- 3 hours ago
The central government has issued an eviction notice to the Delhi Gymkhana Club, requiring the colonial-era institution to vacate its Lutyens Delhi property by June 5.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching To The Point. I'm Preeti Chaudhary. One big debate lined up for you.
00:05But before we get to it, first, allow me to take you through the headlines.
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01:18Vijay tells cops to act swiftly, nab criminals. This after horrific child murder in Madurai Temple.
01:28AIA-DMK continues to grapple with internal feud. Three rebel MLAs quit the party and joined TVK.
01:35EPS condemns TN Chief Minister Vijay's party and accuses them of introducing Aussie trading culture.
01:46U.S. Secretary of State Rubio visits Jaipur's iconic Amer fort along with his wife.
01:51Earlier today, he also visited Taj Mahal, Rubio's cultural sojourn, a day before key quad meet in Delhi.
02:05All right, let's get down now to a debate that has practically consumed maybe the national audience,
02:12but definitely where people in Delhi are concerned.
02:16For decades, the Delhi Jumkana Club stood as a symbol of power, privilege, exclusivity.
02:21Right bang in the heart of Lutyens, Delhi.
02:24So exclusive as well in terms of location that it was situated right, or it is rather,
02:29situated right next to the Prime Minister's residence.
02:32But now the colonial era institution is facing an uncertain future
02:35as the centre seeks to reclaim the land siting, security and infrastructure needs.
02:40The controversy has once again reignited the debate over elitism, legacy, privilege and public land use.
02:58For over a century, behind these gates, India's elite networked.
03:05The Delhi Jumkana Club, one of the last surviving symbols of colonial era privilege,
03:11is now staring at its biggest existential crisis yet.
03:20The iconic club has moved the Delhi High Court against the centre's order,
03:25asking it to vacate its massive 27.3-acre Lutyens, Delhi property by June 5.
03:31The court will now hear the matter on Tuesday.
03:36The petition filed by club member Vijay Khurana challenges both the legality and urgency of the eviction order.
03:43The club says the move could abruptly disrupt operations,
03:47impact nearly 14,000 members and leave more than 500 employees uncertain about the future.
04:19The members do not have any faith interest in the committee that is constituted.
04:24which is run, which is managed by the government itself,
04:27because those people who are members of the committee are all government appointees
04:31and obviously they cannot go against the government.
04:34Should they go against the government, they will be obviously changed or removed.
04:37Under the circumstances, the club has decided that we've got to take up the case ourselves.
04:41The case is going to be fought on behalf of the Delhi Jumkana by Singhvi as well as Kapal Sibbal.
04:48The centre says that the land is critically required for strengthening its defence infrastructure
04:54and for other public security purposes.
04:58Now the club sits on a highly sensitive stretch at Safdarjung Road,
05:03right next to the Prime Minister's residence and surrounded by key government and defence establishments.
05:32The government is currently in the University of Delhi Jumkana club.
05:59But the Jim Khanna story isn't just about heritage.
06:03It's also been shadowed by other past controversies, including alleged financial irregularities,
06:09low lease rates on prime government land, dispute over dues, elitist membership rules,
06:16the controversial green card system which allows hereditary membership,
06:21election and administration tussles and allegations of unauthorised construction.
06:28Founded in 1913 as the Imperial Delhi Jim Khanna Club,
06:32this colonial-era institution has long been the address of India's power circuits.
06:37From bureaucrats to diplomats, generals to politicians, the Jim Khanna became more than a club.
06:43It became a symbol of status.
06:46For decades, getting into Delhi Jim Khanna was nearly impossible.
06:51But today, the bigger question is, will the club itself survive this battle?
06:57With Srishti Ojha in Delhi, Bureau Report, India Today.
07:05All right, heritage versus elitist debate.
07:07Let's open it out and try and get in as much opinion so our viewers can actually get an understanding
07:12on what the issue is.
07:14I want to take you to our panelists this evening.
07:17And I'm going to, you know, not use our timer because usually we use a two-minute timer for this
07:22debate.
07:22I'm going to try and refrain from doing it.
07:23I hope we don't regret it at the end of it.
07:25But allow me to introduce our panelists to you.
07:27Yashavardhan Azad, former IPS officer, Rajat Sethi, political analyst, Swapna Liddell,
07:33Indian historian, author, art curator and heritage conservationist, Rakesh Sinha,
07:39former Rajya Sabha MP, Bharatiya Janata Party.
07:42All right, let's, we're going to be joined by Rajat in a short while from now.
07:45But, Mr. Yashavardhan Azad, you have taken a very strong stand on why the government should not acquire
07:52and take over the Delhi Gymkhana Club.
07:54What are your reasons, sir?
07:56Number one, there is no, it's a kind of a selective dismantling of an institution.
08:02The reason given is security.
08:04I mean, that's not possible.
08:05I mean, I've handled security in the government itself for more than 10 years.
08:09The security threat was the highest to the prime minister
08:13when the prime minister was staying just opposite Gymkhana during the Khalistani days
08:18and during even the JNK terrorism days.
08:23Secondly, what kind of a defense establishment is imminently needed
08:28and certainly required just now to throw out Gymkhana like, you know,
08:34illegal occupant in 15 days is extremely strange.
08:37I don't understand.
08:38Third point, if this is a debate between the elite club and a civic legacy,
08:46then I want to ask, who is exactly an elite in this country?
08:52Are people who are four times MP or the ministers living in the huge bungalows,
08:58are they not elites?
09:00Then why are they given 10 acres of land?
09:03Again, if there is a policy against the elite, then it should be uniform.
09:08If there is a policy against a club, then it should be again uniform.
09:14But this selective dismantling of institution shows nothing else but a bad policy decision
09:20and at best hubris.
09:22All right.
09:23Okay.
09:24Let's cut across to Rajat Sethi.
09:26Rajat, you had Mr. Razad there, Mr. Sethi,
09:28who gave out and elucidated in detail on why there shouldn't be a takeover of the Delhi Gymkhana Club.
09:35Primarily, you know, to sum it up, he says this is just selective targeting of a particular institution.
09:41Why do you think the government should take it over?
09:45Well, respectfully, I first disagree with the entire definition of elites.
09:50Elite, in my opinion, are those who do not have to go back to the people to earn a respect
10:00mandate
10:01or whatever form you want to call that.
10:03Elite essentially is just basis their connections, the kind of social clique that they exist in.
10:09They want to feed off the system and they want to form that exclusive clique
10:14wherein the outsiders have no chance of getting in.
10:17In a democracy, that is dangerous.
10:19Pick up any political leader every five years or even shorter before that.
10:23They have to go back to the people,
10:25shed out all their exclusivist attitude, even if they possess so,
10:31and go back and ask for mandates again.
10:33I mean, if such a system were institutionalized around the Gymkhana Club,
10:37we would see a shifting nature of elites come in and go out
10:43and membership is not passed on hierarchically.
10:46And membership is not passed on in generations.
10:48I mean, I'm hearing crazy stories that this club used to offer membership of bureaucrats
10:58who were in the era of 1960s and 70s.
11:01And right now, their grandsons and granddaughters are currently the members
11:05just by sheer nature of them belonging to that blue blood.
11:10Where in a democratic setup do the public and the taxpayer money has to go in to subsidize their drinks
11:17and their alcohol and their food?
11:19Why should it happen?
11:20In a democracy, the doors of elites should be thrown wide open and allow a good circulation of newer set
11:31of people
11:31who can possibly come in and contribute to the art, literature, culture, whatever XYZ dimension they want to.
11:38And this should not become an exclusivist institution.
11:41And I believe the Prime Minister has made it a point that be it, you know, eviction to be done
11:47on illegal land
11:48by people who are poor and not belong to this elitist circle,
11:52all the way up to the most elitist organization that is existing in our democracy,
11:57everybody will have fair treatment.
11:58They will be evicted whenever the government deems it fit.
12:01And it's within the law.
12:04Okay.
12:04Mr. Razad, I know you really want to come in and I'll circle back to you because let's not,
12:09allow me to open up the debate.
12:10I want to bring in Swapna Liddle.
12:12Ms. Liddle, would you want to come out with your perspective?
12:15Because you have elucidated and stressed on the historical context of the very nature of the Delhi Gymkhana.
12:22Yes.
12:23Just a little bit of background.
12:25The Gymkhana Club as an institution was founded in 1913.
12:29But at that time, it was at the temporary capital, which was in the civil lines.
12:33And once New Delhi came up, this building was built.
12:37And it actually started functioning from this particular campus in 1929.
12:44Just as New Delhi was getting started.
12:48And of course, it was at that time, because that was before independence,
12:53it was a very elitist and it was, in fact, exclusively British institution.
13:00But after just two years before independence, of course, they started admitting Indians into the club.
13:06And after independence, of course, it did rapidly kind of went through a phase of decolonization
13:12in the sense that it changed its name also from the Imperial Gymkhana Club to the Delhi Gymkhana Club, simply.
13:20And of course, all the management and everything was now Indianized.
13:25And of course, a lot of the institutions were Indianized.
13:27So it's not as if its heritage has not been changing.
13:30We can have arguments about whether it has changed enough or not.
13:34But I think from the point of view of somebody who's concerned about heritage,
13:39I think I would also say that the fact that this club has an old historic building,
13:48it has a library with a large number of books,
13:51the fact that it has been a space not only for sports facilities and sports tournaments and institutions,
13:59but also, for instance, the book club, which is something that is interesting.
14:05So I would be sorry to see, I mean, I can understand arguments that are made against,
14:13well, elitism or whatever you may have, but the fact that it is an important cultural institution as well,
14:20as well as a very big historic, it's a heritage space.
14:23It's part of the New Delhi landscape.
14:27The fact that it has old trees, et cetera, all of that.
14:31Okay, fair point.
14:32But, you know, Miss Little, the argument is also that the book club, the sporting facility,
14:38the cultural context of this club is only privy to a certain few.
14:43And that, you know, is in contention.
14:46And that is why the entire elitism tag, I'll circle back to it.
14:49And I want to bring in Rakesh Sinha into this conversation.
14:52Mr. Sinha, well, you've also been a student of history, like Miss Little.
14:55What's your take on the current controversy, sir?
15:02Priti, you started with a very apt introduction of the entire controversy.
15:07Just I'm adding a few points to your own introduction.
15:10You know, the Indian constitution gives the philosophical understanding of the country.
15:16That is equality, justice, and fraternity.
15:20Anything beyond that is unacceptable.
15:24The Gymkhana club, which was created in 1913, and you know, Britishers were primarily a feudal people.
15:30They were not capitalist people.
15:31By mindset, they were feudal.
15:33They created institutions which were feudal in nature.
15:36And the Gymkhana club, which is sprawling 27 acres of land, whose market cost is 2.3 billion dollars.
15:45That is more than 27,000 crores.
15:48Its mutual fund investment is 200 crores.
15:51Not merely that, 9.5 crores 2023-2024 is profit.
15:56But CSR is zero.
15:58So-called CSR, nominal, minimal CSR, just a resource.
16:03The club, which is creating a super India inside the India.
16:06So, I am basically against this institution because it has a feudal nature.
16:13So, this institution should be abolished.
16:16And you rightly pointed out that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi regime, you see.
16:19Even the position of the Prime Minister, Ajad was describing all the elitism of the MPs and this regime.
16:28I am just giving the answer.
16:31You know, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has communalized the institution of the Prime Minister.
16:38He met common people more than the elites.
16:41You go to Safai Kramchari, you go to the laborers.
16:44In 26th January, Republic Day Parade, those who constructed the New Delhi's now, they are in front of the rows.
16:55So, this is the, those who don't understand the philosophy of Prime Minister.
16:59He is basically an egalitarian.
17:01Therefore, every process of change is based on the philosophy of egalitarianism.
17:09I am giving second important thing about this Gymkhana Club.
17:12You know, certain people are enjoying the super status, super citizenship.
17:17And can common people go to this book club?
17:21This is not a club for the super people.
17:24Their expenditure, 43 crore annual expenditure on their tea and other food.
17:30And 79 crore expenditure on operating expenditure.
17:34So, inside the country, where the common people are struggling and the regime is trying to give 80 crore people
17:42the free food.
17:43Regime is trying to give 10 crore toilets.
17:46In that, that state, if you have such a feudal and the capitalist institutions, which is, which is, which is
17:53showing the common people that look, we are the super privileged people.
17:57That's why the decision is very correct.
17:59Not only on the basis of security, it should be abolished on the basis of its feudal character and nature.
18:05All right. But, you know, Mr. Sinha, the other way to look at it is that privilege is only grudged
18:10when it's somebody else's.
18:11Because a lot of people today who are crying privilege and chairing the takedown of Delhi Gymkhana have used every
18:18possible privilege that is accorded to them.
18:21Maybe to get membership in clubs like the IIC, the Habitat, or get their kids in these top-notch schools.
18:28That's also privilege. Privilege is a part of your life and that's what, it's in every sphere.
18:33You know, when it happens to you and you're using it, it's fine to do so, but you grudge it
18:38when somebody else has it.
18:39Sir, I'm just trying to give in all possible, you know, points of the argument.
18:42I'll circle back to you. Let me go back.
18:44Give me one minute, one minute.
18:46Okay, yes, sir. Okay, take 30 seconds, sir, then I'll go back.
18:49Give me one minute, just one minute.
18:51Yeah, yeah, you know, you know the IIC and other institutions, a common college teacher, a common school teacher can
19:01be member.
19:02I can show the number of people who are very common, they are the members of the institutions.
19:07But, Mr. Sina, a lot of people in Delhi Gymkhana will also say a major is a member who had
19:13nothing but just his father got the membership, he got it.
19:15No, no, no.
19:16You know, a lot of people, the argument can continue, sir.
19:19Not at all.
19:20The argument, but okay, let me, let me, let me, you know, like I said, it's not, let me, allow
19:24me to bring in, let me go back.
19:27Mr. Ajad raised a question, Ajad raised a question, just give me 10 seconds.
19:32You know, you know, the member of parliament are now shifting to apartments from Kothi.
19:36Okay.
19:36Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, so many, you can go and see the apartment, they are not, mostly people are
19:41shifting to there.
19:42So, Prime Minister created a mentality where the member of parliament realizing that we should not enjoy such a facility
19:48which gives the elitist image.
19:51So, gradually we are moving towards the non-elitist political system.
19:56Okay.
19:57All right.
19:57Okay, let's, I'm going to go back to Mr. Ajad who's been trying to intervene for a while right now.
20:02But Mr. Ajad, you know, the time had come.
20:03The party had to be over at some point of time and I would reckon many members of the Delhi
20:08Jimkhana understood that.
20:09You can't gatekeep an institution like Delhi Jimkhana where, you know, you want to be a member, the wait is
20:1437 year long.
20:16But it will be passed on in terms of, as part of inheritance.
20:21Riti, it is not a question of membership that we are debating here.
20:26The premise of the debate is wider.
20:29You know, Sinaa sahab, he called me Azad, but I'm still calling him Sinaa sahab.
20:36Sinaa said that the common people, he only talked about how the Prime Minister is egalitarian and he's trying to
20:44make an egalitarian society.
20:47Absolutely right.
20:48I'll be extremely happy, Sinaa, if the Jimkhana is turned into a cow shed or a stray dog shelter, as
20:57Supreme Court has ordered, or it is for slum rehabilitation, or it's for lowest income housing scheme.
21:06Don't give these binaries, please, poor versus the rich.
21:09In a country, everyone has a right to exist.
21:13Number two, there was a premise of elites having connections.
21:19Who has more connections?
21:22A ruling party, Karakarta, has more connections than a retired man like me who survives on his pension.
21:31There is a differentiation.
21:32Third, either you are attacking the concept of clubs.
21:37I appreciate it.
21:39You say in Modi government, we don't want clubs because it represents a kind of an elitism, whatever that word
21:46means.
21:47Then you smash all the clubs in the country.
21:50Why not golf club then?
21:53Why not IIC?
21:54Why not Kutub Golf Course?
21:56Ban golf?
21:57Then I can understand.
21:59Yes, you have made a uniform decision.
22:01But this is a selective outrage against a particular kind of institution.
22:07So another thing about membership.
22:09You know, this talk about, you're wrong.
22:13Any officer, there is a 50% division between the officers and 50% division for the non-officers.
22:19Any officer, any army, anyone from the government can apply.
22:25And he is in queue.
22:27On the other side, there is a concept of a green card.
22:30And I agree.
22:32There were people who misused the privilege and they gave that green card, made those dependents.
22:39But these are things to be done and corrected.
22:41For four years, the government is managing that and didn't have the guts to do it.
22:46Make somebody and it will be done overnight.
22:50Fifth point, there are going to be social spaces in Delhi away from the cluttered metros where you need to
23:01think, deliberate.
23:02There is a thing called quality of life.
23:05There is a thing called foreigners trying to do a risk and investment analysis of a capital.
23:11They don't only think in terms of land acquisitions.
23:14Organizations, as it is, they are running away.
23:17But they need spaces like this.
23:20Capitals thrive by accumulated memory, history and legacy.
23:25All right.
23:26Okay.
23:26Allow me to bring in Rajat Sethi into this conversation.
23:28Rajat, you know, to pull you in on this, if this is about security, then some would suggest by all
23:33means take it over.
23:34But most things, it's really not about security.
23:37If it's a moral debate, then it's just the tip of the iceberg, Rajat.
23:41Because then what?
23:42Are you going after Delhi Golf Club next?
23:45Is IIC next?
23:46Is IHC next?
23:47Where does the buck stop where privilege comes into question?
23:51Well, first of all, this is a very old school of thought that, you know, you require a lush green
23:56garden to imagine and get into, you know, a different imaginative world.
24:02Only where you can think and you cannot think out of it.
24:04Look at the Cockroach Janta Party.
24:07He came out with an online meme and he shook up the entire country.
24:11So, you know, Gen Zs have a very different approach.
24:15While the old school can still cling on to this old habit that I need to seclude myself from the,
24:20you know, from the law of a metropolitan and seclude myself around the elites whom I can relate with intellectually.
24:28And only there will my imagination, you know, sort of tickle.
24:32And that's how I'm going to write Shakespearean level novels out.
24:36I don't agree with that school.
24:38And I think barring a few places where you can have cultural programs, arts, dances, those kinds of things, which
24:45are an important part of our civilization, except those clubs.
24:49I mean, in IIC, every single day, whenever I am there, I see that there are very interesting cultural events.
24:56I don't want and neither, I think anybody in their same minds is going to say that, you know, tear
25:03down IIC.
25:04You can better utilize the space for sure.
25:06But what is happening in Gymkhana?
25:08Only the well-connected members, their sons and daughters, marriages and birthday parties are happening.
25:13Now, what kind of an intellectual engagement are you doing through these birthday parties?
25:17See, there is no rhetoric, no kind of an argumentation, which comes in the favor of Gymkhana Club from a
25:24moral standpoint.
25:24When you take out the moral standpoint and go from a legal standpoint, they were anyway on a rented land.
25:30The landlord has the ability to go out and invoke any clause in the rent agreement.
25:34So, it's a very black and white sort of a legal argument.
25:37And those necessary clauses were invoked.
25:40I mean, if these elites are so powerful and they had all the money, etc., they should have bought out
25:46this land permanently.
25:47And not, you know, sort of create a permanent burden on the taxpayer of this country to push a system
25:53which is based on inheritance.
25:55Inheritance is patently anti-democratic, period.
25:59Nothing which is inherited should carry in this democracy at all.
26:03Okay, so that's what I'm saying.
26:04Is it about inheritance?
26:06Should that have been corrected?
26:07It is deeply immoral.
26:09It's as immoral as it can get.
26:11All right, okay.
26:12But Rajat, it's also subjective.
26:14Because what you call elitism in terms of Delhi Gymkhana, will somebody look at an IIC member and cite the
26:19same reason?
26:19Saying, I have all the means, I have the merit, yet I'm get kept where IIC is concerned.
26:23And it's known to have happened, we were just having a conversation up in unused rooms on the number of
26:27people who have applied to the IIC for members and have been not allowed.
26:31So, you know, it's subjective in that sense.
26:34Swapna Liddell, I want to bring you back into this conversation and we'll go back to Mr. Sinha.
26:39He said, again, you know, the argument of history, the argument of melancholy, the argument of memories, you know, something
26:46that was made by Kiran Bedi as well,
26:48who'd clearly played quite a few tennis matches in Gymkhana.
26:54Isn't that just also a smacks of acute privilege, Ms. Liddell?
26:59I mean, as I said, memories are always there.
27:02But also we have to look at what, when we talk about heritage, what are the things that we want
27:07to preserve there, maybe?
27:08Do you want to make it more open so that the wonderful tennis courts where Ms. Bedi played are accessible
27:17to more people?
27:19Maybe that's a great idea.
27:21As I said, preserving the green space, the openness, the heritage building, these are important things.
27:26Can that library be made open and accessible to a larger number of people?
27:30It is, I think, what Mr. Azad said, what are you going to replace it with?
27:34I think that is something to be seen.
27:37And these kind of cultural spaces, public spaces, all sorts of spaces are important in a city.
27:45A capital city, New Delhi, cannot become a totally sarkari place where every space is blocked off.
27:53Okay. All right. Fair point.
27:55Mr. Sinha, I know you've been wanting to come in for an interjection. Go ahead, sir.
28:02You know, it's not a question of sarkari place or non-governmental places.
28:07It's a question of its utility for the larger people.
28:10And we are not against any institution or clubs.
28:14Only thing is that democratization is utility to the access of the common people.
28:21If common people are deprived and a country of patrician and plebeians are deliberately created, we are against it.
28:30We will oppose it.
28:31And personal, my opinion is that any institution in the country which gives the risks of feudalism should be abolished.
28:39No compromise.
28:39And as for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's concern, you see that how he has consolidated the government departments.
28:46You see the Kartape Baban.
28:48What is that?
28:49You see the ministries.
28:51How he is saving the land of the precious land.
28:54More constructive use of the land in the New Delhi.
28:59So this is a larger picture in the mind of Prime Minister.
29:03Although this is not connected to the court case.
29:05Court case has different argument of the security.
29:07But I am giving the, you see the constitution when declares the liberty, equality, fraternity.
29:13You must understand.
29:16These are not the ritual terms.
29:17These are not the empty terms.
29:18We must go by that.
29:20Unless until we feel the sentiment of the common people.
29:24After all, the government is working for the most commoners.
29:28Then if government is taking action, we should support.
29:32This argument that make a gaussala, make it the toilets.
29:36These are, these are the, not, these are not the correct argument.
29:40My correct, the argument should be that it should be more open.
29:44The land should be properly used.
29:47Legality and the constitutionalism.
29:49Both should be applied.
29:50One thing, last point.
29:51Democracy is not merely a political system.
29:54It is also moral engagement of the individuals and institutions.
29:57When some institutions are not involved in the moral engagement, moral engagement is the CSR.
30:03What you have done in the last, almost more than 100 years.
30:07Nothing.
30:07Okay.
30:08This is the British legacy of feudalism.
30:10It must go.
30:12It must go.
30:13Okay.
30:13Anyhow, I mean, the court gives, whatever the argument goes, I think country of 140 crore people
30:19will enjoy that if the institution is more democratized and land is properly used for the people.
30:25Okay.
30:26Relic of the British era primarily and it needs to go.
30:29Final comments I would take from all of you.
30:3130 seconds each.
30:32Mr. Azad, please go ahead first.
30:33Let me start by demolishing the argument that the Luthiens Delhi land use being put to proper use.
30:41The monstrosity which has come up in Luthiens, Luthiens is being destroyed.
30:46Every government building is being shoved in in Delhi.
30:50Let me also tell you another thing, that in the Luthiens bungalows, there are maximum number
30:56of all kinds of encroachments and constructions which are wrong, including the party offices.
31:02Second, the feudalism of an era survives in politics only and in the political system
31:09by having such a huge parliament house where you get subsidized, khana subsidized, almost
31:16everything.
31:17It's an exclusive club which should not be allowed.
31:20And last point, you talk about democratization.
31:23Let me tell you, you want to change a club because of the entry, then you don't need to
31:29demolish it.
31:30You can change the system in one day.
31:33And everyone is allowed, by the way, to make, file a membership application in Jim
31:39Khan.
31:40But the reason right now, I just want to go back, you know, because it's morphed itself
31:44into this elitism versus heritage debate.
31:48But why the government wants to take it over, at least on paper now, whether you believe it
31:52or not, is the cause of security and it needs to be given to the defense.
31:55I want to bring in Rajat Sethi.
31:56Rajat, final comments, please.
31:59Landlord need not justify why he or she wants the land back.
32:03Period.
32:03That finishes the legal argument.
32:05It is up to the government or the president who owns this land.
32:09It's the office, not the individual.
32:11And therefore, we should respect the agreement that is signed between the tenant and the
32:15landlord.
32:16Number one.
32:16Number two.
32:17Again, it's a relic of the past.
32:21In those days, we just had maybe just one Ashoka five-star hotel.
32:24No other hotels used to exit.
32:26There were no cafeterias.
32:27Nothing.
32:27All this concept of club and club membership is all structures deliberately created to
32:35keep the masses away from the elites.
32:37There is no place for that.
32:39Anybody should have the ability to climb up the ladder in order to have access to privileged
32:44places in this country.
32:45And therefore, now that there is a proliferation of very interesting cafeterias around which
32:50we can all have wonderful intellectual conversations and deliberations, wherein Apoor can also walk
32:55in, can have a cup of coffee, can sit alongside Yashwardhanji as well, and can enjoy some of
33:00the intellectual moorings that come from him.
33:03All right.
33:04Okay.
33:0430 seconds, Ms. Liddell.
33:06Mr. Razav, we're done with time, sir.
33:0730 seconds, Ms. Liddell.
33:10Basically, lastly, I would say the more construction we do in this city, the more trees we are cutting
33:16down.
33:16I think on the issue of sustainability itself, we should be really looking very closely at how
33:23much redevelopment we are doing in New Delhi.
33:27Okay.
33:27Fair point.
33:28Okay.
33:28Mr. Sinha, 30 seconds, sir.
33:33You know, just I'm giving an example of 24.5 crore application money with this institution.
33:39You can understand the class which is attached to this institution.
33:43So my concern is only two concerns.
33:46One, that if Gymkhana Club consider that certain people should enjoy the super privilege and
33:51the super India, that can't be allowed now in the Modi regime.
33:55Second, second thing is that the proper use is the optimum use is the slogan of Narendra
34:03Modi regime.
34:05Accordingly, the state is operating all over the country.
34:08And we believe that in future, we are going to achieve egalitarianism, every nook and corner
34:15in every sphere.
34:17And that is the beauty of this Narendra Modi.
34:20I appreciate all four of you for taking the time out and joining us this evening.
34:23Well, the Delhi Gymkhana members have gone to court.
34:27The matter is far from settled.
34:29We'll keep you updated there.
34:30But before we move on, my two cents.
34:33Now, the Delhi Gymkhana takeover debate is at its heart, viewers, and I think we've understood
34:38it, the oldest Indian story of the haves and the have-nots.
34:42What's striking is the glee, the angst almost cathartic for some at seeing an institution
34:47long associated with exclusivity finally bought to heel.
34:51And that reaction isn't coming only from those historically shut out despite wealth, influence,
34:57social standing, or almost enough, but not quite enough pull to get them inside.
35:03It's also coming from those for whom the membership represented the pinnacle of acceptance into
35:09what is the old establishment called Delhi.
35:13While it is a fair argument that this reckoning was long overdue, that entrenched, exclusionary
35:18privilege needs to be dismantled.
35:21It is but worth pausing to reflect on the hypocrisy of many now celebrating this.
35:27Quite often, the loudest critics of old privilege are themselves avid beneficiaries of privilege
35:33available to them.
35:34Leveraging connections to secure memberships at elite institutions in Delhi, like the IIC
35:40or the Habitat Centre, pulling every possible string to get their children into impossibly
35:45selected top-tier schools, or gaining access to coveted real estate deals before they even
35:51reach the public market.
35:53Privilege, it seems, is objectionable and resented only when it belongs to someone else.
36:00When it serves your own interests, it is reframed as networking, merit, access, or opportunity,
36:08entirely accepted, sometimes even deserved.
36:12Full disclosure, I am not a member of the Delhi Gymkhana Club.
36:16If the issue is genuinely one of security, then by all means the club should be taken over.
36:21But if this is a moral crusade against privilege, then the Delhi Gymkhana is merely the visible
36:27tip of a far larger iceberg.
36:29The same ecosystem of exclusivity gatekeeping exists across elite schools, influential cultural
36:35institutions, closed business networks, legacy memberships, and pre-access financial or real
36:42estate opportunities, just to name a few.
36:44Much of urban or rather even rural elite life operates through invisible circles of access.
36:51What is striking is not the existence of privilege, it has always existed, in different forms.
36:57But what is surprising is the selective outrage today surrounding it.
37:03Okay, with that, let's quickly move on.
37:05News break coming in.
37:14All right, news break coming in.
37:16Actor Ranveer Singh has been banned by Cine Association, a non-cooperation directive has issued against
37:22him.
37:23Film industry has been asked to work, has been asked to work with him.
37:28The decision was taken after he withdrew from the film John 3 at the last moment.
37:32The complaint was filed by filmmaker Farhan Akhtar.
37:35During the proceedings, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Pradwani informed Cine Association that they
37:40have already incurred approximately 45 crore losses towards the production of the film, expressing
37:47grave concerns that the sudden withdrawal of such a lead actor from the project at an advanced
37:52stage could expose the producer to several financial losses and adversely affect the overall
37:58execution of the film.
37:59After multiple notices to Ranveer Singh, the actor responded that the issues raised were contractual
38:04in nature and would require adjudication before the appropriate legal forum.
38:09I want to quickly cut across to Sana Farzin to simplify what this really means and what
38:14is the back-end story.
38:16Joining me, my colleague Sana Farzin.
38:18Over to you, Sana.
38:20So, Preeti, of course, Dondri has been one of the most anticipated films and post-Durandar,
38:26everyone was excited to see Ranveer Singh stepping into a role that has earlier been played by
38:30Amitabh Bachchan and, of course, Shah Rukh Khan.
38:32Farhan Akhtar has also spoken about how he was ambitious about this plan.
38:36How were just 15 days before the films could go in flows, Ranveer decided to move out of the
38:42film?
38:43And that led to a lot of controversy.
38:46Of course, there have been a lot of script changes also as demanded by the actor and
38:51Farhan.
38:52As per the federation, as per the film body, Federation of Indian Cine Workers Association,
38:58Farhan tried his best to make sure that Ranveer is allowed all the demands that he wants,
39:04made the script changes.
39:06He chose the location.
39:07He's finalized the costumes.
39:09Everything was set.
39:10And 15 days before the film could go on flows, he decided to back out.
39:14Of course, Farhan met with all the other producers, also with Ranveer.
39:19And they tried to persuade him, but that did not happen.
39:22And this is when Farhan Akhtar decided to officially complain about the same as a director to FWIC,
39:28that he incurred a lot of financial love.
39:30The repercussions of this, Sana.
39:32What does it mean for Ranveer now?
39:35As of course, Ranveer has a big film prolet by Hansal Mehta's son, Jay Mehta, that is set to go
39:40on flows.
39:41But the federation has assured that they would not allow any cine workers to work with Ranveer at the moment.
39:47They've claimed that he can go ahead and cast, get his own directors and his own spot boy and light
39:53men to shoot a film.
39:54However, they've demanded that Ranveer come and meet the federation and Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Siddhwani.
40:00And mutually, they come to a conclusion where he can, of course, pay the damages that has been demanded by
40:06Farhan's team.
40:07Or just have a discussion.
40:08They want him to come ahead and speak to them.
40:10That is the basic demand right now.
40:12All right.
40:13Thank you, Sana, for joining us with that.
40:14I'm going to head to the TMC's crushing Assembly poll defeat is now triggering visible cracks within the party.
40:20The latest casualty, senior MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has resigned as the party's Barasat Organisational District President,
40:27taking moral responsibility for the poll debacle.
40:30But Kakoli's resignation comes with sharp criticism of the party's campaign style and internal functioning.
40:35Blaming IPAC for the loss, the TMC leader alleges that pressure from the consultancy team during the campaign disrupted the
40:42party's organisational functioning.
40:44And amidst the internal turmoil, fresh trouble has now surfaced for TMC leader and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banuji.
40:52Earlier today, the Kolkata police arrived at his official residence on Harish Mukherjee Road.
40:57The visit comes days after the TMC-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation issued notices to some properties linked to Banuji,
41:07allegedly linked to Banuji, including his official residence over what they said was unauthorized construction.
41:13However, Kolkata police later clarified that officers had only visited their residence to collect technical equipment.
41:23the
41:23land of the event.
41:25The land of the event is far too far.
41:26The land of the event is to be able to help people with people, with people, with people, with their
41:32own statuses.
41:34The people that need to be married and brothers, have no meaning for this.
41:40The people who do not making this work.
41:43The people who do their work with their own business is not just on their own business.
42:12I want to cut across to my colleague Indrajit Kundu to get you a perspective on both these developments.
42:18Indro Kakoli Dastidar is not the first one, there is now a slew of TMC leaders, some of them MPs,
42:26some of them MLAs as well,
42:28who are now openly coming out and speaking against IPAC, some of them even speaking on what they felt was
42:35party functioning,
42:37which wasn't up to Mark, especially even by the likes of Abhishek Banerjee.
42:43Can you give us the latest on that?
42:45Is Kakoli Dastidar looking to move to the BJP? Because that's what the buzz is in Delhi.
42:50On the other hand, Indro, what's the latest with the Kolkata police today visiting Abhishek Banerjee's house?
42:58Well, Preeti, you know, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is a very, very senior, you know, party member of the Trinamool Congress.
43:04And she's speaking out is a big deal right now. She has resigned from her post as the organizational district
43:11president of Barasat.
43:13That's where she comes from her, you know, her own constituency as MP.
43:17She has also raised massive questions on the role of the IPAC because she is saying that IPAC was the
43:24organization of the Trinamool Congress.
43:26And therefore, this entire poll debacle because the grassroot workers, Trinamool means grassroot.
43:32And the party was completely detached from the grassroot because it was all being usurped by and it was given
43:38to a private agency called the IPAC.
43:40So questions are being raised. She has shot off a letter to party supremum Mamata Banerjee saying that she should
43:45now trust the trusted lieutenants, the old guard, those who are honest and who has been by her side for
43:53all these years and not, you know, suddenly a private agency which has been brought in.
43:58So clear hint that she's miffed with the new guard and Abhishek Banerjee is the one who actually got IPAC
44:05in after 2019.
44:06So many of them are speaking out. You've seen a spokesperson like Riju Datta, Kohinoor Majumdar.
44:11They have all spoken out. They have been suspended.
44:13Now Kunal Ghosh has also spoken out last week saying that, you know, there should be some response from the
44:19party, stern response against Jahangir Khan.
44:22Because the party said that it was his personal decision to pull out of the race at Falta.
44:27The party did not approve of that. So why has it been that it's been more than a week now,
44:32no decision has been taken, no stern action has been initiated.
44:35against Jahangir Khan from Falta. And it is Abhishek Banerjee's bastion. It is in Diamond Harbour constitution.
44:42So murmurs within the Trinamool Congress are slowly starting to come out, even as marathon meeting after meeting is taking
44:50place at Mahmata Banerjee's residence,
44:51where she's trying to soothe the nerves and calm things down and bring everything under the fold so that there
44:57can be a revival plan that can be set afoot within the Trinamool Congress.
45:03Well, thank you for joining us for the latest. I want to quickly get our viewers up to speed with
45:06the other development,
45:08which has been a long standing, not a development, but an issue, a festering political issue in Karnataka,
45:14now once again brought to Delhi and which is the Chief Minister Sidhara Maya and Deputy Chief Minister D.K.
45:22Shivkumar
45:22are all set to meet the party high command tomorrow on the issue of whether there will be a switch
45:28in the Chief Minister post with D.K. Shivkumar taking over.
45:32The official agenda remains under wraps, speculations growing loud.
45:47From Keralam chaos to Karnataka cracks, the Congress leadership is once again battling a familiar headache.
45:55Factional feud, where the Sidhara Maya vs D.K. Shivkumar tug of war is back in focus.
46:01The Chief Minister and his deputy are meeting the party high command in Delhi on Tuesday.
46:06Officially, nobody knows the agenda. Unofficially, everybody thinks it will be about the Chief Minister post.
46:16We are a grupist.
46:28One second, many speculations are surrounding, sir. If you are meeting high command after a long time, many speculations are
46:36running around. Will it be a full stop for this?
46:43nae
46:48Joining the Karnataka CM in Delhi will be seven senior Congress leaders, including G. Parmeshwara and M.B. Patil.
46:56Meanwhile, top sources tell India today that the leadership will discuss three Rajasabha seats ahead of the June 8 deadline,
47:03nine upcoming MLC berths and the larger political power balance in Karnataka.
47:08But the real buzz in political corridors is this.
47:11Is the Congress preparing for a transition plan in Karnataka?
47:17High Command has called the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, who is also the PCC President, to discuss all
47:25the Rajasabha seats.
47:26We have also a lot of MLC seats that are opening up in less than 15-20 days.
47:34So they will discuss with the High Command about that.
47:36So whatever speculation that is coming, it's coming from the media.
47:43For now, the High Command is keeping its cards close to the chest.
47:48Even Congress Chief Malika Arjun Khargay refused to give a straight answer on the Karnataka meetings.
48:04The BGP has jumped straight into the Congress crossfire, mocking the ruling party over what it calls an open war
48:11for the chair.
48:16Congress party High Command is a weak high command.
48:20So up to now, from last one years, they have not decided who is the CM of Karnataka.
48:26Karnataka people also don't know who is the CM.
48:28Once DKS chair, I will next CM.
48:33Sidramaya, no, I will return another five years.
48:37The timing is crucial.
48:40Only months ago, Sidramaya scripted history by becoming Karnataka's longest-serving Chief Minister,
48:45surpassing Congress icon Devraj.
48:48Sidramaya has always said he will abide by the High Command's decision.
48:53DK Shivukumar says there is no discussion nor leadership change.
48:57Yet Delhi meetings continue.
48:59Speculation refuses to die.
49:02And the Congress is once again fighting the one battle it struggles with most.
49:07The battle within.
49:09With Saghai Raj and Moshmi Singh, Bureau Report, India Today.
49:17Trust us, we'll keep you posted on all the developments, the action here in Delhi tomorrow.
49:21With that, it's a wrap on To The Point, but we do leave you with these visuals of
49:28Hema Malini coming in to collect the award for late actor Dharmendra,
49:34who passed away last year in November, posthumously honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.
49:39His wife, actor-turned-politician Hema Malini, received the award from President Dvapadi Murmu.
49:44With tears in her eyes, she walked up to the stage and took the honours.
49:48Even daughter Ahana Dil broke down while watching her mother accept the award.
49:52We leave you with these visuals.
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