- 23 hours ago
The BJP launched a scathing attack on Congress on Friday after its youth wing at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in Delhi and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They were whisked away by security personnel and later arrested.
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NewsTranscript
00:01Good evening, you're watching To The Point. I'm Preeti Chaudhary. Let's put the focus on the biggest news story today.
00:07Well, it came out of the AI summit. There was a protest that took place by the Youth Congress cadre
00:14at the AI summit
00:15where they took off their T-shirts inside the premises and protested against the Prime Minister.
00:22Some thought rather unsavory. Why protest in front of guests?
00:26You can express dissent, but was this the right platform to do so, which is disrupting the AI summit?
00:34Lots went down in terms of political commentary after that, but this is how it all panned out.
00:49AI summit hijacked by a political drama.
00:57At Bharat Mandapam, where presidents, prime ministers and global tech giants gathered, chaos reigned today.
01:06Youth Congress workers stormed the venue. Some even went shirtless.
01:11Others flashed T-shirts, raised slogans, raised one message.
01:16PM compromised.
01:22Delhi police moved in fast. Detentions made.
01:25Sources say entry was allegedly secured using QR codes. An FIR is filed.
01:31The QR code could be online registered on the website.
01:35They had made a QR code for their own.
01:38They scanned the QR code and their T-shirt, which they protested.
01:58The BJP is calling it nothing short of a sabotage.
02:02A bid, they say, to embarrass India before the world.
02:05Bharat is a trusted country today. India is a trusted country.
02:12And that's because our prime minister, Sri Narendra Modi ji, has conducted the foreign policy in a way
02:19where the trust and respect, the respect of a 5,000-year-old civilization,
02:28that gravitas, that which is a civilisation that is a civilisation that is a civilization that is a civilization that
02:34believes in the world.
02:59The saffron party escalated the charge alleging the protest was
03:04planned at Rahul Gandhi's residence, calling him a traitor.
03:34Congress is defending the disruption, saying protest is democratic right and that the
03:39youth is angry.
04:00But here's the political contradiction.
04:02While Rahul Gandhi and Congress attacked the summit, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor struck
04:07a very different note.
04:09What has been impressive is, first of all, the attendance.
04:12As you said, a number of presidents, prime ministers and world leaders are here, and they've come
04:16with a strong message of wanting to see a newly integrated world in AI development.
04:26At a summit meant to project India's technological rise, politics ran the algorithm.
04:33Bureau Report, India Today.
04:43All right, the latest news break coming in at the back of it.
04:45Clearly, because after the protest and the images of the protest by the Congress Youth
04:51Carder went viral, there was a certain amount of pushback.
04:55There was an understanding that seems to suggest that a little unsavory.
04:58Why, in front of international guests, would we have to protest in the manner where the principal
05:04opposition party of the country is concerned?
05:07Was it unsavory?
05:08You have every right to dissent, but to disrupt a summit.
05:13Was that necessary?
05:14So, the Congress, in some manner, trying to downplay what happened at the AI summit this
05:20afternoon.
05:21Congress leader, Gurdeep Sapal, has said it was the passionate youth of the Congress expressing
05:26their anger.
05:27During the Commonwealth Games, the BJP President, Gadgari, used to climb the barricades and protest.
05:33BJP workers protest against Youth Congress' AI summit stunt.
05:37Youth Congress Chief currently being grilled by the Delhi police as well.
05:41The Delhi police is now probing what they call a larger conspiracy angle.
05:45Listen in.
06:30All right, so there's been a fair amount of pushback at the back of the visuals that came in from
06:34the AI summit in the National Capital, where you saw certain youth Congress workers getting
06:39into the complex at Bharat Mandapam, taking off their shirts and protesting against the
06:45Prime Minister.
06:47The optics of all of that, did it go down too well?
06:50Many would suggest you really wouldn't create a scene when you call guests home.
06:53And why did we have to do it in the manner in which we do?
06:57However, there is a parallel train of thought which says every international event, be it
07:02hosted by countries across the world, usually have designated platforms of protest.
07:08And why are we linking national pride with protest?
07:10So two very contrarian point of views.
07:12It's how you look at it.
07:13Let's cut across our two spokespersons this evening.
07:16Both of them will give two minutes each to put their points forward.
07:19Bhavya Narsimha Murthy, spokesperson Congress.
07:22Sanju Verma, national spokesperson Bharatiya Janata Party.
07:26Welcome the both of you.
07:27And Bhavya, let's begin with you.
07:29Your two minutes start after this question.
07:31And that is, Bhavya, nobody stops you from dissenting.
07:34It's your right as a political opposition party.
07:37But why disrupt a summit which is going on?
07:40You know, many would suggest if we call guests to our home, we don't start fighting with
07:46each other.
07:46We wait and we sort out our differences later.
07:52Okay, my two minutes starts now.
07:55What kind of a guest did you invite?
07:57You invited Bill Gates, someone who is associated with the disgraced sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein.
08:05You invite him to give a keynote speech.
08:07What kind of a message are you sending at a global level?
08:10Is that your guest?
08:12And he has to pull out.
08:14He pulled out.
08:14He has more conscience than the current Indian government.
08:18I can't believe that.
08:19That's one point.
08:20Coming to the second point.
08:21If you think the youth Congress leaders doing there is wrong, that was exactly why they did.
08:26They did that because they wanted to make the deaf hear.
08:31Hear these things.
08:33What happened there was cringeworthy.
08:36What AI summit, all the disasters that Ashwin Vaishnav, as a minister of IT, the mismanagement he did, six hours
08:45of AI summit was interrupted to make reels.
08:49Then comes all the cringeworthy Galgothia University that they have seen.
08:54How did you even screen and give them platforms in such a summit?
08:58Someone who brings a Chinese robot and displays it as themselves.
09:01That's not cringeworthy.
09:03And Ashwin Vaishnav, what has he proved?
09:05He has not proved himself in railway minister nor in IT ministry.
09:09And then, come on, the cringeworthiness when Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, laughed at our prime minister saying he
09:20didn't know what was happening.
09:21Just because the prime minister wanted his dramatics to be there, like invading their personal agency, just forcing their hands
09:28and, you know, lifting it up.
09:29Aren't these cringeworthy things?
09:31Didn't we have to bring this to the notice?
09:33The real patriots will bring this to the notice.
09:36And then, the threat to Rahul Gandhi.
09:38You're talking about youth Congress people demonstrating them there peacefully.
09:43Talk about the BJP youth leaders who are openly giving threat to Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition.
09:52Your time, madam, is up.
09:54And when I circle back to you, maybe we can also ponder on the fact you can hang your dissent
09:59on the coattails of the invitation of, you know, the Microsoft co-founder, Mr. Bill Gates.
10:06But there were many Indians out there who were out there looking for investment.
10:11You know, there were innovations which have come in from across the country which wanted a platform to be recognized.
10:17So, in the spirit of that, some would suggest you could have taken the protest elsewhere.
10:22But we'll circle back to that.
10:23I want to bring in Sanju Verma.
10:24Sanju Verma, the question that I ask you, internationally, there are various countries that hold events such as this.
10:31Each of those countries have a designated area of protest.
10:35And protest dissent is very much part, especially when you're hosting a big ticket event.
10:41You guys know it best.
10:42You did it during Commonwealth Games where the UPA was in power.
10:45So, having said that, either given area of dissent, if you clamp down, then you could pretty much face what
10:51you face today.
10:54You know, Preeti, let me say one thing.
10:55There is a difference between dissent, D-I-S-S-E-N-T, and dissent, D-E-S-C-E
11:03-N-T.
11:04What the Congress Party was doing today was that it descended, D-E-S-C-E-N-D-E-D.
11:11It descended into the throes of hooliganism, vandalism, gundagardi, and downright brazen thuggery.
11:20But I'll tell you what, the apple does not fall far from the tree.
11:24We know that Rahul Gandhi has lost three loks of elections for his deprecated Congress Party.
11:29After June 2024, we had assembly elections in six states.
11:34BJP won four out of these six with a strike rate of 67%.
11:39Congress won ZERO zero, not in power in Maharashtra, not in power in Jammu Kashmir, in Jharkhand, in Bihar, in
11:46Delhi, or in Haryana.
11:48So Rahul Gandhi is a product well past his expiry date.
11:53What does he do?
11:54He hires these gunds.
11:56Congress-y gunds called Krishna Hari.
11:58Congress-gund called Narsimha Yadav.
12:01Congress-gund called Ajay Kumar.
12:03Congress-gund called Pundar Yadav.
12:05And these are all people from the Youth Congress.
12:08And Rahul Gandhi tells them,
12:11What do they do?
12:13They engage in a banyan protest by going shirtless and streaking across the AI summit.
12:19But I'll tell you something more important.
12:22I don't care what a Congress spokesperson has to say about AI summit, Preeti.
12:26This is what Sam Altman said.
12:29India's AI energy is unmatched.
12:32This is what Sundar Pichai said.
12:35India's AI outreach is unmatched.
12:37This is what the head of Qualcomm said.
12:41India's AI accessibility is unmatched.
12:45This is what UN Secretary General Antonio Gwetra said.
12:49India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has truly democratized AI.
12:55So Congress and its hoodlums can go out.
12:57Okay.
12:58Madam, time is up.
12:59You know, the fact is, it's unsavory to many.
13:04But, you know, to call them goons,
13:06and I think, Sanju Verma,
13:08you'd have a larger understanding of what streaking really means.
13:11It's a little more than just taking off your T-shirt
13:13and prancing around in a banyan and a vest.
13:16But, you know, those are different.
13:18And it's happened.
13:19It's not that streaking hasn't happened in international events.
13:21It's happened.
13:22But Bhavya, I want to bring you back into this conversation.
13:24The question that I asked Bhavya.
13:26Because today, there are many innovators out there,
13:29Indian, who are looking for investments.
13:30It's their platform.
13:32It's their moment.
13:32You might want to put the spotlight on the co-founder of Microsoft,
13:37Mr. Bill Gates,
13:38and his association with the Epstein files,
13:40and him backing out.
13:41You know, that's politics.
13:43But to disrupt an event
13:45where you have people from your own country
13:47vying for investment,
13:49would you think that passes?
13:53You know, I think Bill Gates is not politics.
13:55That's moral bankruptcy.
13:57That's how we see it.
13:59Our country do not stand for that.
14:01He's associated with a disgraced pedophile.
14:04That's not politics.
14:06That's disgraceful.
14:07That's moral bankruptcy.
14:10Let's say what it is.
14:12Or it is.
14:13We don't care if he brings investment to India.
14:15We don't want investment from a pedophile.
14:20Let's start.
14:20Can I hold your time?
14:21I just want to hold your time.
14:22No, no, no.
14:23Can I hold your time?
14:24Bhabha, I'm holding your time.
14:25And the reason I'm holding it so is,
14:27and just allow me to interject,
14:29and I usually don't.
14:30It's not just Bill Gates investing in India, right?
14:33There are investors who are coming in from across the world.
14:36There are people coming in from across the world.
14:41Nobody takes away from your right to dissent.
14:44You very well should dissent.
14:45Why did he pull out then, Preeti?
14:46Why did he pull out?
14:47Madam, he pulled out.
14:49What did he pull out?
14:50Madam, whether he pulled out, what happened,
14:52it's not about Bill Gates.
14:53We can make it about Bill Gates.
14:54We can have a conversation on the Epstein files,
14:56which I had yesterday.
14:58But sadly, the debate today is not about the Epstein files.
15:01The point is, Madam, the debate is not about,
15:05you and I can argue to Kingdom Come.
15:07Allow me to just get a, allow me to construct my question.
15:11The question is very clear, Bhabha.
15:13The question is, there were people who are your own countrymen
15:17who are looking for investment.
15:18It was a platform for them to showcase their talent.
15:21To disrupt that, was it in good taste?
15:24Your time begins now.
15:27Yes.
15:28Okay.
15:29The youth congresspeople peacefully demonstrated there
15:33and then they walked out.
15:34It's not like they went to disrupt each and every stall,
15:37you know, stalls there.
15:40One thing they did was expose what was happening in AI Summit.
15:43The mismanagement because of Ashwini Vaishnav.
15:47How six years, six hours, the whole, you know, AI Summit
15:51where people from across the world have attended,
15:54they were asked to, you know, stay outside to make reels
15:59for these ministers.
16:00How cringeworthy is that?
16:02And the mismanagement where, you know,
16:04one of these founders had lost some of the items
16:07that they had brought in, they were stolen.
16:09Can you imagine?
16:10And this kind of mismanagement,
16:13Bill Gates on one side,
16:15you making your reels on another side,
16:16Calgothia University on one side,
16:18this is not embarrassment.
16:19This is not disruption.
16:20This is not bringing embarrassment to the country.
16:23Just exposing that is a bigger issue than that.
16:27Exposing that was our duty as an opposition.
16:30We had to make the depth here.
16:32That's why this demonstration was very important.
16:37Whether it is, you know,
16:38inviting Bill Gates was a disgrace.
16:41Just because you have Hardik Singh Puri,
16:43who is also associated with this disgraced,
16:47you know, pedophile, and he is not,
16:49you know, across the world,
16:50people are actually resigning or thrown out,
16:53except for Hardik Singh Puri,
16:54who gets a statement of support
16:56in the form of birthday wishes from Prime Minister.
16:59How cringeworthy is that?
17:01Didn't we have to expose all this?
17:03We as a country, we are not morally bankrupt.
17:06But if the government is morally bankrupt,
17:08we are here to expose as responsible opposition
17:13and the U.S. deal.
17:15Yes, Prime Minister is compromised.
17:18That was the message.
17:19U.S. deal is an evidence
17:20to say that Prime Minister is compromised.
17:23And he is putting Indian farmers at stake.
17:26What about their interest?
17:29You don't care about it.
17:29Okay, ma'am, your time is up.
17:31We gave you 30 seconds extra.
17:32So now we'll give you a counterpart,
17:34that 30 seconds extra.
17:35So Sanju Verma gets two and a half minutes.
17:37And I'll come back to the question
17:39that I asked you, Ms. Verma,
17:40right in the beginning.
17:42Every country holding a big ticket event
17:45gives place, it's marked in area, in space,
17:49where you sit and you protest.
17:51You cannot link protest to national pride.
17:56Because everyone has the right to protest.
17:58You didn't do so.
17:59You didn't airmark a space for protest.
18:01It's not that these guys are forcing their way in.
18:04They are peacefully coming in.
18:05It can be in bad taste.
18:06But you really cannot call them goons.
18:10You know, Preeti,
18:11I will say what I need to say.
18:13The topic of discussion today
18:15is not the Epstein files.
18:17The illiterate Congress spokesperson
18:19went on a rant.
18:20Hardeeb Puri's name is not mentioned
18:22in the Epstein files.
18:24She stands corrected.
18:25But I can understand her frustration.
18:27She is not well-read.
18:29You know, you are asking us about
18:31a certain issue.
18:32She is trying to talk about
18:33Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
18:36Though I wonder whether she's even read Einstein.
18:38But let me come to the moot topic at hand.
18:41The moot topic at hand is this, Preeti.
18:44At the AI Summit in New Delhi,
18:47I'm so proud of Narendra Modi,
18:49so proud of Ashwini Veshanap,
18:50so proud of, you know,
18:52the entire Modi government dispensation.
18:55We hosted 41 global CEOs.
19:00We had more than 2.5 lakh visitors.
19:04We had more than 1.28 lakh delegates.
19:09We had more than 118 countries.
19:12We had more than 23 heads of state.
19:15We had more than 67 ministerial delegations.
19:19We had more than 600 startups.
19:21We had more than 644 AI technologies exhibited.
19:26We had more than 37 countries showcasing
19:30their unique products across 327 unique stalls.
19:35We have had Reliance Jio commit $110 billion.
19:39We have had Sam Altman commit $100 billion
19:42in partnership with the Tata Group.
19:44We had Adani commit $100 billion.
19:46We had Brad Smith, not Bill Gates.
19:49Brad Smith of Microsoft commit $50 billion.
19:53We had Sundar Pichai of Google commit $15 billion.
19:57We had $23 billion worth of commitment
20:00from Vinod Khosla,
20:02the co-founder of Sun Microsystems.
20:04But if Congress wants to keep harping about Galgothia,
20:07all I can tell is that these guys
20:10are missing the woods for the trees.
20:12That is why they have been rejected
20:13by the people of this country.
20:16And one more point.
20:1720 more seconds.
20:18Since you've given me extra.
20:19Yes.
20:20Sorry.
20:21PT, you know,
20:22your time ticker is so intimidating.
20:24I realize you've given me extra time.
20:26I want to, you know,
20:27focus on one very,
20:29very important thing that happened.
20:32Emmanuel Macron,
20:34the head honcho of France,
20:36said,
20:37under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
20:40we have seen what no country
20:42has been able to achieve,
20:45the democratization of a digital revolution.
20:48Ma'am, now,
20:50my time,
20:50no, no, no, no,
20:51you have still,
20:51the ticker is ticking,
20:52please wait.
20:53Ma'am,
20:53the ticker is giving you 20 minutes extra.
20:55Unfortunately,
20:55we don't have 30 seconds ticker.
20:57But we gave you,
20:58we gave you 40 seconds.
21:00Just give me 10 seconds extra.
21:01Okay, ma'am,
21:02I'll give 10 seconds to Bhave also then.
21:03Make your point.
21:04Make 10 seconds.
21:05Yes.
21:05Say what you're saying.
21:0612 years back,
21:07Emmanuel Macron said,
21:09a street hawker in Mumbai
21:10did not have accessibility papers,
21:13documents today,
21:14that street hawker
21:15accepts digital payments.
21:17UPI transactions today
21:19are worth 328.
21:21Fair point.
21:21Fair point.
21:22Nobody, yeah, fair point.
21:23This was also protested by the Congress.
21:2410 seconds, Bhavia.
21:25Now you have that 10 seconds.
21:27You know,
21:27there's,
21:29she calls the youth Congress people as goons.
21:31So what are you going to call
21:32your own youth leaders
21:33who gave death threats
21:34to Rahul Gandhi?
21:36Okay.
21:36Huh?
21:37Criminals?
21:38Okay.
21:39This is not an argument.
21:41Okay.
21:42I'm going to end this argument here,
21:44but a couple of things
21:45that we want to put out there.
21:47The fact is,
21:48can we just get the faders down?
21:49Can we get the faders down?
21:50Right.
21:50The only thing we want to put out there is,
21:52and we just want to put out facts,
21:53it's not that Mr. Hardeeb Singh Puri's name
21:55was not mentioned in the Epstein files.
21:58It was actually mentioned,
21:59and you can do a search
22:00on the U.S. Department of Justice,
22:02and I want to put it right there,
22:03therefore I'm reading it out.
22:05It throws up 46 results for Hardeeb Puri,
22:08for 430 results for Hardeeb,
22:11and 163 results for Hardeeb Singh Puri.
22:14Doesn't make him culpable,
22:15but yes, of course,
22:16open to scrutiny.
22:17But on the other hand,
22:18what you saw this morning or afternoon,
22:20was it correct for the Congress
22:21to protest at a summit site?
22:24We leave it for you to decide.
22:25Let's quickly shift over to our next debate,
22:26and that is also causing a bit of a frenzy.
22:29A trailer of a film has sparked outrage.
22:32Politics is now escalating around it.
22:34The trailer is Kerala Files 2.
22:36The courtroom has now become the next battleground,
22:39because the film has been dragged to court.
22:41The controversy surrounding the Kerala story 2
22:43has reached the Kerala High Court,
22:45not even as politics tempers fly.
22:47Why?
22:48Find out.
22:58First, the trailer dropped.
23:00Then the political firestorm followed.
23:02And now the battle has reached the court rule.
23:13The controversy over the Kerala story 2
23:16is far from over.
23:17A petition has been filed in the Kerala High Court,
23:20seeking cancellation of the film's censor certificate.
23:24The petition argues that the movie paints Kerala
23:27in a negative light
23:28and risks alienating the state
23:30from the rest of the country.
23:32The plea makes it clear
23:33creative freedom cannot become a license
23:36to project speculative fears
23:38onto an entire state.
23:41The High Court has admitted the petition
23:43and issued notices to the censor board,
23:46the filmmakers and the information
23:47of Broadcasting Ministry.
23:49The next hearing is slated for February 24th.
23:52But outside the courtroom,
23:54the political slugfest is only intensifying.
23:57The Pinnarevijian government maintains
23:59that the film pushes propaganda.
24:02The chief minister of Kerala has already expressed
24:06our state's concern.
24:08And we think this is a sinister attempt
24:10to tarnish the image of Kerala,
24:12especially in the offing of the general election.
24:15It's not a movie.
24:16It is a kind of Sangh Parivar's anti-Kerala propaganda.
24:21Congress leaders have echoed similar concerns.
24:25M.P. Shashi Tharoor has termed such films divisive,
24:28accusing them of spreading hatred
24:30under the guise of storytelling.
24:49The filmmakers, however, remain defiant.
24:52They insist the movie is not meant to malign Kerala,
24:55but to present what they call
24:57a necessary narrative.
25:00Meanwhile, symbolism has taken centre stage.
25:03In a subtle swipe, Kerala tourism posted,
25:06no beef with anyone.
25:07Adding love, harmony and hearts
25:09are big enough for everyone.
25:11Welcome to God's own country.
25:15Cinema, politics, identity.
25:18The lines are blurring once again.
25:20The row deepens.
25:22The rhetoric sharpens.
25:23And now the court will decide
25:25the next chapter of this Kerala story.
25:28Bureau Report, India Today.
25:33All right, joining me is the producer
25:35of the Kerala story, too.
25:36Vithul Shah joins us live.
25:38Appreciate you taking the time off
25:39and joining us, Mr. Shah.
25:42Mr. Shah, many call this film propaganda,
25:45released timely right before Kerala elections.
25:52People, when we expose criminals,
25:56criminals are not going to, you know,
25:58accept that they have done anything wrong.
26:02And the people, some lobby will find it
26:05very objectionable that we are exposing
26:07the criminals.
26:08And they will call it propaganda
26:10because that's the easiest way
26:12to discredit any film.
26:15And they have a very, very strong,
26:18you know, infrastructure to continue
26:21and bolster the narrative.
26:23We are just regular filmmakers
26:26who cannot even match the height
26:29of their entire network.
26:31Right?
26:32So, that's the most important part
26:35of this thing.
26:37Even when Kerala story one released,
26:39this was the same campaign
26:41that was run against the film.
26:43But people saw through it
26:44and people saw it in very, very large numbers
26:47and made that into one of the
26:50most successful film
26:52of the history of Indian cinema.
26:54And people will choose this time as well
26:57if they are convinced with our narrative,
27:00with our storytelling,
27:01with the truths that we are going to expose.
27:04Then I'm sure they are going to connect
27:06with the film.
27:07And the truth should prevail.
27:09I mean, that's all that I can say.
27:12Mr. Shah, you say that you're...
27:13Sorry.
27:14As far as the election is concerned,
27:17before Kerala, there is an election in Bengal.
27:19There is an election in Tamil Nadu.
27:21If we wanted to target any election,
27:25we could have selected a story from Bengal
27:29or a Tamil Nadu
27:30and we could have portrayed that story.
27:33Then that acquisition would have been
27:35more meaningful.
27:36Actually, we have selected two stories,
27:39one from Madhya Pradesh
27:40and one from Rajasthan,
27:41where the election has already happened last year.
27:44So, this argument or this allegation,
27:47again, is a baseless allegation.
27:50And if you can just put the logic in front of you,
27:54you know that there is no merit to it.
27:56But Mr. Shah, you talk about being up against,
27:58you know, an ecosystem
28:01and an entire unit
28:02which is coming out against you.
28:04But that ecosystem feels
28:06that you are backed by even a stronger machinery,
28:09which is the Bharatiya Janata Party,
28:10which is propelling you to produce a film like this.
28:13In effect, many suggest that the contents of the film
28:16have stories which are not even based in Kerala,
28:18but across India, yet you've named it Kerala Files.
28:22So, there are three questions that you asked me,
28:24so I'll answer all three.
28:26First thing first,
28:27that if I was a BJP stooge,
28:29as they keep calling me,
28:31or I was just listening to your report
28:33where somebody was saying
28:34it's a sung-proporated film,
28:36then I wouldn't take a story
28:38from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan,
28:40which is ruled by BJP.
28:42I would have picked up a story
28:43from Karnataka or Himachal Pradesh
28:46or Bengal,
28:47or there are so many states
28:48where BJP is not in the ruling capacity.
28:52But that's not the fact.
28:54I have selected two states
28:55which are ruled by BJP,
28:57so that now it's up to people
29:00to choose whether they believe us
29:02or they believe them.
29:03The second point that you made,
29:05that why am I calling it Kerala story,
29:08the title of the film is
29:09Kerala story 2 goes beyond.
29:12So from our title itself,
29:14we are saying that this goes
29:15way beyond Kerala.
29:16Kerala is our God's own country,
29:19one of the most beautiful states
29:20that we have.
29:21We have no intention of maligning
29:23any state, any religion,
29:25any community.
29:26But the problem is that
29:29one of the stories is from Kerala.
29:31The second thing is that
29:33it's the same topic
29:37of manipulative conversion.
29:38There was one model,
29:39that was existing in Kerala,
29:41which we exposed in part one.
29:43Now we are exposing another module,
29:46which is existing across the country.
29:49And that is why
29:50this Kerala story 2,
29:52which goes beyond.
29:53The theme,
29:54the soul of the film
29:55is manipulative conversion.
29:58And that is why Kerala story
29:59has been the name,
30:00I mean,
30:01that's the name of the film.
30:02Okay.
30:03Well, all right,
30:05Mr. Shah,
30:06you know,
30:06it's going to be contentious
30:07the days ahead.
30:07I wish you well.
30:08Thank you for taking the time out
30:09and joining us.
30:11I am joined.
30:12Now let's get your contrarian
30:13point of view
30:13of what Mr.
30:14Vipul Shah was talking about
30:16on an entire
30:17might of an ecosystem
30:18up against
30:20the film,
30:21calling it propaganda.
30:22I have with me
30:23Mr. John Brittas,
30:24CPI and Rajya Sabha MP.
30:26You know,
30:27you've had the chief minister
30:28of Kerala come out
30:29strongly against the film,
30:31Mr. Brittas,
30:31but the larger question,
30:32because Kerala is your state,
30:34your government has been
30:35one state that has always
30:37stuck up for freedom of speech.
30:38And the recent example
30:39I'll give you
30:40in the film,
30:41international film festival
30:42that you hosted,
30:43where you decided
30:44against the censor board,
30:46censoring certain films,
30:48to play and host those films,
30:50yet have such views
30:53against a film.
30:54Where does freedom of speech
30:55stand in this case?
30:57Mr. Brittas.
31:01See,
31:02we are not calling
31:04for a ban of this movie.
31:05Did we ever call for a ban?
31:07Did we ever use
31:09our physical strength
31:12to avoid screening
31:14of this movie
31:15when this first edition
31:16was there?
31:17But when a community
31:20is demonized,
31:22a state is tarnished,
31:24and Malayali society
31:27is maligned,
31:28don't we have the right
31:29to say that?
31:31This is peddling
31:34falsehood,
31:35lies to tarnish
31:37a state
31:38which is known
31:39for communal harmony,
31:41amity,
31:41and peaceful coexistence.
31:44Isn't it a fact
31:45that BDP wants to do
31:46dirty propaganda
31:48because elections
31:50are closed by?
31:51And don't you think
31:53the counter
31:54that you have emerged,
31:56emanated,
31:56with regard to this movie
31:57on social media
31:59are all organic?
32:01And if the director
32:02or the producer
32:03both to watch
32:04a couple of the counters,
32:06if they had
32:07a iota of shape,
32:08they would have
32:09drowned themselves
32:10in holy ganges.
32:13See,
32:14this is
32:14an old trick
32:16of having
32:17a poisonous campaign
32:18to tarnish
32:20a state
32:21which never
32:22gave a foothold
32:23to BDP.
32:24And I can tell you
32:25very well,
32:27Malayalis
32:27have the
32:29education,
32:30literacy,
32:31awareness
32:31to see through
32:33this diabolic game
32:34and they will
32:35throw this movie
32:36in the dustbin.
32:38I always used
32:38to say that
32:39such septic tank
32:41movies
32:41will not work
32:43in Kerala.
32:44They can influence
32:45the BJP
32:46card here or there,
32:48but it will not
32:49do anything
32:50good for the BJP
32:51in the coming elections.
32:53We would give
32:53a defecting
32:55rebuttal
32:56reply
32:57to this movie
32:58in the form
32:59of
33:00less elections,
33:02less mandates.
33:02But Mr. Grittas,
33:04the BJP unit
33:05in your own state
33:06says that this is
33:07a lived reality
33:07of the state.
33:08It's happening
33:09in the Malabar coast
33:10or the Malabar belt
33:11of Kerala
33:12where the demography
33:12has changed dramatically
33:14is what their claim is
33:15and people can
33:16actually sense it
33:17and therefore
33:18you see
33:18the rise
33:19of a stringent right
33:20in Kerala,
33:21at least in that belt.
33:25Can any BJP leader
33:27in Kerala
33:28say that
33:29the beef
33:29should be banned here?
33:30You know what
33:31is a teaser?
33:32The beef
33:33is forcefully
33:34fed.
33:35That means
33:36it's been thrust
33:37upon
33:38on a
33:38hapless woman.
33:39I'm sure
33:40that after
33:41the take
33:41that if I told
33:43it was a Malayali
33:44woman,
33:44whether Hindu
33:45or Christian
33:45or Muslim,
33:46she would have
33:47asked the director
33:48please serve me
33:49beef with parotta.
33:51Even the BJP leaders
33:52here
33:53take
33:54release beef
33:55and parotta
33:56here.
33:57See,
33:58there is an extent
33:59of this nonsense
34:00that is happening.
34:00this is a plural
34:02society.
34:04Having a
34:05cuisine,
34:05a particular
34:05cuisine
34:06or a dress
34:08is your choice.
34:10We don't
34:11compel anybody
34:11to have anything
34:12here.
34:13But at the
34:14same time,
34:15we make it
34:16a point that
34:16nobody can
34:18dictate somebody
34:19that you should
34:20take this
34:21sort of food
34:21or you shouldn't
34:23be taking
34:23this sort of food.
34:24this is egalitarian
34:26Kerala society
34:27that is there.
34:28So,
34:29even if some
34:29couple of BJP
34:30leaders
34:31who say
34:32they may be
34:32forced toward
34:33the line of
34:34the BJP
34:35national leadership
34:35of the RSS,
34:36the reality
34:37is entirely
34:38different here.
34:39If it
34:39weren't
34:39with a fact,
34:40if BJP
34:41claims that
34:42all these
34:43stories
34:44are real
34:46incidents,
34:47why did
34:48no BJP
34:49leader go
34:50to see the
34:50Kerala story
34:51first edition?
34:53And these
34:54people have
34:54so many
34:55files,
34:56Kerala files,
34:56Kashmiri files.
34:58The real
34:59file is
34:59abstain files.
35:01They should
35:01make a movie
35:02on that.
35:05All right,
35:05Mr. Britas,
35:06thank you for
35:07joining us and
35:07giving us your
35:08point of view.
35:08We know how
35:09this film really
35:09does.
35:10The trailer has
35:10caused quite a
35:11bit of a
35:12stir.
35:12Now,
35:13Beti Bachao,
35:13Beti Padao,
35:14Save the Girl Child
35:15has been Prime
35:16Minister Modi's
35:16flagship slogan
35:17and scheme.
35:18But a BJP
35:19MLA from
35:19Rajasthan has
35:20undermined that
35:21message in
35:22one message
35:23that he
35:23delivered from
35:25the floor of
35:26the Rajasthan
35:27Assembly.
35:27Bahadur Singh
35:28Kohli compared
35:29the BJP's
35:29government budget
35:30to birthing a
35:31boy and the
35:32previous Congress
35:33regime's budget
35:34to that of a
35:35girl.
35:36Well, no action
35:37has been taken
35:37against the
35:39sexist Neta
35:40who practically
35:42made clear his
35:43gender bias in
35:45the Rajasthan
35:46Assembly.
35:47And, of course,
35:48he doesn't even
35:49need to apologise
35:49for the same.
35:53In a house
35:55meant to frame
35:55laws for equality,
35:57a remark has
35:57exposed how
35:58deep prejudice
35:59still runs.
36:01A sexist comment
36:02inside the Rajasthan
36:03Assembly has
36:04triggered outrage,
36:05raising uncomfortable
36:06questions about
36:08mindset versus
36:09governance.
36:10BJP MLA
36:11Bahadur Singh
36:12Kohli compared
36:13the BJP budget
36:14to the birth
36:15of a boy
36:15and the Congress
36:16budget to the
36:17birth of a girl,
36:18suggesting one
36:19brings value
36:20while the other
36:21does not.
36:22government
36:39has
36:45been
36:46to the
36:49government
36:50to the
36:51government
36:51and the
37:01The Congress, which is in the opposition, slammed the remark as sexist and regressive.
37:29The controversy comes even as cross was spent on Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to change attitudes and correct gender imbalance.
37:37Rajasthan alone has received significant central funding under the scheme aimed at improving awareness, education and survival of the girl
37:45child.
37:47Yet the numbers tell a troubling story.
37:50Rajasthan's sex ratio remains below the national average at 941 women per 1,000 men.
37:56And in Bharatpur, represented by the BJP MLA Bahadur Singh Kohli, the ratio, which is at 853 women per 1
38:04,000 men, is among the lowest in the state.
38:07Reflecting the very bias such schemes seek to eliminate.
38:11When lawmakers mock the birth of a girl, they undo years of policy, money and messaging in a single sentence.
38:18The question now is, will this just be another row or a moment of reckoning for India's fight for dignity
38:25and equality of the girl child?
38:27With Dev Ankur Vadhavan, Bureau Report, India Today.
38:34Because it's not just what the MLA said, it's also the people around him.
38:38The minute he said that the Congress's budget, Ashok Gailoa Ji ne chhodi paida ki us budget mein, isi liye
38:45chhoda nahi hua.
38:46Everybody was laughing.
38:47Now we are, to the point, rarely ever deliver monologues because that is not our job.
38:52But sometimes it becomes imperative for us to do our job.
38:56So here goes.
38:57Why has no action been taken against the Veer Bharatpur MLA?
39:01Is it because he openly stated on the floor of the State Assembly what is usually said in not-so
39:06-hushed tones in Rajasthan society?
39:08That if you birth a boy, it is an achievement.
39:11It is an accomplishment.
39:12You have hit the jackpot in social hierarchy.
39:16But if you birth a girl, it's a shame that you have bought upon yourself and your family.
39:21The mindset we have spent decades changing.
39:25The gender bias that the Prime Minister in his much appreciated Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao scheme has tried so very
39:32hard to change.
39:33Where the government has allotted the state of Rajasthan under the flagship scheme of Beti Bachao from the launch in
39:402014-2015 up to 2024-25.
39:43The total approximate 14 to 15 crores.
39:47While State of Rajasthan alone has spent another 14 crores.
39:50All of that money goes down the drain if we refuse to take any action against the MLA in question.
39:57Bahadur Singh Kohli.
39:58Which we have not taken any action.
40:00Who represents the MLA?
40:02The Veer constituency in Bharatpur districts.
40:05A bit of data here.
40:07Bharatpur district continues to have the worst child sex ratio in the country.
40:11Whereas per the last census, the child sex ratio of Veer Tehseel stands at an appalling 853 girls per thousand
40:20boys.
40:23Malundat.
40:24853 girls per thousand boys.
40:26Which is the worst in the country.
40:27And one of the worst in Rajasthan as well.
40:31In terms of districts.
40:32A skewed sex ratio.
40:34That is also mirrored in the total strength of the Rajasthan assembly.
40:37Where this gender bias clearly is seen.
40:41Where out of a 200 member assembly only.
40:44200 member assembly only 21 are women.
40:47So when Mr. Kohli.
40:49The MLA from Veer Bharatpur stands and says what he does.
40:53That is having a girl child is a curse.
40:56In front of the few 21 women MLAs in the state assembly.
41:00Which includes by the way the deputy chief minister.
41:03Miss Diyakumari.
41:04He knew he wasn't saying anything shocking.
41:06It's the accepted norm in the society.
41:07And he will get away with it.
41:10Even though.
41:11Another bit of data here.
41:13Rajasthan has the ignominy of ranking third in the crime against women across the country as a state.
41:19Where in 2023 it also enjoyed the ignominy of having the highest number of rapes across the country.
41:27But why bother?
41:28Because after all birthing a girl is a curse.
41:30Isn't it something that was laughed at, accepted, stated, flouted in the state assembly by a BJP MLA not as
41:38far back as four days.
41:40And no action was taken against him.
41:42The fact is in India.
41:44Deep rooted patriarchal norms from sun preferences to rigid male dominated power structures.
41:49Continue to shape the fate of young girls long before they can shape their own futures.
41:55For many the barriers begin before birth and only multiply.
41:59Unequal access to nutrition, to healthcare, to education, to opportunity.
42:04The consequences are not just personal.
42:06They are generational and they are economic.
42:09When girls are denied survival and schooling, the nation forfeits talent.
42:13It forfeits productivity.
42:15It forfeits progress.
42:16And above all, it forfeits basic human rights to girls.
42:21According to estimates by the United Nations, and this I'm quoting by the UN report, UNDP report 2000 and 2020.
42:30India recorded the most skewed child sex ratio in the world.
42:35Mind you, we are competing with the likes of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.
42:39Yet, we are at the bottom.
42:41A stark reminder that gender bias is not a relic of the past, but a crisis unfolding in the present.
42:48And sometimes celebrated, even in state assemblies like this.
42:53So, I won't be surprised if no action is taken against the BJP wear MLA, Bahadur Singh Kohli.
42:59Also, on a side note, gender bias is bipartisan.
43:02A code of silence today exists across parties in Rajasthan.
43:07Heard anything from the opposition in Rajasthan, the Congress?
43:11Why upset vote banks?
43:12Because, after all, these are deep-seated societal biases.
43:15Raising your voice might antagonize a particular community.
43:19So, till we see an actual shift and the likes of Kohli are sacked,
43:24Beti Bachao is no more than that sticker you see at the back of a truck or a temple when
43:29you cross highways.
43:31With that, there are certain questions that we want to pose right on top.
43:34The questions that we asked this evening, why no action against the BJP MLA?
43:41Beti Bachao justice slogan, if accused, belongs to the ruling party.
43:45In this case, clearly it seems so.
43:48The other question we asked, why a bipartisan code of silence?
43:52Political calculations far bigger than protecting the girl child.
43:56Did the BJP MLA expose how deeply gender bias is entrenched in India's political systems?
44:04Not the first time we've heard it.
44:06Not the first time it's being condoned, but nothing from the political class.
44:10And if accountability stops at party lines, which it has in the case of the Bharatiya Janata Party today,
44:16is there real commitment to Beti Bachao?
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