- 7 hours ago
The big talking point of this episode of To The Point is the assembly elections. On Thursday, the fate of Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry assemblies were sealed with massive voter turnouts.
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00:00Assam Keralam Puducherry
00:10Cross Vote
00:12Power Hangs In Balance
00:24Fate Of Three Assemblies Sealed
00:35Keralam Sees Three-Way High Stakes Fight
00:40Will Congress-Led UDF Return To Power?
00:44Can Hemonta Retain The T-State?
00:50Kuducherry Pores March By Tension
00:53From Red State To T-State Showdown
00:59High Turnout High Stakes
01:11Bengal, Tamil Nadu Next
01:19Well, the stakes are high. The returns will be higher. Assam Kerala have voted along with the Union Territory of
01:26Puducherry. We break it all down for our viewers in the course of the next 20 minutes. But first up,
01:30allow me to take you through the headlines.
01:39Polling concludes in two states and one Union Territory with 84.42% till 5pm. Strong voter turnout recorded in
01:46Assam. 75.1% turnout in Keralam and Puducherry. Records 86.92% turnout till 5pm. Results to be declared
01:56on the 4th of May.
02:02Prime Minister Modi launches back-to-back attacks on Mamata Banerjee from infiltration to syndicate charge. Prime Minister Modi says
02:10no safety for women in Bengal under TMC. Big Modi ki guarantee by Prime Minister in Bengal.
02:40Prime Minister Modiucki
02:48Several countries, including UAE, condemned Israel for strikes in Lebanon that killed over 200 people.
02:55Iran demands inclusion on Lebanon in ceasefire deal.
02:59Claims they were on the verge of striking Tel Aviv, but Pakistan intervened.
03:07Trump's big threat to Iran once again says shooting starts again.
03:11And if Hormuz doesn't open, one's bigger better never seen before shooting.
03:15Reports say Iran will allow only 15 ships through Hormuz per day.
03:25Is Iran pulling out of Islamabad talks?
03:28Iran ambassador deletes post on team reaching Pakistan tonight.
03:31First round of US-Iran talks to be held in Islamabad Saturday.
03:41In an exclusive interview with India Today, former NATO general rains fire on US President Trump.
03:47Calls entire truce a massive humiliation for the Trump administration and a strategic failure.
04:22Video towards unique
04:22on this planet or on this planet.
04:27All right, viewers, for a country that breathes and lives election,
04:31we are banged in the thick of election season.
04:34April 9th, two states, one union territory have voted 126 seats,
04:39whereas Sam comes into question 140 with Kerala and 30 seats of Pudducherry.
04:45The fate of both the states and the union territory stands sealed.
04:50And fourth is when counting will take place.
04:53We'll break it down, but first up, in terms of turnout,
04:56how things panned out through the course of the day, here's the latest.
05:08Over one crore voters, across 200 plus seats, in two states and a union territory.
05:17A massive democratic exercise wrapped up on Thursday.
05:23And the fate of the three assemblies now stands sealed in EVMs.
05:34In Assam, a high-octane contest saw strong turnout across phases.
05:41Chief Minister Himanto Viswasarma led the BJP's charge,
05:45casting his vote early, confident of a third straight win.
05:55On the other side, Congress leader Gaurab Gorgoy fronted the opposition push,
06:04with allies backing a comeback bid in a formal stronghold.
06:25From temples to polling booths, from villages to cities,
06:29voters turn out in large numbers, making their choice count.
06:33The question now, continuity or change?
06:41In Kerala, brisk polling and long queues marked the day,
06:46with lags stepping out across constituencies.
06:49A triangular contest played out.
06:51The ruling front, banking on governance and welfare.
07:17The opposition pushing anti-incumbency and local issues.
07:23I have travelled across the state four times within the last three months.
07:28Now I have a feeling that there is a huge trend in favour of UDF in Kerala.
07:33And there is a large level anti-incumbency against the government.
07:38And BJP is aiming to translate vote share into seats.
07:42Key battlegrounds saw intense fights,
07:44with first-time and women voters playing a decisive role.
07:48From jobs to price rights, from development to welfare,
07:53voters weighed it all before pressing the button.
08:01But in Puducherry, polling days saw flashes of tension.
08:05Clashes erupted outside booths, police stepped in,
08:09even resorting to Lati charge in parts.
08:13Allegations of inducements, including gift coupons,
08:16sparked protests and counter-protests.
08:20Despite disruptions, voting concluded across all 30 seats,
08:24in what remains a tightly fought contest.
08:26From high turnout to moments of tension,
08:29the voting is done.
08:30Now the countdown to result begins.
08:33Bureau Report, India Today.
08:46All right, the latest news right now coming in.
08:49Polling concluded in both the states and the Union Territory.
08:53And it does seem that Kerala, Assam and Puducherry have broken records.
08:58The latest news that is coming in right now.
09:0084.42% turnout reported till 5pm in Assam.
09:05Last time it was about 83%.
09:08So Assam has broken its own record.
09:11And on the other hand, Puducherry stands at 86.92%.
09:15Impressive turnout there where Puducherry is concerned.
09:1975.01% voter turnout in Kerala till 5pm.
09:24So even Kerala has surpassed its past record.
09:29But with some of the states, of course, with Kerala,
09:32because there have been role revision exercises.
09:35So therefore, the voting percentage deemed to go up,
09:39even where delimitation in Assam is concerned at the back of that.
09:43But nonetheless, impressive turnout by both the states and the Union Territory.
09:48Because right now, Assam stands at an impressive 84.42%,
09:53which is breaking its last record of 2021 of 83%.
09:56Puducherry at 86.92% and 75% voter turnout in Kerala.
10:03Last time it was about 74%.
10:04Huge voter turnout in the first Assembly polls of 2026.
10:10All right, I want to quickly cut across to get our viewers a lowdown
10:14on what to expect, what really transpired.
10:19Joining me right now, Suman C. Raman, political analyst,
10:22Amitabh Tiwari, political strategist, commentator, founder,
10:26Vote Vibe, Hoshik Dekam, managing editor, India Today.
10:29Impressive turnout, as expected, Amitabh Tiwari.
10:35All these three states and Union Territories have in the past also recorded very high turnouts.
10:42So when the turnout is above 75% for any state,
10:47the base impact or the base effect comes into play.
10:51At that point of time, even surpassing those records,
10:55at least what you are showing in Assam,
10:57I think is a very, very commendable, I mean, job by the voters in a sense.
11:02Yes, and they have exercised their franchise to participate in the democracy.
11:06Now, very, very difficult to say whether this is an anti-incumbency vote
11:10or a pro-incumbency vote, because we've seen in the past that these trends,
11:14which normally used to hold, let's say, 5 or 10 years ago, do not hold now.
11:21And the results of these four states are largely going to determine
11:25whether we have entered an era of pro-incumbency,
11:28because post-2024 looks of our elections,
11:31most of the state governments have returned to power, barring Delhi.
11:34Or we are entering a phase of anti-incumbency
11:37where voters are restless and throwing out governments for non-performance.
11:43You know, Kaushik, I want to bring you in,
11:45because the old benchmarks of syphology don't really quite stand anymore,
11:49where usually it was deemed a higher voter turnout means anti-incumbency.
11:54Assam has voted, fate sealed, maximum voting percentage recorded
11:59in the last three elections has been in 2026.
12:04What are you picking up?
12:05Has things gone down in what was predicted by many election watchers, including you?
12:13Yeah, I think we also need to consider the ASSA,
12:17because of which all those dead, particularly during COVID also,
12:22they have been deleted.
12:23So the number of voters are less, that is point number one.
12:28And because of that percentage, 3% increase, seems very logical.
12:32And Assam also voted the same way in 2016, 2021.
12:36So I don't think, as Mr. Tiwari has said, from the voting percentage,
12:42we can figure out whether it's pro-incumbency or anti-incumbency.
12:46But having seen the mood of the current dispensation,
12:50the ruling party, it seems they are expecting a massive victory.
12:55On the other side, the opposition parties are also expressing confidence
12:59because they are saying that there's massive numbers,
13:02showcase and undercurrent.
13:03So we'll know on May 4, both sides are confident,
13:08but majority of the people that I spoke to,
13:11I couldn't speak to too many people today,
13:14but whosoever I spoke to,
13:17of course they are not revealing who they are voting for,
13:19but the direction, I couldn't figure out a change in the direction
13:27because it was not like someone who voted for BJP
13:31probably would shift to Congress now
13:33or someone who voted for Congress would be shifting to BJP.
13:37That kind of feeling I couldn't find among voters.
13:42All right.
13:43You know, Kaushik, stay with me.
13:44And you are right,
13:45because if you do look at from 2016 to 2021,
13:48the voting percentage was equally high.
13:50So it really doesn't suggest any kind of trend right now.
13:53We'll only know when that last vote is counted,
13:55how things have panned out.
13:57But Sumansi Raman,
13:58how did Kerala vote this time around?
14:00I'm sure you've been speaking to your sources.
14:03What does it look like?
14:05The fate sealed for God's own country.
14:08Kerala, from whatever I know,
14:10I think the final voter turnout
14:12is probably likely to be closer to 78-79%,
14:15which is a good 5-6% more.
14:17But you have to remember that these numbers are largely because of the SIR
14:22where the denominator has gone down.
14:25So therefore, the percentage seems to be higher.
14:27So I would not, you know,
14:30make a comment on this one way or the other
14:32until we see the total number of votes that have been cast.
14:36So for instance, in Assam,
14:37last time I think it was 1.9 odd crore votes that were cast.
14:41So what is it this time?
14:42Is it significantly higher than that?
14:44Or is it actually lower than that,
14:46but made to look higher as a percentage because of SIR?
14:49So things like these,
14:50we need to wait for the final data to come.
14:52But as far as Kerala,
14:54and I'll also speak about Puducheri,
14:57Puducheri is likely to hit 90%.
14:59So that's, I don't know if that's a record,
15:04but, you know, we are likely to hit 90% in Puducheri.
15:09In Kerala, clearly the mood is for change.
15:13How big a victory it would be for the UDF
15:17is something that we cannot say,
15:18but definitely I don't believe that the LDF
15:21is coming back to power.
15:22So to that extent,
15:24I think that there is no major shift in the direction
15:28in which the polls are going in Kerala.
15:30But, you know, how big a margin it's going to be,
15:34what kind of, you know,
15:37what votes are each partners among the UDF
15:39and the LDF going to get,
15:41all those would still remain to be seen.
15:42But it's still, directionally, it's quite clear,
15:46just as Assam, directionally, again,
15:48is clear in favor of the BJP.
15:50You know, let's get in a quick word from all of you once,
15:53and then we're going to head into a quick break,
15:55because Amitabh Tiwari,
15:56with what we've been discussing
15:57through the course of the morning,
15:58do you see the mobilization of voters
16:02by political parties have happened on those trends?
16:06Yes, essentially, if the voting turnout is high,
16:09even if we ignore the SIR impact,
16:13it shows that the mobilization
16:14by both the political parties
16:17or by the main political parties
16:18in all these states have taken place.
16:20And this mobilization thing,
16:22I think, is key in Kerala.
16:24Because in Kerala,
16:25we've seen in the past
16:26that the margins have been very close,
16:28or whenever the Congress has won in the past recently,
16:31it's just won by a whisker.
16:33So for Congress,
16:34it is very, very important in Kerala
16:36to get out the vote.
16:37There might be a 10-year anti-incumbency,
16:39but the party's organizational strength
16:41has weakened over the past 10 years
16:43during LDF regime.
16:45So whether it has been able to tap
16:46into that anti-incumbency
16:48and regain back some of the momentum
16:51of the local body polls
16:52is something which we will need to watch,
16:54wait out and watch for.
16:58Kaushik, to bring you in,
16:59what are you looking at?
17:00What could possibly upset
17:02the calculations of the incumbent?
17:08It's pretty difficult to say
17:09that anything which can upset the calculation,
17:13but if there is an undercurrent,
17:15if all those issues
17:16that the opposition parties raised in Assam,
17:19for instance,
17:20the communal divide
17:21or the alleged corruption charges
17:24against the CM and his family,
17:26all those things,
17:27if they work on the ground,
17:29or the Justice for Jubin movement,
17:32if I can say so,
17:34then that can actually upset
17:36the calculation of the ruling party.
17:38But I didn't see that happening on the ground.
17:41My ground travel didn't get any such signal.
17:45But having said that,
17:46I think we should all celebrate
17:48the awareness of the voters.
17:51Now Indian voters are asserting their rights
17:54and they are asserting
17:56their participation in this democracy.
17:59It's like the earlier feeling of
18:02what will happen with my vote?
18:03That's no more there.
18:05So if Puduchiri is voting 90%,
18:07Assam is 85%,
18:09then it's something that we should all celebrate.
18:12It doesn't matter who wins eventually,
18:14but that voters are getting out
18:16and voting in large numbers,
18:18that's something we should celebrate.
18:21And also we should thank,
18:22despite all the criticism,
18:24that we have lots of things
18:26to criticize the Election Commission of India.
18:28But on this ground,
18:29Election Commission,
18:30the Institute deserves a credit.
18:32Well, you're right there.
18:34And, you know,
18:35also the sheer fact that
18:36both the two states
18:37and the Union Territory
18:38have in the past also recorded
18:40very impressive voter turnout.
18:42And that hasn't quite happened
18:43with other states as much.
18:45But, so Mansi Raman,
18:46you wanted to come in big takeaways
18:47and then we're going to quickly
18:48step into a brief.
18:49One big takeaway, Preeti,
18:51on counting day,
18:52as far as Kerala is concerned,
18:54what I would really watch out for
18:55is the vote
18:56that the third party
18:58in each constituency
18:59is actually getting
19:00vis-a-vis what they got
19:02five years ago.
19:03Because from what I heard
19:05from whoever I've spoken to,
19:06there is a lot of
19:08quote-unquote adjustments
19:09which are happening on the ground.
19:11So in many, many constituencies,
19:14there are backroom dealings
19:16between these three players
19:18to defeat one of them
19:21in that constituency.
19:22And it's not like
19:23it's a uniform thing.
19:24The LDF says
19:25that UDF and NDA
19:27are doing deals.
19:28The UDF says
19:29the NDA and the LDF
19:30are doing deals.
19:31So everyone is accusing
19:33everybody else.
19:34But clearly,
19:36whoever you talk to,
19:37they do say that,
19:39look, this may happen
19:40because these people
19:41and those people
19:42have a deal.
19:43Now, we don't know
19:44how true these are.
19:45But I think that
19:46this is a very significant
19:48factor in Kerala
19:50in the election.
19:51And we will know
19:52on counting day,
19:53like I said,
19:54watch how much
19:54the third player gets.
19:56And if you see
19:57a vote transfer
19:57having happened
19:58and they get
19:59a much lower share
20:00than what they got
20:00five years ago
20:01in that constituency,
20:03you know that there's been
20:04some hanky-panky going on.
20:06All right.
20:06Well, we'll only know
20:07when that last vote
20:08is counted
20:08come the 4th of May.
20:09But for now, viewers,
20:11it's time to actually
20:12celebrate a little
20:13because recording
20:14this kind of
20:15impressive voter turnout,
20:17this is a record
20:17that we don't mind
20:19gets broken.
20:20Thank you,
20:21all three of you
20:21for joining us.
20:22And we'll have you back
20:24soon on counting day.
20:26Keralam and Assam
20:28done and dusted.
20:29The focus on
20:30Tamil Nadu
20:31and West Bengal
20:32and the battle in Bengal
20:33is only getting sharper.
20:35More personal attacks.
20:36Baba Nipur has emerged
20:38as a key flashpoint
20:39in this high-stake election
20:40with the Prime Minister today
20:42mounting a massive attack
20:44on Mamata Banerjee,
20:46predicting a Nandi Graham-style upset.
20:48Mamata Banerjee
20:49hitting back over voter deletion,
20:51the political war
20:52only but intensifying.
21:16The battle for Bengal
21:18is hitting a fever pitch.
21:20Top guns are out,
21:22rallies are packed
21:23and the war of words
21:24is sharper than ever.
21:30It was high-voltage day
21:32on the campaign trail.
21:33Prime Minister Narendra Modi
21:34and Mamata Banerjee
21:36holding back-to-back rallies
21:37across Bengal.
21:40In a sharp escalation
21:42in the campaign,
21:43Prime Minister Modi
21:44for the first time
21:45named Mamata Banerjee directly,
21:47putting Babanipur
21:49at the center of the battle
21:51and predicting
21:52a Nandi Graham-style miracle,
21:54backing Suvindu Adhikari
21:56in this high-stakes
21:57prestige fight.
22:18Mamata hit back
22:19just as hard,
22:20turning the spotlight
22:21on voter deletion.
22:42As the rhetoric speaks,
22:44the core battle
22:44is over vision.
22:46Both Modi and Mamata
22:47have unveiled
22:48their guarantees.
22:50Law and order focus
22:52versus jobs for youth.
22:53Accountability push
22:55versus
22:56Lakshmi Bhandar
22:57continuation.
22:58Corruption crackdown
23:00versus
23:00Pakka Homes for All.
23:03No infiltrators promise
23:04versus drinking water
23:05for every household.
23:07Seven-pay commission rollout
23:09versus
23:09doorstep healthcare.
23:12But in Bengal,
23:13even fish
23:14has turned political.
23:15Modi claimed
23:16Bengal is missing out
23:17on a fisheries boom,
23:18blaming TMC
23:19for not implementing
23:20central schemes
23:22like Prime Minister
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30:25disenfranchisement. We're coming at the back of an SIR exercise. You're a lawyer, sir,
30:29you know that better. 18 lakh people are still in court where their papers haven't been quite
30:35ruled out, but they've been told that this election they will not vote. Doesn't that
30:39sound ominous for a robust democracy? Not at all. On the contrary, that is about confidence
30:48and cleansing the election process. And since you've raised it from a legal perspective,
30:52may I just, from your viewer's perspective, point out that under Article 324, the Election
30:59Commission is under the Constitution of India empowered and mandated. The obligation is on
31:06the Election Commission to have a superintendence over the electoral process. The electoral process
31:12is for a citizen of India. For a bona fide voter, there cannot be any election in which the voter
31:20list can have the following. A. A non-citizen or a fraudulent citizen. Someone who has made it by
31:26corruption or getting papers made to show they are a citizen, which is what we say about the
31:31infiltrators in West Bengal. Second, you can't have voters who have, with a flux of time, demised or
31:37have died. Their names continuing, somebody fraudulently voting on their behalf. You can't
31:42have bogus or ghost voters, people who don't exist, but then their names are there for electoral
31:47reasons to manipulate the election. So these are, and you can't have the same voter in two different
31:53places.
31:53The SIR or the Special Intensive Revision is something that the Election Commission is
32:00supposed to do. They do it at regular intervals. In Bengal, these are the problems. Despite
32:05knocking the doors of the Supreme Court repeatedly, these 80 lakhs haven't returned back. Due process
32:11is being followed. No less than the Chief Justice of India's court is looking at it, but there
32:16must be something credible that the Election Commission is placing for consideration that these 80 lakhs
32:21people don't come in straight. The verification process is there. Some of them have made it
32:25into the electoral list, but several of them are, well, questionable. And therefore the next
32:30question comes. Can we, when we take the oath of the Constitution of India, actually have
32:36a government in effect saying that we want a voter list not to be pure?
32:40No. But Nalin Kohli, how does, you know, it justify where just 900 judicial officers sit on applications
32:48of 52 lakh voters who are right now, most of them, in court? So one question, of course, lies there
32:54where
32:54the Election Commission is concerned. But you speak of the Election Commission, nobody at all questions
32:59the powers of the Election Commission or the fact that questions the SIR. I'm sure you've been in the news,
33:06you've seen how the Election Commission yesterday, for the first time, which was unprecedented, named a
33:11political party, attacking that political party. Do you think a constitutional body should actually
33:16stoop down to that level?
33:21So there are two parts again to that. And I'm sorry, maybe by training, because I am a practicing senior
33:27advocate, we tend to look at a file both ways. We look at it from what are the facts in
33:33favor of, say,
33:33my client, and also understanding the facts of the other side, saying where does it really come and
33:39present it to a court and the court then decides. So I think when we have the Trinamool Congress
33:44screaming and attacking the Election Commission, the counter question also begs an answer,
33:49that are you going to speak to a constitutional body, as is reported in the media, in a manner that
33:54is not fit? So you can't demand what we may call constitutional decency, if I may use that word,
34:00when you yourself are crossing the limits of constitutional decency, it takes two to tango,
34:05it takes two to clap. If there's respect, then there will be respect back. So I think it's easy to
34:11attack, for example, a court of law, a judge, it's easy to attack a constitutional post like the
34:16Election Commission, because they don't come out in the media and speak.
34:20They've spoken enough with social media posts, you know, Mr. Kohli. But one quick question before
34:26we let you go. The charge of the TMC is that you're using the Election Commission. It's a
34:33campaign which is in alliance of the EC and the BJP, along with Team B's of the BJP in the
34:39form of
34:39Himayu Kabir and Mr. OEC.
34:44So for a long time, the Trinamool Congress had a charge against the BJP that the enforcement
34:49directorate is the B team of the BJP. And I sat personally in debates, perhaps with you also
34:55asking those questions, Preeti. And the point we raise always is, in all the cases that they attacked
35:01the BJP, the enforcement directorate for being a B team, did the ED find cash or not cash at a
35:06minister's place or a close confidant of the minister's place? 16 crores, 19 crores, 25 crores.
35:13So therefore the question is that if an investigative agency is finding bundles of cash in the presence
35:19of a minister of the Trinamool Congress or his close confidants on different occasions, then obviously
35:25the ED is doing a good job. And if for doing their job under the investigation, they are to be
35:31called the
35:31B team of say the central government, then it's a good thing to be the B team because they are
35:35actually
35:35working against corruption. Okay. All right. Mr. Kohli, thank you for joining us. Joining me right
35:40now is spokesperson TMC, Reju Dutta. Reju Dutta, the prime minister today has gone directly for the
35:45jugular. He's stated that Bhabanipur will play out like a Nandigram 2.0. Isn't that ominous?
35:54First of all, Preeti, good evening. And I do apologize that I have to do your show from the car
35:59because it's election season and we are all in transit. We do not have the luxury of BJP
36:04spokesperson sitting in AC rooms in Delhi and doing a show. So first of all, I apologize for that.
36:10Secondly, the prime minister, we see him in Bengal every five years. He is a migratory bird that flies
36:17into Bengal every five years with his, you know, with his bag full of lies. And that is why I
36:24have
36:24posted a video today on X and India today can see it that when in Holdia, he was addressing the
36:31crowd,
36:32people left his rally. People left, people are just not interested anymore listening to his gibberish
36:37because we have heard it before. We know they are lies and nothing else. What is he talking about?
36:43The prime minister is talking about women's safety in Bengal. When today, you know, and India today
36:49did a story on that, that in Uttar Pradesh, a school child has been gang raped by seven men.
36:54In Bihar, somebody beheaded somebody in the middle of the road. And he's talking about law and order.
37:00He's talking about fishermen and fish. My goodness, he should be crowned the hypocrite prime minister.
37:09His goons, these saffron goons in all BJP ruled states are stopping people from selling fish and meat.
37:17In Delhi, they're beating up people for selling fish. Samrat Chaudhary said that there is a ban on
37:24fish and meat in Bihar during specific times. And in Bengal, they're patronizing about fish and meat.
37:30My goodness, what is this man talking about? Second, I was hearing Nalin Kohli very patiently,
37:36and you should have taken me on when he was on, that we are stopping central government schemes.
37:43My question to you, Preeti, is this, that the money that the union government owes the Bengal state
37:49government, which is in the tune of two lakh crores, is that Trinambul Congress's money?
37:54Is that Mohamed Banatjee's dues? Is that Abhishek Banatjee's dues? Or is it Riju Dattas' dues?
37:59Or Preeti Chaudhary's dues? That he does not like us, so he will not give us.
38:03These are the rightful dues of the people of Bengal. If you have so much love for the people of
38:09Bengal,
38:09clear their dues. NIHM fund, you have blocked. Awas fund, 24,000 crores, you have blocked.
38:18Jaljeevan Mission, you have blocked. Manrega funds, which is a constitutional right, you have blocked.
38:24And the people of Bengal are not getting their rightful dues. So, if you say and if you patronize
38:29that my heart is bleeding for Bengal, at least release the rightful dues of the people of Bengal.
38:35These are not Trinambul's money. But Riju, one of the reasons we didn't have you earlier was because
38:40I think you're traveling and we couldn't connect in time. But let me ask you one quick question,
38:44before we lose you again. And that stems from the charges that the BJP has laid, along with,
38:50of course, using SIR as a crutch, is another serious charge where you're releasing certain videos of
38:57Himayu Kabir, which you allege that he is acting at the behest of the BJP and has taken a bribe
39:03of the BJP.
39:04There is nothing in that video, as per the BJP, to prove that the party is involved.
39:10This could be just musings of Himayu Kabir.
39:14Preeti, you are one of the journalists remaining in this country. You are an endangered species, actually,
39:22who still believe in journalism the way it should be done. And there was a time when we were in
39:27school,
39:27where there were channels that are not now anymore, who believed in investigative journalism.
39:33So this was a sting operation done on Humayun Kabir. We are not seeing any BJP member talking to him,
39:40but it is Humayun Kabir on that video. He himself is saying that I am constantly in touch with the
39:47leader of
39:47the chief opposition of Bengal Shubhan Dodikari. I have personally spoken twice to Mohan Yadav,
39:53the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. I have spoken to people in the PMO. It is not we.
39:58But Riju, this can happen with anyone suggesting the same thing about your party until and unless there is proof.
40:04How do you prove it otherwise? This could be just the fanciful musings of Himayu Kabir.
40:09Yeah. So, again, I'm coming to that. And then he says something very big. He said,
40:16I made this Babri Masjid because BJP told me to do so. I need 1000 crores to make a fool
40:22out of Muslims
40:23and cut the Muslim votes of Trinamul Congress. And if I get 80 to 90 seats, the PMO has told
40:29me I will
40:29be made a deputy chief minister. You are right. It is Humayun Kabir who is saying all this. So,
40:35Humayun Kabir is at the dock. Okay. But my question is this,
40:39Preeti. If today, Kreeti Chaudhary is caught in a sting operation, saying things like this
40:47against India today, will questions not be raised? Will question not be raised?
40:52Well, you're raising the questions. And Riju, I've fallen really short of time. We got you in a
40:57little later. We should have had you a little earlier. But thank you for joining us with that.
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