- 4 hours ago
The Punjab Assembly faced significant disruption as opposition parties, including Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal, accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of attending a special Labour Day session while intoxicated.
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00:00Good evening was Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwan Taman under the influence of alcohol on the floor of the House.
00:07The opposition in Punjab is up in arms demanding a breathalyzer test.
00:12The opposition, the Congress and the BJP, they close ranks to hit out at the Punjab Chief Minister in the
00:19Assembly
00:19saying the state actually needs a breathalyzer test, not a floor test.
00:25Aam Admi Party MLAs have hit back saying the opposition has no real issues to raise
00:31after Bhagwan Taman's spectacular performance in the state and winning the test.
00:37Bhagwan Taman incidentally said the floor test should lay to rest all controversies, all rumours
00:44about 40-up MLAs or 50 or 60-up MLAs ready to jump ship after 7 of 10 Rajasabha
00:54MPs of the Aam Admi Party merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
00:59The speaker incidentally in Punjab rejected the opposition's demand for an immediate alcohol test
01:05on the Chief Minister and all MLAs present during the ongoing special session of the Punjab Assembly.
01:13Leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa raised concerns on Maan's conduct.
01:21He apparently wrote to the Chief Minister and I want you to for a moment listen in to what the
01:26Chief Minister said
01:28to the protests that took place outside the Assembly. I'll get you much more on that story.
01:33Kamaljeet Kaur Sandhu gets you a top story of the day.
01:47It is a black day in democracy.
02:16Punjab politics is on the rocks once again.
02:19What started a special Labour Day session turned into Patialapek politics and protests.
02:30A complete breakdown of decorum inside the Vidhan Sabha.
02:36At the centre, Chief Minister Bhagwanth Man facing explosive allegations from the Congress.
02:43Leader of opposition Pardap Singh Bajwa leading the charge, alleging that the CM came to the assembly drunk, citing his
02:51speech and behaviour.
03:18Shrappi, Mokhmantri, Mokhmantri, Mokhmantri
03:21The Congress is not just protesting, but doubling down, demanding a dope and alcohol test.
03:27What happened, Mokhmantri, Mokhmantri?
03:40And then the numbers swelled. BJP, Akali Dal joining forces with Congress.
03:47Akali Dal President Subbir Singh Badal demanded Chief Minister's resignation on moral grounds.
03:52The BJP echoed the same, taking the fight beyond the assembly flow.
03:58The Prime Minister said that it should be a dope test before Punjab.
04:06I say that our MLA, our Mokhmantri, our Mokhmantri, our Mokhmantri have a breath analyzer and alcohol test.
04:12We will also write to the Prime Minister.
04:37The ruling Aam Admi Party hit back instantly, dismissing the allegations as baseless.
04:43Our leadership claims the charges are politically motivated.
04:47I have to send some questions.
04:53The Congress party has a small delegation of allegations.
05:25Man 2 slammed the opposition, alleging opposition
05:29to the opposition to the opposition to the opposition.
05:59to a Patiala Pegg political firestorm.
06:02With the Urta Punjab shadow now looming over its politics,
06:06Punjab's assembly on Friday was less a house of debate
06:10and more an arena of confrontation.
06:14With Aseem Bassi, Bureau Report, India Today.
06:19The opposition has actually come out all guns blazing,
06:22insisting this isn't the first time that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagawan Tmaan
06:26has been in the line of fire on similar allegations related to alcohol.
06:34Take for example, September 2022,
06:36the Shiromani Akali Dal accused him of being,
06:39allegedly being under the influence of liquor
06:41when he was deplaned, apparently, from an international flight.
06:45The Arm Admi Party, of course, had very strongly refuted
06:48those allegations, called them absolutely baseless.
06:51In October 2015, Bhagawan Tmaan was then the Member of Parliament from Sangroor.
06:58He was reportedly forced to leave a bhog ceremony
07:01of two people who were apparently killed in firing.
07:04Then, in April 2022, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandha Committee, the SGPC,
07:09it demanded an apology from Bhagawan Tmaan
07:11over an allegation that he'd visited the Gurdwara Sahib,
07:15apparently, under the influence.
07:18Going back further, 2016,
07:20Maan was then a Member of Parliament.
07:22He faced accusation of being under the influence
07:25inside the Temple of Democracy,
07:28inside the Parliament.
07:29Some MPs had sought action that time.
07:32In fact, some of the reports from that time indicate
07:35that MPs wrote to then Speaker Sumitra Mahajan,
07:38urging her to either take action
07:41or refer Bhagawan Tmaan or encourage Bhagawan Tmaan
07:45to visit rehab.
07:47In 2015, former Aam Admi Party leader,
07:50Yogendra Yadav,
07:51he too made similar allegations
07:53about Bhagawan Tmaan.
07:55But it's not just
07:58either former Aam Admi Party leaders
08:01or opposition leaders now.
08:04Take for example, opposition says
08:05that these are real issues.
08:08He needs to talk about them.
08:09Chief Minister Bhagawan Tmaan, incidentally,
08:12he's hit back saying that the opposition
08:13does not have real issues to talk about.
08:15There is no need for any tests.
08:17He's cleared the floor test.
08:18The opposition insists that the Chief Minister
08:21should actually undergo
08:22not just the Chief Minister,
08:24but every MLA,
08:26irrespective of the party,
08:27should undergo both
08:29a breath analyzer test
08:31and a dope test,
08:33a drug test in Punjab.
08:35Let's listen in to lots of voices
08:37from the Assembly,
08:38from leaders of the Aam Admi Party,
08:41the opposition,
08:41and other political leaders.
09:10The President
09:13foreign
09:21foreign
09:24foreign
09:33foreign
09:35foreign
09:35so we have a mlai sathie
09:38nne ye baat kahi
09:39khe mujhe is baat ki information hai
09:41khe aaj team mister sahab
09:43shrapi kera hai
09:44to jab hume bhi ye baat pata chalhi
09:46to eek dam sabhi ko dhkka laga
09:48khe eek august house me
09:50eek puitr sudden me
09:52agar head of the state is intoxicated
09:54shrapi halet bhi hooga
09:56to pnjab ka kya hooga
09:57ye toheen pnjabiyo ki hai
09:59made a per labor ki toheen
10:01to hume nne usi time utkar
10:03speaker sahab ko kaha
10:04khe alco meter lagu ae
10:06breathalizer laga ya jai
10:10sari assembly ka ho
10:11sabse pahle mukmenti sahab ka kirao
10:13pher hamara kirao
10:14sari mlai sami party ka
10:18or assembly ka
10:20dharwaza bind kar dhya jai
10:22magar us par koji ruling dhi nye
10:24speaker sahab nye
10:26unprecedented
10:2775 sal me aisa incident
10:29toheen wala
10:31assembly ki toheen
10:33you are head of the state
10:34on a working day
10:35comes drunk
10:36there can't be anything
10:38worse than this
10:40in fact prathap singh
10:42bajwa
10:43leader of opposition
10:44in the pajab assembly
10:45he says look at the
10:47people who've
10:48held that chair
10:50held that office
10:51prathap singh cairo
10:52he spoke of
10:53sardar parkar singh
10:54badal
10:54he spoke of
10:55captain marinder singh
10:56and he's saying
10:57what is it that the state
10:58is now coming to
10:59in fact former amadmi party
11:01leader
11:01and member of parliament
11:03swati maliwal
11:04who's one of the seven
11:05amadmi party
11:06rajasabha mps
11:07to merge with the bjp
11:09she's hit out
11:11at bhagwanth maan
11:12swati maliwal says
11:14that
11:14during last
11:15during the last floods
11:17in in punjab
11:18last year's floods in punjab
11:19bhagwanth maan
11:21according to her
11:22attended a very crucial meeting
11:23with the union home minister
11:25amit shah
11:26and she claims
11:27he was under the influence
11:29even that time
11:29she then went on to say
11:30that personal choices
11:32are not an issue
11:33but holding a
11:34constitutional post
11:35comes with a huge
11:36responsibility
11:37and any negligence
11:39actually raises
11:40very serious concerns
11:41not just about
11:42governance
11:43but in a very
11:44sensitive border state
11:45about security
11:47listen in
11:48to swati maliwal
11:50bhagwanth maan
11:51ji
11:51áج
11:52ہمارے
11:53دیش
11:53کے
11:54border state
11:55جس
11:55state
11:56کا border
11:56پاکستان
11:57سے لگتا ہے
11:58جو
11:58کہ
11:59ایک بہت
11:59sensitive state
12:00ہے
12:00اس کے
12:01مکھے منتری
12:02ہیں
12:02یہ جو
12:03انسان
12:03پوری دن
12:04نشے میں
12:05دھوت رہتے ہیں
12:05یہ کس طریقے
12:06سے راجے
12:07چلاتے ہوں گے
12:08یہ تو
12:08نشے میں
12:08فائلے بھی
12:09سائن کر رہے ہیں
12:10اور اسی کا
12:11فائدہ
12:11ارون
12:11کےجریوال
12:12جی
12:12اٹھا رہے ہیں
12:13جو
12:13کی
12:13پنجاب
12:14کی
12:14سرکار
12:15ریموٹ
12:15کنٹرول
12:16سے
12:16چلا رہے ہیں
12:16اور
12:17پنجاب
12:17کو
12:17انہوں نے
12:18پوری
12:18طریقے
12:18سے
12:18اپنا
12:19personal
12:19ATM
12:20بنا لیا
12:20میں
12:21یہ
12:21چاہتی
12:21ہوں
12:22کہ
12:22bhagwanth maan
12:23ji
12:23کا
12:23آج
12:24ابھی
12:24اسی
12:25وقت
12:25alcohol
12:25test
12:26ہونا
12:26چھئے
12:26ان کے
12:27اوپر
12:27سخت
12:27سخت
12:28کاریوہی
12:28ہونی
12:29چھئے
12:29اور
12:29انہیں
12:29برخاست
12:30کرا
12:30جو
12:30ک clamp
12:34کامل
12:35کم
12:59میJe
13:00In April itself, there was a huge setback for Ahmadi Party
13:03with seven of the Rajya Sabha members
13:06walking away to the Safran Party, which is the BJP.
13:08Now it was supposed to be a show of strength,
13:11but you remember the name was given as the Labour Day
13:14and obviously having some sort of an empathy there.
13:16But quickly things turned around
13:18when there were accusations coming thick and fast,
13:21not just by the lone Congress Party,
13:23but also by Srivaneer Khalidal and as much by BJP itself,
13:27that Bhagawan Tman had allegedly come in drunk.
13:30Now many said that the video, the link of which was available
13:34through the website and the link, official link given
13:38for the Assembly itself, was an official one.
13:42And that is when he started speaking.
13:45Many alleged that he was slurring one of the indications
13:48that perhaps he was drunk.
13:51So this is something they consistently maintained.
13:54And Bhagawan Man, in fact, brought together
13:57the entire army of opposition together,
14:00they may have different ideologies,
14:02but on this one, they came together,
14:05they took on the Ahmadi Party and especially Bhagawan Tman.
14:07There was a break in between because there was a lot of hangama,
14:11but eventually when he came back,
14:12he looked like in a sober avatar.
14:16But meanwhile, the opposition had already raised its tempo,
14:20talking about dismissal of Bhagawan Tman,
14:22talking about going to the governor, asking for dismissal,
14:25asking for governors or president's rule.
14:27Meanwhile, the focus of which was supposed to be
14:30a show of strength, a confidence motion moved
14:33by the government itself.
14:35But the focus, however, was on the personal behavior
14:38of Bhagawan Tman, many said, which was completely out of line.
14:41So we heard Sunil Jakar speak.
14:43We heard from Subbir Badal.
14:45His tweets were very evident.
14:47Pratap Bajwa speaking, leading from the front.
14:50But meanwhile, Ahmadi Party at this point of time
14:53would want to put its flock together.
14:55In turn, this entire thing happened to be
14:57a matter of embarrassment of sorts,
15:00with a lot of defense coming in
15:02from several of the ministers
15:03for the chief minister himself.
15:06And on that very pertinent point that you raised,
15:08Yes, on that very pertinent point
15:11that you've raised, Kamal,
15:12on Ahmadi Party's show of strength,
15:14their morale, especially after
15:16seven of their ten MPs,
15:19you know, Rajasabha MPs
15:20merged with the BJP,
15:22holding the flock together in the state,
15:24which is being seen as the next target.
15:27How is the Ahmadi Party responding to those charges?
15:31Now, there's a technical part of it
15:33because show of strength is something
15:35that they would want to say
15:35that they hold the flock together,
15:37they're together,
15:38the exercise is done in Jalander
15:39where all the MLAs were called in
15:41by Manisa Swodhia.
15:43But meanwhile,
15:44it seems that several members
15:45were missing in Jalander
15:46and just about a handful of them
15:48were missing even today
15:49on the day of flow test.
15:52Now, this is a confidence motion, remember.
15:54It's not a no confidence.
15:55So it's not been brought in by the opposition.
15:57But many said this was a ploy
15:58because perhaps they thought
16:00about the constitutionality
16:01that they would be able to save it
16:02for six months.
16:03But we've been speaking
16:04to constitutional experts
16:05who say that if there is
16:07an Operation Lotus of sorts
16:08and if there is a breakaway,
16:11then these particular leaders
16:13can actually go to the governor
16:14and then the governor
16:16can eventually still ask for a flow test.
16:18But this is also a perception management
16:19because remember,
16:20a setback has been faced
16:22by the Ahmadi Party,
16:23by the Rajasava members.
16:24So perhaps it's a messaging
16:25more to the janta,
16:26to the people
16:27that just months before the polls
16:29that Ahmadi Party
16:30is still holding the fort,
16:32their own people are together.
16:33Meanwhile,
16:35the opposition trying to
16:36spring a surprise
16:37and obviously the personal conductor
16:38of Bhagwat Man
16:40being brought in question.
16:41A lot of
16:41but remember,
16:43it's the janta
16:44which eventually decides
16:45that who does it really believe.
16:47Meanwhile,
16:48Ahmadi Party
16:49and especially Bhagwat Man
16:50spoke later in the evening
16:51to media saying,
16:52there's no need for
16:54alcohol tests.
16:55This is just about
16:56much ado about nothing.
16:58Keep tracking that story.
16:59Kamal, I will come back to you
17:00for more for the moment.
17:01Kamal Jeet Korsandhu,
17:03many thanks.
17:03Let's now should focus.
17:04Big story coming in
17:05from Bengal.
17:07There will be repolls
17:08in some booths.
17:09Counting of course on the 4th,
17:11the Trimul Congress
17:12has moved the Supreme Court
17:13challenging the election commission
17:15of India's decision
17:16to appoint
17:17only central government
17:19or PSU employees
17:20as counting supervisors
17:22in West Bengal election.
17:24Now, this plea
17:25has been filed
17:26in the Supreme Court
17:27after yesterday's order
17:29of the Calcutta High Court
17:31that refused to give
17:33any relief
17:34to the Trimul Congress.
17:35The TMC
17:36has also requested
17:37for a special hearing.
17:39A special hearing
17:40tomorrow itself
17:41as the counting
17:42is on the 4th of May.
17:45Sources say
17:46that the Chief Justice
17:47of India
17:48has given directions
17:49for urgent
17:50listing of this matter
17:51tomorrow.
17:52Now, let me get you
17:53more details on this.
17:55We broke the story
17:56on India First
17:57yesterday
17:58in the High Court,
18:00in Calcutta High Court,
18:02Justice Krishna Rao,
18:03he rejected
18:043 TMC's claim
18:05that union government
18:07employees
18:08or central employees
18:09and PSU employees
18:11are more likely
18:12or are likely
18:13to be susceptible
18:14to suggestions
18:15and control
18:16of the central government
18:18or the Bharatiya Janata Party
18:20because it's a BJP government
18:22at the centre.
18:24Justice Rao said,
18:26it is the prerogative
18:27of the Election Commission
18:28of India
18:29to appoint
18:30the counting supervisors
18:31and counting assistants
18:32either from the state government
18:34or from the union government.
18:36The Election Commission
18:38has ordered
18:38repoll
18:39at 11 polling
18:40stations
18:41in 142
18:45Magarhat
18:46Pashchum
18:47Assembly
18:48Constituency
18:49and 4 polling stations
18:50in 143
18:52Diamond Harbor
18:52Assembly
18:53Constituency
18:54in the South 24
18:55Parganaz
18:56in Best Bengal.
18:58The Election Commission
18:59has received demands
19:00for repolling
19:00in 77
19:01boots across
19:024 Assembly
19:03Constituencies
19:04in South 24
19:04Parganaz
19:05and this
19:06is in the
19:07second phase
19:08of polling.
19:09The polling
19:10will now be held
19:10tomorrow,
19:12Saturday,
19:132nd of May
19:14from 7 in the morning
19:16till 6 in the evening.
19:18The orders
19:19for repolling
19:20came after
19:20the Bharatiya Janata Party
19:21alleged that
19:22the electronic
19:23voting machines
19:24in some instances
19:25buttons were found
19:26to be tampered with.
19:28Tape had been put
19:29on the button
19:31where the BJP
19:32candidate was.
19:34This alleged
19:35was in Falta
19:36which is part
19:36of Diamond Harbor
19:38constituency
19:39a stronghold
19:40of the Thirnwal Congress
19:41National General Secretary
19:42Abhishek Banerjee.
19:44Complaints were also
19:45filed by voters
19:46and political parties
19:47alleging
19:47EVM tampering,
19:49boot jamming,
19:50rigging at certain
19:51booths.
19:51Voting at these
19:52booths incidentally
19:53like we said
19:54was on the 29th of April
19:55the second phase
19:56of polling in Bengal.
19:58EC had declared
19:59the poll void
20:00under section 58
20:02slash 2
20:03of the Representation
20:04of People Act
20:071951.
20:07Now,
20:08according to the
20:08election commission order,
20:09polls at the
20:10affected booths
20:11were declared void
20:12based on reports
20:13from ROs
20:14which is returning
20:15officers
20:15and from observers.
20:17Okay,
20:18so we're getting
20:18reactions.
20:19Let's quickly
20:20cut in and listen
20:20in.
20:21We're getting
20:21a reaction
20:22from Shvendu
20:22Adhikari.
20:23I'll get you
20:24more on the
20:24story.
20:24I'll get you
20:36to see.
20:39I'll get you
20:41to see.
20:44I'll get you
20:46I'll get you
21:03So I quickly want to cut across to India Today's Indrajit Kundu who joins us with the latest
21:09on developments that are taking place in Bengal even as we speak in a moment Srishti Ojha
21:13will also join us Indrajit so repoll tomorrow counting on the 4th but high drama I mean if
21:21you thought you could you could get a breather before May 4 counting clearly no breather for
21:27you tell us the latest developments that are taking place I believe TMC officials are also
21:31meeting the CEO in the state on what are the demands meeting the election officer
21:41well that's right you know high drama there's no end to drama as far as this Bengal election is
21:46concerned whoever thought that the election process is over and we'll move on to the counting process
21:50no that's not happening because tomorrow we'll have elections repolling taking place in 15 booths
21:57all of them in South 24 Pargana Mogahat Pushim and Diamond Harbour and even as we speak election
22:04officials are deliberating on the Falta seat because there might there is a possibility
22:09of some booths for which might go for repolling in Falta as well so two constituencies which
22:16will be going for repolling tomorrow 15 you know booths in these two constituencies and even
22:22as I speak I will just show you the Trinimal Congress delegation which was here at the EC office
22:28is leaving Ferhat Hakeem Dr Paja Dr Paja just one question you have moved the supreme court because
22:36you are opposing you know the PSU workers and central government officers as counting observers why
22:46why do you oppose that you know I will tell you this this is not a new order this is
22:52a pre-existing order
22:56and again this has been circulated we have we have taken cognizance of the order the counting
23:02agents will be there in place and what about the repo ma'am what about the repo well the election
23:07commission thinks that repo was warranted out there and that is why just in the PC we replied that this
23:16was basically the strategy of the BJP party that on the day of the poll the first phase or the
23:22second
23:22phase they would provoke the other political parties they will provoke the incidents where you know
23:30anybody would they would incite some kind of trouble so that they could be massive repo in massive many
23:36many more booths we were extremely we did not respond or react to their provocation and even our workers
23:44president but wherever uh one or two incidents or whatever the repo you have it has been asked for
23:50but this is this was the strategy of the BJP they are not prepared they are not winning and for
23:58which they
23:59tried this devious uh you know strategy that let's have a repo where in many places and then again
24:06Bengal ko badnam karo you know we see elections could not be fair and free and all that it's been
24:13foreign
24:13uh it's been uh it's been all right you know the best part of it is the the chief election
24:19commissioner kia bole chunaaf ka par desh ka garv or bengal ka garv then he takes the credit but he
24:28has
24:28to the credit that the election commission could do it so well well he should also then take the discredit
24:34of the number of lives which were lost in the sir exercise and also the harassment which took place
24:41during the sir exercise and also on the day of polling how an 81 year old died due to atrocities
24:50by the central forces who will take the responsibility of those is just saying that because of the
24:57preparations of eci that's why uh chunaaf ka garv and all that you can take the credit but all these
25:03also are in tow to be uh you know you have to take the discredit for all the for the
25:09other uh
25:09harassments and the debts which happened
25:14so gaurav you heard uh the trinimal congress here uh the trinimal congress delegation uh at the chief
25:22electoral officer's office here in kolkata and they have their own reservations clearly they are stating
25:27that uh you know this is bjp's provocation and that's why uh you know there was uh some sort of
25:34an incident due to which repolling has been ordered but they are saying that uh you know trinimal congress
25:39workers uh had shown a lot of uh restraint so okay trinimal congress's version coming in very clearly as
25:46far as tomorrow's repolling is concerned keep tracking that story i will come back to you for more but
25:51urgent hearing shot in the supreme court srishti oja now joins me for more on this what's the main
25:57prayer of the trinimal congress in the supreme court because the high court very clearly told them it's
26:03the election commission's prerogative whether they want to use state government employees or central
26:08government and psu employees what are their reservations with central government and psu employees srishti
26:18i will go up as we know the dilkata high court very clearly upheld election commission of india's
26:22decision to appoint central government and psu employees now the main uh challenge the main
26:26argument that was put forth by tmc both before high court and as we understand in their petition for
26:30the supreme court is that uh firstly the directive the ecci lacks the jurisdiction to pass such a directive
26:36the directive it goes against ecci's handbook and rules itself because it does not mandate
26:42important to central government employees for such roles also there's an apprehension bias in the
26:47central government employees that we might be susceptible to influence uh considering uh pgp also
26:53involved in the elections so these are the apprehensions and arguments which will be
26:57sought by tmc as far as well here today before the supreme court is concerned they had so
27:03okay
27:06srishti keep tracking that story i will come back to you for more srishti oja for the moment
27:10many thanks for joining me the trimul congress in fact mamtha banerji in particular bengal chief
27:17minister and the tmc they've repeatedly raised the point what was the need to deploy two lakh thirty
27:22five thousand or thereabouts uh central armed police forces uh in bengal for polling now what is it that
27:29the heavy deployment was required for let's take a look at data from bengal and data tells you a deeper
27:37story about bengal's long history of poll violence according to the armed conflict location and event
27:44data project or the ac led west bengal has emerged as the most violent state during elections in past
27:54decades take a look at some of these numbers in assembly elections the number of violent incidents
27:59they've risen sharply from 172 in 2016 to 278 in 2021 and that's a sharp jump of 60 percent this
28:10situation was actually even more alarming in panchayat elections violence more than just doubled 155
28:19incidents in 2018 shot up to 327 incidents in 2023 110 percent increase in the 2023 panchayat elections
28:30there were 92 attacks by unknown assailants underlining how volatile the situation had become on the ground
28:38who's responsible for this in 2016 assembly elections according to this report the trimul congress was
28:46involved in 118 violent incidents that's 64 percent of all cases involved in 2021 the number of violent
28:54incidents involving uh involving them went up to 178 again amounting to about 64 percent of all incidents
29:01the cases involving the bjp too have gone up from 8 in 2016 to 125 in 2021 and you notice
29:10the sharp spike
29:12the left's involvement dropped drastically over the years the congress as you well know remains a marginal
29:20play a similar pattern was also visible in panchayat elections in 2018 tmc was found to have been
29:27involved in 102 incidents rising to 198 in 2023 all of this explains why the election commission deployed
29:38central armed police forces in large numbers they clearly did not want to take any chance this time
29:44preventive measures did they bear result well far fewer incidents of violence almost negligible one life
29:54lost a couple of incidents reported but the police were able to crack down month of energy in the trimul
30:00congress they've sparked a massive political storm especially what happened last night
30:05mantha banerji insists that the strong room had been opened and raising fears of possible tampering
30:13of ballots stealing the election was the allegation the election commission however issued a categorical
30:19clarification insisting no evm strong room was open what was accessed was a separate room
30:27following due protocol with no breach of security or violation of any guideline whatsoever
30:33so what exactly are the rules when it comes to strong room security and how tightly are these facilities
30:41monitored now according to information released by the election commission the place where the evms
30:47are stored is known as the strong room well they are set up at district headquarters level
30:54the same location where counting eventually takes place these rooms are designed to be
30:59virtually impenetrable they have a single entry and exit point all other doors and windows are
31:04permanently sealed uh during the process a strict double lock system is enforced key is separately held
31:11by the district commissioner and the designated election officer in charge once sealed electricity
31:17inside the strong room is switched off to eliminate any risk of either tampering or even a shot
31:23circuit security is layered and it's 24 7 there are cctv cameras there's adequate storage uh that's put in
31:31place uh numbers of cctv cameras that cover every entry point exit point corridor strong room footage
31:38remains under official custody every opening and closing of the strong room is actually videographed
31:44detailed logbook is maintained access is restricted there are strict checks to prevent any unauthorized
31:50of the country's entry there's a multi-layered security cordon that's put in place with central
31:54forces guarding the inner perimeter state forces guard the outer layer importantly candidates are not
32:02kept in the dark they're permitted to deploy their representatives who can keep an eye from a designated
32:08viewing area outside the perimeter with facilities provided for round-the-clock vigil even the ceiling of the
32:15strong room is a transparent process carried out in the presence of election officer officials observers
32:21candidates and or their authorized agents every movement in and around the strong room is recorded
32:28documented and political allegations may continue to fly the election commission insists the strong
32:36room security remains very stringent through the process i now want to bring in our guest because just
32:43ahead of repolls um in 15 polling booths in bengal and ahead of counting on may 4 passions are really
32:50running high in bengal late thursday night mamata banerji rushed to the bhavani poor constituency strong
32:55room short while back we're told shwendo adhikari also rushed to the same area he's actually hit out
33:01at mamata banerji saying her plan was to was to sit on a dharna till the counting on 4th of
33:06may
33:06and to whip up passions mamata banerji warned akada will guard every strong room till the
33:12counting she's alleged foul play she's a charge that the election commission is very strongly
33:17denied joining me on india first is mohammad ameen former joint director of the election commission
33:23rohan gupta is the national spokesperson of the bhartiya janta party rt jairat is a senior journalist
33:28and political commentator durbar ganguli is founder and editor-in-chief of the millennium post
33:33welcome mr ameen i want to begin by asking you tridamool congress alleges an attempt to breach
33:39seal ballot boxes they say and i want to show you those images they say it's been caught on cctv
33:46camera ec officials say all polling agents were called in process was explained postal ballot
33:53segregation was taking place now from these images sir and this is information in public domain
33:59does it appear to be a case of stealing the mandate as tmc alleges
34:07actually the yesterday i have seen this is started and this was the problem with the
34:15notice has issued to the all parties at that they can assemble at the time 4 pm in the that
34:22hall where
34:23they can sort out the assemblies received ballot papers by the dark or the postal ballots they're
34:29received so they want to sort it out that area so that's why they have given them with their
34:35information with the all parties including the independent candidates are also the same so they
34:40have given in the whatsapp they have been on the phone and they have been in the email and they
34:44have
34:44sent the by fax or by the post also so what they had the their a tmc fellow has not
34:51come at the four
34:52clock he has came late five o'clock so that's why they've taken some picture and they're showing
34:56this is the uh where something happened with the strong rooms but you so you have already mentioned
35:03in there your note and as the protocol as i was the chief of protocol in election commission of india
35:08and also observer of the fake district in nagaland as a accounting observer so that's a there is a
35:14circle three circles of security and when we have the polling is finished then all polling agents
35:21goes along with the officers to the strong room they can keep it there and the signatures are there
35:26and they're coming out and then on the door they have to strips with their signature of the polling
35:33agents for all the parties and next day and first pair of military and second security and third is the
35:41calcutta or the bengal police officers were there so whenever we have the next counting there so next day
35:49with the video camera and with the officers all magistrate officers were going there are polling
35:53agents also uh counting agents are also going to see the strong rooms everything is okay and they see
35:59the seal also okay and everything is recorded by the election commission officers and that side this
36:05is shows clear cut this is the starting out of the ballot papers sir let me bring in durbar ganguli
36:11when the
36:12election commission says postal ballot segregation is standard notified process done in presence of
36:17agents so is there merit in the tmc framing a routine activity as a midnight heist or a murder of
36:25democracy
36:28you see from the very beginning tmc feels that the central government by hook and crook
36:35uh trying to defeat them and after the exit poll results they also feel that there may be something
36:45deep inside which is happening which may jeopardize the real uh election results now in this particular
36:54case the issue which they have raised they themselves have went back after being satisfied
37:02and because the dea the district electoral officer yesterday had a press conference and explained the
37:08whole thing and i think the the more important thing was that there are political party workers who also
37:18wait outside to watch the cctv footage yes and the footage is visible and once they the election
37:27commissioner had also had a press conference and they explained everything they went back home but at the
37:34same time later part of the evening chief minister herself went to the uh strong room of another place
37:42where babanipur uh election uh votes were getting counted or will be counted and she stayed there for
37:51uh quite a long time till 12 o'clock actually what happened or the whatever be the observation of supreme
37:58court
37:59there is a major mistrust going on between the bjp election commission and tmc so any action okay tmc is
38:09very uh suspicious uh very over sensitive and they are not trying they are not they think that we should
38:19not
38:19allow any chance to manipulate respond to the trinamul congress saying that the presence of over two
38:27lakh central armed police forces indicate intimidation you know tmc says we are fighting bjp we are fighting
38:35ec we are fighting crpf we are fighting nia it's an uneven fight see they are fighting the people of
38:43west bengal they are fighting their own ego and that's why people are fed up how can you say that
38:48the
38:48central forces are against the state they ensured that there are free and fair elections they ensured
38:53that people can come out and vote and express their heart out that is what the tmc is against
38:57and whatever you are seeing on the screen it is just their effort to make grounds for fourth
39:01because after fourth also they have to run their party they have to continue their party
39:05they know that they are going to be defeated so obviously in minds of people and their voters who
39:10still have voted for tmc they want to prepare ground that we have not lost but we have lost because
39:15something wrong happened the same congress theory so i think this is indi gadbandan theory and nothing
39:19is going to happen i am going to tell you that they are going to lose massively and on fourth
39:24they
39:24will sit outside the office of election commission cry foul this is everything is as per rules and
39:29regulation everything is laid down in in the in the necessary rules this is just the effort by tmc to
39:37create the atmosphere for fourth the ground for the fourth that after they lose elections would you agree
39:42would you agree would you agree with this assessment that this is tmc preparing ground
39:46to say we didn't lose elections we were made to lose elections as bjp alleges
39:54no i don't think so i think this is part of mantha vanerjee's hyper politics she's always done this
40:02she always hypes up issues and you know part of it is a uh you know a morale boosting exercise
40:09for her
40:10cadres part of it is to show uh you know her voters and her support base that she's ready to
40:16fight for
40:17them which is why she rushed out at midnight to that strong room and stayed there for four hours
40:23uh you know it's it's really a political drama which is i i think uh you know especially crafted
40:31to create a narrative and build an image of a leader who is a fighter um you know but but
40:39i would like
40:40to say one thing yeah that why yes the violence levels have been much less this time in the bengal
40:49polls and for that we do have to credit the election commission at the same time i think the posting
40:56of
40:5650 percent of the country's paramilitary forces drawing them away from hot spots in manipur
41:04national belts border areas and pushing them into bengal i think that was really overdone you know
41:12bengal is not a territory terrorist state it's not a militant state it's not kashmir i think rohan
41:17wants to quickly respond to that fortunately kashmir is peaceful no no it's not kashmir kashmir is very
41:23peaceful right now uh and i've reported so extensively from kashmir so they could have put
41:29less numbers rather than this two and a half lakhs which is obviously very intimidating in a state
41:37which has never seen this kind of central force presence okay rohan gupta wants to quickly respond
41:42and then mr ameen also how can it be intimidating to the state ensuring free and fair election how can
41:47it be intimidating this is the first time election commission held election in two-phase this is the first
41:52time there was no pre-poll violence this is the first time in phase one there was no repolling
41:57this is the first time on the day of election there was no violence how can you say intimidating
42:01they were ensuring that people and people come out and vote in in big numbers and that is what has
42:07happened how can you say that central forces of the country is intimidating to the people of the
42:11state it is only intimidating to the goons of tmc who could not come out and do whatever they
42:16want let me get durbar gangli to respond for four months i have been in bangal for four months and
42:21the evening every day before two days of elections the goons were coming out and telling people not
42:26to vote this time they could not do it and that's why they are feeling jittery the numbers you want
42:32to
42:32quickly come in were people feeling intimidated or as bjp says tmc goons were feeling intimidated
42:38response no i know the question is that the this amount of central forces were never deployed in
42:47any part of india for any election this is definitely this unprecedented action definitely
42:56invite criticism from various quarters that is one point but the other point which i am trying to say
43:03that don't forget this time the sir exercise have deleted nearly 91 lakh people's name from the list
43:13number three 27 lakh people are still under adjudication which means their claim to vote
43:20has not been rejected yet okay so it's a very peculiar situation but at the same time
43:26i must say this huge mobilization of force has actually also helped
43:33tmc in a in a way that the general people you see that violent incident which uh history if you
43:41go back to the old history of bengal it is not widespread there are certain spots there are certain
43:46districts where always violence has taken place uh more like calcutta the i i don't remember calcutta
43:54has a very violent city in last several years panchayat election is quite different from the uh bengal i
44:01mean uh assembly election and uh looks of our election so we will not should not put that thing
44:08together but uh any election should be without violence i mean there there can be no justification
44:13for violence no no there is no justification of violence but i'm trying to say that that those violent
44:20incidents if you go back to history were always confined to certain districts so it was not that the
44:28entire bengal was burning entire bengal was totally rigged that's not the case okay rohan dupta wants to
44:36quickly respond and i want to bring in mr ameen uh for his assessment okay rohan quickly this is
44:42totally not acceptable from the media how can you say that you know sending this many forces against the
44:48state and that is why they could ensure that there is no violence and when none of the citizens of
44:53west
44:53bengal died in post-violence why are you opposing it how can it be intimidating i really don't
44:59understand no no let me no no no no no i never spoke in between you let me complete see
45:05we are not
45:05debating i have not said you can speak it between me go on sir complete your point i want to
45:12bring
45:12my simple limited point gaurav is if even after deploying this many number of forces you have seen
45:19that how bjp candidate was beaten on the day of election how the congress worker was murdered even
45:26after that these guns even after ensuring this kind of deployment there were five percent uh things
45:31which happened even today you see that there are repolling how can you say that deployment is wrong no
45:36for this for the election commission it is their duty to answer free and fair election there are no
45:42violence and that is what they have ensured okay in process of doing that whatever they will feel
45:46good should that there have been you know are you are you against this deployment of this this was
45:51you know using using why did you have to bring in so many forces is the question that's being
45:56asked of the election commission gaurav last time they can remember that the 40 or more than 40
46:02have died in this same same time at the time of elections and you see this border area is bengal
46:09border is related with the international border like nepal bangladesh and the bhutan so at the every
46:16this time they have insisted to the election commission even bjp and tmc both have insisted
46:21the number of days are the cut cut down from eight or seven days we seven uh have rounds but
46:30this time
46:30they are two rounds only in the bengal elections due to biggest state otherwise other state we have only
46:35one day destruction so that's why they have ensured about their administration and that's why you can
46:40see peaceful election has done and we can thankful to my officials security personals and everyone
46:46who have done it very successfully you know post results they must stay deployed because you'd recall
46:53post 2021 elections that that mad cycle of violence uh including little a little girl who was gang
46:59raped by a retired school teacher rafiqul islam or something if i remember that name correctly
47:04and and in the name of post-pol violence and that other crimes against women that took place in bengal
47:10sincerely hope nothing of that sort ever happens again and i hope forces are deployed i have to take
47:16a quick break here but we will revisit this debate um in the days ahead can the war in west
47:20asia start
47:21once again news just coming in iran has sent a fresh proposal to the united states through pakistan the
47:28latest proposal actually includes iran's response to u.s amendments and demands to end the war we are
47:37now told that u.s president donald trump has to take a final decision he has already been briefed by
47:42the
47:42centcom on the strike options the centcom has drawn new military plans for iran option one short and
47:51powerful waves of strike option two take over the state of hormuz open it by force option three special
47:58forces operations to secure enriched uranium i quickly want to cut across to daniel silverberg former
48:04pentagon and capitol hill official who's been tracking these developments very closely daniel welcome as
48:10always your assessment of the options in front of president trump gaurav it's good to be with you first i
48:18don't think these are necessarily new options there was reporting five weeks ago that the president had
48:23two decision memos in front of him one to do exactly what you said of send in special operations troops
48:29on the counterproliferation mission to recover the highly sensitive nuclear material assuming that you
48:35can get to it and to use ground forces to either seize harg island or to take over other parts
48:43of the
48:43strait i think that those options have resurfaced because we are at an impasse in these negotiations
48:49frankly i don't know what's in the iranian proposal but what i do know is that president trump has not
48:57been impressed with the iranian positions to date regarding wanting to delay any discussion on the
49:03nuclear deal this is a legacy item for him he went to war to address the nuclear program and whatever
49:11solution ultimately whatever agreement is reached for president trump i think it's gonna have to include
49:18the nuclear deal so we're dealing with two sides who i think are at an impasse both of whom think
49:24time is on their side i agree with your premise iran stringing president trump along because iran knows
49:30he has time only till the midterms or perhaps even less than that till he goes to china he has
49:37to have a
49:37solution by then he cannot have a blockade where he's also blockading chinese oil well one i think you're presuming
49:44that
49:44the iranians have a coherent negotiating position i i'm not convinced that's the case i don't think
49:51that they have a grand strategy of stringing trump along i certainly don't subscribe to their uh that
49:57they have a sophisticated reading of u.s politics i happen to disagree with people here in the u.s
50:04who
50:04think trump is sensitive to the midterm dates one i'm not convinced he cares all that much about um
50:15the fortunes of individual members of congress in their re-elect obviously he wants republicans to
50:21retain control but i have to think he's confident that when he wants to weigh in in the elections
50:29republicans will be totally fine but two he this is about his legacy for him this is about doing what
50:37no other president could do and i want to quote for you a tweet gaurav that i from one of
50:43trump's
50:45whisperers uh mark thason of the washington post this is what i think trump is hearing he wrote trump
50:51should unleash the final 14 days of bombing finish off iran's leadership and offensive capabilities open
50:57the strait declare victory and then run on it in the midterms that's the message in your military
51:03assessment is that doable your military assessment is that a rather tall order uh i think it's a
51:10remarkably tall order and i think if there's one thing we've learned in the last six weeks it's that
51:15this notion that the u.s can militarily bring iran to its knees is uh highly challenged and um this
51:26is
51:26the same debate we saw in 2016 from skeptics of the jcpoa who said why are you negotiating with iran
51:34apply more pressure they're gonna fall any minute i'm not seeing evidence that they're falling any
51:40minute but it's critical to understand here gaurav how is trump seeing this trump is hearing from
51:46people like mark thason who say mr president a little more pressure here you're going to accomplish the
51:52goal so last 30 seconds a yes and no answer daniel can the balloon go up once again can the
51:58u.s start
51:58bombing iran and if so what's your time frame i think it's going to happen i think it's going to
52:04likely be in the next few days uh and i think it's going to be an intensive campaign to remind
52:12the iranians
52:13of u.s force daniel i'm going to come back to you on that daniel silver many many thanks for
52:19joining
52:20me here free frank and fearless as always a former pentagon and capital hill officer telling us perhaps
52:25the balloon may go up his assessment in the next couple of days if not weeks we'll be tracking that
52:31story very closely that's all i have for you on india first this evening many thanks for watching
52:35news and updates continue on india today states
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