- 14 hours ago
Delhi Police arrested Indian Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib and seven others following a shirtless protest at the AI summit last week in Delhi.
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00:00Rule of law or rule of power.
00:06Youth Congress Chief arrested over shirtless protest.
00:12Arrest justifiable or disproportionate.
00:17BJP reiterates sabotaging nation charge.
00:31Amid political slugfest, Rahul double-stumped.
00:42LOP cause was scrapping trade deal with U.S.
00:54Congress launches nationwide outreach for farmers.
01:00Showdown over shirtless protest.
01:03Top focus on To The Point.
01:09Welcome, you're watching To The Point.
01:11I'm Preeti Chaudhary.
01:12Let me quickly take you through the headline
01:14before we get down to our first debate this evening.
01:20Showdown over Congress AI summit protest escalates
01:23after Delhi police arrests Youth Congress Chief Uday Bhanu.
01:27Criminal conspiracy charge slapped on all eight accused.
01:30Rahul Gandhi calls arrested Pambarshes.
01:37Kerala will now be called Kerala.
01:40Modi cabinet approves renaming of state.
01:42Big move ahead of assembly elections in the state.
01:50Kerala's story storm at High Court doorstep.
01:53Filmmakers first agree to show film to judges.
01:55Later, take a U-turn.
01:57Ask Kerala High Court to first decide and flee against the film.
02:01High Court believes makers are not keen to show the film to judges.
02:09Body chopping horror in Lucknow.
02:1121-year-old son kills dad, chops his body,
02:14stores father's body parts in a drum.
02:16Murder after father's forced son to take the neat exam.
02:25All seven dead in Jharkhand Air Ambulance crash.
02:28Jharkhand official claims air crash due to thunderstorm.
02:32Aircraft went missing at 7.30 p.m.
02:40India's fight against cervical cancer.
02:42Center to launch nationwide HPV vaccination drive
02:45to curb cervical cancer.
02:59Amidst the Deepam Rao, Prime Minister all set to visit Madurai.
03:03That's the latest news break that is coming in.
03:05Prime Minister Modi may also visit the temple
03:08which was at the center of the Deepam Rao.
03:11The Prime Minister's visit to Tamil Nadu is scheduled on the 1st of March
03:16and he will address a rally in Madurai.
03:18And word coming in right now that in all probability
03:21that the Prime Minister is all set to visit the Madurai temple as well.
03:28All of this comes in the wake of the massive controversy
03:32which took place just two months ago
03:35and has been in the court ever since
03:37where it came down to lighting a Deepak
03:40where the Madurai temple is concerned.
03:43And the Prime Minister on the 1st of March
03:46was to visit Tamil Nadu
03:48and it seems that in all probability
03:51where he addresses the rally in Madurai
03:53he will be visiting the Madurai temple
03:56where the entire controversy took place.
03:59Joining me right now is my colleague Pramod Madhav.
04:01Pramod, the BJP trying to make this an election issue.
04:06The Prime Minister will be addressing a rally in Madurai
04:09and in all probability word coming in
04:12that he might pay a visit to the very same temple
04:14which ignited this massive controversy.
04:21Surely it's pretty and just like you mentioned
04:22the Prime Minister is going to visit Tamil Nadu
04:24especially in Madurai on 1st of March.
04:26In fact, this is the second visit, a prominent visit
04:28after his visit to Madharadangam recently
04:30where he had all the NDA Alliance party leaders
04:33including TTV Dinagaran as well
04:34and this time he's going to speak in Madurai
04:36a place close to a location called as Mandela
04:38and that's a place which is also much close
04:40to Tiruparangundram temple.
04:42Tiruparangundram temple is considered as the first
04:44of the six aborts, very holy place, shrines or places
04:47of Lord Murugan
04:47and atop this particular temple
04:49there is a hill or kundra
04:51and top of that only the Deepatun is there.
04:54That turned out to be a huge controversy on one side.
04:57BJP and Hindumarini and Hindu factions
04:58are constantly hitting at DMK
05:00for not going ahead
05:02and even after the court has said so
05:03allowing the particular petitioner
05:05to go and light the lamp over there.
05:07So that particular issue is still pertaining
05:08and amidst this we've come to know
05:10that the Prime Minister may visit
05:12and confirmation we will get by Thursday, Preeti.
05:15Alright, that confirmation coming in on Thursday
05:17this will raise political temperatures
05:19where Tamil Nadu is concerned
05:20and my colleague Pramod Madhav
05:21is going to keep a keen eye on all developments.
05:23Thank you Pramod for that news break
05:25coming in from Tamil Nadu
05:27all surrounding the Prime Minister's visit.
05:29Lots going on.
05:29Political temperatures set to rise
05:32in the south of the Windyaz
05:34while in the north of the Windyaz
05:35national capital.
05:36It is spring but it's hot
05:40where politics is concerned
05:42and the clash coming in together
05:44at a time where the youth congress workers
05:47eight of them have been charged with
05:49some many would say by the Delhi police
05:52with charges that are possibly disproportionate
05:56to the protests that they were carrying on
05:58and this has resulted
06:00in a massive political slugfest.
06:16Delhi police have arrested
06:17Youth Congress Chief Uday Banu Chib
06:19over the shirtless protest
06:21at the AI summit.
06:22He is the eighth person
06:24to be arrested in the case.
06:25He has been sent to four days police custody
06:27and the investigation
06:28is now in the hands of the crime branch.
06:31Police have booked the youth congress president
06:33on charges of criminal conspiracy
06:35voluntarily causing her to a public servant,
06:38obstructing a public servant on duty
06:40and willful disobedience.
06:42The police have slapped non-bailable sections
06:45in a case that usually attracts
06:47bailable charges.
06:48said this,
07:17is now in terms of government
07:18i mean robotics
07:25The question is, does this crackdown by the Delhi police send the message that dissent
07:30is not tolerated in this democracy?
07:33While the form of protest at the AI summit could be condemned, can it be criminalised?
07:39The Youth Congress insists that opposition to government policies should not be equated
07:43with opposition to the nation.
07:45The country which the Delhi police and the ruling government is trying to make.
07:50I have never in my entire career seen anything of this sort where recovery is to be made of
07:56the T-shirts and for that, for the biggest youth organisation, biggest youth organisation,
08:01Indian Youth Congress, where we have a membership more than a crow.
08:04The president of that organisation, he's been detained first and he was compliant.
08:10He was anyway joining the investigation, not once but thrice.
08:15The BJP has reiterated its charge that the protest sabotages India's global image.
08:22Do not do that.
08:24If there is no fear, if there is no disruption to anyone, then this is Rahul Gandhi's global image.
08:31The reason why they arena-f
08:53In two addresses over less than 24 hours,
08:57leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi has backed youth congress workers.
09:18He also demanded that the India-U.S. trade deal be scrapped.
09:39Building up on the charge of dissent being crushed by the government,
09:42Rahul also spoke on former Army Chief General Naravani's memoir.
10:18The leader of opposition reiterated that the government should be ashamed
10:22over the mentions of Prime Minister Modi's minister in the Epstein files.
10:49Rahul Gandhi made the remarks while addressing the Kisanmaha Chawpal Farmers Rally in Bhopal,
10:54which is part of Congress' nationwide outreach to highlight the impact of the India-U.S. trade deal on farmers.
11:00The Congress says the outreach will begin with six states and later expand across the country.
11:05The campaign in Bhopal will be followed by similar events in Yavatmal and Shri Ganga Nagar.
11:10Even as it faces condemnation over the nature of the shirtless protest,
11:14the Congress is showing no signs of backing down.
11:21All right, joining me right now is the former head of the Congress Youth Wing,
11:28which is Mr. Shri Nivas Bibi, joining us now, Congress leader.
11:32Appreciate you taking the time out and joining us, sir.
11:34So my first question stems from the fact you yourself have been the president of the Congress's Youth Wing.
11:40You yourself have been dragged on the streets of the national capital and across the country.
11:45You've been detained. You've been let go.
11:47Never have charges like this ever been framed against the likes of you.
11:50There has to be some reason that the police finds that the charges that have been framed against these eight
11:57Congress workers
11:58are right now who are under arrest.
12:01You might think they're disproportionate, but the police says, let us investigate.
12:07Look, the first thing I want to think of is this country's soul, it's a democracy.
12:15In a democracy, everyone has to keep themselves in their own words,
12:20and to be afraid, and to be afraid, and to be afraid, and to be afraid.
12:21This is the first time, the first time it's happening, and it's happening in the world.
12:25So this is not to be able to do this in a democracy.
12:56This is not to be able to do this in a way.
13:11This is not to be able to do this in a way.
13:21So this is not to be able to do this in a way.
13:51So this is not to be able to do this in a way.
13:55This is not to be able to do this in a way.
13:59It's a way to do this in a way.
14:25So this is not to be able to do this in a way.
14:41This is not to be able to do this in a way.
14:47This is not to be able to do this in a way.
15:25This is not to be able to do this in a way.
15:25This is not to be able to do this in a way.
15:34This is not to be able to do this in a way.
16:10This is not to be able to do this in a way.
16:14This is not to be able to do this in a way.
16:25This is not to be able to do this in a way.
16:27This is not to be able to do this in a way.
16:48This is not to be able to do this in a way.
16:51This is not to be able to do this in a way.
17:02foreign
17:16foreign
17:18foreign
17:18foreign
18:13Srinivas Bibi, thank you for taking the time out and joining us this evening.
18:16Appreciate it.
18:17I want to quickly cut across to Mr. Nalan Kohli, who's joining us from the Delhi airport
18:21right now.
18:21Thank you, sir, for taking the time out.
18:23I know you have a flight to catch, but very quickly, there are, you know, where the protest
18:29is concerned, Mr. Kohli, some would suggest inappropriate theatrical should not have taken
18:34place inside the exhibition area.
18:35But on the other hand, it was a peaceful protest.
18:38The sheer fact that they have been arrested, the kind of charges that have been slapped
18:42against them.
18:43Would you think this is legal overreach?
18:49Why overreach?
18:51The act as an overreach was the AI summit in which heads of government and heads of state
18:56are coming.
18:57The best minds who are working in AI are there, a global summit.
19:01It had nothing to do with the farmers issue.
19:05It had nothing to do with the trade deal.
19:06So, it was an overreach of the Congress party in the first place to go there.
19:10And a larger question comes, is this a conspiracy?
19:13And why should a conspiracy not be ruled out?
19:16There have been allegations in the past against the Congress party and its functionaries of
19:21meeting people who have fueled and even funded agendas against India and India's national
19:26interest.
19:27So, the police has every right to investigate every angle.
19:30And they will start with all the charges.
19:33And when the evidence comes, the workers will be charged for whatever there is enough evidence
19:39on.
19:40Now, whether they are grave or less grave, only the investigation can reveal.
19:44But, Mr. Kooli, you yourself are a celebrated lawyer.
19:47You know this better than I, sir, that a peaceful protest like this one might be in bad taste,
19:53but it was peaceful in nature, is a bailable offence.
19:56And for them now to be detained, then arrested, you know, a larger conspiracy being alleged
20:02without any proof per se, till now.
20:05Is that correct?
20:09Well, first of all, whether there was a conspiracy or not will be known only after.
20:13After the investigation, it can't be known before.
20:16So, whether this was only a peaceful process and a protest would be known after the investigation
20:23closes.
20:24Because if there is a conspiracy angle and the police believes that there is one, and
20:28it finds that the charges can be maintained, then all these ifs and buts about a peaceful
20:32protest won't matter.
20:33So, we have to wait for the investigation.
20:36Second, if they had to protest, did they have to do it in this manner, at this event, which
20:40I'm saying is inappropriate.
20:42So, therefore, there are questions that the Congress party and its workers have to answer.
20:46And if they are facing an allegation and an investigation that is serious, they'll have
20:50to deal with it.
20:51Does their legal rights in any case exist?
20:55Mr. Kohli, I'm going to read out and I'm going to ask our producers to pull out the
20:58arrest copy, the order, the arrest order right now.
21:02And the arrest order says that the Congress workers, the youth Congress workers raised anti-national
21:07slogans and created a riot-like situation.
21:19They raised anti-national slogans with the documentary evidence that we have of that clip.
21:29They raised questions against the Prime Minister.
21:32How does that make it anti-national, number one, sir?
21:34And second, you know that they were without their wares, inappropriate, theatrical, all
21:39of that.
21:39But how did that lead to a riot-like situation?
21:44Well, that's what you have available with you.
21:46But do you have the complete situation, the complete video?
21:49I've not seen it, so I can't comment.
21:51Number two, this is not just the BJP or the police speaking.
21:54We've had other political parties like what I gathered from the media, Mr. Akhilesh Yadha.
21:59They also denounced it, so the opposition also sees no great merit on it.
22:02The Congress can't make a disastrous decision into a virtue and turn it into a sort of a
22:09Gandhian argument.
22:10It's not a Gandhian argument, because this is not fighting against some foreign power.
22:14This is, in a way, shaming your own government and your government's achievements, which had
22:19to do with national interest, AI.
22:22It has nothing to do with the BJP.
22:23The BJP is not the founder of AI, and the BJP was not organizing this AI summit.
22:28And heads of government and heads of state and all the best minds were coming to be part
22:32of something in which there was a declaration involving some dozens of countries.
22:36So, I think in all of it, you have to look at that perspective rather than the Congress
22:40now is crying and saying, well, you have started taking strong action against us.
22:44In the first place, why did the incident take place?
22:47That is what the Congress Party should answer.
22:49Mr. Kohli, nobody's questioning denouncing it.
22:52Everybody, I think, has denounced what really happened.
22:54But even the ones you quote, the likes of Achille Shiadav, have also come out and said
22:57that disproportionate action is being taken against the youth Congress workers.
23:02The point, Mr. Kohli, is since when did we start connecting protest with national pride?
23:06Because ultimately, this was a protest, you could say in bad taste, but to connect it to national pride,
23:11raising anti-national slogans, because they denounced the Prime Minister.
23:15They were not raising slogans against the country.
23:20Well, we started whenever it's appropriate in this case, and I firmly believe it is appropriate,
23:25because this was a national and international event.
23:29And at an international event, if you are running down the elected head of government of your state,
23:34who isn't coming from any other way but through votes in the world's largest democracy,
23:39you are running down your country's government and you are running down your country in front of foreign dignitaries.
23:44And if it comes from the leader, if it comes from the leading opposition party, then certainly it's not in
23:50national interest.
23:51If it's not in national interest, then it is logical to ask the question, is it against national interest or
23:56is it anti-national?
23:59All right, let's cut across right now. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kohli, for joining us. Appreciate it.
24:03And thank you for taking the time out from the airport there.
24:05I want to cut across to Salman Soz, National Spokesperson Congress, Sanju Verma, National Spokesperson BJP.
24:10Both of you will get two minutes to put your party points forward.
24:13Let's begin with Mr. Salman Soz.
24:15Mr. Salman Soz, the fact is, you know, we were having a conversation earlier with Mr. Srinivas Bibi,
24:20who's been the head of your youth congress wing earlier.
24:24He's been detained multiple times in the past. He's been let go of.
24:27Never has he faced charges such as this.
24:30This was an international event and the police says that it could lead to a larger conspiracy to defame the
24:35country.
24:36So therefore different charges, because it was a completely different protest,
24:41which took place peaceful, though inside the exhibition area.
24:45But a larger conspiracy to defame the country needs to be investigated as per the cops.
24:53I think this is nothing but trying to scare people into never protesting against the government.
25:01This is stifling dissent. I think this sends a chilling effect message to everybody in the country.
25:08And the Nalin was, you know, saying that we have to investigate.
25:13And, you know, you're running down the government.
25:16I think this is ridiculous. The opposition is there to hold the government accountable.
25:20OK, it doesn't matter what forum it is.
25:24This is India. This is on Indian soil.
25:26You know, you know, so it is our it is our right to protest peacefully.
25:31And as far as I can tell, as far as anybody can tell, anybody who's reasonable about this.
25:39Our youth congress workers, they were protesting peacefully.
25:44People may have views about whether or not they should take their shirts off, et cetera.
25:47But by the way, I mean, there are, you know, clips of a current minister in the Haryana government, Mr.
25:55Vich.
25:55He and many of his compatriots from the BJP were totally, you know, almost, you know, unfortunately, naked from the
26:03bottom, you know, from, you know, by the torso up.
26:06So I think this is this is a dangerous, dangerous thing.
26:09I want to tell BJP that he will not be in power for all times.
26:13You cannot criminalize peaceful protest because this is Mahatma Gandhi's India.
26:19This is.
26:23This is the India of nonviolence and nonviolence protest.
26:27That nonviolent protest that got us our freedom.
26:29You cannot criminalize it.
26:31And if you are so weak as to be threatened by these kinds of things, maybe you should not be
26:36in government.
26:36But I think I think they are taking the country in a very dangerous direction.
26:40This is a this is a direction of intolerance, intolerance against peaceful things.
26:44If you don't let peaceful protests happen, worse things could happen.
26:47And we should not.
26:48You know, we are.
26:49We should create a democracy where we let people come up.
26:52If they have any problems, they should challenge the government.
26:55And that is the way civilized democracies behave.
26:59All right.
26:59So your time is up.
27:00You know, protesting without a shirt, Mr. Soares, I don't think is that was of contention.
27:06That's an aesthetic question.
27:07Many might not have thought that is aesthetically it looked good.
27:10But that's separate.
27:11The issue came from the fact that they were protesting inside an exhibition area and possibly should have protested elsewhere.
27:17And that was what is being contended.
27:19But Sanju Verma, the kind of charges that are being slapped.
27:22What prime FSI looks like a peaceful protest.
27:25I want to put out the order copy there, the arrest copy.
27:27It says, the Delhi police says they raised anti-India slogans, anti-national slogans.
27:33It also says that they created a riot-like situation.
27:36Raising slogans against the prime minister Sanju Verma as respected that he is, is not raising anti-national slogans.
27:41Number two, it was unsavory in nature, but where was a riot-like situation?
27:50Preeti, you know, there is a saying in Hindi.
28:00Every congressperson knows that what happened that day at the AI summit with half-naked congresses streaking around in front
28:10of a global audience is reprehensible, is absolutely unacceptable and condemnable.
28:16The fact that they will not acknowledge it is a different matter altogether.
28:21The second point I want to make is the constitution.
28:25The same constitution says freedom of speech, freedom of expression is not absolute.
28:36It does not function in a vacuum.
28:39It is subject to public order, morality and health.
28:43The third point, the BJP does not run the courts.
28:47The Delhi police has presented a solid case.
28:50And the Patiala House Court decided that Udaybhan Chip or Udaybhan Chip, whatever his name is, and the other congresses
29:00who were streaking around, they deserve to be in custody.
29:04Point number four, and very importantly, obstructing public officials from performing their duty, assaulting public officers at a public venue,
29:15hate speech and criminal conspiracy.
29:18They have been primarily charged under these four sections.
29:22Now, whether saying TM is compromised his hate speech or not, with due respect to Preeti Chaudhary and to Salman
29:30Sos, this is not going to be decided by Preeti Chaudhary, Salman Sos or Sanju Verma.
29:34The courts will decide.
29:35I remember when in Karnataka, simply for protesting against Siddharamaya's Muda scam.
29:43What did the Siddharamaya government do?
29:46Twenty BJP MLS were summarily pushed out.
29:49And when we protested peacefully, we were told.
29:52Ma'am, your time is up.
29:54And what you quoted about Karnataka was terrible.
29:56It shouldn't have happened.
29:57It was anti-democratic.
29:58And let's hope we can say the same thing about this.
30:01But having said that, on a lighter note, streaking is running buck naked.
30:04Fortunately, for a lot of us who had to watch it, they only had their T-shirts off and were
30:09wearing their wests on.
30:11But Salman Sos, I want to give the both of you the last two minutes, you know, closing comments there.
30:16But, Mr. Sos, the fact is, give them time to investigate, because this was an international platform.
30:22What the larger question, Mr. Sos, is why the belligerence?
30:26Because you can admit it, that this protest should have maybe taken place outside, somewhere else.
30:31And the kind of backlash wouldn't have been something like this.
30:34Nobody's trying to justify the kind of charges that have been placed on your colleagues from the Youth Congress.
30:40But, at least admittance that maybe not inside, in an exhibition area, which had lots of young innovators who were
30:46looking for business,
30:47indigenous innovators, do you not reckon that was disrespectful to them?
30:53Look, first of all, I mean, we obviously want the best for our innovators, our businesses, those who are hopefully
30:58going to create the kinds of technologies and jobs that our country needs.
31:02But this is not about those people.
31:04All those slogans we were raising, our team was raising, was against the Prime Minister, because there is a context
31:14to all this.
31:15And the context is that, on multiple fronts, this government has become unaccountable and is not responding to what people's
31:22genuine concerns are.
31:23They signed a trade framework agreement with the United States weeks before the Supreme Court was to make a decision
31:29in the U.S.
31:30And then they made a decision and now look where we are.
31:32There is no accountability for that.
31:35A union minister, he's appearing in the infamous Epstein files multiple times, multiple times.
31:45There has to be, we need clarity on why, what was going on, and why was this person associating with
31:53a pedophile?
31:57Why?
31:58I mean, that is a disqualifying thing.
32:01Why did they make him a minister?
32:02Because they probably did not know at that time.
32:04So these kinds of things cannot happen.
32:07And the response of the government is basically that they will criminalize protest.
32:12Protests are supposed to make people feel uncomfortable.
32:15That's the whole idea behind protest.
32:17We cannot cater to everybody's sensibilities.
32:20We'll do it in a very secluded way.
32:22We will not hide what is in plain sight for so many of us that this country is going through
32:27a very bad time.
32:28It is not like Prime Minister Modi when President Trump came to see him in Gujarat.
32:32He basically, you know, walled off places where the poor people lived.
32:39The Congress wants transparency.
32:41And this government will have to provide transparency.
32:44And we will protest wherever we want because that is our constitutional right.
32:49Nobody can take it away from us.
32:50And I want to tell the people sitting and watching us right now.
32:53Your children might...
32:55Okay.
32:56So the time is up.
32:58Sanju Verma, your final two minutes.
33:00The fact is you have on this show multiple times spoken about the chilling effect of the Congress during the
33:0570s
33:06where Indira Gandhi threw many members, a lot of them from your own party, in jail.
33:12And you talk about clamping down on dissent.
33:16Today, you might find the protest unsavory.
33:19You might think it's wrong in nature and they should not have done it.
33:22But to clamp down charges that the Delhi police has clamped down on them.
33:27There is a point that Mr. Soz makes that you're looking at criminalizing protest.
33:32And the message is in this democracy, if you protest in this way, there is no room for it.
33:41You know, Preeti, I'm glad you made that point.
33:44Let me just say one thing.
33:46Look at the language of Rahul Gandhi.
33:47He today said,
33:48He said,
33:57He said,
34:19That is what the LOP's position has come down to.
34:28Thanks to an absolutely juvenile,
34:31Churlish and reckless Rahul Gandhi.
34:33The second point I want to make is this.
34:36When was a compromise?
34:38You know, when did a compromise happen?
34:41It happened in 2005 when the Congress signed an RCEP with Singapore saying we will not subsidize our farmers.
34:49A compromise happened in 2008 when Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi signed an MOU with China.
34:56A compromise happened in 2011 when Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi's kitchen cabinet signed the RCEP saying we will no
35:06longer subsidize our milk producers.
35:09A compromise happened when Nehru gave away 38,000 square kilometers on a golden platter of aksai chin to the
35:17Chinese.
35:17A compromise happened when Indira Gandhi gave away Kachyatibu Islands in 1974 to Sri Lanka.
35:24And a compromise happened when Rahul Gandhi was castigated by the Supreme Court not to say Chaukidar Chor hai pertaining
35:32to the Rafale deal,
35:34but shamelessly in gross violation of the apex court, he kept doing that.
35:39So Congress has not covered itself in glory.
35:42They should stop lecturing the BJP and the Prime Minister.
35:45All right, ma'am, the time is up.
35:47I appreciate both of you for joining us, putting your party points forward.
35:50We are going to keep a keen eye on developments.
36:03The recent instances of air crashes have raised serious concerns over safety of air travel.
36:15Another deadly air mishap took place in Jharkhand's Chhatra.
36:22An air ambulance bound for Delhi on a life-saving mission met with ill fate and crashed in dense forest
36:28area, killing all seven on board.
36:35The aircraft was on route from Ranchi to Delhi to transport a burn patient for treatment.
36:41The airport operated by Redbird Airways Private Limited took off from Ranchi Airport at 7.11pm.
36:47The aircraft requested for deviation from Kolkata ATC due to weather at 7.34pm and then lost communication.
37:00Hours later, debris of the aircraft was found with charred bodies of the patient, doctor, two pilots and the patient's
37:07attendants.
37:11As probe is on, experts believe the challenging weather and rough terrain were responsible for the crash.
37:19In 15-20 minutes, it went out of radar and after that it lost its control with ATC.
37:27How the flight crashed, you can see the wreckage, you can see the wings.
37:31And it was said that in the last moments it was wobbling and suddenly it crashed with a big screeching
37:38sound.
38:03Hours later, another accident, a Pavan hunts helicopter while making images.
38:08An emergency landing in Andaman crashed into the sea.
38:14The chopper had taken off from Port Blair with two pilots and five passengers on board.
38:19All seven on board were rescued safely.
38:25These incidents in less than 24 hours have raised serious concerns over safety of commercial aviation in the country.
38:34Earlier this month, a chartered plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had crashed near Baramati while attempting landing.
38:46And now the air ambulance crash has once again brought back the heartbreaking memories of one of India's worst aviation
38:53disasters.
38:56Crash of London-bound Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad.
39:03The Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged just seconds after take-off, claiming nearly 260 lives.
39:13These past instances raise a serious concern.
39:16Do Indian skies face critical safety concerns?
39:24A stunning RTI reveal has exposed her scores of airworthiness wing and air safety wing positions in DGCA remain vacant.
39:33India Today has found that in airworthiness wing out of 310 positions, 136 are vacant.
39:41In the air safety wing, 30 out of 116 positions remain vacant.
39:50DGCA assures passengers' safety and calls it their top priority.
39:54But can the aviation watchdog deliver it with a staff crunch?
40:01Bureau Report, India Today.
40:06So, Bureau, the RTI that has been accessed by India Today says that the aviation oversight body is grossly understaffed.
40:14The DGCA Department airworthiness wing, the post sanctions have been 310, the posts filled only 174.
40:22That leaves 136 posts vacant.
40:25The DGCA Department of Air Safety Wing, post sanctioned 116.
40:29Posts filled just 86.
40:32Posts vacant 30.
40:34I want to cut across right now to Captain Wadia, founder, President of Federation of Indian Pilots.
40:40Captain Wadia, thank you for taking the time out and joining us.
40:43We've seen two crashes in the last 24 hours.
40:46It comes less than a month than we saw the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra dry in a charter plane
40:52crash.
40:53This year has been terrible for Indian aviation.
40:55What are your comments, sir?
40:58My comments are straightforward.
41:00Why are you or anyone surprised at all this happening?
41:04First of all, this has been foreseen and we have been shouting from the rooftops for the last 50 years.
41:11And you right now pointed out that there is a vacancies in the DGCA.
41:16It has got nothing to do with the vacancies.
41:18It has something to do with the mindset.
41:21The government of India and the DGCA does not see the necessity of having qualified safety people who analyze and
41:33suggest safety norms.
41:34In India, we've had the DGCA filling the posts of the prosecutor, the judge and the jury totally.
41:44We have to have an independent safety board.
41:47The intention is to avoid these accidents and not do an inquiry only after the accident happens.
41:52And also, tell me, how long does it take for a flight that has taken just 30 seconds for the
42:00report to come out from that crash?
42:02How long does it take to analyze that crash?
42:05Why is the report of the crash that took place more than two years back, why is it still not
42:11out?
42:12And is the AEB of India authorized and qualified to do investigations?
42:17You need specialists for this. They're called accident analysis specialists.
42:23Most countries in the world have these accident specialists.
42:26In India, we do not have this.
42:28And though we've asked for an independent safety board, the government has systematically refuted the idea and do not want
42:38to have a safety board because they want to protect their own skins first.
42:42The DGCA is bothered about safeguarding their interests and not having people point out fingers at them.
42:48That is why you keep on having these safety problems and accidents continuously keep on happening.
42:54And this will not stop unless the mindset changes.
42:58And I'm sure the prime minister, if he's briefed properly, he will think of an independent safety board,
43:05which is genuinely independent with qualified people and not just any Tom Dick and Harry sitting in the GCA.
43:12Captain Wadi, I wish we had more time, but thank you for your interjection because that's given many people a
43:16lot to think about.
43:18And look at the figures right there.
43:19But as he says, it's not so much about the vacancies that are still there and not filled.
43:25It is the mindset and that mindset hasn't changed for decades now.
43:28And then we are actually witnessing what we are and how unsafe our skies have become.
43:34And now we are going to pass great.
43:34.
43:34Okay.
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