is hushed up. Why? Because the ICU was running illegally.
01:01In one case, money and influence keeps privileged offenders beyond the reach of the law.
01:07In the other, an ordinary family will be forced to run from pillar to post just to be heard,
01:14and in the end, lose their precious family members.
01:21That's the top focus for us here on 5 Live.
01:24First up, let's take a look at what else is making news across the country.
01:29118 opposition MPs have now submitted a notice to move a no-confidence motion seeking the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker.
01:38LOP Rahul Gandhi has not signed a notice.
01:41Meanwhile, in response to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rajivu shared a video showing opposition leaders gherawing the Prime Minister's chair.
01:50Firing a China book salvo, the LOP Rahul Gandhi has said that the former Army Chief General Narwani himself had confirmed in 2023 that his book was available for purchase,
02:03and he had released it by publisher Penguin.
02:06Meanwhile, Penguin issued a second clarification stating that no copies of the book have been published.
02:11News that often gets missed.
02:16Manipur is on the boil again.
02:19The newly formed Manipur government has suspended internet and data services across the Urkrul district for five days now,
02:26citing a volatile law-in-order situation following fresh violence in the area.
02:33Over 48 hours after the Lamborghini crash in Kanpur, VVIP Bharat Srivam Mishra is still at large.
02:40The accused father claims that he wasn't driving the car.
02:43It was the driver that they have named Mohan who was behind the wheel during the accident, not his son.
02:49However, police have dismissed that claim.
02:53Urging restrain and reconciliation, the Delhi High Court has now asked Sanjay Kapoor's family to sit together and mediate their differences in the ongoing legal battle over the late industrialist's 30,000 crore estate.
03:08The bench also noted that Rani Kapoor is a senior citizen and advised all parties to treat her with due respect.
03:18The enforcement director has issued now a fresh summons to Tina Ambani for questioning in the money laundering case.
03:25She has been asked to join the investigation on the 17th of February.
03:29Tina Ambani was called for questioning in connection with the money train linked to the purchase of a luxury condominium in New York's Manhattan.
03:37Tension prevailed at the Kerala University headquarters after a march organized by SFI protesting against the vice chancellor's decision to deny permission to conduct the university's arts festival.
03:52Hindu continue to be a target in Bangladesh, another Hindu businessman beaten to death just about 48 hours before the general elections in the country.
04:04In the country there, the deceased has been identified as Suzanne Chandra, who was a rice trader.
04:12The motive behind the murder is yet to be asserted.
04:14India vs Pakistan game survives the drama that Pakistani, should we say the government or the board has given in now and chooses profit over principle policy.
04:26India vs Pakistan group stage clash in the T20 World Cup will now happen on the 15th of February.
04:32The match is scheduled to be played in Colombo and that received a green signal after talks between ICC, Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards.
04:44And more trouble for Ranveer Singh as Farhan Akhtar's production house Excel Entertainment reportedly seeks hefty compensation from the actor after his exit from Dawn 3.
04:57Sources say that the filmmaker has demanded 40 crores in damages.
05:01Ranveer, meanwhile, has reportedly called Excel Entertainment unprofessional.
05:05The latest from Manipur looks rather grim.
05:23Early in this year, 2026, fresh violence broke out on the districts of Ukrul.
05:28Homes were set on fire, gunshots were reported, curfew was imposed, internet was cut.
05:35This time, the immediate trigger involved clashes between Naga and the cookie groups.
05:41This has happened for the first time.
05:43But zoom out from the current situation and it becomes very, very clear that it's not a new conflict.
05:51It is a continuation of the same unresolved crisis that began back in May of 2023.
05:58Now, to understand why Manipur keeps slipping back into violence, we need to go back and understand the history a little bit.
06:05So, let's rewind.
06:07What and where is Manipur? Why is the entire geography so significant?
06:12Now, Manipur, as we know, is a small northeastern state with a very sharp geographic divide.
06:18The centre of the Imphal Valley, also around it, are the hills district.
06:21The geography shapes everything here. The valley is dominated by the Maithi community, mostly Hindu.
06:28Politically powerful, economically dominant, urban and densely populated.
06:33The hills are home to the tribal communities.
06:36That's mainly the Kukizo and the Naga groups, protected under the scheduled tribe laws.
06:41And their land cannot be freely bought by outsiders.
06:46So, you understand that there are some who hold power, there are others who hold the land.
06:52Maithis form about half of the population.
06:55But they hold nearly almost little less than 90% of the assembly seats because of the constituencies and concern and the concentration of how it's built in the valley.
07:04Tribal groups are spread across the large, you know, hill areas, but have fewer seats.
07:11Their main protection is land, the land rights guarantees that come with the constitution.
07:17So, from the start, there is a tension.
07:20One group is politically more powerful and the other is legally protected, also has a very strong attachment to the land.
07:29We'll tell you why in just a minute.
07:30Now, these tensions, as we've been telling you, are not new.
07:35The division started back in 2023.
07:38But even before that, if you go back in history, you understand that during the British rule, the hill tribes and valley communities were governed separately.
07:46That separation hardened their identities as well.
07:50After independence, insurgent movement grew.
07:52The mighty insurgent groups spoke about protection, Manipur's territory, sort of integrity as well.
07:57The Kuki and Naga groups demanded autonomy and separate administration.
08:02Decades of insurgency, counter-inter-intersurgency, followed by the Armed Forces Special Power Act brought heavy militarization in the area.
08:13And trust between the communities and the state that kept eroding.
08:17What changed just before 2023?
08:21Now, that's important to understand because this is where the story shifts.
08:24Under the Beren Singh government, two things became flashpoints.
08:28One was the war on drug campaign.
08:31And then, the poppy cultivation was targeted mainly in the Kuki dominated area.
08:36Mainly, you know, many of the Kuki saw it as a selective punishment as well.
08:42And then second was the repeated claim of illegal immigration from Myanmar into the Kuki areas.
08:49Again, Kuki felt they were being painted as outsiders in their own land.
08:54Tensions were already high when the legal spark arrived.
08:57And then in April of 2023, the Manipur High Court asked the state to consider granting scheduled tribes the status of scheduled tribes to the Maitis.
09:10Now, for hill tribes, this was explosive.
09:14A ST status would mean that the Maitis could legally access hill land and also tribal areas and the quotas there.
09:21Protests erupted. On 3rd of May 2023, the Tribal Solidarity March turned violent.
09:27What followed was arson, killings and mass displacement.
09:31The state fractured almost overnight.
09:34The police armories there were looted. Thousands of weapons entered civilian hands.
09:40Armed groups and vigilantes emerged on both sides.
09:44Revenge attacks followed. Revenge attacks.
09:47The entire locality became ethnically segregated.
09:52The Maitis filled the hill areas.
09:54Cookies fled from the valley.
09:56Sexual violence cases, mob killings, misinformation.
09:59That was so, so deeply entrenched.
10:02It was hard to tell what was really happening.
10:05The scale of crisis really grew up.
10:09Over 260 people were killed.
10:12Around 60,000 displaced.
10:14Thousands of homes and religious sites were destroyed.
10:16People who lived together for generations now lived behind checkpoints or in relief camps.
10:24So, as a response, what happened politically here?
10:27Let's take a look at that.
10:29In February of 2025, Chief Minister Beren Singh resigned.
10:32The President's rule was imposed.
10:34But changing the government did not really change ground realities.
10:37The distrust, that remained.
10:40Weapons remained.
10:42The trauma remained as well.
10:44The core issues are still unresolved.
10:47The Maitis fear loss of political and cultural dominance.
10:50The cookie zoo groups also fear loss of land, identity and even safety.
10:55Justice has been slow.
10:57Police neutrality is questioned.
10:59Dialogue is very fragile.
11:00So, even local fight or rumour can explode into wider violence, which is exactly what happened this morning as well.
11:08So, a simple way to understand what's happening in Manipur is this.
11:13This is not just about riots that unfolded today or which have been unfolding for the past two years.
11:18It is about who belongs where, who controls land and who controls power.
11:26Until these questions are addressed honestly and politically, Manipur will remain being stuck in cycles of calm and collapse.
11:35And what you're seeing here, right now, in front of you, on that screen, is not just a story of what unfolded today or how 2026 has started.
11:45It is not a new story.
11:47It is the same unfinished story that continues to haunt the state.
11:57All right, joining us now for more details on this is my colleague Tapas, who's been tracking all those details over there.
12:03Tapas, we've done a real deep dive to understand what exactly happened in Manipur.
12:08But it seems like the president's rule has not worked, a new government has not worked, and any new assurances being provided by a new cabinet which has been set up, two deputy chief ministers set up, all of that is not cutting ice with the people.
12:22Well, yes, absolutely Sonal, because over a period of time, it seemed that once those who lived as friends are now bloodthirsty of each other.
12:35As you rightly pointed out that they are now being segregated by check posts.
12:39And this seems to be a new normal in Manipur.
12:42Now, over a given period of time, after the president rule was imposed, there were violence reported, but there were a lot of hope that with the formation of the new government, with having a chief minister and also the deputy chief minister,
12:57the two deputy chief minister, one representing Kuki, another representing Naga community, would help die down the situation, but they did not work in the first place.
13:07We have seen similar protests happening since last week, where road blockades happened, where police went to disperse the crowd, there were resistance from the protesters.
13:18But yesterday, late at night, as intermittent firing happened in Ukrul district, several houses were torched.
13:27The question has remained the same. People have come back to square one.
13:32What is the solution and how we can reach to that solution?
13:35The government have assured all help, both to the Kukizo as well as to the Nagas and also to the Maitis.
13:41But despite that, it seems that the parties are not happy with the formation of this government.
13:47As of now, as the latest information that we are getting, that in Ukrul, there are several places where curfew have been imposed, internet have been suspended.
13:57Can you imagine that internet will be suspended for at least next five days?
14:01That's what the government is contemplating at this moment.
14:04So you are cut out from the rest of India, rest of the world.
14:08That's been the new normal in Manipur and its continuances last almost three years.
14:13As of now, additional force deployment have happened.
14:17More force will be mobilized if required.
14:21Check posts have been set up in different areas to contain the situation.
14:26Even police had to resort to some mild lathe charge in places, tear shells in some places to disperse the ground.
14:34But tapas, help us understand, what was the immediate trigger this time around?
14:38Well, after formation of the government, the Kukizo and there were people from civil society who were not happy to have a representative from their community as the deputy chief minister when the perennial demands were not met.
14:56And their perennial demand remains of the control, the development, and also the kind of allegations were labeled against them, the kind of cases that were latched against their people.
15:06They wanted those to be taken back.
15:09Overall, what the Kukizo community people at large say is that their demands were not met.
15:14And despite having a deputy chief minister from their community, they were not happy.
15:18There were several rounds of talks that happened with Kukizo, with Mehdi's in different point in time.
15:25But it seems that the perennial demand of them have not been met.
15:29But as of now, the government is leaving no stone unturned as the chief minister is taking stock of this situation.
15:36And if required, there will be a comprehensive report that will be prepared.
15:40But as of now, to keep and maintain law and order situation, to maintain peace in the area remains to be the top priority for the government and law enforcement agencies.
15:49That's what they are trying.
15:50But as of now, as we speak, the situation still remains volatile.
15:54It's almost dusk time now.
15:56And everybody is contemplating that the entire night, the stretch of night must pass peacefully.
16:04But to keep that, additional forces have been deployed.
16:08Root marches are being carried out.
16:09So that's the kind of a volatile situation that people of Manipur, especially in Ukrul, are living at this moment.
16:15Sonal.
16:16All right, Tapas, we'll leave it there.
16:17But keep a very keen eye on the situation and keep updating us on everything that's happening.
16:22Situation in Manipur.
16:23For far too long, Manipur has been on the burn.
16:25And we thought that a new government would really sort it out.
16:28But clearly, that's not working.
16:29They are not in sync with what people on the ground want.
16:33All right, with that, let's move on to the other top focus we have for you on Five Life.
16:38Now, in India, justice often depends on who you are, how powerful is your surname, and how big is your bank balance.
16:46For the rich and influenced, law is negotiable.
16:50For everyone else, it is unforgiving.
16:52Kanpur's Lamborghini crash has now become a textbook case of how privilege shields, delays, and dilutes accountability.
17:02A high-speed Lamborghini rammed into the vehicles and pedestrians on the road, leaving multiple people injured.
17:08Eyewitnesses say the luxury car was being driven rashly at a dangerously high speed.
17:14Behind the wheel was allegedly this man, Shivam Mishra, son of a tobacco tycoon, KK Mishra.
17:23But the real story began after the crash.
17:26Instead of being detained or questioned at the spot, Shivam was seen being pulled out of the Lamborghini,
17:32and again, not by cops, but by his personal bouncers.
17:36Not by the police, not in handcuffs, but shielded by private security away from the scene of the crime.
17:43When the FIR was registered, Shivam Mishra's name did not feature in it.
17:48Only after public outrage, media scrutiny and mounting pressure, did the police finally add his name.
17:55And even then, no arrests have followed.
17:58More than 48 hours later, Shivam Mishra remains out of custody.
18:03Free, protected, untouched by the law.
18:07And then came the absolutely bizarre defence.
18:11Shocking, to say the least.
18:13First, Shivam Mishra's lawyer claimed that he was not driving the Lamborghini at all.
18:18Soon after, his father, KK Mishra, doubled down on the claim, saying that their driver was behind the wheel,
18:24and even suggesting a technical malfunction.
18:26We all know this script, right?
18:28But the visuals, the visuals puncture that narrative altogether.
18:33The videos from the crash site clearly show bouncers escorting Shivam Mishra out of the driver's seat of the Lamborghini.
18:40There is nobody else who's seen at the scene of crime or being pulled out of the car as well.
18:46The video actually leaves very little room for doubt.
18:50Yet the defence continues, and the police response remains hesitant at max.
18:56This case is now riddled with glaring procedural lapses.
19:01Let's bring out some of them for you.
19:03Number one, Shivam Mishra was not named in the FIR initially.
19:06Number two, he was not taken into custody after the accident.
19:10Number three, his bouncers were allowed to remove him from the scene.
19:13Number four, only relatives' lenient charges have been inforced so far, despite the seriousness of the incident.
19:23And as if shielding at the crash site wasn't enough, there's another staggering detail.
19:29Police personnel were made to wait outside Shivam Mishra's residence for minutes, hours.
19:36Not inside, but outside his home.
19:38Let's get those visuals also in, where you can see the cops clearly banging the door and just standing outside the main, the massive gate of their house, their mansion as it is in Kanpur.
19:51Cops in uniform, standing guard at the gate of this very, very VIP home, not allowed to enter.
19:57Hard to believe, right?
19:59But in this case, that's exactly what happened.
20:01Shivam Mishra is no stranger, in fact, to controversy.
20:06If you'll remember, income tax officers had raided his bungalow, his several offices.
20:13And he's the same man who was once brandishing a pistol during that income tax raid.
20:19Authorities have flagged financial irregularities in their business dealings.
20:23During the COVID lockdown, he reportedly had an altercation with the Nainital police.
20:28And on social media, a video shows him driving at nearly 200 km per hour, boasting, not hiding, his recklessness.
20:38Now, all of this paints a pretty clear picture.
20:42This is not a one-off lapse.
20:44It is a pattern, a pattern of entitlement.
20:48Kanpur's Lamborghini crash is no longer just about speed or negligence.
20:52It's about whether India's justice system still has the courage to act against the wealthy and the powerful.
20:59It's about whether the law applies equally or bends under pressure.
21:07Where is your son?
21:09I sent him to Delhi.
21:12He is in the doctor's treatment.
21:15He is in Delhi to take one tooth and an apartment, the car and the driver went there.
21:30After this, I asked him to take some motion going right to Trans.
21:32Because when I asked him to bring the car, of course, he would have been disturbed within the car.
21:37She would also feel that in the car that happened.
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23:09see, it seems like police earlier did not respond, now under pressure is doing some
23:14wishy-washy statements, some wishy-washy charges that have been put against him. And as we
23:20speak, according to his father's admission, the man continues to be in Delhi.
23:31Well, indeed, Sonal, what we are seeing is an attempt to cover up those crucial facts
23:35in this very particular matter. The latest development is the father and the lawyer of
23:40Shivam Mishra has clearly said that Shivam was not driving the car. In fact, a person
23:45named Mohan had filed an affidavit in the court saying, I was driving the car, I was on driver's
23:50seat and Shivam Mishra has nothing to do with it. So, that's the argument of Shivam Mishra's
23:54lawyer and his family. On the other hand, we have been saying that Kanpur police has clearly
23:59said that as per the investigation, the facts that they have, the proof that they possess,
24:03according to it, Shivam Mishra was the driver and he was driving it and they have videos
24:07to back it up, which they will file it in the form of chart sheet in the court and they
24:12are expecting the action to be taken soon. But what the court has done is that issued
24:16a notification or a notice to Kanpur police, asked them for their report, which has not
24:21been submitted yet. Yes, there have been botched up investigation in the starting, several
24:24questions raised that why even after 48 hours now, no medical was done up. You know, there
24:29has been clear rule that within 24 hours, the medical of the accused should be done.
24:35There have been questions that whether he was under the influence of alcohol or not,
24:38but the time has gone, you know, the medical was not done. So, keeping in mind these kind
24:44of acts, the action was taken on the local SHO, you know, no one else. But the responsibility
24:48should be fixed at, you know, the senior level, which was involved in this very particular
24:53investigation. Now, as you rightly pointed out, after, you know, the media ran this report,
24:58after there has been voices on the social media, putting pressure on Kanpur police,
25:03we are seeing this action. But on the first two days, the investigation was completely
25:06botched up. In fact, a VVIP protocol was given to the Lamborghini car inside the Gualdoli
25:10police station. The bouncers were allowed to come inside, guard the car, misbehave with
25:15the family of the victims. So, this has been the situation as of now. But now, the Kanpur
25:19police has suddenly woken up and they say that action will be taken. And no matter what
25:24the lawyer says, we will, in fact, charge sheet him, Shivam Mishra, since the sections
25:28imposed in the FIR were not serious enough, all have the punishment of below seven years,
25:32the police can't arrest him, technically. Only thing they can do is summon him for
25:37questioning and then they can file a charge sheet in the court. So, that also we saw that
25:41the police came, knocked the bang the doors of Shivam Mishra, but he didn't allow the police
25:45person for 30 minutes inside their premises. So, that has been the situation as of now.
25:50Now, it remains to be seen that what further developments we are going to see in this very
25:54particular case. All right, Simar. Thanks so much for joining us. So, what's peculiar
25:59in this case is that the Kanpur police is saying that, no, we are very serious. We will pursue
26:03this case, but we will not attach more serious charges. We will get after him, but we will not
26:09question him. We will ensure justice is met for those who have been harmed, but we will
26:14not question him. We will not even go down to understanding what really happened. That's the
26:20reality of Kanpur police, of UP police, as of now.
26:32All right, cutting across to some updates coming in from Parliament and this time about an India
26:37Today interview that has echoed in Parliament. Pollution has finally been mentioned in Lok Sabha,
26:43this thanks to the SP chief, the Samajwadi Party chief, Akhlesh Yadav, who mentioned the
26:50India Today interview. Akhlesh went on to say that investments are down in India because of
26:56pollution. And he said that it was that interview, the Davos roundtable hosted by India Today where
27:02this was brought up. Just to jog your memory over there, remember that there was a roundtable held at the
27:08World Economic Forum that was hosted by India Today, hosted by our vice chairman Kalipuri, where in a
27:16question that she asked Geeta Gopinath on ease of doing business, the response she got from Geeta Gopinath
27:23was that air pollution is a bigger problem that India faces than US tariffs. And that quote being picked up
27:33by Akhlesh Yadav while he was making a point in Parliament. Let's listen in to what he said.
27:38It's okay, our friends have said that those who are privileged and privileged, they can use the machine to clean water.
27:48What will our poor do? How many problems are the poor and risks of the poor and risk of health?
27:53All right, you heard Akhlesh Yadav over there. But what exactly was that statement that he's talking about inside parliament? Let's give you a glimpse of that.
28:20This is Kalipuri of India Today in interaction with that, with Geeta Gopinath and several others at that roundtable in Davos.
28:32Geeta, I don't know whether you know, but there's a Rajiv Goawa committee which is looking at deregulation.
28:39I want to ask you, is making another committee to get rid of bureaucratic red tape the best way forward?
28:47Well, I assume that this is not just a committee for its own sake, but the hope is that it's going to come up with actual actionable plans.
28:54Yes.
28:55Absolutely. I mean, India needs a lot more deregulation. It is still, in terms of ease of doing business, it is still a challenging place to do business.
29:05I'd love to hear from you in terms of what challenges you face.
29:09So, taking out more and more of the archaic rules that have held back businesses is absolutely critical.
29:19But then all other aspects of India will also have to continue in terms of the reforms.
29:23We'll have to continue the ones we talked about on land and labour.
29:26One of the areas I wanted to point out, which we usually don't talk about when you're talking about business development, is I want to talk about pollution.
29:34Pollution is a challenge in India, and if you look at the impact of pollution on the Indian economy, it is far more consequential than any impact of any tariffs that have been put on India so far.
29:48If you look at the annual cost to India's GDP of the level of pollution that you have, and it's not just the effect on economic activity, but it's also the loss in lives.
29:58I mean, the numbers are really large, based on a World Bank study that was done, I think it was published in 22, about 1.7 million lives are lost every year in India because of pollution.
30:09That's 18% of the deaths in India.
30:12I think even from any international investor's perspective who's thinking of coming in and putting up a shop in India, if you have to live there, and you have, the environment is not of the kind that you feel that, okay, this is going to be going to happen.
30:27If you feel that, okay, this is going to be consequential for your health, it holds you back.
30:31And obviously not to say about all the Indians that are living in this kind of pollution.
30:36So addressing that on a war footing is critical.
30:42I mean, this has to be a mission, a top mission for India.
30:47All right, so you notice over there that the question was not on pollution.
30:51The question was on ease of doing business.
30:53And Geeta Gopinath, on her own, brings up the pollution issue.
30:56And that statement has now made its way to Parliament.
30:59Akhle Shadev raising that matter as well.
31:01Let me cut across to my colleague Aishwarya Paliwal on this one.
31:04Aishwarya, for months now, we've been talking about how pollution is not a priority.
31:09Today, finally, it's been mentioned at least.
31:12It's not been picked up for discussion, but at least mentioned.
31:15We're very glad that our coverage has been quoted over here.
31:19He talks about how, you know, we've been constantly talking about pollution
31:23and how now it's being raised at international forums as well.
31:26But what exactly was the context of Akhle Shadev's speech where he spoke about pollution?
31:32Well, you know, personally, he was speaking about budget
31:34and how what he was expecting from the budget and what the budget did not deliver.
31:38He also, in fact, spoke about the fact that on our channel,
31:42the root cause of what exactly is happening in India
31:45and how economically it is hampering us, how it is damaging us
31:49and how it will have a long-term impact on our economy.
31:52That is something which we now need to very clearly look at.
31:55Now, pollution soda, you rightly pointed out that this was something that we were hoping
31:59that the MPs will be speaking about.
32:01The MPs, in fact, were most of them, the Congress MPs last time around,
32:04were speaking about it.
32:05But on the floor of the parliament so far,
32:07the government has not had a discussion on what exactly it is doing with regards to pollution.
32:11Akhle Shadev, however, now spoke about the fact that it is something
32:14which the government should very keenly look at because it is hampering our economic growth.
32:19It is leading to many, many deaths and it will have a long-term impact on our GDP.
32:24All right, Ashwarya, thanks so much for bringing us up to speed with that.
32:29But stay tuned, we've got more parliament updates coming in on what exactly happened there.
32:33Let's take you to that now.
32:35Opposition parties have submitted a notice to move a known confidence motion
32:39seeking the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker under Article 94C of the Constitution.
32:45Now, what does this mean?
32:46The notice has been handed out to the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha
32:50and it has the backing of 118 opposition MPs.
32:55What's peculiar here is that Rahul Gandhi has not signed the notice.
32:58Congress sources say that respecting the dignity of the parliamentary democracy,
33:03it is not appropriate for the Leader of Opposition to sign a no-confidence notice against the Speaker.
33:09However, sources said that TMC refrained from signing the motion as well.
33:14Lok Sabha sources say that notice will be examined and proceeded as per rules.
33:19However, a factual error in the notice has now emerged.
33:23It is mentioned the year 2025 instead of 26, raising the possibility of a rejection.
33:29The opposition soon then submitted a revised notice.
33:33The opposition has cited multiple grievances, including repeated denial of Rahul Gandhi's opportunity to speak,
33:40suspension of opposition members and also alleged selective action by the chair.
33:45The move comes after consultations amongst the India Bloc leaders
33:50who also raised concerns over BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's remarks,
33:54controversial claims suggesting women MPs posed a threat to the Prime Minister etc.
33:59Meanwhile, BJP women MPs have written to the Speaker.
34:02Om Birla, demanding action against opposition MPs who gheeraoed the PM's chair.
34:08So now it's become a big kissa of who's, you know, who do you really believe.
34:13Let me go back to Aishwarya on this one.
34:16Aishwarya, alright, before that, let's also play out one of the reactions that have come in from the Parliament.
34:23My stand is we should be seen as someone more, and we are.
34:29Otherwise, what is the difference between BJP and us?
34:32We have always represented and are always tolerant.
34:35We have always shown restraint.
34:37We have believed in the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda.
34:42And we also have immense respect for the chair.
34:46And the institutions, these legends or the revolutionaries of the countries have created.
34:52So our approach is always being constructive, always being calibrated.
34:57Instead of trying to flex muscles, we want to give an opportunity to the chair.
35:02If our issues are not addressed in three days, then we can always move and impeach,
35:06move a no-confidence motion against the speaker.
35:08There's no problem.
35:09So there's no place for ambiguity or doubt.
35:12You know, what happened on February 4?
35:15The whole country has also seen it.
35:16And it was like Nindaniya, because it didn't need to happen.
35:19That day, the table stood on the table, and it was very wrong.
35:23Because we have come here to work and work here.
35:27It was very wrong.
35:32It was a very wrong way.
35:34After that, Naila Sandsat came to our Treasury Bench.
35:38PM Ji, the whole chair of the PM, it was very wrong.
35:43And I would like to thank you very much.
35:45I would like to thank Adhyaak Ji and Om Bhilla Ji,
35:48who have supported it very well.
35:50He requested that he wouldn't come here.
35:52Because he could go out of his hands.
35:55And that was not.
35:56That's why, Om Bhilla Ji has supported it very well.
36:00And he is very grateful.
36:02And this should never happen again.
36:04For whom we have come here, we should do it.
36:26So, the opposition is pretty aggressive on this one.
36:29And number two, I want to point out that at the end of the day,
36:32to make the House function is the responsibility of the government, correct?
36:37And then, if the speaker is not being seen as bipartisan, the opposition is getting riled up on that.
36:44Well, you know, Sonal, the opposition believes that as much as the onus is on them, it is also on the government to make sure that the House functions.
36:54And that's the reason why we are seeing today a change in the stance.
36:57Let me tell you what exactly has happened.
36:59When we speak about the opposition camp, you know, the major players are Samajwadi Party, the TNC and the Congress Party.
37:05The Congress Party has been very clear since day one that they wanted Rahul Gandhi to speak on certain issues.
37:10He did speak on day one. And after that, the whole controversy blew out.
37:14And then we did see how the other opposition parties, the TNC and the Samajwadi Party, they were clear that they want to speak on the budget.
37:21And that's why we saw today Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party speaking, Abhishek Balaji from the TNC speaking.
37:27But they are also pointing fingers at the government and saying that the government should have given enough time for Rahul Gandhi to speak.
37:33And then the discussion on budget would have actually happened.
37:36The government on the other side is saying that we are the ones who are allotting you time, but you are not speaking on the subject that you are that you are supposed to speak.
37:44But things now have calmed down. We did see how the top opposition leaders have spoken.
37:48The Finance Minister Sonu Nirmarasi Taraman will be speaking tomorrow.
37:51Her reply in the Lok Sabha will happen tomorrow on the budget.
37:54All right, Ashwarya, stay around with us because we've got some more breaking news coming in.
37:58And this time, top sources are telling India today at this point that the Lok Sabha speaker, Om Birla, the man in question against whom the move, the no trust notice is said to be moving tomorrow morning,
38:10will not attend the House until the motion to remove him is discussed and decided upon in the House.
38:18Remember, the rules do not require him to do anything like that.
38:22But nevertheless, he's decided not to attend the House.
38:25Regardless of the government or opposition's effort to persuade him, he will not attend.
38:31Ashwarya, how are we to understand this? Om Birla not taking it nicely.
38:36He's saying, I'm not coming to the Parliament now till the time this charge against me is discussed or not.
38:41No, no, no. Sonal, you know, this is not how we should be looking at it.
38:46Let me tell you what exactly Om Birla has been saying and thinking.
38:49Even today, that meeting that took place, that meeting took place between Kiran Rijiju and the floor leaders of the opposition parties.
38:55Om Birla excused himself because he said that if you want to discuss this no confidence motion, then I should stay out of it.
39:02And that's the reason why we are now seeing that the speaker has now decided that he will not be sitting on the chair till the time of finality comes with regards to what needs to happen with this motion.
39:12From what I can understand at the moment, the signatures are there, but I do not think when it will go for voting, this is a motion that will get passed.
39:19And that's the reason why we are seeing Om Birla as a speaker excusing himself.
39:23In fact, you know, let's just look at it as, you know, someone on whom allegations have been put, fingers are being pointed.
39:31He cannot be a part of the panel. That is the thinking of the speaker Om Birla.
39:35He, in fact, has been maintaining that he tries to make sure that he gives as much space to the opposition as possible.
39:40The opposition, however, believes, and especially the Congress party, they believe that he is not, he, in fact, has been biased.
39:47They also believe that more time should be given to the opposition rulers, more time should be given to those who really want to speak about certain rules.
39:58That is something that we are looking at at the moment.
40:01Ashwarya, also news coming in and this is again to update our viewers.
40:04It is likely that the motion to remove the speaker will be discussed on the 9th of March.
40:10That's the first day of the second part of the budget session as well.
40:13And we are getting to know that about 50 MPs will be asked to raise their hands for this purpose.
40:18Now sources also indicating that a no confidence motion against the speaker may be discussed only on the 9th of March at the beginning of the second part of the budget session.
40:28So more details now coming in and the chair may initiate a discussion on the motion as well.
40:35So far, we told about 50 MPs will be asked to raise their hands for this purpose.
40:41So all those formalities being worked out in the middle parliament hasn't had much functioning over the past couple of days.
40:48Alright, let me try and see if we can get back to our colleague Ashwarya to give us more sense of what is happening.
40:58Ashwarya there telling us that the speaker Om Bedla has decided to excuse himself from the proceedings when this no confidence motion does indeed come up.
41:08So this is serious after having given a faulty letter there.
41:13Now after revising that date, the opposition pretty certain to take it forward and the date has also been set.
41:20The date has been set for the 9th of March.
41:23That is the second part of the budget session when the parliament sits in.
41:28Now regardless of what exactly the government or the opposition efforts to persuade Mr. Bedla to sit back,
41:35it looks like he has decided to excuse himself from the entire fiasco.
41:40But what exactly happened here?
41:42Let's look at the timeline.
41:43For those of our viewers just tuning in, let's understand what happened.
41:47Now last week, the Prime Minister was expected to speak in the Lok Sabha
41:52and was supposed to give his motion of thanks on the budget speech,
41:57also the President's address that he was supposed to make in Parliament.
42:04But that could not happen because of the massive commotion that took place.
42:08But let's get more sense of this.
42:09My colleague Maria Shakil joins us from the newsroom.
42:12Maria, make sense of what's happening here?
42:14Yes, you know, it's very sudden I would say
42:18and something that we were not really expecting for the Lok Sabha Speaker to step aside
42:23and recuse himself from the entire proceedings of the House.
42:27It's only three more days left for this part of the budget session to end
42:33and then there will be a recess and then the remaining part will begin in the month of March.
42:38We are being joined by Manikam Tagore, Senior Congress Leader and Member of Parliament.
42:42Mr. Tagore, thank you for speaking to India today.
42:45My question is, you know, this is, of course, something that we have not seen in the past.
42:50There has been difference of opinion between the opposition and the chair.
42:54In this case, Mr. Om Birla.
42:56But now he has decided that until there is a decision,
43:01of course, the decision with regards to the motion, which is the no-confidence motion,
43:06which is likely to be taken up around 9th or 10th of March,
43:10he will not be overseeing the proceedings of the House.
43:13How is the opposition viewing this?
43:15Yeah, the opposition, this is an extraordinary step for the opposition,
43:27out of an extraordinary circumstance for us.
43:30Because we need to understand that never the leader of opposition was not allowed to speak for the two days,
43:39whenever he stood up to speak in the motion to thank the Contrable President's address to the Parliament.
43:47There has been a convention who has been covered in Parliament for long years.
43:51You know that the Parliament from, which may be Sushma Suraj,
43:54it may be before that of L.K. Advani ji, or before that with Mr. Sonia Gandhi as leader of opposition.
44:00In the 90s also, the same coalition government has worked.
44:06Opposition leader and the parliamentary affairs minister are two people.
44:10Whenever they stand up, the mic is given to them.
44:13That is the convention of the Parliament for many years.
44:16But after post-2014, that has been changed.
44:19They said that we don't have the numbers,
44:22recognized numbers to be the leader of opposition status.
44:25Therefore, it's a only floor group.
44:27Therefore, they can't recognize that as leader of opposition.
44:30Now, Rahul Gandhiji has that requisite number also.
44:34But he's been treated badly by the government.
44:39Usually, whenever leader of opposition wants to speak also, he's not allowed.
44:42Mr. Tigor, the question really is, if you look at the visuals which have come out.
44:47Not from one source, but from multiple sources.
44:50For opposition MPs to leave their side of the benches,
44:54where they are supposed to be seated,
44:56and cross over to the Treasury benches next to the Prime Minister,
45:00certainly doesn't really augur well for how the proceedings of the House should be conducted.
45:08You know, you had covered Parliament in 2012-11 also.
45:12Yes.
45:1311-12 also.
45:14Dr. Mahmohan Singh in Brakishabha, I can send you a picture of it.
45:17I can send you a video, which India today can run it also.
45:21There is a bad BJP MPs have been protesting with Dr. Mahmohan Singh when you have been giving speeches.
45:27They have crossed that line also.
45:29So, these are all, we don't touch each other, but we protest.
45:33That's the methodology of protest in Parliament.
45:36We don't hit each other, but we protest with dignity.
45:40So, it is not that thing that we are crossing that limit.
45:43This is that border.
45:44It is not India Pakistan border to cross it.
45:46We need to understand that this has happened before also.
45:49Dr. Mahmohan Singh, one more thing I can say.
45:51I have written it earlier also.
45:52But, Mr. Tagore, shouldn't efforts be made from both the sides
45:57to really try and ensure that there is some kind of an effort,
46:03some kind of communication line between the two sides to let the House function?
46:08What is appearing right now is more than the trust deficit,
46:12there is a complete breakdown of communication as well.
46:14We need to understand that this is the effort of the leader of opposition
46:19that we should participate in the debate, budget debate itself.
46:24Yesterday, if you see, in your television, you have run the story of Kiran Graju saying that
46:29if opposition is protesting, we will pass the budget without discussion.
46:34That was the statement of the parliamentary affairs minister yesterday.
46:37Today, we decided that we will go last time to the speaker for his correction,
46:42fourth correction on four important things.
46:44Okay.
46:45And we requested the opposition approach to him.
46:48Okay.
46:49Alright.
46:50So, that was not all.
46:51We were given last option.
46:52We were having only one option, two more, and no part of the security.
46:56Okay.
46:57Something that we have seen also play out in the Rajya Sabha just two years ago
47:02against the then, you know, chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the vice president, Mr. Dhankar.
47:08Thank you for joining us, Manikam Tagore.
47:10So, Sonal, thrice in the past.
47:13Let me give you the dates exactly for the benefit of our viewers.
47:171954, 1966 and 1987, that a motion of this nature was adopted and the entire proceedings began.
47:28Of course, in all these three cases, it was rejected finally.
47:32Although the number, the first step is to get the numbers to move such a motion,
47:37the opposition does have that number, but given the kind of tension which we are witnessing,
47:43if you look at these images and the visuals, Sonal, it also shows that something has gone wrong.
47:49That for this kind of movement to happen from the opposition side to a chair close to the prime minister,
47:56then there are union ministers from Ashwini Vaishnav to Piyush Goyal to others,
48:02reaching out to the opposition MPs, telling them to go back to the chair.
48:06Certainly, it looks like complete chaos, complete pandemonium,
48:10something which has also meant that Speaker Umbilla himself has decided that he will not be on the chair,
48:17on the Speaker's chair, till the time a decision is taken on the no-confidence,
48:23which is likely to come up only in the later part of the budget session.
48:26Right. But Maria, having, you know, seen Parliament through all these years,
48:30one has to say that every time this happens, it means that the back-channel conversation has not worked.
48:35Back in the, when other governments have also been in power, there used to be always this one or two mantris
48:40who was supposed to be the sutradhar. They would ensure, they were pally with the opposition side,
48:44they would ensure that they come to a consensus. Is that missing in the current benches?
48:50At the moment, are, you know, the opposition side and the government just simply not talking,
48:55which is why we see such escalation of tension on the floor of the House?
48:59I would not rule that out, Sonal, but look at the construct of this Lok Sabha.
49:04It is very different from what, say, 2014 Lok Sabha, 2019 Lok Sabha was.
49:10The difference here is, Sonal, that in 2024, the BJP's overall tally did go down.
49:16Of course, this is an NDA government which is there. Post-2024 results,
49:22there was a lot of aggression in the opposition.
49:25What followed after that was repeated assembly elections and their victories,
49:30which went all the way to the BJP's kitty.
49:33So, there is that tension between the two sides.
49:36What is also evident here is that the opposition has decided that they will be showing all the aggression
49:42in the run-up to elections, something that we saw ahead of Bihar elections,
49:46something that we saw ahead of Delhi elections, Sonal.
49:49That is also playing out on the floor of the House.
49:52So, now that there are crucial five-state elections, which are scheduled for the month of April, May,
49:59that's where out of five, the opposition is in power in close to three.
50:05That's where we are seeing that kind of an aggression play out in the House,
50:10something that will be reflected also on the ground in these poll-bound states.
50:15Yeah. But conventionally, isn't the government responsible for keeping the peace of the House?
50:22Conventionally, isn't it said that the government will actually ensure that there is consensus
50:27and the House runs a particular way?
50:29So, I remember that famous sentence that was said by the then leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha,
50:36that was Mr. Arun Jaitley.
50:38He had famously said that the onus of running the House is with the Treasury benches.
50:44Of course, that time the BJP was in opposition.
50:47But there was also this sense, Sonal, that at that time there was a great degree of camaraderie,
50:53a great degree of communication which used to happen between the opposition and the Treasury benches.
50:59They would come on talking tables.
51:01Right now there is that tension which is visible, a complete and total trust deficit,
51:06and at the same time, complete breakdown of communication between the two sides.
51:11Although, when you enter, you know, at the Makar Dwar or such dwars that are there through which MPs enter,
51:17they do exchange some kind of pleasantries.
51:20But when it is inside the House, when it is inside the House, that tension is palpable.
51:26All right. We leave it there for the moment.
51:29Thank you so much, Maharaj Shakeel, for joining us with the very latest
51:31or when the opposition and the government cannot see eye to eye, who fails?
51:35Parliament fails, you and I fail because our taxpayers' money is actually going into running that parliament
51:41which is not running because of the heightened tensions.
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