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This India Today special broadcast covers significant political shifts following the latest assembly election results in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
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00:01Good evening, you're watching India First. I'm Gaurav Sawant.
00:05Big stories coming in both from Bengal and from Tamil Nadu.
00:09Shubhendu Adhikari will be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of Bengal.
00:13Now Vijay will be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
00:18Watch these images both from Bengal and from Tamil Nadu.
00:23Historic elections and absolutely historic election results.
00:28This is a resounding response from India to those overseas who peddle that fake narrative
00:37that India is not a democracy or that India is an elected autocracy.
00:44Just look at how vibrant elections are in India.
00:47How there's a desperate fight for every vote and how results are cherished across the country.
00:55Now those who say India is not a democracy or is an elected autocracy,
01:00they've been proven so wrong with these election results.
01:03Whether it's Tamil Nadu or Bengal or Kerala or Assam or Puducherry.
01:06But first, the big story from Tamil Nadu.
01:10Debitant, the Tamil Nadu, Vethri Kadagam, TVK-led actor Vijay.
01:15He's delivered a blockbuster electoral win this time.
01:20Emerging as the single largest party.
01:23He's got 108 of his own.
01:26107, considering he's fought from two seats.
01:29He shattered the 59-year Dravidan duopoly of the DMK and the AIDMK.
01:35And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the highest ever.
01:3985.1% voter turnout in Tamil Nadu.
01:43TVK's Vijay, with 108, does fall short of the 118, which is the majority mark.
01:51But he's now got the support of the Congress Party.
01:54That's five seats.
01:55He's got the support of the left, the VCK and others taking claim
01:59before Governor Rajendra Arlekar to form the next government.
02:05DMK's MK Stalin.
02:07He resigned after his party was reduced to a mere 59.
02:10And he incidentally lost his own seat.
02:11AIA-DMK managed just about 47.
02:15There were reports, and this led to high drama in the state.
02:19There were reports that the AIA-DMK and the DMK,
02:22they were trying to form that impossible post-pol alliance
02:27to form the next government.
02:29AIA-DMK was reportedly offered outside support by the DMK
02:33to form a minority government.
02:34And the CPIM let the cat out of the bag,
02:38distancing itself, saying this would be taking away from the mandate,
02:41given by the people of Tamil Nadu.
02:44I'll tell you more about this.
02:46Let me also tell you about Bengal.
02:49Seismic democratic shift.
02:51The BJP, the Bharatiya Janata Party, scripted history in West Bengal,
02:56winning 207 of the 294 seats,
03:01decisively ending Mamata Banerjee's 15-year Trinamool Congress rule in the state,
03:06and forming the first BJP government in West Bengal.
03:11Suvendu Adhikari, the man of the moment,
03:15all set to take charge as the chief minister.
03:17It promises to be a very impressive swearing-in ceremony
03:21at the brigade parade ground in Kolkata.
03:26Mamata Banerjee suffered a huge blow,
03:28and a personal blow losing her Bhavani Pur stronghold
03:31to former aide Suvendu Adhikari
03:34by a margin of over 15,100 votes.
03:37She, of course, initially was, she refused to resign.
03:41She's been alleging irregularities,
03:43but then the assembly was dissolved on the 7th of May.
03:48We'll get you both the images of that historic swearing-in ceremony
03:53that will take place, in fact, almost at the same time,
03:5711 o'clock in Tamil Nadu and 11 o'clock in West Bengal.
04:01But big story coming in, big story coming in from Tamil Nadu.
04:05Actor Vijay gets support now of 120 MLA.
04:09So that's two more than the halfway or the majority mark.
04:13The Indian Union Muslim League has also extended support to Vijay.
04:17So now, 107 of his own, or 108 if you count,
04:23he's contesting from two seats and one.
04:26Congress, VCK, left parties, and the IUML.
04:30So let me give you the breakup.
04:32TVK on its own, 107.
04:34The Congress adds another 5.
04:37The VCK adds 2.
04:39CPIM adds 2.
04:40CPI adds 2.
04:42That takes it to 118.
04:44And Indian Union Muslim League adds another 2.
04:46Taking it to 120.
04:50And I quickly want to cut across.
04:52And India today has the best team on ground,
04:54getting you a 360-degree perspective on this huge development in Tamil Nadu.
05:01Akshita Nand Gopal and Preeti Chaudhary join me with the latest on this.
05:05Akshita, finally it is happening, Vijay, to form government in Tamil Nadu.
05:12The big question is, are all the letters of support in writing with him, is the governor satisfied?
05:24Absolutely, Gaurav.
05:25This time, he's got those letters.
05:27He's learned the hard way that this is what you need to be able to form the government in Tamil
05:31Nadu.
05:31So equipped with those letters of support,
05:34showing that he had 118 plus 2 IUML has come on board.
05:38So 120.
05:38He's through.
05:39He's reached the finish line.
05:41And it's been a tense two days for Vijay Gaurav.
05:44But now with that support, he's immediately going in for the swearing-in ceremony.
05:48You know, he is someone who believes in, of course, what his astrologer says about what's an auspicious time.
05:54So his astrologer has said that, you know, 11 a.m. tomorrow is an auspicious time.
05:58That's the time he sought for the swearing-in ceremony.
06:01It'll happen at the Nehru Indoor Stadium.
06:03It will be only one person being sworn in, and that will be Vijay.
06:06I will highlight for you, Gaurav, that since Monday, since the mandate, right up till today,
06:11we haven't heard a word from Vijay so far,
06:13whether it's about the mandate of the people or about what's played out with the governor.
06:17So tomorrow, the swearing-in ceremony is when we're expecting that big victory speech to play out for Vijay.
06:23Ultimately, he's done it.
06:24You know, as someone who's new to politics,
06:26there were a lot of questions about whether he has what it takes to stitch up alliances.
06:30Obviously, the bigger test is coming up of handling a coalition government,
06:34handling egos of political parties.
06:36But that first step, Vijay has managed to do it,
06:39ensured that he got the numbers required in a matter of two days,
06:42has met the governor, handed that letter over.
06:45We're going to be seeing the swearing-in ceremony come tomorrow.
06:49Okay.
06:49Let me also quickly bring in Preeti Chaudhary.
06:51Preeti, high drama in the past 48 hours.
06:55AIA-DMK to give support to DMK, DMK to give support to AIA-DMK from outside,
07:02for them to form the government.
07:03It's the CPIM in that exclusive interview to you.
07:07MA Baby, let the cat out of the bag.
07:12Well, you're bang on, Gaurav.
07:14But before I get there, it does seem, Gaurav,
07:16that Shuvendu Adhikari's astrologer and TVK Vijay's astrologer are quite the same
07:22because both have been given exactly the same time and the same day,
07:26which is 11 a.m. in Bengal at Brigade Grounds
07:30and 11 a.m. in Chennai at Nehru Stadium for TVK Vijay.
07:34But astrology aside, Gaurav, exactly, you know, this is something that we were all debating.
07:39You know, Akshita would also know, Pramod, our colleague on ground here,
07:43constantly that what really was going on between the AIDMK and the DMK.
07:49Were they entering what many perceived as an unholy alliance?
07:53Was the improbable happening?
07:54All of that was laid to rest by an interview of MK Stalin,
07:58the chief minister, to a local newspaper where he says that,
08:01I want to not create any constitutional crisis.
08:03I want to give six months' time to Vijay to prove himself,
08:06take our welfare schemes forward and only then will I react.
08:10That laid some of the rumour-mongering to rest.
08:12But come the evening again of yesterday, once again rumours were rife.
08:17Are the back-channel talks seriously on this time?
08:20Everyone from the DMK denied it, but didn't quite deny it.
08:24Some just smiled, didn't say anything.
08:26Officially now, you had M.A. Baby, who's the general secretary of the CPI,
08:31make it clear that the DMK was actually pressurising, or rather asking.
08:35And their ally, which is the left, they have four seats, CPI-2, CPI-M2,
08:41to come on board and support the AIDMK from outside.
08:45The left parties thought it unethical.
08:47They did not want to go with the BJP because AIDMK is in truck with the BJP.
08:52Therefore, they decided to go, Gaurav, with the TVK,
08:55and they did it in the urgent hurry that they did.
08:58Otherwise, this decision was to come this evening.
09:00And what they tell me is that left did it at that time
09:04because they felt that possibly the DMK and the AIDMK
09:07could have cobbled up the numbers before.
09:09So, then the VCK and the left spoke.
09:11You know, which also brings us to that next point.
09:13Before I cut across to Bengal,
09:16let me quickly bring in Akshita once again.
09:18Akshita, so one litmus test,
09:21Vijay was able to pass by cobbling together.
09:24But he won the elections and how then he's been able to cobble together
09:28the numbers to at least satisfy the governor.
09:32But the next big challenge,
09:33he has six months to ensure that his government runs smoothly
09:36because the DMK ceasefire, if I may,
09:40is only for six months.
09:42You know, from what MK Stalin said,
09:44he'll do nothing for six months.
09:45What after that?
09:51No, very, very true, Gaurav.
09:53And if you ask me, from the get-go,
09:54there's going to be a challenge here for TVK
09:57to prove that they have what it takes to run a coalition government.
10:00It's extremely challenging him for the most experienced of politicians.
10:03So, for Vijay, he's really going to be facing challenges from the get-go.
10:08The DMK has said, for six months, we'll wait and watch.
10:10We're going to allow the TVK to form the government
10:12because the mandate is in their favor.
10:14We don't want a constitutional crisis.
10:16I will highlight that the AIA-DMK said no such thing.
10:19And sources tell us that the AIA-DMK is just waiting,
10:21waiting for the right opportunity to swoop in right now
10:25because they believe that the TVK right now is on very flimsy ground.
10:29And if you look at the numbers, sure,
10:30you can go ahead and say that at 120,
10:32which is too above the majority mark,
10:34let's say one or two MLAs choose to question Vijay on one issue.
10:38There you have it.
10:39There's a question about whether Vijay has the numbers.
10:41So, the AIA-DMK is actually thinking
10:43that there's an opportunity here
10:45where Vijay could be tested much,
10:48you know, in a question of just a few months,
10:50saying that, you know, five years is a long time.
10:52For Vijay to hold on to these numbers,
10:54they believe is going to be extremely challenging.
10:56So, while the DMK, as you said,
10:58and as you put it,
10:59has a ceasefire for six months,
11:01the AIA-DMK has no such rules, Kaurav.
11:02They'll be going in for the kill,
11:04the first chance they get.
11:05But when it comes to numbers,
11:08look at how strong Shuvendu Adhikari and the BJP are in Bengal.
11:14207 of 294.
11:16And Maria Shaqeel now joins me from Kolkata.
11:20The other historic, historic election result.
11:24And look at the India Today team,
11:25the finest team on ground.
11:27I want to quickly cut across to that big story
11:29that's coming in from Bengal.
11:31Shuvendu Adhikari has met the governor,
11:34R.N. Ravi.
11:35He's take claim to form the government.
11:37We'll just get you that first image
11:38that comes from Lok Bhavan in Kolkata on India Today.
11:42Just give me a moment as we get those images.
11:44Shuvendu Adhikari all set to take oath
11:46as Chief Minister of Bengal
11:48at the Brigade Parade Ground at 11 tomorrow morning.
11:52Shuvendu Adhikari will be the first BJP Chief Minister,
11:55the first BJP government in Bengal.
11:58And Prime Minister Narendra Modi
12:00is to attend that grand oath-taking ceremony,
12:0421st Chief Minister.
12:06But watch that image.
12:07And I want to go to that image one minute full frame
12:10as BJP leaders went to meet the governor at Lok Bhavan.
12:15And the BJP is taking claim
12:19to form the government in West Bengal,
12:23to form the next government in West Bengal.
12:25I quickly want to cut across to Maria Shaqeel.
12:28Maria, as the Union Home Minister Amit Shah purit,
12:31this is not just about BJP getting its government
12:34in the 21st state,
12:36the 21st Chief Minister,
12:38or getting yet another state.
12:40This is truly, as far as the BJP is concerned,
12:43the Home Minister puts it,
12:44it's also to do with national security.
12:47This is huge, as far as the BJP is concerned.
12:53Yes, that's right.
12:54It's a border state.
12:56And that's what Home Minister Amit Shah has been emphasising.
12:59And that's why this entire election
13:01was also about identifying each and every infiltrator
13:06and ensuring that they are ejected
13:08out of the ecosystem of the country.
13:13As far as today is concerned,
13:14a historic day certainly for the BJP
13:16and also for Bengal.
13:19Shubindu Adhikari unanimously chosen
13:21as the leader of the House,
13:24the Legislature Party head,
13:26and he will be sown in.
13:27And soon after,
13:29Shubindu Adhikari and other leaders
13:31of the BJP Bengal unit
13:33that includes Shamik Bhattacharya,
13:35who is the State President
13:36and other Union Ministers
13:39like Shukanta Majumdar
13:43and also Shantanu Thakur,
13:45who is a Member of Parliament,
13:46all of them were present
13:47when they went to stake claim
13:49to form the government.
13:50And then the Governor gave them the time,
13:52which is 11 a.m. at the Brigade Ground,
13:55which is roughly around five minutes
13:56from where I am, Gaurav.
13:58That is where the oath-taking ceremony will happen.
14:01And the BJP wants to make this really big.
14:04207 in 200.
14:06Absolutely.
14:07So tell us the preparations.
14:09The Prime Minister will be there.
14:11I'm told all BJP and NDA chief ministers will be there.
14:15Tell us more about the preparations
14:16for the swearing-in.
14:21Yes, that's right.
14:22That's the nature of preparation,
14:23something that BJP does across the country.
14:26So, you know, it's keeping in with the tradition
14:29that if they win a state,
14:31they make the swearing-in ceremony very, very grand.
14:34I think the biggest significance
14:35is of the date which has been chosen,
14:37which is Rabindra Jainti.
14:39It is the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore,
14:43the Nobel laureate.
14:44And hence, that day signifies the message
14:47that the BJP is giving to the people of Bengal,
14:50that they have got the mandate from the people.
14:52They understand the ethos and the culture of Bengal,
14:55the significance of these dates and days.
14:58That's why this date becomes particularly important
15:01when Shubhendu Adhikari will be sown in.
15:03Of course, present will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
15:07who has been leading this entire campaign
15:09called Mission Bengal or Mission Purwode.
15:12From the front, the Home Minister,
15:15who has been the architect of this victory,
15:17other union ministers and also the chief ministers
15:20of all BJP-ruled states
15:22and the NDA chief ministers,
15:24that includes Chandra Babu Naidu
15:26and, you know, deputy chief minister
15:28like Eknath Shinde and others
15:29who will be present tomorrow.
15:31The BJP will be showcasing this as a show of strength.
15:35This is a big victory for the party,
15:37high on symbolism,
15:38but high also on the fact that the BJP
15:42right now almost has hegemonic presence
15:44across the country.
15:45It is the dominant political force in the country
15:49and no ground is rejecting the BJP.
15:54This was identified as a catchment
15:56of the state several years ago.
16:00Several years ago.
16:02Ang Bang Kaling Kamroop,
16:04that Purwode that you speak of,
16:08Ang for the first time,
16:09they have a BJP chief minister in Bihar, Maria.
16:11So Ang Bang, they now have Kaling,
16:15Odisha, they've already got
16:16and Kamroop, they're back in Assam
16:18in such a big way
16:19so that mission Purwode
16:20will only get strengthened from this point on,
16:23isn't it, Maria?
16:23That's the game plan.
16:27Undoubtedly.
16:28And interestingly,
16:30the co-observer who was sent
16:32along with Home Minister Amit Shah
16:34is the chief minister of Odisha.
16:36Odisha.
16:36That again is a big message here.
16:38That when Shubhendu Adhikari
16:40was chosen as the leader
16:42of the legislative assembly,
16:44he will be the legislature
16:46as far as the BJP is concerned.
16:48The person who was sent
16:49as the co-observer
16:50was the chief minister
16:51of the neighboring state,
16:53a state which has been won by the BJP
16:54only recently in 2024.
16:57That's why I say, Gaurav,
16:59as a BJP reporter,
17:00as someone who has tracked the party
17:02for almost 15 years now,
17:04that here is the party
17:05which sets new targets
17:07and then it goes all out to achieve it.
17:10They believe in politics of patience,
17:13something that has not been seen
17:15in Indian politics for decades now.
17:17And this is the saffron patience
17:19which has finally fructified
17:21into this massive result
17:22and then the swearing-in
17:24which will be happening tomorrow.
17:25Maria, for the moment,
17:27many thanks for joining me.
17:27I will come back to you for more
17:29that swearing-in
17:31that promises to be
17:32more than just grand.
17:34It is intended to send across
17:35a very powerful message.
17:38Shubhendu Adhikari
17:38will be the new chief minister
17:40of Bengal.
17:41He will be sworn in
17:42at the historic
17:43brigade parade ground in Kolkata.
17:45Before that,
17:46as he announced
17:46Shubhendu Adhikari's name
17:48as the leader of the BJP legislature party,
17:50Union Home Minister Amit Shah,
17:52who incidentally was
17:53the central observer,
17:54was visibly emotional
17:56when he talked about
17:57the significance
17:58of the BJP's
17:59spectacular victory in Bengal.
18:01He said the Bengal victory
18:02is not merely
18:03about the 21st state,
18:05the 21st chief minister.
18:06It was far more significant.
18:08He said,
18:09and you must hear him saying that,
18:10that this victory
18:11has massive
18:12national security ramifications
18:14and would mark the beginning
18:16of the end
18:17of ghuspaitiyas,
18:19of infiltrators
18:20in our country.
18:21India,
18:22he said,
18:22will send back
18:23every ghuspaitiya,
18:24whatever part of the country
18:26he is
18:26or she is,
18:27that ghuspaitiya
18:28will be sent back.
18:29I'll get you some of the highlights
18:30of the statements
18:31of the Union Home Minister
18:32on the BJP's
18:33historic win
18:34in Bengal.
18:37Ghuspaitiyas
18:37will be sent back.
18:38Gautaskari.
18:39And this is
18:40key BJP agenda
18:42to stop it.
18:43Gautaskari
18:44is
18:45cattle smuggling.
18:46The Home Minister
18:47said cattle smuggling
18:49will come to an end
18:50because the BJP
18:51now controls
18:52not just West Bengal
18:54but also Assam
18:55and Tripurayan.
18:56That is where
18:57this cattle smuggling
18:58becomes really huge.
19:01The point being,
19:02past governments
19:03may have encouraged it
19:04or turned a blind eye
19:05no longer.
19:06Amit Shah said
19:07this landslide
19:08victory in Bengal
19:08was not merely
19:09an expansion
19:10of its organization
19:11or the validity
19:12of the ideology
19:13of the sangh
19:14but a mandate
19:15that was linked
19:16to the country's
19:16security
19:17and democracy.
19:19Listen in
19:20to the Home Minister
19:21talking about
19:22Ghuspaitiyas
19:23being sent back
19:25and Gautaskari
19:26coming to an end.
19:46and Gautaskari
19:48and Gautaskari
20:03Amit Shah also said that during
20:08Bambahta Banerjee's 15-year rule, politicization of the administration
20:12and criminalization of politics had taken place in the state
20:15and that policy would be reversed. He said during BJP's rule
20:19neither administration will be politicized nor politics
20:23will be criminalized moving forward in the direction of freeing bengal's culture and
20:29tradition from the rule that is influenced by foreign ideology and this is where for the bjp
20:35this becomes a civilizational victory as they put it that after the battle of plassey you had
20:45foreign rule that was coming in and it's only now according to the bjp that you will have
20:52independent indian thought that will be there in governance bengal of the imagination of ram krishna
21:02paramhans of swami vivekanand of maharashi arvind and of course gurudev rabindranath tegor he said
21:09the dream of shonar bangla that is the bharatia janta party's responsibility listen
21:17the bengal me mahmta ji ke 15 saal me administration ka pura raad niti karan ho gaya
21:28saare administration ka pramukh upang raad niti karan ho gaya hunka or raad niti ka
21:35apraad niti karan ho gaya hunka apraad niti karan ho gaya hunka apraad niti karan ho gaya
21:56apraad niti karan ho gaya hunka apraad niti karan ho gaya hunka apraad niti karan ho gaya
22:20ee haamara bengal ki janta ko wadha hai
22:25gundagherdi, hinsa, syndicate, brashachar, cut money
22:31ee jo 83 ta bengal ki janta par
22:36haamare naye mukhe muntri ke charge lete hi
22:38kochi mahinomay sara samapth ho jayega
22:43aur bengal ke kilometer ho dure, sankar ho kilometer dure tuk ho gaya
22:50charu pragya of the bhartiya janta party
22:53dr vikram singh, former director general of police and her national security expert
22:58sambit pal, columnist and senior journalist and maidul islam is a political analyst
23:02they join us on this special broadcast
23:05but the point that the union home minister made
23:07on infiltration, ghuspaitiyas will be sent back
23:11cattle smuggling will become impossible in bengal under the bjp rule
23:16maidul islam, is that a very clear signal
23:20that the home minister is sending out on how this
23:24his, you know, shubhendu adhikari's governance would be very different
23:28from what was the situation before that
23:32yeah i think it's a very clear message from the honorable home minister
23:37the bjp actually played this very straight right from the beginning that this election was absolutely based on national security
23:45and shubhendu adhikari has been given this charge to take head on because there was this huge kind of allegations
23:55on behalf of the bjp that during the last 15 years there were a certain kind of illegal trading in
24:03the indo-bangladesh border but i must also add that the bjp that during the last 15 years there were
24:06a certain kind of illegal trading in the indo-bangladesh border
24:06i think it would have been better if also the honorable defense minister and the honorable prime minister and the
24:12honorable home minister also took charge by suggesting that who are the bsf officers and the raw agencies and the
24:20ib officials or the sasastasimabal who couldn't actually perform their duties how the infiltration was taking place in the in
24:29the first place
24:30uh so i think the central government also had to answer a lot of course you want to respond on
24:39on this uh very pertinent point that trimul congress initially used to raise um in terms of borders are protected
24:46by the federal government and not the state government yes absolutely and uh gaurav see it's very important to note
24:54here two things number one when the work purview of the bsf the work
25:00area had increased from 15 kilometers to 50 kilometers into indian territory there was only one border state that protested
25:07not once but twice by writing a letter to the honorable prime minister you know which state was this it
25:13was west bengal west bengal chief minister then mamata banerji wrote a letter saying that you cannot increase the area
25:20of work of bsf to 50 kilometers into indian territory the only the only state which seemed to have a
25:26problem point number two when we were trying
25:28to do border fencing and we did this across the country in every single border state in our country you
25:34know which is that one state which in spite of the supreme court's observations in spite of the home minister
25:39visiting multiple times and sending multiple letters seven seven letters went from the home minister's office to west bengal chief
25:46minister asking for land for fencing of our borders only one state did not provide this complete land that was
25:53needed
25:53and that state was mamata ruled west bengal i'll give you another example mursheedabad in mursheedabad the bsf dg has
26:02made a statement that tmc linked goons have actually fired on bsf jawans when they were trying to stop illegal
26:10infiltration into indian territory that is the extent to which this particular
26:14regime went went to um use that proximity to the border to their political advantage but to india's disadvantage they
26:24were illegal networks let me bring in sambitpal let me bring in sambitpal and let me let me give you
26:28some more data gaurav if he is still not satisfied no i will come back to you for more data
26:33on this because it's a very critical national security issue the bjp raised this very extensively and before i come
26:40to dr wikram singh for his final comments sambitpal
26:42the trinamul congress government was actually pulled up mamatar energy's government was even pulled up by courts of the 127
26:50kilometers that they were meant to give they had given only seven kilometers it just showed one not just not
26:58taking interest as the the home minister said two virtual complicity in encouraging infiltration is what bsf officials maintained
27:09yeah this is a critical issue and we also need to understand that you know the the cultural condition of
27:14bengal as well because since partition we have seen you know this kind of infiltration that's happening in west bengal
27:20and there are certain areas where you know uh especially in uh uh uh south dinajpur area and all where
27:26a part of the house is in bengal and another party is in bangaday so that that was a kind
27:32of partition that that happened and that had caused a lot of problem
27:35now uh you know having said that there is no doubt that you know that has to be uh protected
27:40the border has to be protected after a long time
27:42west bengal is aligning with the center the uh the party which is ruling at the center will also rule
27:49in the west bengal after a long long time
27:51almost uh half a half a century uh and and there i think you know uh the the um that
27:59the government at the center will
28:00be aligned with the west bengal government at this moment and understand these cultural uh issues there
28:07the practical issues in bengal and then take measures as needed
28:12but dr wikram singh the home minister raising this as the biggest issue
28:19ghuzpertias will be sent back and not just from bengal but from across the country
28:24bengal was the biggest gaping hole uh or words to that effect is what he said now considering
28:32the kind of votes bjp has this is truly a mandate where the people of bengal have agreed
28:38with what was happening in bengal was absolutely incorrect in the past
28:45gaurav ji good evening and good evening esteemed panelists may i be the greatest of the summit that
28:50these words come from the nation's home minister and they have to be taken very seriously india is
28:56bearing the almost the population of australia do not pay a single rupee by way of tax and these huge
29:02numbers are betting the economy with already stretched economy that we have therefore i would say that
29:09this needs a course correction and the opportunity has come now and the home minister in his wisdom said
29:14that yes the first thing will be there and everything will have to be deported and sent back to bangladesh
29:20whereas illegal bangladeshi nationals are at faith indian currency the
29:28the support system that facilitated their documentation and in fact
29:34if able in india not only in right send them right across right up to senegal kashmir and all the
29:42safe
29:43areas too therefore i think should be the top priority and i would say yes that this is the
29:48god-sent opportunity for the nation to set for a court correction and this is the basic now the
29:55capital is also the backbone of bangladesh economy and therefore that also needs to be
30:01land and the share span in which the bangta government denied the land to the bsf which was
30:06for national security purpose also should be inquired into and case should be against all those
30:12who was in the energies of illegal bangladesh you know you make a very pertinent point on the issue
30:18of illegal cattle smuggling and that happens across the length and breadth of our country in fact
30:25charupragia that's an issue where several bjp governments when the bjp takes great pride in saying
30:32that they rule they have their governments all the way from gujarat to arunachal pradesh these are all bjp
30:40ruled states law and order is a state subject and in many states uh this cattle smuggling these
30:47vehicles cross all these states before they come to bengal so it's not just the border state the home
30:52minister and home ministers of several bjp ruled states will have to deliver on the home minister's
30:58promise absolutely gaurav and it is not an issue which is being taken lightly see west bengal has
31:05unfortunately become that corridor where illegal networks have been allowed to flourish whether it
31:11is illegal infiltration whether it is smuggling whether it is a scam or an ecosystem to make fake
31:17documents all of this was being allowed to flourish in this particular corridor which connects
31:23west bengal to the bordering country of bangladesh the latest and the biggest scandal for cow smuggling
31:31was actually headed by a tmc neta called anubrata mondal and if people are not aware i would urge
31:38them to please look up this man because he was in the middle of a multi-coroar smuggling racket
31:43he was not pulled up even once by the tmc chief minister all of this is going to only come
31:50to a full
31:51stop when the government pays attention to these kind of issues gaurav and now we have a government
31:56which will because okay let me let me take more names i'm going to only speak on i don't want
32:01you
32:01to take names i want you to tell us about action that's already been taken name calling is usually
32:07you know done by the opposition you know or taking names highlighting names is by the opposition
32:12now the bjp is in government from gujarat to arunachal pradesh 78 percent of this country so 78 percent of
32:20this country should have no no cattle smuggling if the home minister actually fulfills his pledge but
32:26but there's another very important aspect i want to talk about and maidul aslam this is a perfect
32:33response these five states election results perfect response to all to that entire ecosystem which said
32:41india is now an elected autocracy that india is no longer a democracy that election results can be rigged
32:47look at the results across the length and breadth of our country those people have effectively been
32:53silenced today sir no i won't i won't say that the elections are rigged uh i would rather say that
33:00it was essentially an administrative mess in which uh 35 lakh genuine voters in west bengal
33:07couldn't vote and uh was it a mess you know was it a mess in in tamil nadu where where
33:13the bjp lost was
33:15it a mess in kerala where the bjp lost was it a mess elsewhere or was it a mess only
33:20in tamil in bengal
33:21the logical discrepancy category was only invoked in west bengal and justice jayamallah bakchi's
33:27essential statement was that the bihar didn't have that logical discrepancy mandate and now
33:3335 lakhs have actually appeared in front of the tribunals now these are not infiltrators because
33:39infiltrators don't go and submit their documents in front of the judges whatever infiltrators were
33:44there they moved out of india towards bangladesh there were media reports during the enumeration phase
33:51right and in in fact the strike rate was a little over 99 because a little over 1600 got included
33:57in the
33:58in the two phases so that means that those who have applied an overwhelming majority are actually
34:03genuine voters now saying so saying so congratulations to the bjp because i think
34:07subendo adhikari has actually worked hard from 1995 it's a 30 years long career of electoral politics
34:14first as a counselor in the kanthi south and then became a congress he comes from a congress family
34:20of cc rodhikari 98 he joined srinamal and from 98 onwards he was very very active with srinamal then
34:26in 2005 he became a member of legislative assembly and then into and then into singul nandigram that
34:33movement and uh of course he became a mass leader so so of course very very very very congratulations
34:39to him and i think what is very important for subendo adhikari is and for the bengal politics
34:43that after six decades there is a chief minister coming from the districts the last four chief
34:49minister sankar raha jyoti basu mamata uh buddha patta mamata banerji they are all calcutta politicians
34:56but this is coming let me let me quickly come to you charu pragya to respond to the point that
35:02you
35:02raise that it was administrative mess in your view that led to the bjp victory though i may want to
35:10ask
35:10you that even if all those votes had gone to mamata banerji would she have come close to
35:14no no no i have not disputed i have not disputed overall be that as it may i am just
35:18talking about
35:18narrative of those who claim india is an elected autocracy and all they should is this election
35:23result a response you know a resounding response to those people there are many in the west who
35:29peddle this theory and there are many uh you know who pick up uh maybe something from the west to
35:35peddle the same theory in india so charu pragya is this are these election results across the
35:40country a perfect response to them absolutely and gauras see the biggest win in these particular
35:46five state elections has been democracy this is a win of indian democracy because one our electorate
35:53are so clear about who they want in power in any state they are very clear whether it is assam
35:58whether it is west bengal whether they want to retain power whether they want to upturn power
36:02that level of clarity and that high number of voter turnout i think is incredible it is a slap on
36:08the faces of everyone who questioned democracy in india number two those who think that mamata
36:14banerji's loss is some kind of um you know um jugad or it is a fluke let me remind everyone
36:21she lost
36:21five years ago nandi gram she lost so the people of west bengal did not choose her even five years
36:27ago
36:27she has lost from both the places where uh her political identity is being born from literally nandi
36:34gram and bhavani pur losing both these seats with so much conviction actually proves that um this is a
36:40collapse of an entire political model that tmc was trying to shove in the faces of bengalis i'm sorry
36:46i'm using this kind of language people are not confused this is not a fluke the chapa chapa vote
36:52model sambit pal that has lost was it uh the politics of intimidation that was yes and can i add
37:00one more
37:00thing okay i'm going to add one more thing here gaurav now if you even look at uh the way
37:07tmc has been
37:08going around after this election look at violence look at the bomb blast which happened near the area
37:14where the mother of the victim of arjikar medical uh rape case uh had won from five blasts in that
37:21area
37:21suvendu dada's own assistant was shot at point blank he lost his life chandra lost his life rohit roy
37:29of basir hut he was also shot at so this kind of violence this politics of fear of intimidation of
37:35thinking that you can tell your electorate what needs to be done that has come to an absolute
37:40let me bring in sambit pal to respond to that decisive defeat for mamata banerji earlier uh in nandigram and
37:47this time as the home minister said he told suvendu adhikari or words to that effect defeat her in
37:54bhavanipur and that is exactly what they did the strategy i'm told is all the people who are
38:00voting for bjp were told go early in the morning go vote before the chapa vote people come or before
38:05uh you know the goons come in to intimidate you
38:10see this time the way election commission has conducted this whole election process
38:14if i leave you know aside and where you know it's genuinely my college met uh maidul was you know
38:21mentioning that 27 lakh people who could not vote now whether they're genuine voters not that is not
38:27yet decided so let's not comment on that and say that you know they're infiltrators keep that aside
38:31the way election commission has conducted this whole election process by reshuffling the administrative
38:37officials police officials that had broken mamata banerji's election machinery so she has understood and
38:44that that's how you know she couldn't recover from that because her feedback mechanism got completely
38:49paralyzed and the election machinery that you know threnumul congresses to run in west bengal that
38:55collapsed so people have come out and they have voted there has there has not been you know many
39:00incidents where opposition even uh complained that there have been uh rigging in the election process
39:05now uh you know this is a decisive victory for bjp of course if they are winning 200 seats i
39:11do not
39:11believe that they have rigged all the seats and you know come to this point and since you know as
39:16you
39:16were mentioning that uh subendu odikari who has defeated mamata banerji in babanipur the last time
39:21mamata banerji had gone to subendu odikari's home turf in uh nandik gram in smith napur this time
39:28she has been defeated in her own home turf so this has been a you know giant killing in a
39:33sense in
39:33political terminology actually proves what the home minister said you know what sambit pal is saying
39:39actually proves what the home minister was saying that politicization of the administration
39:44was complete and now that will stop if mamata banerji was getting a feedback from the police or
39:52the administration and they were virtually seen as an extension of the trinamul congress
39:56it just goes on to show that the state was in a shambles
40:02gauravji there is no doubt about that that there was nothing like policing in west bengal
40:05because the police stations had become the offices of the tmc unless there was a recommendation that
40:11from the tmc carders no case would have been registered and if there was an fir against a
40:16particular community that fir would never have been registered in the first place and to those of the
40:21tmc goons the clear under unwritten code was do not look towards them no if you what if you know
40:27what is good for your career therefore under these disastrous circumstances i feel that they have a
40:32task at hand the new government to absolutely do a topsy-turvy and inject life and propriety in the
40:39minds of every police constable right up to the rank of dgp who sat with mamata in ceremonial dresses
40:45i think charu tragya ji would also be as shocked to hear that that there is a basic law that
40:51police
40:51officers cannot be a participative in any agitation whether the chief minister is participating or not
40:57and here you have an act known as policeman incitement to disaffection act and that should be put to
41:02ruthless implementation for all those who cross the laxman reka as far as discipline and propriety are
41:07concerned you know and the civilizational shift as the bjp puts it that's a story we'll be tracking
41:14very very closely i want to thank all my guests one year of operation sindoor one year of trying to
41:21send across a message to a state sponsor of radical islamist terror that pakistan's terror in india
41:29is unacceptable and there will be costs that will be imposed not just on terrorists but also on
41:36terror sponsors the pakistan army but how much of that message has india been able to send across
41:43were we able to achieve our aims one year down the line what's the thinking with me on this india
41:50today's special broadcast is lieutenant general manoj katyar former army commander western command
41:57someone who was right in the heart of action in the western command area where multiple targets
42:04across the border were neutralized gel katyar welcome thank you thank you gaurav for inviting me
42:10general how much were we able to achieve what was the task what was the aim one year down the
42:18line
42:18your appreciation how much have we been able to achieve oh gaurav the aim of operation sindoor was
42:25very clear we were to punish the terrorists and their mentors who are based in pakistan
42:34and i think the strikes which we did on the night of seventh we were able to totally destroy the
42:43terrorist centers their headquarters and the aim what we had set for ourselves actually was achieved in
42:51those 25 minutes of the initial strikes thereafter as you are aware the operations continued for another
42:5888 hours and pakistan tried to engage our posts which we successfully intercepted all his missiles and drones
43:07and in retaliation we destroyed a number of his posts and air bases so if you ask me whatever aim
43:14we had set for
43:15ourselves in operation sindoor we achieved it fully and i can unequivocally say that we achieved our aim of
43:24operation sindoor now one aim of operation sindoor was to punish pakistan a state sponsor of radical islamist
43:32terror punish terrorists so hundred terrorists is the assessment hundred terrorists were killed in indian
43:37strikes hundred plus terrorists yeah uh more than hundred terrorists were killed and also uh since
43:46pak tried to engage our own posts and when we retaliated and destroyed his military bases he suffered a lot
43:53of
43:54casualties for his soldiers also military casualties yes what is our assessment of military casualties on the
44:01other side uh if we go by the honors list which he had taken out on uh 14th august he
44:09had uh awarded
44:11posthumously i think about close to 150 uh soldiers for this operation so that is the damage i think we
44:18were
44:19able to inflict on pakistan in operation sindoor so hundred plus terrorists and 150 plus pakistan army soldiers
44:28were killed in operation sindoor and not everyone is given a gallantry medal i mean the casualties would
44:35have been higher if 150 were given medal by pakistanis must have been higher that is our assessment that
44:40casualties of terrorists as well as the serving personals must have been higher now in midst of this
44:48if a country has had hundred plus uh fatalities of terrorists hundred plus fatalities of their soldiers
44:56the then army chief promotes himself to the rank of field marshal um if he were an indian army general
45:06would he have been promoted or cashiered by summary general court-martial and sent home difficult for
45:13me to answer uh gaurav but then uh that is what pak army believes in uh even if they lose
45:19a war
45:20uh which they have been losing consistently whether it's cargill whether it is uh uh of sindoor
45:29they will find some little tactical success somewhere and blow it out of proportion to declare
45:35themselves as victorious so this is a part of their strategy that uh they try to get a notion of
45:42victory
45:42and blow it out of proportion to declare themselves victorious so actually the promotion of
45:47uh the general to field marshal is if you ask me is part of that strategy only because if you
45:55promote
45:55a general to field marshal everyone believes that he must have done very well so like i say to hide
46:01your
46:01failure to promote your general so maybe it's part of their strategy of the notion of victory taking it
46:08a step further because pakistan to me lives in lala land they've lost more than 200 people they've lost
46:18multiple aircraft multiple air bases have been bombed and correct me if i'm wrong sir wasn't this
46:24the first time ever in response to terror that india hit pakistan's panjab province which is pakistan's
46:31red line yes actually our uh if you look at uh our response to park terror attacks uh uli we
46:41went across
46:42carried out the surgical strikes post pulwama we carried out the air strikes at balakot but this time
46:50i think the scale was much much higher and the damages which we uh inflicted on park terror spaces
46:59were uh phenomenal and like you rightly said this is the first time we struck him in his heartland
47:06punjab murid ke bahawalpur these were really you can say taking the uh strikes to the terrorist bases to
47:17a to the next level murid ke bahawalpur and then when he tried to take on our military targets
47:24hitting him in noor khan hitting him in sargodha uh raheem yar khan jacob abad bulari in sindh
47:32um sir i want to understand from you again hitting pakistan in so many military targets across the
47:40length and breadth of his country you in your 40 years career in the army you must have wargamed it
47:48enough had you wargamed you know hitting him in this manner without war being declared no actually uh
47:57in a sense we feel that uh we could inflict so much of damage on him without escalating
48:07the military operations to full-fledged war in itself is a very major achievement
48:13because like you rightly said when we war game these kind of contingencies it generally escalates to a
48:20full-fledged war and this wasn't this was not because we were very successfully we were very
48:26successfully able to uh dominate uh wherever the escalation was taking place and at the very right
48:34time i think we agreed for the ceasefire also because uh like they say that starting a war is
48:42easy terminating it on the note of victory is little difficult and we are seeing it across the
48:50world today so i think it's a very major achievement of india to have started the war in a very
48:58just manner
48:59and then terminated it at the right time so you start the war at will you terminate it at will
49:07you
49:08hit him hard but there's one aspect that i want to raise remember pakistan their nuclear bogey every
49:15general in pakistan or even their um semi-literate political leaders would say we have a
49:20power killo ke bum he he amne drawing room mein sajane ke nahi rakhe or words to that effect i
49:27mean
49:27that is the level of their comprehension but be that as it may sir have we been able to escalate
49:33because initially when when the surgical strikes happened in the northeast pakistan said you dare
49:38not try this with us we're a nuclear weapon state post uri surgical strikes happened then they said dare
49:43not escalate they kind of tried to deny it but balakot airstrikes happened across the lc and hit him
49:48across the international border uh again did not escalate to a nuclear threshold here you've hit
49:53him across the length and breadth of his country and it still didn't escalate to a full-fledged war
49:58let alone nuclear threshold have we found that right window that you can keep hitting him and it will
50:04not escalate see it's a kind of uh if i can use the word nuclear blackmail which pakistan does and
50:13uh even after ops sindoor if you remember uh there was a reportedly the field marshal in the u.s
50:21had
50:21said yeah if you go down yeah we'll take the half the word down with us so such a uh
50:26irresponsible
50:27statement but that is what the park strategy is based on it wants to provoke india but thereafter
50:37restrict the war going to a full scale
50:43uh
50:43uh
50:43uh
50:43uh
50:43uh
50:43uh
50:43uh
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