- 6 hours ago
Opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav, and Abhishek Banerjee, launched a march from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India headquarters over allegations of voter list manipulation and electoral misconduct.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome. You're with 5 Live at India Today. I'm Sonal Merotra Kapoor.
00:04Six hours and counting of the sit-in protest.
00:08Started out as a march, now has become and turned into a sit-in protest by the opposition led by
00:13Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Wadra.
00:16All of this is unfolding in the heart of the national capital, just 270 meters away, four minutes away from
00:24outside the election commission of India's building.
00:27What's happening at the moment is not just those, you know, visuals of Rahul Gandhi standing on top of the
00:32barricade.
00:32Now, mattresses have been called in and he plans to sit in for a long time.
00:37So what exactly is happening? How will the situation unfold? We'll take you through all of that.
00:42First up, the headlines.
00:45High drama scene at the Akashwani Bhavan amid opposition protest march.
00:48Rahul and Priyanka on the dharna now for over six hours.
00:51Congress workers Akhle Shadav, Abhishek Banerjee of the TMC have been detained.
00:57Rahul claims BJP has hijacked India through vote-chauri.
01:21BJP's blistering attack on Rahul ahead of the opposition march says the India block spreading anarchy to relaunch failed Rahul.
01:30Highlighted six lies by Rahul, also asserted that Ganesh Ji helping BJP, not Gyanesh Ji.
01:37This is after Rahul Gandhi claimed that CEC changed form six illegally without approval from the Supreme Court, which the
01:45Supreme Court then affirmed.
01:52Meanwhile, while allegations of vote-chauri are on, voting is happening in Bengal for the bi-polls there.
01:59Voters turn out in big numbers in Bengal's Nandi Graham and Reginagar.
02:0460% voter turn out in Nandi Graham and 56% in Reginagar.
02:09Seats as of 1pm. We are waiting for an update.
02:14Also, brisk voting is on in Tamil Nadu's Dharanpuran and Manduratkaram area.
02:21Both places witnessed over 55% voting.
02:29Terrasco pilot Chilling Confession says that he did it to avenge Gaza and that he wanted to die as a
02:36martyr.
02:37This is Hamami who's wanted to crash the plane into the airport.
02:55All right, cutting across to some more news coming in.
02:58And this is the latest situation at Akashwani Bhavan.
03:01Let's take you straight to that location at the moment.
03:04Congress workers are being detained by Delhi police.
03:07They're told that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi on Dharna for over six hours now
03:12and heavy police deployment is being seen outside Akashwani Bhavan.
03:16If I understand correctly, these were Congress protesters and Congress workers
03:22who had come and stood outside the Akashwani Bhavan.
03:25Inside is where their leaders are.
03:27Outside is where they came in.
03:29And they are being picked up by the cops there and being detained and taken inside the bus as well.
03:35Those are the latest visuals that are coming in.
03:37But let me try and see if we can get in a quick word.
03:42My colleague Shambhavi is right there at the location.
03:46Shambhavi, take us through what's happening.
03:48Are these people who were inside the Bhavan or outside?
03:56No, no.
03:57So actually, there were few people, there are still few people who are inside the Bhavan.
04:01But then few of them, they came outside, started sloganeering.
04:04That is when they were detained just a few moments back.
04:06Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi still continues to be inside.
04:09Although, as per sources, a senior police official from Delhi Police is likely to come here and speak to Rahul
04:16Gandhi very soon.
04:18But we are constantly giving you ground updates from what is happening.
04:22And there were two sets of workers.
04:24One were inside, one set of workers was inside and another was outside.
04:29And that is when they were detained right here, right outside the Akashwani Bhavan.
04:35Now, both these areas, when the street was condoned off so that there is police deployment or CAPF deployment, RAF
04:44deployment,
04:45for all these deployment, these roads from both ends were condoned off.
04:48But now, even pedestrians or bikes are allowed to come on that street to cross this street.
04:56So, generally, it is an environment of peace and quiet till now.
05:02But Rahul Gandhi refuses to get up.
05:04He has been saying that either you give me a spot somewhere around ECI that I can sit or you
05:09let me sit here or you detain me.
05:11That is what he has maintained till now.
05:16All right, Shambhavi there reporting that there were some of the supporters of the Congress Party
05:22who had stepped outside of those gates of Akashwani Bhavan,
05:25the bars that you see constantly in the visuals that we are flashing on our screen.
05:29They had stepped outside.
05:30That's when the police picked them up as well.
05:33Rahul Gandhi, again, our reporter is confirming to us that he's maintaining that either you give me a location
05:39where I can go and sit and protest or you let me meet the election commission of India chief
05:47or you detain me.
05:50But Delhi police at the moment waiting and watching the entire situation.
05:54I have my colleagues Piyush Mishra joining us.
05:57Also, Amit Bharatwaj joins us for more details on those stories.
06:02Amit, take me through what's happening at the moment
06:05and how dramatically is the situation different, if at all, from how this protest started in the morning.
06:15Sonal, let's break it down for our viewers as to what has happened since morning.
06:20I would break this protest down into two parts.
06:25First part, obviously, when the India bloc came here from parliament marching towards the Sonsad Marg
06:30and they intended to go to the election commission of India.
06:33They were stopped at the barricades which are in the midpoint right before the Sonsad Marg circle
06:41and then we saw Rahul Gandhi, Akhle Shadav, KC Venu Gopal, Abhishek Banerji,
06:47all of these leaders on the top of the barricades.
06:50And then leaders started getting detained.
06:53That is the point where the part two actually got initiated
06:57because I actually saw Rahul Gandhi stepping down of those barricades,
07:01running straight towards the parliament,
07:04possibly looking for a pathway to reach to the election commission of India.
07:08Now, that didn't happen when he returned.
07:10None of us could actually fathom that this would be his next move.
07:15Neither the police and the security deployed at the gate of the Akaswani Bhavan.
07:20Rahul Gandhi along with Priyanka Gandhi Vajra
07:23entered Akaswani Bhavan from gate number 3
07:26and now they are stationed at gate number 4.
07:28The security possibly would not have thought that
07:31the leader of abulsion, the Lok Sabha, would do this.
07:34The Delhi police was completely caught off guard again, yet again.
07:38And I would compare this situation similar to what had unfolded
07:42on the day when Rahul Gandhi has chose to sit on Dharna
07:46in front of the 7 LKM, the Prime Minister's residence.
07:49The police was not prepared for that particular moment either.
07:52And same happened.
07:54And one more strategy by the Congress Party today,
07:56instead of putting all the force all at once,
07:59they have created batches.
08:01So you have an IYC batch or an NSUI batch coming here,
08:05protesting, getting detained, and then the next batch chips in.
08:08And that's how they have kept the entire area eventful.
08:11But now, the RAF and the Delhi police and the CRP deployment
08:16is quite heavy.
08:17They are ensuring that nobody reaches here any further.
08:20Back to you, sooner.
08:22Alright, interesting.
08:24So what Amit is telling us is that this was a very planned protest
08:28with some surprise elements that came in.
08:31Surprise really being that when the roads were blocked,
08:34Rahul Gandhi said,
08:35I'm going to go from inside the Akashwani Bhavan.
08:38And that's where he is at the moment.
08:40And he's been for the past couple of hours as well.
08:44Let me also get in a word from Piyush Mishra.
08:46Piyush, you've been looking at the protests.
08:48You also cover the BJP very closely.
08:51Would it be fair to say that this was yet another time
08:55when the BJP has been caught off guard?
08:57The Delhi police has been caught off guard
08:59because this was a planned protest.
09:02Meetings were held.
09:03Details were shared.
09:05Several MPs were moving to protest.
09:08So their entire security, Bandobast,
09:10was in a way known by the Delhi police.
09:12And despite that, he's managed to surprise them.
09:19Well, that's right.
09:20Rahul Gandhi nowadays is acting like a BJP.
09:23And we know as to how BJP is known for throwing surprises.
09:26And Rahul Gandhi is doing surprising things nowadays.
09:30You know, we were there present at the spot
09:33when Rahul Gandhi decided to enter in Akashwani Bhavan.
09:35I was standing right next to Rahul Gandhi.
09:37What basically transpired?
09:39When all India Block MPs left from the spot,
09:42Rahul Gandhi's car also came there.
09:44And he was all set to leave.
09:46Right behind the bus where he was being detained,
09:49Rahul Gandhi's car was parked.
09:50And Delhi police officials also thought that Rahul Gandhi will sit in this car
09:53and then he'll leave.
09:54While he was going to sit in his car,
09:56he immediately, you know, saw open gates of Akashwani Bhavan.
10:01And we were asking him questions about his protest,
10:04about his next plan of action.
10:06But he immediately rushed towards the entry gate of Akashwani Bhavan.
10:10And then from reception, he entered inside the Akashwani Bhavan.
10:14And right now, as we are speaking,
10:15he is sitting at the gate number four,
10:18right under the banyan tree, which is there at the gate.
10:20So it was a surprise element for Delhi police.
10:23It's been more than four hours that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi
10:26are sitting on protest.
10:27And this entire protest has now turned into Rahul Gandhi protest
10:32instead of India Block protest.
10:34Basically, it started with India Block march.
10:37When India Block MPs left,
10:39then now it has now turned into a Rahul Gandhi protest.
10:41And he, along with Priyanka Gandhi and few other Congress MPs
10:44are sitting on protest.
10:45Let me also try to give you 360 degree view of the place
10:49from where right now I'm reporting.
10:50This is Akashwani Bhavan.
10:52Multiple cars are parked.
10:54And this car, this car which is right in front of you,
10:56Tata Safari car, is Rahul Gandhi's car.
10:58And right in front of that car is a bus.
11:01This bus was basically brought in to detain Rahul Gandhi.
11:04Few hours back, but he has not been detained yet.
11:06In the past few hours, we have also witnessed
11:09a sporadic protest by few NSOI workers.
11:12And that's why Delhi police has made a huge arrangement here.
11:15I can count, there are large number of buses
11:18those have been stationed here.
11:19I can count around 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 buses
11:23beyond the first layer of barricade.
11:27Then we have Vajr Vahan air.
11:29We have anti-riot vehicle here.
11:31Those have also been stationed here.
11:34ARIF personal, we can see they are sitting in this car.
11:38Apart from that, we have water cannon.
11:40Those have also been deployed.
11:41So Delhi police has made a huge arrangement.
11:44And on the left-hand side of this barricade,
11:47I can again count, apart from 6 vehicles,
11:49we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
11:56around 15 vehicles.
11:5715 vehicles on my left-hand side.
11:59So in total, more than 20 buses,
12:01which includes anti-riot vehicle,
12:04Vajr Vahan, water cannons,
12:07all of them have been stationed here
12:09to ensure that no law and order situation happens
12:13because this is a very sensitive place.
12:15And remember that entering in Akashwani Bhavan
12:18was never part of plan.
12:20Rahul Gandhi, after protest,
12:22was supposed to leave
12:22and he was going to be detained.
12:24But he decided to enter in Akashwani Bhavan
12:27and it was indeed a surprise element for Delhi police.
12:32Delhi police is now,
12:33has in fact, senior officials of Delhi police
12:35have been requesting Rahul Gandhi
12:36to vacate Akashwani Bhavan
12:37as it is a government property,
12:39it's a government office.
12:40But he is now saying that
12:42I want to meet Chief Election Commissioner,
12:44I want his resignation
12:45and if government is not ensuring this,
12:47then I should be allowed to go
12:49and protest at some other place.
12:52If Shambhavi and Amit are still there,
12:55Piyush,
12:56what is happening to the employees
12:58of Akashwani Bhavan?
13:00Are they still inside the building
13:01and are they in sort of a lockdown situation?
13:05Because if Rahul Gandhi is not leaving outside
13:08and there's such a massive bandubust,
13:10how will they go home today?
13:16Well, what is basically happening,
13:17I'll tell you two stories.
13:19Rahul Gandhi is sitting under a bunyan tree
13:22and right in front of this bunyan tree
13:24I can see two balconies,
13:25two to three balconies
13:26and in these balconies,
13:27when Rahul Gandhi had come,
13:29employees of Akashwani Bhavan,
13:30government employees,
13:31they had come on the balconies
13:32and they were clicking selfies,
13:34making videos of Rahul Gandhi.
13:35But now,
13:36you know,
13:37they have left from Akashwani Bhavan,
13:39they were allowed to exit
13:40from the back gate of Akashwani Bhavan.
13:43One more story,
13:44let me tell you
13:45that when this protest basically started
13:47and the entire area was barricaded,
13:49few employees of Akashwani Bhavan
13:52had basically come out of their offices
13:54to have a chai break,
13:55a tea break.
13:56Then the area was barricaded
13:57and these employees were stopped
14:00by Delhi Police
14:01and Delhi Police started asking
14:03about their ID cards.
14:05When they could not produce it,
14:07they were not allowed
14:08to go beyond the barricade.
14:09So they had to wait for hours
14:11to again go back in their offices.
14:14So that was a thing which we saw
14:16and that was unfolded
14:17in front of our eyes.
14:20Yes,
14:21employees are facing a lot of problems
14:22and because of this entire protest,
14:25the entire juncture
14:25has been completely blocked.
14:28I can see the road connecting
14:30Shoka Road,
14:32Patel Chalk
14:33and also various other parts
14:34of Central Delhi.
14:35All of them have now
14:36been completely blocked.
14:38I can see some movement
14:39taking place.
14:39I'll ask my video audience
14:40to come with me.
14:41I can see some movement
14:42taking place
14:43where Rahul Gandhi is,
14:44I think he's going to
14:45either address the media
14:46or Delhi Police is going
14:48to take some action.
14:49Let's continue to focus
14:50on the live pictures
14:51which we are getting.
14:52Rahul Gandhi,
14:53I think he's going to
14:54again address media.
14:59He's going to address media.
15:01He has been briefing media.
15:12Date there,
15:14about to come in.
15:15We're assuming it's going
15:16to be Rahul Gandhi
15:17who's addressing.
15:18Now to anybody watching
15:20this right now on television,
15:21let me assure you
15:22these are not the prison bars.
15:24These are simply the gates
15:25of the Akashwani Bhawan
15:27inside which Rahul Gandhi
15:29along with his senior colleagues
15:30of the Congress Party
15:31are sitting in on a protest
15:33of sorts.
15:34They are saying
15:34they want a meeting
15:35with the Chief Election Commissioner
15:37or they want a protest,
15:40the site where they can go
15:41and protest
15:41or they're saying,
15:43detain me.
15:43But at the moment,
15:45the entire strategy
15:47of the Congress Party
15:48has caught the Delhi police
15:50a little off guard.
15:51They are present there
15:52in huge numbers.
15:53Our reporter there
15:54just counted
15:55some 11,
15:5615 buses
15:57in entire bandhoas.
16:00All of that
16:01has been done
16:02but nothing
16:03seems to be
16:04moving the needle.
16:05Six hours
16:06and running,
16:07the protest
16:08is still going on.
16:09And I'm now getting updates
16:10from our reporters
16:11on the ground
16:12that the DCP
16:13of the area
16:13will be coming in
16:14and meeting with
16:15Rahul Gandhi
16:16and Priyanka Gandhi Wadra.
16:17You see those
16:18live pictures over there.
16:19Priyanka Gandhi
16:19possibly moving
16:20to a place
16:21where she will have
16:22a chat
16:22with the Deputy
16:23Commissioner of Police
16:24in the area.
16:26Now what exactly
16:27is happening?
16:27We have to wait
16:28and watch.
16:28We have to see
16:29what really unfolds.
16:30They will try to reason
16:31out with them
16:32and figure out
16:33what is the next step.
16:34But this is
16:35really mind-boggling.
16:37What you're seeing
16:38right now
16:38is a very planned
16:40protest
16:40which has gone
16:41into a complete
16:42surprise
16:43for the BJP
16:45and especially
16:46for the Delhi police
16:48which doesn't know
16:49what to do next.
16:51Now while we look
16:52at those visuals
16:52let me give you
16:53a context.
16:57While we look
16:58at those pictures
16:59and we try to
17:00understand what
17:01is going to
17:01happen next
17:02I just want
17:02to give you
17:03a context.
17:04For anybody
17:04who's outside Delhi
17:05and does not
17:06understand
17:06let me show you
17:07where exactly
17:09this protest
17:09is happening
17:10and how it
17:11unfolded.
17:12Let's throw up
17:13the map graphic
17:14here of Central
17:15Delhi where the
17:16entire protest
17:17is actually
17:18taking place.
17:19Alright?
17:19So this is
17:20where you are.
17:21This is where
17:22at 10.30 in the
17:23morning the
17:24protest started.
17:25This is the
17:25Parliament complex.
17:27I'm giving you
17:27a bird's eye view.
17:28This is Google Earth.
17:29This is the
17:30Parliament complex.
17:31Here is the
17:32Sunsad Marg.
17:33The EC office
17:34is right over here.
17:35It's not a lot
17:36of distance but
17:37it's still quite a
17:38bit to sort of
17:38go and walk.
17:39What happened
17:40at 10.30 in the
17:40morning?
17:41At 10.30 in the
17:42morning you have
17:42opposition MPs
17:43who begin their
17:44march.
17:45They come.
17:46They come outside
17:47with this huge
17:49banner.
17:49Lots of them.
17:50United Opposition
17:51India Block.
17:52We see them with
17:53their posters and
17:54banners in hand.
17:55They have started
17:56that march.
17:56They are still
17:57inside the
17:57Parliament as you
17:58can see in the
17:58picture.
17:59Let's move to
18:00the next one.
18:00What happened
18:01next?
18:02Next they have
18:03now walked.
18:04They have walked
18:05further on the
18:06Sunsad Marg.
18:07You see the
18:08Sunsad Marg that
18:08will take you all
18:09the way to EC
18:10office.
18:10They have walked
18:11on the Sunsad Marg
18:13which is where a
18:14barricade has been
18:14put.
18:15This is the visual
18:16which will be there
18:17in all newspaper
18:19headlines tomorrow
18:20which is of Rahul
18:21Gandhi holding the
18:22India flag and
18:23standing on top of
18:24the barricades.
18:25These are the
18:25visuals again that
18:26you will see in the
18:27front pages of the
18:28newspapers which is
18:29about Priyanka Gandhi
18:32there along with
18:34the chief of the
18:35Yuva Sena of the
18:37Congress Party of
18:38Youth Congress as
18:39well.
18:39All of them on top
18:40of barricades.
18:41This is where a lot
18:42of leaders of the
18:45other political parties
18:46the opposition parties
18:47like the SP, TMC
18:48etc were detained
18:50as well.
18:51Until now you have
18:52the entire India
18:52block.
18:53Now you have
18:54detentions beginning
18:55to happen.
18:56Rahul and Priyanka
18:57briefly detained,
18:58taken inside a bus
18:59but then they come
19:00out of the bus
19:01because I'll show
19:02you in the next
19:02one what happened.
19:03They hopped out
19:04of the bus and
19:05then you see again
19:06before that Achilles
19:08Yadav detained
19:09as well inside the
19:10bus.
19:10It is all until
19:11here more than
19:13in fact less than
19:14half way mark again
19:15of reaching the
19:16election commission's
19:17office is where
19:18all the leaders are
19:20detained.
19:20But then what
19:21happens, then
19:24what happens, Rahul
19:27Gandhi has now
19:28and this is what
19:29our colleagues
19:29were trying to
19:30explain to you.
19:31Now imagine a
19:32road, a road
19:33like this, a
19:34barricade being
19:35put in, leaders
19:36are on top,
19:37leaders have
19:37been detained.
19:38Now what does
19:39Rahul Gandhi do?
19:40He sees an
19:41open gate, that
19:43gate is of the
19:44Akashwani Bhawan.
19:46He says fine, you
19:46want to block me
19:47over here.
19:48He enters inside
19:49the Akashwani
19:50Bhawan and this
19:50is the gate of
19:51the Akashwani
19:52Bhawan.
19:53He is forcing
19:54his way in and
19:55saying if you put
19:56barricades on the
19:56road, I am going
19:57to enter inside
19:58the Bhawan.
19:59So this is
19:59Bahul Gandhi
20:00over here trying
20:01to get his way
20:02and force his way
20:03inside the
20:04Akashwani
20:04Bhawan.
20:05Let's see what
20:05happens next.
20:07Inside the
20:08Akashwani
20:09Bhawan, now Rahul,
20:10Priyanka, other
20:12leaders, all of
20:13them have reached
20:13and they are
20:14saying okay now
20:15you have blocked
20:16us from all
20:17360 sides, we
20:18are going to
20:19sit here, this
20:19is our site of
20:20protest.
20:21What is this
20:22site of protest?
20:23Let us go back
20:23to the map, you
20:24see this gap, they
20:25started here from
20:27parliament all the
20:28way on the
20:28sunset mark, this
20:30is where Akashwani
20:31Bhawan is barely
20:33270 meters.
20:34If you go, if
20:35you go, it will
20:36be 4 minutes
20:36away from the
20:39election commission
20:40office, 270 meters
20:42just 4 minutes
20:43away is where
20:44the entire
20:47leadership of
20:47the congress
20:48party is now
20:50sitting in.
20:51We are now
20:52getting reports
20:52that they are
20:53calling for
20:54mattresses etc
20:55and saying we
20:56are going to
20:56sit in here
20:56with 3 demands.
20:58They are saying
20:58either let us
20:59meet the
21:00chief election
21:01commissioner or
21:03give us a place
21:03to protest because
21:04you are not
21:05letting us sit
21:05anywhere else.
21:06We all know
21:06what happened
21:07over the
21:07weekend when
21:08protests were
21:09being held by
21:10CJP, by
21:11other ISA
21:12groups, by
21:13other left
21:13outfits as
21:14well, by
21:15some young
21:15outfits as
21:16well and
21:16all of them
21:17were detained.
21:17They said
21:18Janatar Mantar
21:18will not be
21:19open for
21:19protests at
21:19the moment
21:20or he is
21:21saying you
21:21detain me.
21:22Now the
21:23Delhi police
21:23is in a
21:24fix.
21:24They had
21:25planned for
21:25a protest
21:26on the
21:26sunset mark.
21:27They did
21:27not plan for
21:28what is going
21:29to happen
21:29inside Akashwani
21:30Bhawan where
21:31it has actually
21:32the entire
21:32scene has
21:33unfolded.
21:34So that's
21:35the picture
21:37for you on
21:38where it is
21:39going and
21:40how the
21:40protest,
21:41this entire
21:42thing has
21:42taken six
21:43hours and
21:43counting.
21:44We don't
21:44know what
21:45is going
21:45to happen
21:46next.
21:46But in
21:47the process
21:47lots of
21:48soundbites
21:48came in.
21:49Lots of
21:49leaders spoke
21:50about what
21:50they want.
21:51Why don't
21:52you take a
21:52look at that
21:53while we take
21:53you through
21:53the next
21:54report.
21:54I
21:57don't
21:58don't
21:58I
22:01don't
22:02know.
22:06I
22:07don't
22:07know.
22:08foreign
22:38We will meet with the election commissioners.
22:42We will meet with them.
22:45We will meet with them.
22:47Sir, what do you mean by the DCP?
22:51We are very comfortable here.
22:57What do you mean by the country?
23:06The country has been accepted.
23:11We have been disrespected.
23:13We have not done anything.
23:14We want to go to the election commissioners.
23:18We want to ask questions.
23:19We want to ask them,
23:21that you have been sent.
23:23Sir, sir, sir, sir, sir.
23:28How are you going to sit?
23:29How are you going to sit?
23:34How are you going to sit?
23:37We will not be able to sit.
23:38We will not be able to sit here.
23:40We have very comfortable here.
23:41We have put a bag on the toilet.
23:45There is also a tea.
23:46We will have tea.
23:47We will not be able to sit here.
23:49Sir, you are not allowed to sit here.
24:25Sir, one last question.
24:27We will sit comfortably.
24:29We are protesting.
24:30We are protesting.
24:31We are protesting in the constitution of Hindustan.
24:33We are protesting.
24:34Thank you, sir.
24:35Thank you, sir.
24:35Thank you, sir.
24:37Gandhi giving his latest statement over there,
24:40saying he is very comfortable in that protest.
24:43He is saying he is getting tea.
24:45There is a toilet.
24:46Everything is fine.
24:47And he will not move until Delhi police either removes him by force
24:52or gives him an alternate place to go and protest.
24:56That's Rahul Gandhi now six hours into the protest,
25:00talking about how they are committed at the moment to ensure
25:04that there is indeed an interaction that he gets with the CEC.
25:10See, the demands for the Congress party are simple.
25:12They want the ouster.
25:14They want the ouster of the CEC.
25:18The Chief Election Commissioner, Yanesh Kumar.
25:21And they are saying they will not stop till the time it happens.
25:24In fact, he is so comfortable inside under the banyan tree
25:26that there are selfies happening.
25:28There are chai pakodas happening.
25:30And there is no dearth of cameras,
25:32as you can see in those visuals already.
25:35Rahul Gandhi in the latest statement saying,
25:36we are not moving.
25:38So, what exactly is EC saying on that?
25:41Let's bring you the next update.
25:45In more updates coming in on the story,
25:48we now have a word from the Election Commission.
25:50Now, sources inside the Election Commission are saying
25:53that they have not received any request for a meeting.
25:59The Election Commission of India sources at this point telling us
26:03that they have not received any meeting request from the Congress party.
26:08ECI, they go on to say, has not received any request from any other opposition party as well.
26:14Pointing out to a statement that Rahul Gandhi has been making since morning,
26:18that we want to meet Yanesh Kumar.
26:20Yanesh Kumar sources inside the Election Commission of India,
26:26inside ECI, saying that they have not received any request.
26:32Now, to all those watching, of course you understand this,
26:35but let me dumb it down for you if you need.
26:37Because this is not a meeting that Rahul Gandhi really wants.
26:40It's a statement, a political statement that he is wanting to make.
26:44To go there in his own words to say to his face that
26:48Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for vote story.
26:50That he is working at the behest of the BJP.
26:52Allegations that have come from Rahul Gandhi so far.
26:55So that's the story unfolding at the moment.
26:58Rahul Gandhi there under the banyan tree saying he's not leaving.
27:02Gyanesh Kumar saying I don't have any request for any meeting.
27:06Meanwhile, Delhi police really trying to spin their head around what to do next.
27:13Alright, we'll keep going back to that story as the day progresses
27:17and minute by minute there are updates really coming in.
27:20But here's another one that should not miss your time.
27:23A protest, a molestation allocation, a fake AI generated video and now an arrest.
27:28As competing claims have emerged over what happened during the October 3rd protest in Delhi,
27:35here's the latest on what exactly unfolded.
27:39Remember all these protests happening for the ouster of the CEC.
27:43But in this particular case, it's about how women, women journalists were allegedly treated.
27:49Their allegation is that of groping, of molestation as well.
27:52And that nobody in the Delhi police registered their complaint.
27:56And that it was Delhi police officials themselves who went on to molest them.
28:01Serious allegations, serious charges at the moment.
28:04What really has happened on that story?
28:06Take a look.
28:09Take a look.
28:12Take a look.
28:14Take a look.
28:15Take a look.
28:17Take a look.
28:18They kept their arrest on our death.
28:19I love to leave.
28:20Take a look.
28:22Take a look.
28:23Take a look.
28:23A charge.
28:24A counter.
28:24An AI-generated poster and now an arrest.
28:32As the row over alleged molestation during the October 3rd protest against CEC, Gyanesh Kumar continues,
28:40Delhi police have arrested a man accused of circulating a fabricated video
28:44allegedly portraying senior officer Vivek Bhagat and inappropriate conduct with a woman.
28:51Police say the video was passed off as CCTV footage and carried Bhagat's photograph, name and designation.
28:59An FIR was registered on October 4th.
29:02Police arrested 24-year-old Nadeem Ahmed Amin identified as an independent journalist from Haryana.
29:09Investigators say the Instagram account used to circulate the video was accessed
29:14though his phone and material linked to the video was also recovered.
29:20And as you saw, there were some of the protesters in the 4th century.
29:28So he told us that the police have arrested the police in Delhi,
29:32the arrest, the S.A.N.T., the Kavatavan,
29:38the protesters and the protestors will be arrested.
29:49But this case comes amid a separate controversy over the October 3rd protest.
29:57A woman journalist has alleged that she was groped by police personnel during the protest.
30:28Delhi police have denied allegations of physical assault on female protesters saying women protesters were handled by female personnel and
30:37that detentions were carried out according to prescribed procedure.
30:43Cops also alleged that female cops were assaulted by protesters.
31:12And now Vivek Bhagat's promotion to rank of ADCP has been put on hold.
31:17Bhagat has requested the police commissioner to defer his promotion until the allegations against him are investigated and verified.
31:26The promotion was otherwise part of a regular promotion list issued for 12 officers.
31:38Two competing claims. One fake video. One arrest.
31:42Police say misinformation was deliberately created. The other side alleges misconduct.
31:48With a probe underway, one question remains. What really happened during that protest?
31:55Bureau Report, India Today.
32:02Alright, moving on to the other big story that has grabbed international attention.
32:06This is the story of a 28-year-old lab worker in Serbia who is now dead.
32:13And nearly 200 people who were in contact with her are now in isolation.
32:18She worked as an anti-plague researcher in the Institute of Argushk.
32:23Places like these where somebody studies the deadliest bacteria on earth so the rest of us don't have to worry
32:31about it.
32:31Local Russian media said that she may have died of pneumonic plague.
32:37That's the form that gets into the lungs.
32:39It spreads from person to person when someone coughs as well through droplets.
32:44But I'll be careful here because officially nothing is confirmed.
32:48The head of the neighbouring area there first posted that she died of the plague
32:52but then edited it to say that she may have died of the plague.
32:56Now how she got infected, if she was, you know, is also exposed to the virus at all or the
33:04bacteria at all is also unclear.
33:07One version says that she broke a test tube in a lab.
33:10Another says that she fell sick after a work trip.
33:13No official has said which one is actually true so here's what we know.
33:18That there is a hospital in Sharliko where she died and that hospital has now been sealed off.
33:27The governor of the area says that contacts have shown no signs of illnesses at least so far.
33:32And their tests so far, those which have been taken, have been negative.
33:37Now this story we reported to you first here on India Today as well.
33:41But now the WHO has stepped in.
33:43It says that Russia has traced all known contacts and none of them have symptoms.
33:48Lab testing is on course of the death is still going on.
33:52WHO is asking Moscow for more details.
33:54Its current view is that the risk of the general public looks low.
34:00That's the WHO.
34:02What is Donald Trump saying by the way?
34:04Donald Trump has weighed in on this matter as well.
34:07He says that US is ready to help Russia if that's needed.
34:10He called the plague a rough disease and said that microbes have become stronger like an army.
34:17But for the record, plague can still be treated with common antibiotics.
34:20This is just information that you should know.
34:24Common antibiotics if it's got early.
34:27And that if matters a lot because this pneumonic form moves fast.
34:35So why should you care about a plague that has killed one person in Serbia?
34:40Because honestly, the chance of this reaching you is pretty tiny.
34:44WHO is saying it's low.
34:45But there's a history.
34:48Plague isn't a disease from the history books.
34:51It still lives in rodents across Central Asia.
34:54In Africa and also America.
34:56And it lives in India too.
34:58In 1994, there was a pneumonic plague in Surat.
35:02Dozens died.
35:03Lacks of people fled the city in panic.
35:05And several countries stopped flights to India.
35:07In 2002, there was another outbreak in a village in Shimla district.
35:11And this bacteria has been used as, remember, a weapon before.
35:17This is where you need to go back to your history lessons.
35:20During Second World War, Japan's Unit 731 bred fleas, infected with the plague,
35:26and dropped them over Chinese cities.
35:28Thousands of citizens died.
35:31After the war, Soviet Union's secret bioweapons program worked on plague as a weapon too.
35:36The Soviet Union also had a record of hiding lab incidents.
35:40In 1979, Antrax League from a military facility killed dozens of people.
35:48Moscow blamed bad meat for more than a decade.
35:53So the question at the moment about why there is so much chatter about this plague
35:57which has killed one person isn't whether this virus or this bacteria in fact exists,
36:04is whether this reaches Delhi.
36:05The question is how safe our labs holding the world's deadliest germs really are.
36:12And whether we've been told the truth when something goes wrong.
36:16We all remember one, right?
36:18But for now, let me underline this again.
36:21There is no evidence of a wider outbreak just yet.
36:24What killed her and how is an answer everyone is waiting for.
36:32All right.
36:34With that, let me cut across to somebody who understands this in much more detail.
36:40Joining me live now is Dr. Ravi Ghotse.
36:42He's an MD and President of the Pennsylvania Medical Consultation
36:45and joins me for more details.
36:47And I have lots of questions on this.
36:49Dr. Ghotse, my first question really.
36:52For most Indians, they believe plague is a disease that ended in the Middle Ages.
37:00Is it something that is still alive through animals and is it or could it possibly be alive in India?
37:10It is absolutely alive.
37:11And as I was getting ready for your show, I was watching the political news in India.
37:16I think it feels so relaxing to talk about plague.
37:19You know, it seems so.
37:21In a way, if there is a media in the world of bacteria and viruses and they are watching this,
37:28you know, the protest, the celebration,
37:30they say, oh, my God, that's the ideal, ideal environment for pneumonic plague to spread.
37:37But luckily for India, World Health Organization is wrong.
37:42When they say the chance is low, they are wrong.
37:45The chance is zero.
37:46There is no chance that plague can become a pandemic.
37:50No chance.
37:51Absolutely.
37:51You can take it to the bank written on the stone.
37:54You know, the pneumonic plague can spread easily.
37:57And there are two types of pneumonic plague.
38:00One bubonic plague that turns into pneumonic plague and pneumonic plague as the primary pneumonic plague.
38:07Bubonic plague can spread from human to human.
38:11But basically, it comes from the fleas.
38:14Human is a dead end host.
38:16Coming to a human is like killing the golden goose.
38:20You know, the goose that gives the golden eggs because the transmission cuts there.
38:24Because humans will not have enough plague in their blood.
38:28So that like other flea bites a human, you are sleeping in your bedroom.
38:33Your brother is in the next bedroom.
38:35So that flea biting you and then going to your brother is not going to infect the brother.
38:40If the flea is already infected with plague, then that can happen.
38:45Okay.
38:45So for a bubonic plague to spread, the contact has to be really close.
38:51It means really close contact.
38:53So I think only people who would be at risk are the nurses, not even the doctors,
38:58because these days the doctors don't spend too much time in your room.
39:01We just say hello and we move out, you know.
39:03So the risk is only to the people who are in close contact.
39:08If it is pneumonic plague, then it can spread literally quickly like Omicron.
39:16Say like it will be as spreading fast as Omicron and the strength of Delta.
39:21So it could be really bad.
39:22But still it would not become a pandemic for the very simple reason.
39:27At the time, the strength of a bacteria and virus kills its pandemic proportion.
39:35Because previously, a person with COVID would be well enough to go to the community and spread it.
39:41A person who is struck down by pneumonic plague, unfortunately, will likely die in his own house or in the
39:49hospital,
39:50thereby breaking the chain of transmission.
39:52If you say, you're saying something interesting, Dr. Goethe.
39:56You're saying that the chances of this becoming a pandemic is zero.
40:01Zero.
40:02Then what happened in Surat in 1994? What went wrong there?
40:06You know, you're talking about history and that makes me feel sad
40:09because a very smart, young, good-looking doctor was in charge of the main Bombay hospital during the Surat scare.
40:18And you're talking to him.
40:20And you're talking to him.
40:20I was in charge of the KEM emergency room at that time.
40:25And it later turned out to be not to be plague.
40:30But that time, doxycycline had disappeared from India's markets.
40:36So this plague is very easily treated by antibiotics.
40:42But the antibiotics have to be taken prior to the multiplication of the bacteria starts.
40:49Now, you just heard a president say that this bacteria has become stronger and doesn't respond to antibiotics.
40:56I mean, at times our strategy is we speak first and then think what was said, you know.
41:03But if you're talking about the plague that is being made resistant to the bacteria, you know, anybody can Google.
41:13But it is also important to know what to Google.
41:16So in 1969, Nixon said, enough, we are not going to do any bioweapons.
41:22So U.S. stopped.
41:23In 1972, USSR agreed that they will also stop, with one important difference, that they still continue.
41:31And there is an aerosolized plague that exists in the test tube, in the labs in Siberia.
41:39And they purposely made it resistant to antibiotics.
41:45So there is an aerosolized thing, if it is like spread in a crowd, like there will be thousands dying.
41:52And it exists in a test tube.
41:55Now, that's very scary news, right?
41:57And it is made genetically resistant to antibiotics.
42:03Oh my God, that's a very scary thing.
42:06Yeah.
42:06But ciprofloxacin was discovered in mid-80s.
42:12And this research happened in mid-70s.
42:15So they could not have had chance to develop a resistance to cipro.
42:21And cipro is available, ciprofloxacin, available so plentifully in India,
42:26that even black marketers will die of despair, that what are we going to do?
42:31Because cipro is available so easily.
42:33I get that.
42:33But if you are saying it can be treated easily with an antibiotic, if given early,
42:39then what do you think happened in the case of the lab assistant, who was so aware, would have known?
42:45Did she not take the right precautions or did the right precautions did not work for her?
42:49You know, what happens is these days in the social media, you know, it's very difficult to know what is
42:56true and what is false.
42:58Even truth at times masquerades as false news.
43:02I think in the government agencies have to think and know that they can dupe people, but only to a
43:10certain extent.
43:11The Russian statement is she definitely did not die of plague, but we don't know what she died of.
43:19So they have conducted all the tests and they are so certain that it is not plague, but they don't
43:26know what it is.
43:27I think a better statement would have been that we don't know what it is.
43:31Let's see what it is.
43:32OK, now there are some reports on Telegram, which is being banned in Russia now, that a test tube was
43:39broken.
43:40Yes.
43:41If the test tube was broken, she died of plague.
43:43For sure.
43:45No question about that.
43:46There's too much of a coincidence that a 28 year old lady previously healthy reportedly breaks a test tube in
43:54a plague laboratory and dies of unknown pneumonia in two days.
43:58That just doesn't happen.
44:00OK, so they but all her 200 contacts have been.
44:07And when they screened a contact, you know, not many people know this, not even the doctors.
44:11The incubation period of bubonic plague is like three to seven days, five days.
44:18OK, pneumonic plague is one to four days, but it's actually less than one day.
44:24It could be hours.
44:26So somebody gets exposed to pneumonic plague.
44:28They may have symptoms in two, three, four, five hours.
44:31OK, so her 200 contacts, they are still safe and nothing has happened.
44:37That means it is not spread.
44:39It is not spreading.
44:41And the two of them tested positive for covid and two of them for rhino virus.
44:48The reporting just came out.
44:49So these viruses, other viruses are becoming slightly more powerful.
44:54But I have a simple idea for all the governments in the world.
44:59I told you like I was there in 94.
45:01Right.
45:01So we used to watch Bond movies.
45:03So James Bond will go with a gun, you know, do some other stuff with the girls and then get
45:08into a lab, whatever.
45:10That was then.
45:11Right.
45:12Now, 18 year old homeless guy doing some weeds sitting in their parents' basement can just hack into any bio
45:19lab and just open the doors.
45:21So I think whatever weapons grade bacteria or viruses are stored anywhere in the world, they should just destroy it.
45:30Because we are not capable of the gain of function research.
45:35You know, it's like I just want to break down what you've said, Dr. Gottsi, because it's interesting.
45:40You're seeing a couple of things.
45:41Number one, this will not become an, you know, pandemic, according to you.
45:45It's the chances are zero, like you said.
45:47Zero.
45:47Number two, you're saying in case a test tube broke and the lab researcher did get it and the other
45:55200 did not, then that in itself is a very interesting situation.
45:59We'll have to really get down to understanding what really happened there.
46:01So we're not ruling out that possibility.
46:04Third, you're saying the incubation period is extremely small.
46:07If somebody had to show symptoms, would have showed symptoms by now.
46:10But number four, what you have not answered for me is that why is this one death in Siberia making
46:18WHO, Donald Trump, the Russian government, you and me both, all perturbed?
46:24If it's really that harmless, why is the world including WHO and Donald Trump talking about it?
46:32Because, you know, plague, if you use it in a sentence, you can use the P not capital, because we
46:39just use plague colloquially.
46:42That situation was plagued by this, you know.
46:45So because in our mind, we combine it with something that is bad, devastating.
46:51It starts with the plague of Athens, you know, or the Black Death, where one third of European population just
46:57died.
46:58And, you know, I get so mad when we just talk about Europe, you know, one third European population died.
47:04The British Empire plague that British brought to the shores of our city, Mumbai, you know, Bombay then, you know,
47:13in 1897, they say, oh, only one crore people died.
47:17Yeah, but that time India's population was 30 crore.
47:21So that's like, that's not like 3%.
47:25That's more than 3%, you know.
47:26So 3% population in British Empire died, you know.
47:30And so the plague has this thing in the, but now we think back about history, even European plague was
47:39a bubonic plague.
47:40And if it's a bubonic plague, we are okay.
47:44Yeah.
47:45Dr. Gauthier, fascinating as always to chat up with you.
47:48Thank you for demystifying things that can be demystified and perhaps what we've got to wait and watch for at
47:54the moment is more details to actually arrive and really hope that the WHO gets to the bottom of this
48:00situation.
48:00That's all the time we have, I'm afraid, at the moment.
48:03But thank you so much for joining us with your precious time over there.
48:07Dr. Gauthier, they're joining us from California.
48:09Bye-bye.
48:10Bye-bye.
48:11Bye-bye.
48:11Bye-bye.
48:11Bye-bye.
48:11Bye-bye.
48:12Bye-bye.
48:12Bye-bye.