- 2 hours ago
The Donald Trump administration has suspended several major Indian IT companies, along with Microsoft and Adobe, from sponsoring green cards for foreign workers, Vice President JD Vance said. The companies named include Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, Tata and HCL. Vance said an investigation found instances of companies filing for permanent residency for foreign workers while also conducting layoffs in the US. The administration said the firms will remain barred from sponsoring green cards until they meet new guidelines and demonstrate compliance. The move marks a further tightening of US immigration and employment rules affecting Indian technology professionals.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today. This is your prime time destination as always. News, newsmakers,
00:06talking points Thursday night, the big talking point tonight. Rahul Gandhi's guerrilla-like street agitations. Are they really working on
00:15the ground or not? Also today we will be remembering one of Indian cinema's foremost actors who's passed away today.
00:24The one and only Nana Patekar.
00:26Plenty, as always, to talk about on the show. But first, let's get cracking with the nine headlines at nine
00:33tonight.
00:34In a major move, the Donald Trump government steps up the crackdown on the U.S. immigration system.
00:41Major tech companies including Infosys, Tata, Wipro and HCL suspended from the green card program amidst allegations of abuse of
00:51the H-1B visas.
00:57Now, Elon Musk claims that some oligarchs are blocking Starlink in India to maintain monopoly.
01:05Government assures fair and non-discriminatory rules.
01:09Akash Ambani also responds, says focused on ensuring every Indian has internet access.
01:15Rahul Gandhi says, must, should know what's happening in India.
01:23Day three of the opposition protests against the chief election commissioner ends without drama.
01:30Rahul Gandhi leads the India block on a march and a prayer to Raj Ghat.
01:36But 42 ex-judges, meanwhile, write an open letter to warn against attempts to undermine the EC.
01:46Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi-Wadra booked for assaulting police in Delhi.
01:52A fire also against Congress workers over violence.
01:55BJP claims that, is this how Rahul Gandhi is smashing the patriarchy?
02:00Rahul hits back, saying his supporters say BJP is deliberately splicing videos.
02:10Amidst protests in the national capital, Prime Minister Modi targets the opposition at the India Mobile Congress.
02:16Says those who looted earlier don't like Modi.
02:19Asserts, let them cry out loud.
02:20I will continue to ensure zero corruption.
02:23Opposition says, Mr. Modi is living in a dream world.
02:31GST council scraps the arrest powers of GST officers.
02:35Ups prosecution threshold to 5 crore rupees.
02:38Finance Minister Sitaraman hails next generation reforms.
02:42Says 99% issues addressed in the meeting.
02:49Markets suffer a major crash.
02:51Sensex tanks over 1,000 points.
02:53Nifty hits fresh 52-week low.
02:56Surging crude prices among key factors behind market crash.
03:03Tensions once again escalate in West Asia after Houthis claim to have struck Saudi airports.
03:08Kill three.
03:09India strongly condemns the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
03:16The remarkable actor Nana Patekar passes away at the age of 75.
03:21Bollywood loses its Kranthibir Marathi cinema.
03:25It's Nattasam Raat.
03:26He is being cremated in his hometown in Pune with state honours.
03:43But the big story that's breaking at the moment, the Donald Trump administration has taken on India's IT giants.
03:50Donald Trump has now suspended IT companies from the green card program that includes Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, all
04:01suspended for their employees to hold green cards.
04:06U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance announced that the U.S. has suspended this green card process for Microsoft
04:13and Adobe.
04:14So clearly now, the United States once again cracking down, it appears, on immigrants.
04:22H-1B visas also, remember, have already come under severe strain.
04:27Rohit Sharma, our man in Washington, joins me.
04:30Rohit, give us a sense.
04:30What does this mean for many, many Indian employees working for these leading companies in the United States?
04:39Well, essentially, there are two parts to being an immigrant in America, Raj.
04:44The first is you get here on a work visa, and then you apply for permanent residency, which is your
04:48green card.
04:49What the administration has done today, and as Vice President J.D. Vance said, that they conducted an investigation.
04:55They found out that some of these companies are engaging in fraud.
04:58And he specifically mentioned Microsoft and Adobe, and then he cited the fact that there were 6,600 people that
05:06were laid off by Microsoft last year.
05:08Well, they did file permanent residency for about 6,000 people, like foreign workers.
05:13So what it essentially means is that Microsoft, going forward, as announced by today, and we're still reading of the
05:18fact sheet,
05:19will not be able to sponsor anybody for a green card unless and until they meet the new guidelines or
05:25unless and until they're able to satisfy this administration to say that they're not engaging in fraud.
05:31We still do not know what those KPIs are.
05:34We still do not know, you know, if they're going to hold them accountable to the previous people who were
05:40laid off.
05:40But today, J.D. Vance is coming out and saying that, you know, they're going to be suspending it for
05:46both Adobe and as well as Microsoft.
05:49And they're also named the which companies, which is Vipro, Infosys, TCS, Capgemini, Cognizant, and HCL.
05:58Again, a new acronym introduced today, essentially saying that these companies also engage in visa fraud.
06:05And then we saw Attorney General Vance saying that these companies will also be investigated and such actions will be
06:11taken.
06:11Do understand this also, Rajdeep, this is coming literally like four, three and a half weeks before the midterm.
06:16So some of the messaging could also be towards American workers trying to lure them to vote for the GOP,
06:22but a very, very big step by the government indeed.
06:27Okay, there is Rohit Sharma breaking that down for us.
06:31Clearly, Donald Trump on H-1B visas, now green cards, getting tough on labor coming out of India, targeting some
06:40of India's leading companies.
06:42Let's turn from there to our big story at home, because for the third straight day, the India Bloc opposition's
06:50protests against the Chief Election Commissioner continued.
06:53But today, they ended without any detentions.
06:56The police allowed the India Bloc leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi, to go to Rajghat and pay their respects to
07:03Mahatma Gandhi,
07:04where the leaders vowed to continue their protests and attempt to even meet President Draupadi Murmu tomorrow.
07:11The Kokhrut Janata Party, interestingly, have held their own protests in Bengaluru.
07:17This was attended by top CJP leaders Abhijit Deepke and actor Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathi also joined them.
07:27CJP Congress both claim that they have only one target.
07:31The Chief Election Commissioner, Kyanesh Kumar, take a look at this report.
07:48From Jantar Mantar to Rajghat and from Sagar Ratna to Mohitz, it was the third straight day of the India
07:56Bloc's demonstrations,
07:57demanding Chief Election Commissioner Kyanesh Kumar's resignation.
08:01India Bloc leaders met over lunch at Mohitz in Kanaat Place before heading to Rajghat.
08:05Led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, hundreds of Congress workers and opposition leaders marched to Mahatma Gandhi Samadhi.
08:15Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attack against the government,
08:18alleging that opposition MPs and workers were assaulted and repeatedly stopped from holding a peaceful demonstration.
08:51This is our guarantee.
09:19The BJP has hit out at opposition leaders accusing them of trying to intimidate the
09:24constitutional machinery through street-level anarchy.
09:26Is Rahul Gandhi fearing that the K-Supreme Court is so weak that Rahul Gandhi is trying to make a
09:36place to make a place?
09:38Is Rahul Gandhi attempting to intimidate the constitutional machinery and Indian democracy through street anarchy?
09:48Meanwhile, at Bengaluru's Freedom Park, the Kokhra Janata Party organized another protest against Gyanesh Kumar.
09:55Abhijit, Deepkit, Sauravdas and Ashutosh Ranka took centre stage,
09:59while actor-activist Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruvrati also joined the protest.
10:03The vote to look at these places.
10:06Most of the people who have been in the country have been in the country in the country,
10:10most of the country is democracy.
10:15It's the democracy of India that has died, not these people, because these people are standing here alive.
10:21They have insulted the quarter of this country.
10:32In this country, the politicians of our country and the people of Shri Mataji are fighting for their offices.
11:02Three rounds of protests, two lunch meets and one core demand.
11:05The opposition refuses to back down and the Chief Election Commissioner too is giving no
11:10indication of giving in to the demand.
11:13Biora Report, India Today.
11:16Okay, let me first go to my face-off then today.
11:20Is Rahul Gandhi getting under the BJP skin?
11:24Is Gyanesh Kumar actually becoming a liability for the BJP?
11:28Or is this SIR protest now more about optics than any substance?
11:33Joining me on my face-off today, Amitabh Dubey is a National Spokesperson of the Congress
11:38and Dr. Syed Zafar Islam is former MP and National Spokesperson of the BJP.
11:44Good to have both of you on the show today.
11:46Amitabh Dubey to you first.
11:49I'm still trying to understand what the Congress's strategy is to actually get Gyanesh Kumar to
11:56resign if that is your end game.
11:58Do you really believe that these street protests as they are going on will lead to a constitutional
12:04functionary stepping down?
12:07Well, let me first tell you that this is not just the Congress party.
12:11Our vote-jury campaign now has broad-based national support.
12:15When we are on the streets, a lot of people are supporting us including in government, outside
12:19of government, inside the election commission.
12:21And what are we doing?
12:23We want to exercise our constitutional right to march to the CEC's office to go to Jantar
12:27Mantar.
12:28And what are we met with?
12:29Brute force.
12:30I was there.
12:31The amount of force that was put on us was completely out of proportion of what the activity,
12:36the Satyagraha peaceful activity that we were engaged in.
12:40Today, of course, the government has wised up and realised that the optics of attacking someone
12:44going to Rajghat may not be ideal, but their basic approach is absolutely clear.
12:49Now, I want to remind your viewers that while the Congress party vote-jury campaign has been
12:54going on for a couple of years, it is the revelations inside the election commission itself that have
13:00given a boost to widespread suspicion about what is going on.
13:03Now, the Supreme Court has questions about this, saying that the Form 6 modifications were not
13:09approved by them.
13:10So, there are some… this is not just a Congress party issue, it is not just an India alliance issue.
13:15This is a national issue and the national institutions are very concerned about what is going on.
13:19So, when the Modi Shah police attacks us…
13:21But, but if I may say so… No, you're saying… No, no, no, Mr. Dubey, you're saying that this is
13:26not
13:26just a Congress issue, but I'm looking at the visuals. Particularly today, it's only really Congress
13:31leaders dominating the show. I mean, all eyes are on Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Wadra.
13:36Where are the citizens? I don't see this to… This hasn't become a citizens movement, not as yet,
13:41at least not on the streets of Delhi. Unlike the Anna movement, where citizens,
13:45middle class citizens got involved. No. So, firstly, it's not just a Congress party,
13:51it's the India Bloc that has been involved in this. Many very senior India Bloc leaders have
13:55been marching with us. But I repeat, just because you don't have the citizens on the street yet,
14:01let's see what happens on the 10th of October, doesn't mean that this is not something of great
14:05concern to all of India. These are… This is a direct attack on the institutions of India,
14:09on the election commission, and it is part of a larger strategy of the RSS BJP,
14:14as we've been saying for a long time. Now, what is coming in front of us? 23,000
14:20CAPF have been deployed to Delhi, according to news reports, to deal with protests. So,
14:25what we are seeing is, instead of listening to us, instead of accommodating the very serious
14:31questions that the entire country has, the government is using the jackboot. And this is
14:36the only language they know because they're afraid. Because they know that this entire structure they
14:40have built is now under serious questions, not just by political parties,
14:43but by the Supreme Court and within the election commission.
14:48Let me bring in Syed Zafar Islam on that. Syed Zafar Islam, are you using the jackboot? Are you using
14:55coercive methods to try and ensure that this protest is crushed sooner than later? My original question,
15:01is Rahul Gandhi getting under the skin of the BJP with these daily protests of his?
15:10Not at all. In fact, there is absolutely no support Rahul Gandhi is getting from the common man on the
15:18street.
15:19We all know that he is playing politics. He is actually fighting for the bogus voters. The ghost voters,
15:26they do not want the verification of all the voter lists and all the bona fide citizens should be
15:33part of the electoral role. Because this initiative of SIR exercise has been undertaken by the election
15:40commission. But earlier it was very strongly advocated by none other than the Manu Singhvi of Congress
15:46Party. They wanted that voter list to be where it should be verified. And all the ghost voters, bogus
15:52voters, people who are dead should be removed from the voters list, active voter list and should be
15:57cleaned. And only the bona fide citizens should be the part of the electoral role. But there is a difference
16:02with due regard, sir, sir, with due regard. There is a, sir, I don't think any, sir, sir,
16:06Zafar Islam, sir, no one disagrees with your point that the voter lists have to be cleaned up,
16:12but it's the architecture and the execution of them. When such high numbers of people find their
16:18names left out of the draft roles, then questions are obviously going to be raised. So it is the
16:25manner. Nobody is saying don't clean up the roles, but the way it's being done, the speed with which it
16:29has been attempted to be done before elections in Bihar and Bengal, the large number of people there who
16:36found themselves off the roles, many of whom have gone in appeal. So you cannot, let's not mislead the
16:41audience. Nobody's against clean up. The manner in which the clean up has taken place leaves room for suspicion.
16:51Let me respond to that. As far as election commission is concerned, the conduct and the
16:58activities of election commission has to be responded by the spokesperson of election commission. But
17:05let me respond to the question you posed just now. First of all, if they have, if they have any
17:11observation,
17:12if they have any concern about the conduct or the process or the structure of the, the SIR exercise being
17:20conducted by the election commission, they should go and meet. The election commission is always ready and
17:25available to meet the representatives of the political parties to discuss all the concerns they have
17:32and give them satisfactory response. But Rahul Gandhi is not up to, is up to something else. He is not
17:38interested in a meeting and resolving those issues. If at all there are issues which needs to be
17:46resolved by Rahul Gandhi or the concern Rahul Gandhi has. But SIR exercise has been taken,
17:52undertaken only to clean up the voter list. Secondly, did you hear anything, anything from the Congress
18:00party, even though they are responsible for, like bogus voters in the electoral list, they are responsible.
18:05Likewise, ration card, five, more than five crore names have been removed. And the people who have never
18:11born in this country, never born in the world, in this world, have been part of the ration card.
18:18There are five crore people have been removed. Their names have been removed. Nobody said anything
18:23from the Congress party. Why? Because they know that the bogus names were actually included by them.
18:30Likewise, in Aadhaar card, more than 4.88 crore people, their Aadhaar card was absolutely bogus,
18:37because those people never given birth by anyone, but their names were there. So they never made any
18:45human crime on this. Why have an electoral role? Because they know that exactly that these are
18:51the people, bogus voters, have actually helped them to be in the power. But people of India understand
18:59that when the society is being undertaken, there are any observations.
19:04You know, I've heard you. I've heard you. I've heard you. Just a second.
19:07No, no, I've heard you patiently. Ten more seconds. Ten more seconds.
19:11They will go to, they will seek appointment with the CEC. Are they seeking appointment with the CEC?
19:16They want to be on the street. They want to do Dharna on the Janpath. They want to do Dharna
19:22on Aakashwani.
19:22They want to get out CEC. Is this the way to resolve the issues? No. They want, they want some
19:29violence.
19:30Okay. I've heard you. Mr. Zafar Islam, I have heard you. This is not a monologue, sir.
19:37I have heard you. I have heard you. You are now. Yeah, you, you, I heard you patiently. Amitabh Dubey,
19:44the point that Zafar Islam is making is that the Congress doesn't really want an appointment
19:48he claims with the CEC. You want street protests and the optics. Sir, sir, I interrupted him.
19:55Please do not. You will have to also, Zafar Islam, be a little patient.
19:59He, he listened to you patiently. Amitabh Dubey, the fact is that according to the BJP, you don't want
20:06an appointment with the CEC or resolve the issue. You want the optics, the eyeballs. This is not about
20:12a substantive issue, according to the BJP. This is about grabbing eyeballs. How do you respond?
20:17So, first thing, Mr. Zafar Islam went through a laundry list of facts. I just want to remind him that
20:22the
20:22rationalization of ration cards began in the UPA. Adhaar came out in the UPA. So, you know, let's not try
20:28and
20:28throw random facts that are unrelated to the issue at large. The BJP keeps talking about
20:32ghospatia infiltrators, right? So, if this is against infiltrators, why is it that nine out of
20:38ten appeals so far have been resolved in favor of the person who was excluded? So, this is clearly
20:44a completely unrelated to ghospatia. This is genuine voters who in West Bengal, I'm talking about West
20:49Bengal, have been excluded because their narrative is about West Bengal. I also want to remind, not only
20:54I have nine out of ten voters been restored so far, that during the UPA between 2005 and 13,
21:01the number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants deported legally, not illegally, was 88,792.
21:09Under the BJP, it has been a fraction of that amount. So, they play the politics of ghospatia,
21:15but when it comes to actual illegal immigration, they do nothing, or they do these illegal pushbacks,
21:20which just end up hurting us because then it backfires on us and these people come back.
21:25The fact is that this is nothing to do with ghospatia. This is just an excuse they're making.
21:29About the going to the due process, I want to remind you that Jairam Ramesh went to the courts
21:36on the appointment of EC issue and the government changed the law thereafter. Modi Shah changed the
21:41law. Randeep Surjewala went on the Haryana issue in February 25 to the election commission. He was given the
21:48runaround, nothing happened. All of the revelations that have come out of the West Bengal process
21:54have been done by Congress MPs going through due process, our researchers, Prashenjee, both going
22:01through due process, the PCC chief, former PCC chief, Aadhirandan Chowdhury going through due process,
22:07even the TMC has been going through due process, and all the criticism that came out from the
22:12Supreme Court of the West Bengal SIR, which has been completely illegally carried out SIR, came out
22:19because we went through due process and we got nowhere. So, I want to make the point that we are
22:24going to
22:24Uninterrupted five minutes. Because due process is being denied to us.
22:30Okay, you're saying due process is being denied to you. Final word therefore then, Zafar Islam. You know, there is
22:36a question I am asking for several days now to many BJP leaders who come on the show.
22:41Why doesn't the government of India, the Home Ministry, release the figures of the numbers of Guspetya?
22:47You go on saying illegal immigrants have been removed through this exercise. Please show it to me.
22:52I have been sending RTI after RTI, Ashok Upadhyay from our channel. He says details cannot be provided.
22:58Please tell me, how many Guspetyas are there? Doodh ka doodh paani ka paani ho jai?
23:03Let me respond.
23:07Let me respond to Mr. Rajdeep Sahasai. This SIR exercise, let it complete all over the country.
23:13They, it helps to detect, identify who are the bogus voters, illegal citizens of this country.
23:21They, election commission cannot release those lists. They can only submit to the Home Ministry.
23:27Home Ministry will initiate the process of detention. We have asked the Home Ministry.
23:31We have asked the Home Ministry under the Foreigners Act.
23:34Soon you will have the list.
23:34Soon you will have the list.
23:35Sir, we have asked the Home Ministry.
23:37No, soon you will have the list.
23:38How many people are there? What, what stops you?
23:40That's why I said, let the exercise, SIR exercise be completely over of all the states.
23:44What stops the Home Ministry from telling the people of the country how many Guspetyas are there?
23:49What is stopping you?
23:50Rajdeep, you are not listening to me. Show some patience as you were showing to Mr. No, no.
23:54Show some patience as you were showing to other spokesperson. All I am saying, let the SIR exercise be over.
24:01Let all the names to, the list should come to Home Ministry. Home, the detected people should be identified.
24:08People will be deported. The process will initiate. It is a, it is a process which, which needs to be
24:14followed.
24:15It is not arbitrary process where, where you can just send this, send those people out of the country.
24:20There is a process, the country has to follow certain procedures and process that is being followed.
24:25Let me also tell you one thing. Rahul Gandhi.
24:28SIR exercise Mr. Zafar Islam has been on for one year and more started. Sir, SIR, SIR exercise Mr. Zafar
24:37Islam started in Bihar in July last year.
24:39We are now in October. Why can the government of India not tell me how many?
24:43Let me ask you, has the exercise been completed? What did I say? Let it complete.
24:49Yes, you are saying that this will be given? Let it be completed, Rajdeep.
24:52Okay. Then you can question me. You will have the complete list of illegal citizen living in this country and
24:59they need to be, they need, they have been detected.
25:01I will hold you to that. They need to be deported and you will have the list. You can show
25:04it on your screen.
25:06Yes, of course you can hold me to that. But let me also tell you last thing.
25:10I will leave it there, sir.
25:11All this protest does not resonate with the common citizen of the country. Rahul Gandhi's turn will backfire on them.
25:22Okay. I have heard you. I have heard Amitabh Dubey. I have heard you. You are saying it will backfire.
25:27According to Amitabh Dubey, the Congress party is doing this because they believe that this is due process is not
25:34being followed by the election commission.
25:37I appreciate both of you joining me here on the show today. I want to decode Rahul Gandhi's brand of
25:42politics though.
25:43Because remember, Rahul Gandhi has been often called a dinist, a namdar. Is he now an anti-establishment rebel?
25:51Do Rahul Gandhi's guerrilla-like street agitations actually work on the ground?
25:56Does the angry young man role that Rahul Gandhi wants to position himself as carry any real traction?
26:04These are some of the questions I want to pose today. The Rahul factor.
26:08Joining me now is Ashutosh, formerly with the AAP, a political analyst, editor Satya Hindi.
26:15Shugato Srinivas Raju is a journalist and author who's written a book on Rahul's brand of politics.
26:21And Rajat Sethi, political analyst, is also with us.
26:25Let's first go to you, Shugato.
26:28Decode Rahul Gandhi's brand of politics for us because you've written a book on it.
26:33Am I right in saying that some of his critics say this is hit-and-run politics, shoot-and-scoot
26:38from Bhatta Porsol's land agitation to today he hits the streets but doesn't often sustain those agitations?
26:46How should we see Rahul Gandhi's evolution in terms of his role as this anti-establishment rebel?
26:53Is that how he's positioning himself according to you?
26:57Thank you very much, Radheep.
26:59There has certainly been a kind of shift in Rahul Gandhi's politics after the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
27:06There is a pre-Bharat Jodo Yatra phase where he was trying to use a very different kind of language
27:14of love and reconciliation and forgiveness.
27:17You know, I mean, that kind of trying to build a kind of saintly hello around himself.
27:23But then there is a clear shift after the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the 2024 elections.
27:29So after the Congress gained numbers, I think he sort of moved into the sphere of agitational politics.
27:38It's obviously he wants to bring a lot of pressure on this government, which he thinks is very weak.
27:44But more than anything else, his basic, you know, I mean, line is that he wants to create a perception
27:52about this government that it is morally bankrupt.
27:55I think the language that he, you know, uses against this government is a language which is more in the
28:04realm of, you know, moral philosophy, where he wants to prove that they are morally bankrupt.
28:10But we don't know if, you know, I mean, creating that kind of a language and that kind of a
28:16pressure on the government where he wants to be the most virtuous protagonist of Indian politics will have electoral benefits.
28:24Because ideologically, things are aligned completely differently.
28:27And if you have been looking at Rahul Gandhi's politics in the post-24, there is also a certain kind
28:34of fetishization of courage that he has sort of developed, which is a kind of, you know, I mean, a
28:43kind of antagonism that he has developed, where he sort of places fear and fearlessness in a certain binary, you
28:52know, as an operation.
28:52So he is basically trying to counter, you know, I mean, fear with fearlessness, love and hate, truth and lies,
28:59facts and fake and forgiveness and retribution.
29:03You know, all of that is getting mixed up in his kind of language.
29:06But, you know, I mean, the central thing is that he wants to portray the person in the government as
29:13somebody morally bankrupt.
29:15I think that is the central mission of Rahul Gandhi.
29:18It's not, see, otherwise he would be speaking a very different electoral language.
29:22And we don't see...
29:24I get your point.
29:25Yeah.
29:26One last point, Rajdeep.
29:28I take your point.
29:30Yes.
29:30Yeah.
29:31Yes.
29:32Welcome.
29:33Go ahead.
29:35Go ahead.
29:35Complete.
29:37Basically, I was just trying to sort of, you know, even in agitational politics, Rajdeep, you know, I mean, agitational
29:44politics generally does not lead to a certain point where we start reaping electoral benefits.
29:51You know, we have seen in the case of his own junior contemporaries like Hardik Patel or Alpesh Shah, Alpesh,
29:58you know, I mean, the Gujarat politician, you know, I forget his second name.
30:03You know, Alpesh and then...
30:08Alpesh Thakur.
30:10All these people, you know, I mean, were very, very good on the ground, you know, I mean, agitationally, you
30:15know, speaking a very kind of fierce language.
30:18But then that did not lead to any kind of concrete electoral accrual for any of these people.
30:25You know, so it's a very tough kind of a thing.
30:28Rahul Gandhi has now started following that kind of an agitational model, which also, you know, a generation earlier, Rajdeep,
30:35which you would know better, is, you know, Lohia and JP and, you know, people like that, who basically thrived
30:42in agitational politics,
30:43but did not look at power politics with the kind of nuance and subtlety and the kind of strategy that
30:49needs to get in.
30:50So, so that is where Rahul Gandhi is, you know, I mean, ended up at least after 24.
30:56Shugato, let me, I've, I've listened to you patiently.
30:59I've listened to you patiently.
31:01Let me take that to Ashutosh.
31:02Because Ashutosh, taking off from what I heard from Shugato, is the basic point that Rahul Gandhi is more comfortable
31:10almost being a street politician of a left activist variety.
31:14This is, you know, the Kanaiya Kumars, the Hardik Patels one time, these were street agitational politics, youthful.
31:21Rahul Gandhi at 56 seems to want to position himself as some kind of a campus activist.
31:27Is this to be, therefore, taken as serious electoral politics?
31:31Because at the end of the day, he's the leader of the opposition.
31:34He's not the leader of JNU or a leader of a, of a campus protest.
31:38How do you see that?
31:39Is Rahul Gandhi positioning himself as some kind of a left campus activist?
31:45See, let me quote from Shugato's own book.
31:48In his book, Shugato writes, it's easy to be Narendra Modi and difficult to be Rahul Gandhi.
31:54So Rahul Gandhi's every action has been misread by most of the senior journalists and also by the intellectuals.
32:01And that is why they have been committing mistakes to understand what Rahul Gandhi is all about.
32:06Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a, as a disruptor in Indian politics.
32:11Rahul Gandhi has inverted BJP's logic of nationalism.
32:16BJP started calling everybody anti-national Pakistan Parast, Chin Parast.
32:21But now he has got back and said, you are indulging into treason.
32:26You are anti-national because you are trying to subvert the entire electoral process.
32:32But Rahul Gandhi is not only subverting this logic of nationalism and putting on the head to the BJP and
32:38showing him the, the mirror.
32:40He's also building an ideological edifice and which I've been saying for a very, very long time.
32:45He's building an edifice of secularism, social justice and Dalit assertion.
32:52He's trying to bring back the constitutionalism which the BJP has forgotten because of its deep hatred toward the Nehru,
33:00Gandhi, Babasab Ambedkar and democracy and constitutionalism.
33:04Now, in the process, is he losing the political center?
33:09In the process, is he moving so far to the left that he's losing the political center?
33:13The Congress is a party of power.
33:15The Congress is a party, has never been an ideologically driven party.
33:19It's a party driven by power.
33:21Rajdeep, let me again, again reiterate my point.
33:25Indian senior journalists and intellectual have most of the time misread Rahul Gandhi.
33:31And that is why they are not able to fathom it.
33:34One of the topmost intellectuals has said after 2024, I did not read Rahul Gandhi.
33:40Well, now I'm correcting myself.
33:41I'm not taking the name.
33:42This is the same gentleman who misread Narendra Modi in 2014.
33:45So let's not get into that.
33:48This is the new kind of Congress party.
33:51The Congress party has never fought for the social justice politics of the OBC kind because
33:56Congress was comfortable with secularism, with Dalit assertion and the upper caste politics.
34:03Now, he is trying to integrate social justice, that means OBC.
34:07He's trying to constitutionalism and Ambedkar politics by talking about Dalit assertion.
34:12He's also trying to tell that how Manusmriti and other things is bad for the Indian politics.
34:17He's reconnecting with the Genji, that is the youth of the country.
34:21So you put it all together.
34:23There are the five elements.
34:25Nationalism, social justice, Dalit assertion and secularism.
34:30Now, the issue is simple.
34:32Congress Rahul, but Rahul, and it also reflects in Rahul Gandhi's attire.
34:36Rahul Gandhi's attire and in his thinking, he's deeply, deeply suspicious of the traditional and orthodox Indian politics.
34:48And it's not just a coincidence that Rahul Gandhi prefers to wear a t-shirt and a baggy pajama.
34:55It's not that he's trying to connect with the Genji, but this reflects that how deeply he disregard, distrust the
35:02traditional Indian politicians and politics.
35:05So we have to re-understand Rahul Gandhi and under Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is taking very part.
35:10I, okay, you know, you're calling it a new Congress.
35:15The fact is the Congress has always been a kurta pajama party.
35:19Now you're saying it's becoming, I mean, purely in sartorial terms, you're saying he's trying to reflect the new Congress
35:24even in the dress he wears.
35:25Rajat Sethi, you've been having a smile on your face right through when you were listening to Ashutosh.
35:30Have we all misread Rahul Gandhi and his style of politics, this anti-establishment rebel?
35:36Look at how things have changed.
35:38In 2014, Mr. Modi was the anti-establishment hero.
35:41Rahul Gandhi was the dinnest.
35:43Today, Rahul Gandhi is positioning himself as anti-establishment and suggesting Mr. Modi is the old regime.
35:51Rajdeep Ji, where is the establishment of Mr. Rahul Gandhi, you tell me that?
35:54What state is left to call it establishment?
35:57You've lost a hundred odd elections.
35:59Of course, you have to be anti-establishment because the establishment lock, stock and barrel is with the BJP.
36:04My bigger problem is that this avatar of Rahul Gandhi, which has been part of several memes, still carries on.
36:13You know, the painting that was just now put up on the canvas of Rahul Gandhi as the biggest harbinger
36:19of change.
36:20I mean, it seems like he is the leak one.
36:22You and Nelson Mandela all bundled together in this great avatar that currently Rahul Gandhi has.
36:28What elections has he won?
36:30Where is the organization?
36:31Where is the tough talk?
36:33It is one thing to mobilize and the other thing to organize.
36:36Where has he organized people behind a cause and ensured that there are electoral victories to back?
36:43Everything else, history won't remember till the time you do not give voice through the electoral settled processes through our
36:52Indian constitution, which is through winning elections.
36:55Forget about bigger states.
36:57You can't even win a DUSU election.
36:58You are non-existent in JNU.
37:00You just don't exist where it actually matters.
37:02Because just wearing a cargo jeans, what kind of a message, political message are you saying when you say that,
37:08hey, he is wearing a cargo jeans, so let us make him the prime minister of this country?
37:12What substance does he have?
37:13You know, at the end of the day, all these protests, I don't, first of all, don't understand what is
37:18the end game of this.
37:19You will get a resignation, but what more beyond that?
37:22He is acting as a moral conscience.
37:24According to his supporters, he is acting as a moral conscience.
37:27You know, the kind of moral contradictions that exist within Rahul Gandhi, a book can be written on that.
37:33Moral contradictions within the party and within Mr. Rahul Gandhi himself.
37:37See, every politician, I am not eulogizing any politician out here, but just trying to create a Masihah out of
37:43Rahul Gandhi is just plain, you know, intellectual cushion and cover that my friend Ashutosh Ji is trying to give
37:49to him.
37:50I want to, I don't care what he wears.
37:52At the end of the day, what policies does he have?
37:54What is he doing in the state of Telangana, which has actually helped the larger populations, the Dalit populations of
38:01the state of Telangana to meet the entrepreneurial challenges which are coming their way?
38:04What is happening in Karnataka?
38:06What happened to the caste survey that happened in Karnataka?
38:10Are you ready to open the file?
38:11Is your new chief minister in Karnataka ready to open the can of worms there?
38:15Walk the talk.
38:16Don't brandish your T-shirt, your polo shirts and your cargo.
38:19That is not the qualification of the leader of this country.
38:22It is not enshrined anywhere in the constitution.
38:25The moment you start sounding cool, you suddenly have the claim to the throne.
38:28It doesn't work like that.
38:29It works through hard work of organization building.
38:33Brandishing constitution on one hand, but also strangulating constitution on the other hand.
38:37People see through it.
38:38I am clearly critical, Rajdeepji, you know.
38:41I am critical of how BJP has been organizing itself.
38:45The centralization of power has impacted the organization.
38:47Currently, you have killed out all the safety walls.
38:51Youth are relating with them because they are not able to relate with you.
38:54You do not have communication channels beyond typical ABVP and Bharati Janta, Yuva Morcha.
38:59You need to go out and reach out.
39:01Remember, how did Prime Minister Modi start his campaign in 2014?
39:04It was, you know, Stephens, St. Stephens, IITs, IIMs.
39:08He created a team of 6,000 youngsters, quote-unquote elite youngsters.
39:12That's how he built a team.
39:13Shriram College.
39:13Built a, yeah, Shriram College.
39:15And that's how he built up a momentum.
39:17You have to go to the book which worked for you, the kind of playbook which was working well for
39:22you.
39:23Today, you have no channel with them.
39:25They are facing the heat because of these technological onslaughts that there are lesser upward mobile opportunities out there.
39:30But making a case that Rahul Gandhi is a leak on you and he'll create suddenly opportunities, I am of
39:36the view that he has no ideas.
39:38And that is a far more tougher job than actually learing a cargo band.
39:44Very quickly, Ashutosh, 30 seconds only.
39:47I don't have to say anything.
39:49The people who tried to make Narendra Modi as FDR with a new deal which will change the Indian course
39:55of history,
39:55now all of them are regretting, including Pratap Banu Mehta.
39:59I still remember when he said, what is this F word?
40:02And look, see, that's what I'm saying.
40:04I'm being very blunt.
40:06I'm not being arrogant, I'm being very blunt.
40:08Indian intellectuals and Indian journalists, they hide.
40:12They don't want to see the reality.
40:14I was there in 2024 and I sat on TV channels.
40:16No, no, answer Rajat's direct question.
40:20Answer Rajat's direct question that all of this is very fine.
40:23You have to provide a model of social justice.
40:27Where is the model of social justice, Telangana, Karnataka, please provide it.
40:31Rajdeep, at least those who subscribe to the RSS, it took 90 years to reach where they are.
40:3890 years.
40:39How many elections Atal B.R.I. Vajpayee have lost?
40:41In 1952 to 1989, 40 years.
40:47In Rajasthan, they formed the government just once.
40:49I'm not saying that the Congress Party is doing that.
40:51But the fact of the matter is, we have become the prisoner of the BJP's propaganda and RSS's propaganda.
40:56That we do not want to see the honest analysis of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party.
41:00The fact of the matter is, Narendra Modi was no FDR and Rahul Gandhi is no Lee Swakon.
41:05The fact of the matter is, Rahul Gandhi, when he was the president, he won three assembly elections.
41:10Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chathya's gold.
41:12He did not let BJP win Karnataka.
41:15He almost won Gujarat as a president.
41:17If Pulwama had not happened in 2019, where the BJP is today, might have been in 2019.
41:23We don't want to see the reality.
41:24That's the reality.
41:25The fact of the matter, we are dishonest in our observation, in our analysis, in our perception.
41:32Okay, I'm going to leave it there.
41:33I've heard all of you patiently.
41:35I've heard it patiently.
41:37We need probably a wider debate on this.
41:39Rahul Gandhi continues to be an endless source of fascination in terms of his politics.
41:44Is he, I keep saying, does Rahul Gandhi really need to create a new Congress in his image?
41:48Maybe even break the Congress like his grandmother once did, if that's the direction he wants to take his party.
41:54Ashutosh, Shugata and Rajat Sidi, thank you very much for joining me.
41:58I want to turn to my ground report there today, because while in Delhi, the politics is playing out,
42:02the latest battle for job aspirants is taking place in Pune,
42:06where you're finding those in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission making allegations once again of paper leaks,
42:13exam cancellations and delays in the MPSC recruitment process.
42:17It's become a big talking point now in Maharashtra.
42:21Take a look at tonight's ground report.
42:26Pune streets turn into battleground, with protests by Maharashtra government job aspirants completing one week.
42:36Alleged paper leaks, delays and cancellations have put the Maharashtra Public Service Commission under the scanner.
42:44The agitation gained momentum after the cancellation of the drug inspector recruitment examination following alleged paper leaks.
42:53The protesters are demanding the resignation of MPSC chairman Rajesh Bhimanwar,
42:59appointment of new chairman after consulting students,
43:03recruitment for 70,000 government posts,
43:06all MPSC examinations be conducted offline,
43:10and SIT probe into examination related cases.
43:13The protest initiated because of paper leak,
43:16and we all demand that the system should be transparent,
43:20and the culpits of the paper leak,
43:23the MPSC especially from watchmen to chairman,
43:26we want to remove or reform the whole system.
43:28We want the removal of the chairperson of the MPSC.
43:32Whether it comes by resignation,
43:35or whether it comes by Supreme Court inquiry,
43:38or any way.
43:39In this case, we can get betterment.
43:40The government should be thinking about it.
43:43And they should start the process of the process of the process.
43:45This is what we want to say.
43:47The agitation has now acquired a political dimension.
43:53If the investigation has to happen transparently,
43:56then definitely he has to go,
43:57but he is adamant.
43:59Why is he adamant?
44:00Because there's a powerful person behind him.
44:02So now the government has to choose
44:06dreams of lakhs of students,
44:09plus to have an organization which is so strong
44:13that no corruption would happen.
44:15This is what our demand is.
44:16You want to choose this,
44:18or you want to choose a friend?
44:44Rahul Gandhi has supported the students' demands.
44:48From the government's side,
44:49Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane has made the protesting students.
45:19After Delhi and Ranchi,
45:21Maharashtra's job aspirants are the latest to take their fight to the streets,
45:25raising questions over recruitment,
45:27transparency, and accountability.
45:30With Omkar Wable, Bureau Report, India Today.
45:37Okay, let's take a break at this point.
45:39When we return,
45:40I'm turning to our special tribute today.
45:43Nana Patekar,
45:44one of Hindi and Marathi cinema's
45:46most celebrated actors is no more.
45:49We'll relive Nana's legacy.
45:51That's after the break.
45:52U.S.
45:58I have come here for a summer.
45:59My son has come here for me.
46:01You will have to lose my death?
46:02Now, I will let you have to come here.
46:05And here, I will come here for you.
46:06You will never see those people.
46:07Because, I know this is a country of brothel.
46:10No one has to be hurt.
46:11This is a blood of muslim,
46:13and this is a blood of hindu.
46:14Tell me,
46:16which is a blood of hindu,
46:17or which is a Hindu?
46:18Come here.
46:19Come here.
46:20Take it!
46:22Take it!
46:26It's time for this work.
46:30God has given everything.
46:32There is a joy, a spirit, a power.
46:35Where am I sitting?
46:36Where am I talking?
46:37What am I talking about?
46:38I don't understand.
46:38Control.
46:40It's our first thing, first.
46:42Then, after that, it's a problem.
46:46Okay, let's on this point, therefore, go to someone who knew Nana Partikar.
46:51In fact, only recently did a series of wonderful photographs of Nana Partikar.
46:56Atul Kasbekar, celebrity photographer and filmmaker, film producer, joins me.
47:02Atul, you wrote today on Instagram about Nana Partikar very movingly.
47:07Your memories, particularly when most recently you were shooting with Nana Partikar,
47:12his various facets of his life.
47:15What struck you most about Nana Partikar, the person?
47:20You know, I've had a connection with Nana Sahib for very long.
47:24And it's one of those individuals who, you know, will pick up from where you left off.
47:28Even if you haven't seen him for a year.
47:32Blunt, as you can imagine.
47:35It's extremely forthright.
47:36He'll call it like he sees it.
47:38But there's a huge heart behind everything that he said or did.
47:43And the actions, I think, spoke a lot louder than anything else.
47:48He's probably one of the most genuine people I've ever had the privilege of knowing.
47:54You're saying he's one of the most genuine people you had the privilege of knowing.
47:58But, and you said he was very blunt.
48:01I saw an interesting anecdote you related that he had already prepared the firewood
48:06for his likely cremation.
48:09Almost as if he was foreseeing the future.
48:12Tell us a little bit about that.
48:13You know, it seems a bit prophetic.
48:15He actually didn't enjoy staying in Bombay at all.
48:19So, he had this farm in Puna, which I think was roughly somewhere between 8 and 10 acres.
48:25And he shows me around very house proud.
48:28He had, you know, people talk about, for example, you know, adopting dogs.
48:33He had like a dozen of them.
48:35And shows me his gym.
48:37And then says,
48:38You know, in Marathi, I'll say it in English.
48:42About, I've got all these logs of wood for a while.
48:46And these are meant for my cremation.
48:48I've told everybody I want to be cremated here.
48:50And I've kept them dry.
48:53Because, you know, if the wood is wet, then there'll be that smoke.
48:56And the people coming from my funeral will be crying.
48:58And then they may not be realtors or otherwise.
49:01So, I just thought, that was morbidly funny.
49:05I burst out laughing.
49:06And he said, I'm not joking, I'm dead serious.
49:08And it almost seemed bizarrely prophetic now, which is barely five months later,
49:14after I shot those images, that, you know, we're actually at a point where
49:19we're going to be using those same logs of wood that he saved for his cremation.
49:24It's the most bizarrely haunting thing I've heard in a long time, honestly.
49:30And also, of course, you met him at his farmhouse.
49:33He was someone who deeply cared about farmers through his foundation.
49:36So, there was another side to Nanapatikar, quite apart from the cinema star.
49:42Your final memory, therefore, of the man.
49:44How would you best like to remember him?
49:48Look, he calls me and says how many people are coming for the shoot.
49:51And I don't think he was bothered about how many people were there.
49:53But the idea was that I'm going to feed everyone.
49:56So, I said, okay, there'll be some food organized.
49:58I'm not joking, Rajdeep, there must have been some 10 or 12 dishes that were made,
50:03including the legendary mutton curry that his home kitchen was known for.
50:09He made everybody from the drivers to the sport boys to my assistants sit around the dining table
50:14and in the living room right next to each other.
50:17Physically went and served everybody.
50:19No fuss.
50:20No hierarchy.
50:22And I just thought it was one of the most genuine, warmest things that anyone could have done.
50:29My, you know, I was in the studio today and everybody felt like this was a personal loss.
50:35You know, you meet stars and, you know, you heard the saying where the way you treat people
50:44who can actually do nothing for you is a true test of character.
50:48And this is just a small anecdote to show that.
50:53And Rajdeep, not to forget…
50:55We're showing pictures, shots of…
50:57You know, we're showing shots of some of his great films.
51:01Aptak Chappan, which was really where Nana Patekar showed various facets to his character.
51:09Kranti Veer, of course, was another film, which was a super hit, Nata Samrat.
51:14And many thought that Nana ultimately was very comfortable in Marathi cinema, in theatre,
51:20but made the transition effortlessly to cinema.
51:24But purely as now as a film person, what was the quality of Nana as a film person that you
51:29think attracted him to audiences?
51:31You know, he was unconventional looking and yet he had this powerful dialogue delivery and the ability to get under
51:37the skin of every character.
51:39For you as someone who watches films carefully, what made Nana the actor so special?
51:46The first performance of his that blew me away was actually in Parinda.
51:50And I thought he was unbelievable in that film and then he's continued to blossom.
51:55The reason for the relatability, I sincerely think, is the man on the street could connect at various levels in
52:03any role that he played.
52:04Even if it was, you know, something that was comical and frivolous, you know, you'd laugh and also the sheer
52:13versatility that he's displayed, including in films like Hamoshi, for example.
52:17So, you know, I think there's a range that he's displayed.
52:21He's often told people and even someone like Shah Rukh has said, you know, he kept telling him,
52:27don't forget the actor and you in the process of being a star.
52:30And I think one thing Nana did was that he remained an actor who happened to become a star just
52:36by the by.
52:37You know, that's probably the way he would like to be remembered.
52:43He was an actor.
52:44But beyond that, he was he liked to see himself as a fierce individual.
52:49Very, very original, happiest in his farm near Pune.
52:53And perhaps it's only appropriate in a way that he passed away in Goa because he was very fond of
52:58Goa as well.
52:59He liked that slower life that Goa offered him.
53:03Hindi cinema happened to him.
53:05And of course, as a result, he became a major star.
53:09But stardom never affected him.
53:11And he kept his feet firmly on the ground.
53:15Atul Kaspeka for joining me and remembering your friend Nana Patikar.
53:20Thank you very much.
53:21As I said, the funeral rites are on at the moment in Pune.
53:26State honours are being given to Nana Patikar.
53:29The star who cared for farmers, the star who played a variety of roles.
53:35Very few actors have shown the versatility that Nana Patikar had.
53:39And we wish, we remember him.
53:41And our prayers and thoughts are with his family today.
53:46I want to share a personal experience.
53:47I actually spoke to Nana yesterday at 1.15 to invite him for a function.
53:53And at the end of our conversation, he said in Marathi,
53:57Kaalji Ghe Raja, which means be careful Raja, take care.
54:01That was the last time I spoke to the one and only Nana Patikar.
54:07Farewell, my friend Nana Bhau.
54:10Thanks for watching.
54:11Stay well.
54:12Stay safe.
54:13Goodnight Shubratri.
54:14Jai Hind.
54:15Namaskar.