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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers to discuss the impact of the West Asia conflict on India, marking nearly one month since the war began.
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00:04Good evening, you're watching Super 6 here on India Today.
00:07I'm Akshita Anandha Gopal.
00:08We've got lots lined up for you this Friday evening
00:10where we're going to be focusing on what's the latest
00:12as far as the impact of the West Asia war on India is concerned.
00:16So on the show this evening, we're counting down
00:19to Prime Minister Modi's meeting with Chief Ministers across the country.
00:23It's a virtual meeting that's going to be kicking off
00:26in just about 30 minutes from now.
00:28Now, what's expected?
00:29What will be the decisions?
00:31What's the communication that will go across from central government?
00:33We'll decode that.
00:34And most importantly, I know there's been a whole lot of rumours
00:37that a lockdown is coming, that a lockdown is going to be imposed.
00:40We're going to be getting you the truth behind that.
00:42Is that actually the case or is this all just rumour-mongering?
00:45More details headed your way on that.
00:47We begin with the headlines.
00:53Government slashes exciser on petrol and diesel excise.
00:57Excise duty on petrol slashed to 3 rupees per litre from 13 rupees per litre.
01:01Excise duty on diesel now nil from 10 rupees per litre.
01:05Government says chose not to hike fuel prices for citizens.
01:16Government rubbishes lockdown.
01:18Rumours amid crisis says lockdown reports are false and misleading.
01:21Government reiterates avoid panic, says we have enough stock.
01:28U.S. portals say Iran energy plant strikes for another 10 days.
01:32Trump says Iran begging for a deal.
01:34Sides good talks with Iran for extending the pause.
01:40Massive uproar in the Jaman Kashmir assembly
01:42as NCMLA's protest against Khamenei killing.
01:45NCMLA's slogan here with Khamenei posters.
01:48Israel Muratabad slogans raced in the assembly.
01:56Shocking VIP mindset on display.
01:58Karnataka MLAs demand free IPL tickets.
02:03Sources say state cricket body will also give now the MLAs a separate stand to watch matches
02:08along with free tickets.
02:10The very same stadium, mind you, where a stampede broke out months ago.
02:17And on the occasion of Ram Navami,
02:21the Surya Tilak ceremony once again talked about across the nation,
02:25Prime Minister Modi offers his prayers virtually during the Surya Tilak ceremony.
02:51We are just about 30 minutes away from the Prime Minister's meeting with Chief Ministers of all states.
02:57This is to discuss the impact, the impact on India of the West Asia conflict.
03:03It's the first of its kind meeting since the war broke out.
03:06Remember, tomorrow we mark exactly one month of this conflict.
03:10And amid that, Prime Minister Modi is chairing this meeting with Chief Ministers
03:14in about 30 minutes from now to discuss how states can work with the central government
03:19to ensure that people don't feel the pinch, that people don't feel the impact.
03:24There's been a lot of questions about whether in this meeting there's going to be some sort of decision of
03:29lockdown.
03:29We can confirm for you that no such decision is going to be made.
03:33This is essentially an attempt by the centre to ensure they're on the same page with state governments.
03:38It's also a time when you're not seeing too much politics, fortunately.
03:42Everyone's speaking in one voice, saying that the people of this country, citizens, should not feel the pinch.
03:47I want to bring in Piyush Mishra for details. He's joining us live from Delhi.
03:51In 30 minutes from now, Piyush, that crucial meeting kicks off.
03:54And what immediately is being brought up is the fact that we saw many such meetings happen during COVID.
04:01And so at that time, there was a lockdown. Is that going to happen this time?
04:05Very clearly, the government has said absolutely not.
04:09Well, no doubt about it. Government has made it very, very clear, Akshada, that there is no thought of imposing
04:15any kind of lockdown.
04:16We have enough energy resources. We are in touch with various other countries.
04:20We have also, you know, diversified our talks with around 41 countries.
04:26You know, enough resources are there. So there's no point of imposing lockdown.
04:30There's no shortage of any energy resources. That's what the government has been stressing upon.
04:33But you would remember that in the last few days, the Prime Minister has also been stressing upon one thing.
04:38And that is the united efforts by Team India.
04:42And that's why we are going to see the meeting of Team India that will be led by Piyush Marendra
04:47Modi,
04:47in which Chief Ministers of all these states are going to participate.
04:51States, those are going to elections.
04:53Chief Secretaries of these states will be taking part in a meeting in another session.
04:57So one thing is clear that the messages of Team India and how to deal with this situation,
05:05what kind of planning the government, central government is doing,
05:08what kind of planning it is expected from the state government to do,
05:11and what is the current situation of the available resources of energy sources.
05:16All these things are going to be part of this crucial discussion.
05:21I'll also highlight here that you've got the Chief Ministers of all states,
05:24except for the states that are going into elections.
05:28So Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Assam, Keralam,
05:30these Chief Ministers will not be there because they are busy with poll prep,
05:33and so they've been exempted from that particular meeting.
05:36But as Piyush pointed out, the theme of the meet is to stay united.
05:40That's the messaging essentially.
05:41The central government is giving out to states that we will work in tandem
05:44to overcome any crisis that's being felt right now.
05:48But there are a whole lot of rumours doing the rounds right now,
05:52particularly on social media.
05:54And don't believe everything you see on social media.
05:56Here's a reality check of what's the truth, what's the fact versus what's fake.
06:01There are rumours right now doing the rounds,
06:03and this perhaps is the most dangerous one right now.
06:05Many people on social media are also pushing it for their own gain-spreading panic
06:09that a COVID-style lockdown could come very soon.
06:13Now, many are saying this, why?
06:15Because Prime Minister Modi in his parliament address spoke of, say,
06:19being prepared of a COVID-like situation.
06:21What did he mean by that?
06:23He actually meant to stay united, cooperate in the manner that we did at that point.
06:27Not about a lockdown.
06:28And yet some people have twisted that to suggest a lockdown is coming very, very soon.
06:32The reality is, as we've shown you here, there's no question of a lockdown.
06:35The situation is under control.
06:36The government has repeatedly, repeatedly stressed on that.
06:40The other aspect of it is about oil prices, that petrol and diesel prices will soar.
06:45We've seen so many images from different pockets of the country of panic buying,
06:50of people attempting to hoard fuel.
06:53What's the reality?
06:54That even now, today, the government has cut fuel excise duty.
06:58That doesn't mean fuel gets cheaper for you and me,
07:00but it does mean the prices won't go up because the oil companies have been given that reprieve,
07:05courtesy the government cutting that excise duty.
07:07Now, another aspect, and this is, of course, valid,
07:11that you've seen, of course, problems as far as gas supply is concerned.
07:15LPGA, LNG shortages are expected.
07:18And the government, too, has said that this is a point that is concerning.
07:21This is something we're looking into.
07:23But also, they've highlighted that, look, there's no reason to panic whatsoever.
07:27They're ensuring that there's no shortage in supply.
07:30So much so, that commercial LPGA allocation to states has been increased by the central government.
07:36And also, we can highlight here that adequate fuel reserves are in place.
07:40So, the government's saying there's absolutely no reason to panic, either on the oil front or gas.
07:45Domestic LPGA users have been prioritised.
07:50Now, that is, in fact, something that everyone has been talking about.
07:54Now, even as those details are emerging, let's be clear that the government has said very clearly
07:59that supply chains are being actively monitored.
08:02Yes, domestic LPGA is being prioritised, but it doesn't mean that commercial is not available at all.
08:11All right, let's cut across now to breaking news also that's coming in on this front.
08:22Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaramun has spoken out on exactly why the government decided to go ahead
08:28with this kind of an excise duty cut.
08:31Now, what Nirmala Sitaramun has said is that the Prime Minister stressed on the need for going ahead
08:37and providing some relief, that there were two concerns,
08:40that the burden of rising petrol and diesel prices should not fall upon the citizens
08:45and, second, that there should not be any shortage of petrol and diesel in the country.
08:48What was inevitable in the current situation was that oil companies were feeling the pinch
08:53and then ultimately would have passed that on to the consumer,
08:56which means you and I would have had to pay more for fuel.
08:58And the government, keeping that in mind, that this would have happened,
09:02decided that we will go ahead and cut excise duties
09:05so that oil companies don't have to go ahead and burden the consumer,
09:09burden citizens.
09:10Listen in to what the Finance Minister said.
09:12The two concerns in the mind is that the people do not have to pay diesel or petrol.
09:25The other thing is that the supply should be full of people in the country.
09:30The other thing is that the supply should be full of people in the country.
09:31The supply should not be full of people in the country.
09:55So the government saying ultimately the decision was taken because they believed that oil companies
10:01would pass on the issue of peak pricing to the consumer and to control that they've cut
10:07the excise duty. So we want to now draw a comparison for you of fuel prices in India versus other
10:13parts
10:13of the world and we will highlight that India has done a good job in controlling the impact of the
10:19crisis on citizens. How? Global petrol prices, we'll just compare that to other countries. If we put it
10:24out in dollars just to ensure that we can get a fair comparison, in India it's about $1.08. There's
10:31been no change since the war broke out. That price has remained constant in America. It's gone up
10:35so it's more expensive in America at $1.13. Similarly if I were to compare that with China,
10:42in China it's really short up where now oil prices have gone up to $1.34. Again let me bring
10:51up now
10:51France. In Europe there's been a huge crisis, it's been pinching the people. In France it's short up
10:57to over $2 and similarly in Germany also it's over $2. Most of the EU it's more or less the
11:04same price.
11:05In Australia it's much lesser but by Australian standards this is extremely concerning. It's at
11:11about $0.68 but in Australia remember emergency measures have already been introduced because
11:17for them this kind of pricing itself is huge. So India you get a sense from that has held firm,
11:28steady, ensured that maximum impact is not felt on the consumers, on citizens. They're not burdened
11:34as a result of this war. At the same time in other parts of the world it's a different story.
11:39A lot of countries have now brought in emergency measures. A lot of countries have taken extreme
11:46steps including rationing because with the war continuing they're already running out of all possible
11:51supplies. With the West Asia war showing no signs of ending, the world is on the edge. And for good
12:06reason. Global crude oil prices have surged forcing countries to scramble to meet rising demand.
12:14The United States which along with Israel initiated the conflict is among the worst hit. Fuel prices have
12:21jumped by nearly 30 percent since the war began. And it's the common man who's bearing the brunt.
12:27Ever since the war started in the Middle East we have been facing increased prices and freight costs
12:38as well as costs for international or global supply chain. In Australia diesel prices have climbed to
12:46nearly $3 a litre. Panic buying has gripped fuel stations with nearly 600 outlets reportedly running dry
12:54and fears that more could follow. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to shield citizens
12:59from the global oil shock. We continue to act to prepare and shield Australians from the worst of it.
13:05Working with industry, working with different levels of government to make a difference for small
13:12businesses, for farmers, for the Australian public dealing with these cost of living pressures which are
13:20very real as a result of the inflationary impacts here and around the world. In the Philippines,
13:29a national energy emergency has been declared amid dwindling fuel supplies. There are growing
13:34concerns that other Southeast Asian nations could soon face similar disruptions.
13:41Every single day the homeless trade is closed, we will still accumulate the impact of losing a
13:47significant share of the oil flow, which means that the longer the crisis goes, the deeper the problem
13:53will be for each of this government and countries. So until the conflict is resolved, unfortunately,
13:59there's really not much of a way out for many countries across the board." Back then, when diesel wasn't
14:07that expensive, we fill up 900 pesos worth of diesel. Good enough for the whole day up until evening.
14:13Now we have to spend at least 2,000 pesos. Instead of being able to bring home the earnings,
14:19it goes to pay for diesel. What's left for us is very little. Around 300 to 200. It's what we
14:26have to endure.
14:30In Chile, rising fuel prices have left stations running empty, pushing citizens into distress.
14:38This is hitting us very hard. We depend on fuel. And we are going to do our best to make
14:43sure
14:43this price hike does not get passed on to the parents, because things are already tough enough
14:48as it is." Even Russia, one of the world's largest energy exporters, is feeling the strain of the
14:55global oil shock. President Vladimir Putin has likened the current crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic.
15:03President Vladimir Putin is doing great damage to the global logistic supply chains, production chains,
15:10and entire industries of the fuel production, fuel refinery. Our industries are getting these heavy blows,
15:23and it's difficult to predict what happens next. There are some estimates that you can compare this
15:28situation with the coronavirus pandemic. The oil shock triggered by the West Asia conflict
15:33is rippling across the globe. But compared to many other nations,
15:37India remains in a relatively stronger position. We have a report, India Today.
15:45Let's also get you details on what's really happening in the war. Tomorrow marks one month
15:50of the West Asia conflict. Iran clearly showing no signs of backing off. Amid that, interestingly,
15:57it's also about how Iran has been sending across a message to America that they will simply not give
16:02in. And how have they been doing this? One way is by putting on videos on social media where they're
16:07actually sticking messages on the missiles that are then sent off in the direction of U.S. bases,
16:13or towards U.S. allies, or towards Israel. Take a look at this.
16:21It has been nearly a month since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began. Iran is not just targeting the
16:27U.S. and
16:28Israel on social media with memes. It is also launching missiles inscribed with handwritten messages
16:33aimed at both countries. In its latest move, Iran publicly thanked several countries, including India,
16:41for their support and solidarity in messages posted on missiles.
16:47State TV also released images of missiles saluting their new supreme leader with the message,
16:53At your service, Mojtaba Khamenei. Iran praised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for saying
17:02no to the war with posts on missiles with his photograph and quote in Farsi language.
17:10Earlier, Iran mocked U.S. showing videos of American soldiers returning from the region in coffins.
17:18These missile messages are a mix of psychological warfare and symbolism.
17:24With Simran Saroha, Bureau Report, India Today.
17:31All right, let's get your breaking news that's coming in from poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
17:35There's been huge controversy and debate over the BJP's allotted 27 seats in the upcoming election.
17:41And reportedly, sources tell us here on India Today that Tamil Nadu BJP leader,
17:46Anna Malai, has also expressed his objections to the choice of seats handed over to the BJP.
17:51Reportedly, he's also shot off a letter to the central BJP leadership in Delhi about the concerns he has
17:58about the kind of seats that have been allotted to the BJP.
18:02Remember, Anna Malai so far has reportedly said that he will not contest in this election.
18:08Questions are being asked of whether that's a form of protest.
18:10I'll bring in Pramod Madhuf for more details on this.
18:13Pramod, there are several BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu who now seem to be speaking up
18:18against the allocation of seats by the AIA-DMK in this alliance.
18:24Is now the question will be also what Anna Malai will do next,
18:27because he's clearly chosen not to be a part of this election.
18:32Akshita, one thing is very certain, even before these talks could begin,
18:35Anna Malai clearly said that he will work for the party, but he's going to stay away from all kind
18:38of works,
18:38because his father was ill and he needs to take care of it.
18:41However, after the seat sharing was done with AIA-DMK, there was a kind of source-based information
18:46claiming that Anna Malai might contest, but it looks like the places that were favoring for BJP in Tamil Nadu,
18:51not Anna Malai, but favoring for BJP in Tamil Nadu, after Anna Malai became the state president
18:56and he went across the state trying to garner votes and things, it seems that those kind of places
19:00where BJP has become strong in the past three or four days, those four years,
19:05those kind of districts or conservancies have not been allocated to BJP and that is becoming an issue currently.
19:10And this is what, after detailed analysis, Anna Malai apparently has informed Delhi over this matter.
19:15Not just this, even yesterday at Kinatakadu, there was a huge protest where BJP were claiming
19:20that that particular Kinatakadu was supposed to be given for BJP, but it was not so done so.
19:25So, in this manner, quite a lot of places we are seeing undressed, especially among the BJP ecosystem, Akshita.
19:32Alright, thanks very much, Pramodh, for joining us with those details.
19:34Let's cut across to the next news break coming in.
19:44Now, there's been a lot of talk that Vijay could be contesting the upcoming election from the Perumbur seat in
19:49North Chennai.
19:50He was set to address a rally there tomorrow. Permission has been denied for that.
19:55And amid that, TVK is crying conspiracy alleging that the entire event was staged in such a way
20:02that permission could simply not be granted. Remember, permission has not been granted by the Tamil Nadu police
20:09under the EC's supervision. And so, while the political blame game continues, TVK has also put out
20:15a video to allege that trenches have been dug up in the site where they sought permission,
20:20so that ultimately permission wouldn't be granted for 3,000-plus people to come together.
20:25So, the TVK alleging conspiracies here, but at the end of the day, tomorrow, Vijay's rally now stands cancelled.
20:31This was a seat. It was expected that in this seat, Vijay could even contest.
20:37Reports suggest that he is closely eyeing the Perumbur constituency. There's a lot of infrastructure
20:42being put up by the TVK. Will this now change things for the TVK, considering Vijay is not being able
20:48to
20:48campaign in perhaps the seat that he wants to fight from? At this point, there's been no response that's
20:55really come in. But so far, we know that the permission was denied, citing a lack of space by authorities.
21:10Interesting political developments coming in from Tamil Nadu. As I wrap up this edition of Super 6,
21:15I'll see you on Monday. I'll be in Tamil Nadu getting you a special broadcast on the poll-bound state
21:21and
21:21what's playing out. So, I'll see you directly from Tamil Nadu on Monday.
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