- 2 days ago
Actor-activist Prakash Raj hit back at allegations that protests against the government and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were funded by foreign sources to destabilise India.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today.
00:03This is your prime time destination. News, newsmakers, talking points.
00:08Our big talking point tonight, the Kokhrut Janta Party founder Abhijit Deepke
00:12along with Neha Bora has been detained.
00:15Among them, their big supporter Prakash Raj, the actor, activist,
00:19joins us for a rare interview exclusive on the news today.
00:23Also, is regime change really the objective of the opposition?
00:27Or are the CJP protests hurting the government's image?
00:31We'll tell you more.
00:32But first, as always, it's time for the Nine Headlines at 9 to 9.
00:37Another day of drama and detention in Delhi.
00:41CJP Chief Abhijit Deepke detained despite a police notice.
00:48AISA President Neha Bora is also detained.
01:00Regime change, Rao, escalates.
01:02Congress MP Pawan Khera says we want regime change but only through elections.
01:08Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accuses the Congress of spreading anarchy.
01:17Traders hit the streets against back-to-back protests.
01:21Business organizations write to Prime Minister regarding losses incurred due to Dharna amidst the festive season.
01:32Government mulls a special parliament session this month over delimitation and women's quota bill.
01:38Congress President Kargay writes to the Prime Minister demands an all-party meeting over delimitation.
01:47TVK functionally arrested in Nagapattinam for drug trafficking.
01:52DRI officials recovered 135 kgs of drugs.
01:55AI, DMK, DMK escalate attacks demand answers from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay.
02:04Another murder related to drugs in Punjab.
02:07Man killed for opposing drug sale in Batala.
02:10Home Minister Amit Shah launches blistering attack on Man government over drug menace and organized crime.
02:18One week, two murder cases, two death penalties.
02:21Merit court sentences wife and lover for faking snakebite death after killing husband in April 2025.
02:30Enforcement Directorate heat mounts on former Keralam Chief Minister Vijay and summons issued to him on October 23rd in connection
02:38with the CMRL case.
02:45And days after Elon Musk sparked Starlink license route, Reliance Industries insists they welcome international investment and innovation, assert they
02:54never feared competition.
03:19The last week has been of a kind that the national capital in the country has rarely seen.
03:25Day after day, protests across the national capital over the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise.
03:36If it was the Congress Party one day, today it was the Kokhruj Jantha Party.
03:41The battle lines have been drawn between the state and the street.
03:45Kokhruj Jantha Party founder, Abhijit Dipke, taken into preventive custody along with Neha Bora as Delhi police blocked the Tiranga
03:55rally at Connaught Place's Central Park.
03:58The BJP has gone out all guns blazing against the Congress over its regime change call.
04:05While the Congress says it wants to change the regime through elections, the BJP accuses the opposition of trying to
04:11seize power through protests.
04:13From the Supreme Court to the streets, the SIR showdown is only intensifying.
04:18In this special, we will be talking to several of those on either side of the political divide to get
04:26a sense of what happens next
04:28and what really is the end game of the state versus the street showdown.
04:35First, our top story.
04:49The Kokhruj Jantha Party's Lehrado Tiranga protest disrupted in the national capital.
04:56The Central Park in Connaught Place, where CGP founder Abhijit Dipke planned to unfurl the tricolor, was shut down.
05:05And the heavy police deployment stopped any protesters from reaching the park.
05:13Abhijit Dipke was detained as he stepped out of NCP-SP leader Anish Gawande's residence to proceed to Central Park.
05:23Student leader Neha Bora was detained at another location.
05:31While CGP volunteers took out rallies in areas around Connaught Place, some shopkeepers helped protest against the CGP.
05:41Earlier, the police had visited Dipke and informed him that the permission to protest is denied.
05:50He was given an alternative, 11 people can carry the national flag and sing the national anthem at a suitable
05:58place, which Dipke refused.
06:05The political battle over SIR is escalating.
06:09A remark by Neha Bora about taking inspiration from Bangladesh has sparked another showdown.
06:16We present you our Red Salute and we know that the Gen Z movement that we are seeing everywhere in
06:21this country first started in Bangladesh.
06:24And congratulations to you for showing us the way, for showing us and extending solidarity to the young people of
06:30this country.
06:34Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused India Bloc of using protests against SIR and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanish Kumar to create
06:43unrest.
06:46Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's
07:14Responding to the charges made by the defense minister, the Congress doubled down, arguing
07:19that it wants a regime change through elections.
07:44There is a regime change.
07:50Meanwhile, Delhi's trader bodies moved the Supreme Court against protest, claiming they
07:56are suffering losses.
07:58With the fight over SIR being fought in Parliament, courts and on the streets, the showdown looks
08:04set to explode further.
08:06Bureau Report, India Today.
08:11Okay, and joining us now on our big story of the day is actor, activist Prakash Raj joins
08:19me.
08:19He's been a strong supporter of the Kokhruj Janta Party.
08:22Prakash Raj, Abhijit Dipke detained, Neha Bora detained, No Tiranga March allowed by the Delhi
08:30police, comes on the back of Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das also being arrested earlier this
08:36week.
08:36Your take away, do you believe that there was a clear violation according to the police
08:41of their prohibitory orders and therefore they had no option but to detain Abhijit and Neha
08:46today?
08:48Fear is evident.
08:50I am asking, Mohdiji, what happened to your Harghar Tiranga Nara?
08:56You are the one who started Harghar Tiranga Nara and you now arrest students, youngsters for
09:04going for a march of peaceful protest.
09:06protest, you are turning it violent.
09:09The youth of this country want to walk with the Tiranga.
09:13That is the way they protest because they believe in a peaceful protest.
09:19They believe in Gandhi, they believe in Ambedkar, they believe in this constitution and they're
09:24using their right.
09:27You are trying to stop them, detain them.
09:31The fear is evident.
09:33Before Dipke walks out of his home, you will go there.
09:37Neha Bora, you will stop them, drag them, drag the protesters.
09:42Before they come to the park, you will put your army and your police there.
09:47What are you trying to do?
09:48They say they are trying to do what the police is expected to do, maintain law and order.
09:54They refer to what happened on July 28th where the peaceful protest turned violent.
10:00They say we cannot take any such chances.
10:02There are prohibitory orders in place.
10:05Central Park is closed.
10:06They served a notice on Abhijit Dipke.
10:08They said this Tiranga march was only a ruse to create trouble.
10:14What a joke.
10:15Who is creating violence?
10:17Who is lathi charging the children?
10:19Who has released goons from jails and sent to the protesters with a hand giving them lathis?
10:26Why are the big, big vehicles are full with uniforms and lathis?
10:31Who is hitting them?
10:32Who is misbehaving with the lady protesters?
10:36Who is the one who used the pellet guns?
10:39Who used AK-47?
10:41Did the youth of this country do it?
10:44Youth of this country, the citizens of this country are asking,
10:48Jnanesh Kumar, why are you coming in between?
10:53Who is using the force?
10:54We are not using the force.
10:57We are not armed.
10:58We are armed with the constitution.
11:00We are armed with the right to protest.
11:04Why are you creating this?
11:06You are saying there is fear.
11:08You are armed with the constitution.
11:10But look at it from the state's perspective.
11:13The state believes that look, central Delhi is not a notified area for protest.
11:18The Tiranga march, therefore, according to them, would have become, been seen as a protest, which is unacceptable.
11:26It would have caused chaos in the area, in the heart of Delhi.
11:29Therefore, if you defy the prohibitory orders, as per BNSS, you are being put in detention.
11:36We are following the law, the law of the land.
11:38What did the Supreme Court say?
11:43Did they stop the protest?
11:47After the Supreme Court comes, you will wait for the Supreme Court.
11:50The Supreme Court says, go ahead with the protest.
11:52Then you will bring this rule.
11:54Then you will put sections.
11:57Who is defying the Supreme Court?
11:59Who is defying the law?
12:01The police are.
12:02The army is.
12:03And this regime is.
12:06You will go, even before Aditya walks out of his office, of his home, you will go sit there.
12:14He is walking alone.
12:16You will push him in.
12:19How is this acceptable?
12:21See, in this country, in the whole world, you use technically right rules only.
12:28You will use the same laws to break the laws.
12:32Didn't the Supreme Court the other day say, no, we can't stop the protest?
12:36They have a right to protest.
12:38In this country, the law says, as much as the street is for the people, traffic, it is also for
12:45the protesters.
12:46They are supposed to navigate the traffic, not to stop a protest.
12:52Not to stop a protest.
12:54How will you respond?
12:55And the government is also citing that, saying, look, this is causing public inconvenience.
13:00Festive season, traders area, the trader organizations have written to the prime minister saying,
13:05we do not want this area to be a scene of protest, of having so many thousands of police personnel
13:12there.
13:13We want our business to carry on as normal.
13:16So, dear jokers, when you stop trains coming to Delhi, metros to Delhi, you fortified metro, Delhi into a Jantar
13:26Mantar,
13:27then it was not causing problem.
13:29When your Prahan Mantri goes on his election tour, is it not causing traffic jams?
13:36When you stop traffic for hours, for election meetings, isn't it causing traffic jams?
13:46Who are you fooling this country?
13:49Where are you hiding behind the laws?
13:52You are conscious, you are morally wrong.
13:57You know, you are conscious.
13:58Don't bring these technicalities.
14:00You are saying you are morally wrong.
14:02You are saying there is a fear factor.
14:03But, Prakash Raj, you know, you have been traveling across the country.
14:07Even as we speak, you are in Trivandrum, where you addressed this evening a rally at their Jantar Mantar.
14:14You are moving to other cities.
14:15You have been in Bengaluru.
14:16What is this movement about now?
14:19What began as a Gen Z protest to remove the education minister over NEET exam paper leaks
14:25is now about Gyanesh Kumar, chief election commissioner.
14:27What is the focus of this protest yesterday?
14:30Prashant Bhushan, at the press conference where you were there, said this is about regime change.
14:35So, what is this actually about?
14:37Regime change?
14:38Changing the election?
14:39Why not?
14:39Or what?
14:40Why not?
14:41In a country that was different, Dharmesh Pradhan, now they are talking about the SIR.
14:48There is trauma in this country because of SIR.
14:51There are 13 crore people who have been deleted.
14:54Many of whom are there.
14:55People are suffering.
14:55Wait, let me complete.
14:57When we are asking question to election commission, why are you stopping us?
15:03We are now alleging that the selection of election commission itself was not a democratic process.
15:12When we are questioning why did you give him judicial immunity, which the president and prime minister does not have.
15:18When we are saying why did you remove eligible voters in Bengal elections,
15:23when we are asking them the question, the prime minister of this country, Mr. Modi Ji, and Amit Shah should
15:29say,
15:29Arre, Gyanu, they are alleging us that we have conspired.
15:34Come out and talk.
15:35Instead of that, you have illegally detained Gyanu also, and you are hitting us.
15:43If you are hitting us, that means we want the regime down and we will bring it down democratically in
15:50this country.
15:52We are not Nepal.
15:53We are not Bangladesh.
15:55We have Ambedkar, we have Gandhi, we have Bhagat Singh, we have a constitution, we have a right to vote.
16:01In two years, we will bring you down.
16:05We will bring you down in UP.
16:07We will do it democratically.
16:09Regime change.
16:10Because if the regime is against the people, the NARA, who is making us talk this?
16:16You have pushed us.
16:18Because you are not talking to us.
16:20You are using force.
16:22That means this regime is stopping the voice of this country.
16:25And naturally, you are the reason for this NARA.
16:29You have instigated this NARA that we will bring the regime down because we have lost hope on you.
16:35Who is the we here?
16:36And we will bring that to the democracy.
16:38Who is the we, Prakash Raj?
16:40Is it because the government's constant refrain is, we have been winning elections after elections for the last 12 years.
16:47We have the mandate of the people of this country.
16:50Prakash Raj cannot decide.
16:52You have no mandate of the people.
16:53You have no mandate of the people.
16:55400-240 aya.
16:58You are not here because of the mandate of people.
17:01You are on crutches of Nitish Kumar and Chandra Babu Nardo and Pawan Kalyan.
17:05You are buying MPs.
17:07You have planned and destroyed every regional party with your election commission.
17:13We are asking the basic questions.
17:15You are not powerful.
17:16You are not here because of the people's mandate.
17:18And you are very clearly, no, you will not come back with the people's mandate.
17:22That is why you are doing chad chad with the election process.
17:26This is my allegation.
17:28This is our allegations.
17:29And I dare Amir Shah and Modi to come in public, keep the media in front of us and answer
17:35our allegations.
17:36If we are wrong, we are ready to go to jail.
17:38We have proofs.
17:50The more you stop us, we know you are the culprits.
17:54Is this a battle though being fought on the street or does this become a battle to be fought on
18:00the street in a democracy or is the battle to be, how is this battle to be fought in a
18:05peaceful manner?
18:06I repeat the word, peaceful manner.
18:07Let the opposition parties fight it in the parliament for an issue in a democratic country should go to the
18:14parliament.
18:15We, the people of this country will be on the streets demanding.
18:19You all do democratically in this winter session.
18:23We will continue to fight.
18:25Now, farmers have joined.
18:26SKM has joined.
18:29Today, the SKM says you can't beat our children.
18:33The civil society has joined.
18:36When will you stop?
18:38This will be a bigger crowd, bigger fight and bigger protest than what you saw in Janatar Mantar with Dharmesh
18:45Pradhan.
18:46You know, because when you use this language, there will be again those who will say this is Prakash Raj
18:54virtually inciting people and spreading anarchy.
18:56That word is constantly being used.
18:58This is anarchy.
18:59That these anarchists, including Prakash Raj, are going to end up destroying democracy.
19:06Me saying, me saying that you are killing democracy through the constitution we are fighting.
19:15Me saying we will take Gandhi's way.
19:18Me saying we will come to the streets.
19:21Me saying democratically we will bring you down from Uttar Pradesh to 2029 elections.
19:26This is anarchy for you.
19:29Is this anarchy?
19:31Me saying we will fight with love.
19:35Me saying we will fight with the constitutional right we have to question to pretest and vote.
19:42If this is anarchy.
19:46Or sending gundas, lati charging students, AK-47s, bullets.
19:51Is that anarchy?
19:53My final question to you.
19:54And we will lead the world to decide.
19:56Okay.
19:57You know, Kiran Rejuju, the minister, clearly you got under his skin because he's put out a video of you
20:03laughing.
20:04To a reporter's question that the protesters were targeting women constables.
20:09You were laughing, he says, in a villainous manner.
20:12And he says, this is not our Indian culture.
20:14Who is this utter shameless villain?
20:16And he's referring to you.
20:18What will you tell him?
20:19He is a shameless...
20:22What about, I mean, he is misbehaving with the women protesters is the culture of this country?
20:29Releasing rapists and garlanding them when they come out of jail by the BJP goons, is it the culture of
20:35this country?
20:37Giving lattes and uniforms to the goons and asking them to hit the protesters, is this the culture of this
20:42country?
20:45Answer me.
20:47So you will carry on going across the country, spreading the word, taking on this government.
20:52Am I correct for Prakash Raj?
20:54This is my responsibility.
20:56This is my responsibility.
20:58I owe to this country.
21:00I am a Deshbuk.
21:01I love my country.
21:02And I will not let these goons destroy our democracy.
21:06Prakash Raj, in conclusion, what is the end game here?
21:10You're saying you're going to go across the country, raising your voice.
21:13The government is making it very clear.
21:15Gyanesh Kumar is going nowhere.
21:17Nothing is going to change.
21:18We are not going to do...
21:19We are not going to act under pressure.
21:22In fact, they say these protests are all being orchestrated by those who want to destabilize the country.
21:27The majority is with us.
21:28What is the end game then?
21:31End game is, you are done, bro.
21:35Gyanesh, you are done, bro.
21:37Modi ji, Amitsha ji, you guys are done, bro.
21:42No, that's a one-liner.
21:44But the majority, when they say, when they turn around and say, this is all sponsored from abroad, there are
21:49foreign funds...
21:50They will say, yes, get the accounts, show the accounts.
21:57You just can't just say it.
21:59Do it.
22:00And if they say the majority of the people of this country are with them, not with the Prakash Raj
22:06and his friends, what will you say to them?
22:08The majority of the people are not with you, don't lie to us.
22:13Look at your numbers.
22:16Look at your vote share.
22:19And because you know the conspiracy, please talk to yourself in the mirror.
22:24You won because of you did shade chard with voters.
22:28You have used election commission because you know you will not come back.
22:35Okay.
22:36SR is not only an act of removing votes.
22:39It is also trying to remove evidences of all elections post-2024 and the state elections.
22:47We know we have evidence.
22:50Well, put all the evidence, hopefully, out there in the public domain, if you have it.
22:55But we will wait and see.
22:56No, we have the evidence.
22:57Ask them to come.
22:58We are asking them to come talk to us.
23:00Release the illegal detention of Jnanesh Kumar.
23:03No, he is our prime witness.
23:05Please release him.
23:07Chodhna unko baat karne ke liye, yaar.
23:10Humara prime witness ko illegal detention mein rak diya.
23:14Janta ki athalak pe bejou na, yaar.
23:16Okay.
23:17Prakash Raj, competitive as ever, thank you very much for joining me on the show tonight.
23:23Thank you, Ji.
23:26Okay, we have heard then from Prakash Raj, who, remember, is a supporter of the Kokhrut Janta Party.
23:33Now, let's go over to Pawan Kheda of the Congress.
23:36It is MP.
23:37They are leading the protests against SR and the CEC.
23:40Pawan Kheda, the likes of Prakash Raj are endorsing what Prashant Bhushan said yesterday.
23:46Yes, this movement is for regime change.
23:49I want to understand those words regime change can carry all kinds of meanings, including
23:55forcibly somehow or the other getting into power.
23:58I want clarification from the Congress Party.
24:01Do you endorse those who say that this movement now on the streets is about regime change,
24:07removing the Modi government?
24:14What was the movement on the streets against the UPA government in 2013-12 all about?
24:21I asked you the question.
24:23I asked Rajnath Singh the question.
24:25I asked all these BJP leaders who suddenly realized that we are out on the streets to change the government.
24:31Of course, we are out on the streets to change the government.
24:34We are agitating to remove Gyanesh Kumar.
24:46We are agitating to remove them.
24:47The goal was supposedly to remove Gyanesh Kumar as chief election commissioner because you
24:53had no faith in him.
24:53Gyanesh Kumar is just the…
25:01Rajdeep, the Weberian monopoly of the state over violence is part of the social contract
25:08between the citizen and the state.
25:10Now, Gyanesh Kumar comes and withdraws the right, the fundamental right of the citizen
25:17to vote.
25:18What do you expect the citizen to do?
25:20There is a violation of the social contract between the state and the citizen.
25:23The citizen is out on the roads angry.
25:25And the Congress Party and all the opposition parties are out there to channelize that anger.
25:30Listen, don't get angry.
25:31Even if you are angry, the vote is the only way in this country to change the regime.
25:36Like it has been done in 2014, before that in 2004, before that in 96, before that in 89,
25:44before that in 80, before that in 77.
25:49So, you are very clear from what you are saying that regime change for you and the Congress
25:54Party is to hit the streets, to mobilize people, to then in elections remove the government
26:03of the day.
26:03Am I clear?
26:09Absolutely.
26:11Absolutely.
26:11And when the elections cease to become transparent, you insist on the resignation of the agent
26:19provocateur, which is Gyanesh Kumar Gupta.
26:22So, that's just the beginning.
26:24We have absolute faith in democracy, in the institutions of democracy.
26:28But, when those institutions are completely captured, and why we call it a regime is because
26:35it's a capture of all the institutions.
26:37There's cultural hegemony.
26:39There is absolute control over universities.
26:42Over, well, they're trying to have control over the bureaucracy.
26:45They're trying to infiltrate into every institution possible.
26:48Therefore, it is a regime of the RSS, which we need to change.
26:53And we insist on changing it through the ballot.
26:56Therefore, we insist on cleaning up the election process, on ensuring that Gyanesh Kumar Gupta
27:02goes, on ensuring that SIR is suspended, on ensuring that all those people whose names
27:08were wrongly deleted from the electoral rolls be restored, and ensure that elections are
27:13held through ballot, and ensure that the law giving lifelong immunity to Gyanesh Kumar Gupta
27:19is repealed, and ensure that the election commissioner is appointed with the CGI on the panel,
27:27not without the CGI.
27:28You see, Pawan Khaira, the reason why this has stirred up such a hornet's nest, also partly,
27:34is because at that very press conference, where Prashant Bhushan called for regime change,
27:39there was Neha Bora, the student activist who was marching shoulder to shoulder with Rahul Gandhi
27:46and Priyanka Gandhi-Wadra on your march to the Supreme Court.
27:49And she released a video where she was praising the Bangladesh revolutionaries, the Gen Z,
27:56for what they had achieved in Bangladesh.
27:57Now, that is where, when the comparisons come with the situation in Bangladesh, which was
28:03violent, and a violent removal that led to Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country, people will ask,
28:09doesn't this embarrass the Congress party, a mainstream political party is sharing space
28:15with someone who wants to emulate what's happened in Bangladesh?
28:18Yes, if at all, if at all, if at all, if at all, if at all somebody needs to get
28:26embarrassed after what Neha Bora said,
28:28it is Mr. Narendra Modi, that the youth of this country are thinking on those lines.
28:34Well, Congress party definitely does not think on those lines, because we have icons of our own.
28:38We are very proud of the legacy of Congress party during independence, after independence, even today.
28:44My icon, my hero, my leader is Rahul Gandhi, and I am very proud of him, and I look up
28:49to him for inspiration.
28:50So, everybody has a right to seek, derive inspiration.
28:53I mean, for BJP to derive inspiration from Godse is not embarrassing.
28:57I am surprised.
28:59But, does not necessarily mean that we subscribe to each other's opinions.
29:05Our opinion, our inspiration, our sources of inspiration are absolutely clear.
29:10We have our own icons.
29:11India has a plethora of very, very powerful, very heroic icons, and we look up to them for inspiration.
29:18Because the BJP clearly now is counter-attacking you by saying, we told you so, that this movement is not
29:25just about the election commission.
29:27It's actually about targeting Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji, Rajnath Singh even going to the extent as saying,
29:35this is a conspiracy, foreign conspiracy, potentially to destabilize the country.
29:40So, the BJP clearly now wants to paint all of you as seemingly, if I may use the word, anti
29:47-national.
29:53First of all, Rajdeep, it's not a conspiracy against Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, and Rajnath Singh ji.
30:01It's out there open.
30:02Conspiracies are hidden.
30:04We are out there openly saying, this government must go.
30:07So, preferably before 29, if Naidu ji obliges, and if Naidu ji opens his eyes and reads the room.
30:14If he doesn't, then of course, 2029 is there.
30:18So, yes, we are out on the streets to ensure that this government loses the next election,
30:24or if India is lucky enough, then this government goes even before the next election,
30:30because Naidu ji and others, Shiv Sena, Eknath, Shinde, whoever opens his eyes or her eyes and reads the room,
30:37withdraws the support.
30:38But I want to understand for now, are we, what, the question I've been asking almost all my panelists over
30:46this week,
30:46what is the end game, Mr. Khera?
30:49You all have been calling for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
30:52You're calling for electoral reforms.
30:54You've got the government making it very clear, at least to us, that Gyanesh Kumar is going nowhere.
31:00Every BJP spokesperson or minister we've spoken to says, Gyanesh Kumar is going nowhere.
31:05Given that, what is the end game?
31:07Are we entering a cycle of protest, counter-protest over this winter?
31:12Sir, it's a lovely question.
31:17It's a fabulous question which perhaps also gives an answer to Rajnath Singh and all those people who are afraid
31:26of the citizens of India coming on the roads.
31:29The end game is to ensure that India does not go the Bangladesh way.
31:33The end game is to ensure that India does not go the Nepal way.
31:37The end game is to ensure that India does not go the Pakistan way.
31:41And how will that be achieved?
31:42By ensuring that our election commission is robust, as robust as it should be, as independent as it should be,
31:50as autonomous as it should be.
31:51That's the end game.
31:52And for that, the first step is Gyanesh Kumar Gupta has to go.
31:56The second step is SIR has to be suspended.
31:59The third step is all those names that were deleted are re-added.
32:03The fourth step is repeal the law which gives lifelong immunity to Gyanesh Kumar Gupta.
32:08And the fifth step is, please, change the way election commissioners are appointed.
32:15And of course, the ballot paper.
32:16I'll ask you in conclusion because…
32:18That's the end game.
32:19To protect India's democracy.
32:21To ensure India does not go the way Bangladesh went.
32:23You know, you've got today Abhijit Dipke being detained.
32:27He was planning on a Tiranga March.
32:29I want to know where the Congress Party stands on the Kokrut Janata Party.
32:32Will you stand shoulder to shoulder with an Abhijit Dipke as you stood with a Neha Bora or not?
32:42Rajdeep, we are the party which kept struggling with the RSS that,
32:47Sahab, Tiranga, packard lo.
32:491952, we were saying that we were saying that Tiranga won't packard.
32:51Anybody who holds the tricolour and is fighting peacefully to protect our democracy, we are with them.
33:03We are absolutely with them.
33:10Before 2014, the streets of Delhi had crowds of young people holding the tricolour,
33:18demanding, you know, lokhpal.
33:22Were they anti-nationals?
33:23What were they?
33:25Weren't they seeking regime change?
33:27Wasn't the same Prashant Bhushan?
33:29Also part of the leaders who were provoking these people, inspiring these people,
33:35Sahab, Tiranga lo, hat mein, or regime change karna hai.
33:37Hua na regime change.
33:38Toh kya hum ne kya bola hai hai?
33:40Pakistan ke agent hai, Chin ke agent hai, Amerika ke agent hai, kya bola hum ne?
33:43Bata hai hai.
33:43Hum ne election ko kabool kiya, hum election haar kaya, hum opposition me aaa gaya.
33:47Or the same Prashant Bhushan was being encouraged.
33:52They were very happy.
33:53BJP was a cheerleader of Prashant Bhushan then.
33:56Now suddenly Prashant Bhushan, because he's holding the same tricolour against the BJP,
34:01has become an anti-national.
34:02Why?
34:06Let me leave it there.
34:07Let me leave it there, Pawan Khera.
34:11You've spoken to me on this contentious issue of what really constitutes, in your view, regime change.
34:17Appreciate you joining me.
34:18Thank you very much.
34:26We've heard from a CJP supporter in Prakash Raj.
34:29We've heard from Congress's Pawan Khera.
34:31Let's turn to the BJP, Leher Singh Siroya, member of Parliament, Rajasabha of the BJP joins me.
34:36Good to have you on the show.
34:38Leher Singh Ji, I want to ask you straight away.
34:40The Congress is saying the BJP is creating this bogey of regime change.
34:44Ki hum sarkar palatna chaate hai, hum chunav chaate hai.
34:47Chunav se hum palte ge.
34:48The BJP is interpreting it to suggest that this entire protest is going to create a situation of anarchy and
34:57bring down, in an attempt to bring down the Modi government, the people are with Mr. Modi.
35:01How do you respond to what you just heard from the Congress, ki BJP is unnecessarily creating conspiracy theories?
35:11Rajasabha Jeeb Ji, Namaskar.
35:22Rajasabha Jeeb Ji, Namaskar.
36:06Rajasabha Jeeb Ji, Namaskar.
36:07No, no, Leher Singh Ji, what are you saying that Congress has no right to come to the city?
36:12Are you saying that whether it is Cockroach Janta Party or whether it is Congress, they cannot come on the
36:17street?
36:21The people who don't believe in the parliament, they go to the city.
36:25Congress's parliament has been a long time.
36:27They have been regained in the parliament.
36:29They have been regained to the parliament.
36:30But I don't believe that they have been regained to the parliament.
36:33But I am saying that they will be a good leader.
36:38Some of the issues of the government,
36:40including the public service commission,
36:45the public police who are still in the government,
36:47the government has been in the government.
36:54They have been very good leaders and their authority.
36:59foreign
37:29But the question of the vote is that we don't have to vote for the vote.
37:33If we vote for the vote in 2026, our city has decreased.
37:37If we vote for the vote, we have to vote for 400.
37:41We don't have to vote for 240.
37:42And in Varanetsi, our margin margin is so hard.
37:46That's what we want to say.
37:48I don't understand.
37:49Our city is so hard because of anti-commencing.
37:59We have to vote for the vote.
38:02We do not want to vote for this.
38:06If you think the vote is announced,
38:19are you ready for a full debate on in this on parliament?
38:23He says that you are not ready to debate in parliament.
38:26We are always ready.
38:32Our Nita and our partners are always ready.
38:35We are ready.
38:50We are ready to debate in parliament.
38:52We are ready to debate on parliament.
38:58We are ready to debate.
39:08we have 25 years ago they have had a lot of people who need to wear a mask and wear
39:14a mask
39:14so they have to wear a mask and wear a mask and wear a mask and wear a mask and
39:29wear a mask
39:38What is happening?
39:39You can understand it.
39:41Sir, I don't understand anyone.
39:44I don't understand anyone, but your story is in the details of what you are saying.
39:51You cannot push DK Shiv Kumar behind and projector Neha Bora in front.
39:56You believe that is the wrong way for the Congress to move ahead.
40:00Leher Singh, appreciate your joining us. Thank you very much.
40:03Okay, let me widen this with questions.
40:06Our face off.
40:07Why disallow the Kokrut Janata Party's Tiranga Yatra is the question of the day.
40:13Are these protests hurting the government's image, particularly when young people get detained?
40:18And the question I keep asking, is there an end game at the moment?
40:21If so, what is it?
40:22Sanju Verma, the national spokesperson of the BJP is joining me.
40:27Anish Gawande of the NCP-SP, it was from Anish's house that Abhijit Deepke was detained.
40:33Sanju Verma, let's be very clear.
40:37Do you believe that all of this that is happening is damaging the government's image somewhere?
40:43That if you are so strong, if you have no fear, what?
40:47Why detain, arrest, lathe charge the young?
40:51Those optics, are they looking good?
40:55Rajdeep, Abhijit Deepke had asked for permission for Jantar Mantar 1.0 in Delhi in July.
41:04That permission was given.
41:07Abhijit Deepke asked for permission at Shivaji Paar on the 2nd of October on Gandhi Jayanti.
41:12That permission was given.
41:14Abhijit Deepke asked for permission that his CJP colleagues should be allowed to protest at Mumbai's Azad Maidan today.
41:22That permission was given.
41:24Of course, yes, it's a different matter.
41:26There were hardly 25 to 30 people.
41:28And, you know, the public has completely abandoned the CJP in Mumbai.
41:33That's not the moot point.
41:34The moot point is this.
41:35We are not a banana republic.
41:37We are run by the law of the land.
41:40Beat Abhijit Deepke Ashutosh Ranka Saurabdas.
41:42Nobody is above the law of the land.
41:44Then, one section 163 of the BNSS is in place and Dipke Das and Ranka have signed a bail bond
41:53saying that they will not breach peace.
41:55It is incumbent upon them to not breach the provisions of their bail bond.
42:02How is it breaching peace, ma'am?
42:04Just clarify.
42:05How is it breaching peace if he wants to do a Tiranga march?
42:09How does that breach peace?
42:12Rajdeep ji, I think you will have to speak at least one minute without interjecting.
42:16But let me answer that.
42:17I knew you would ask me this question.
42:19You are so predictable.
42:20But could you ask me this?
42:22Jantar Mantar 1.0.
42:25The CJP had promised, assured the Delhi police, no incendiary slogans, no political activity, no caste based slogans will be
42:35raised.
42:36And social media is viral with these videos.
42:39Rajdeep, Modi, Maudi, Mardya, hi, hi. Amit Shah, hi, hi.
42:44Modi ki tehervii par samosay ban'tayenge.
42:46Umar Khalid, Zindabad. Sharjil Imam, Zindabad.
42:50Sansat Bhavan ko aag laga do. Samvidhan ko aag laga do.
42:53I want to ask Rajdeep Sardesai. Samvidhan ko aag laga do is a peaceful slogan.
42:59Modi, Mardya, hi, hi is a peaceful slogan.
43:01I haven't, I haven't, I haven't heard Abhijit Dipke give any of these slogans that you are, none of these
43:06slogans that you have put on the TV channel today have been said by Abhijit Dipke.
43:11Have any of them been said?
43:41Question.
43:43We believe that there are criminal elements who have infiltrated the protest.
43:48What do these three people say?
43:49We will not do Aadhaar card authenticate.
43:53We will not do Aadhaar card authenticate.
43:56And what you want to do is take.
43:58Rajdeep, your problem is you become conveniently deaf, dumb, blind and mute when it is the other side which is
44:04wearing the wrong shoe and the wrong foot.
44:07I am neither deaf, dumb or blind, not yet.
44:12And I have full respect for India's disabled.
44:15But Aneesh Gawande, respond to what you are hearing.
44:18Has the CJP lost its way?
44:21A movement that claimed that it was coming to represent the concerns of Gen Z, exam irregularities,
44:28school ko sudaro, improved schools has suddenly moved now into a political battle.
44:33And when you do that, then are you losing your way?
44:37Was Abhijit Dipke's protest today simply spectacle politics?
44:42Let's get eyeballs rather than really about the Thiranga Yatra.
44:47Actually, if you know, I didn't want to come on this show today.
44:50And the reason for that was very simple.
44:52It's because the pathetic moral cowardice of a government that dares to detain three of my friends twice over the
45:01course of a week is on full display.
45:04The pathetic moral cowardice of a government that beats up young people, chokes young women with their dupattas, wax and
45:14kicks young men and women on their private paths is on full display.
45:18Right. This is moral cowardice.
45:21And it must be understood as such.
45:23Whether you agree with this Thiranga Yatra or not is irrelevant.
45:27The fact that Abhijit was going alone, that he told the police that he was going alone, is important.
45:35He was not violating 144, now 163.
45:38When you go as a single individual onto the streets with a tricolor on your hand, under which law is
45:45the government of the day putting you behind bars, taking you round and round in a police van and detaining
45:51you?
45:52Under what law is a government that says Harghar Tiranga preventing Har Sadak Tiranga from taking place?
46:01This is cowardice.
46:03They say the apprehension of violence, the apprehension that the CJP was going to use this Tiranga Yatra perhaps to
46:10incite violence.
46:12Rajdeep, I would love to believe that this government cares about violence.
46:16But today at Cannot Place, you have journalists pointing out hecklers, people with sticks in their hands, not being apprehended
46:24by the same police force that picks up innocent people who are there with the tricolor.
46:29A few days ago, you saw the Hindu Krantidal proudly claiming that we have a bail in the evening, while
46:35Ashutosh and Saurav go to Tihar for five days.
46:37I mean, the Bhatia Janta Party has to ask itself this question. The people of India are watching.
46:44This pathetic cowardice will no longer fly, Rajdeep. And how will you allow it to happen?
46:49And I want to just say one thing here, right? This protest has been Gandhian for a reason.
46:55You know, Gandhi marched alone, and you will know this, because many of us know Ramdas Bhatka in Mumbai, and
47:03I learned from him much like many others in Mumbai have.
47:06But at Noah Khali, Gandhi marched alone.
47:09When the British in 1940 engaged in similar repression, he announced the individual Satyagraha.
47:15And Acharya Binobha Bhavai was the first Satyagrahi. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the second.
47:21And so this regime will also face similar protests.
47:24But July 20th, you will recall, Anish, July 20th turned violent. July 20th protests turned violent.
47:30So the police will always use that as a reference point.
47:34And Rajdeep, can you tell me why those protests on the 20th of July turned violent?
47:38Why were CCTV cameras disabled? Why was checking stopped at entry and exit points?
47:43Why were barricades welded into each other? Why has no action still been taken against anybody who was violent?
47:50And why has action not been taken against the police officers who were seen shoving rods into the private parts
47:57of young women?
47:58Rajdeep, what an atrocious denial of accountability by a shameless government.
48:04This is a…
48:05No, no, ma'am, you must listen.
48:07You know, Sanju, just a minute. Anish, I've heard you. I've heard you. You've made very strong points.
48:11You see, Sanju Verma, we all want to listen to each other. I want to listen to you. I want
48:15to listen to Anish.
48:16You see, these are very serious observations. Even what has happened today.
48:19Today, it seems that the traders of Connaught Place were being used to target perhaps the Kokruj Janata Party or
48:28people who wanted to march peacefully.
48:31My problem is, if this is such a mighty government as it is, right, what are you afraid of?
48:38What are you afraid of? What can Abhijit Dipke do to the mighty government of the BJP, the largest party
48:45in the world?
48:46Why do you need the police to then resort to these repressive measures, even though the Supreme Court, Sanju Verma,
48:52had said that they have the right to protest and take out this march?
48:56They did not, High Court did not stop them. Go ahead.
49:00Rajdeep, I heard that was a lengthy question. Rajdeep Sardai Sahi has been trying since May 2014. Rajdeep Sardai Sahi,
49:07you can't do anything.
49:08Rajdeep Sardai Sahi, please don't attack the messenger. Madam, I, you know, please don't attack me. It's unfair.
49:14I asked you a question, reply to it without bringing me into it. I am not involved. You can respond
49:19to Anish Gawande.
49:21You are not involved, now don't get rattled.
49:23He said moral cowardice. He says your government is showing moral cowardice. Respond.
49:29Rajdeep, do not interject. I heard Anish Gawande. I am not hard of hearing.
49:34And let me tell you, when I called you deaf, dumb and mute to the hard reality, I was not
49:40being unfair to the especially abled. That was a metaphor.
49:42Please understand the metaphor. Thank you. Now let me respond to Anish Gawande. What is moral cowardice?
49:49Moral cowardice is when Abhijit Dipte says that he is bigger than the law of the land.
49:55Moral cowardice is when Rahul Gandhi holds DK Shiv Kumar by the scruff of his neck.
50:02Moral cowardice is when Priyanka Vadra shoves her elbow into the breast and stomach of a female police constable.
50:10Moral cowardice is when Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka, without an iota of proof, keep saying that the election commission
50:18is a criminal enterprise.
50:20Moral cowardice is when ACP Vivek Bhagat is falsely accused of molesting a female journalist by showcasing an AI-generated
50:31video.
50:31So, I want to ask one question. Article 19 which gives the right to protest. Article 19,
50:38does Khanh Abhijit Dipke, Saurabh Das, Ashutosh Ranka, Prakash Raj, Prashant Bhushan,
50:47does not have rights under Article 19?
50:50Madam, are you really seriously on this show comparing the asymmetry of power between the police with Lathis and citizens
50:58who are unarmed?
50:59Madam, you have raised various questions. You have accused Priyanka Gandhi, Vadra and others. All of this should be an
51:04inquiry.
51:04You know, you are making these allegations. But are you seriously comparing a police which is well armed with unarmed
51:10protestors?
51:11Is that a serious comparison to make?
51:13You know, Rashid, what I don't understand, when Anish was speaking, I did not see you interjecting him even once.
51:19So, let me tell Anish Gawande. One thing, please now. Moral cowardice is when Sharath Pawar's NCP loses its national
51:29party status in 2023
51:31and their spokesperson has the audacity to lecture the Modi government, which has won three loks of elections in a
51:39row.
51:39Moral cowardice is when Sharath Pawar's party did not even get 22 seats and BJP had a strike rate of
51:4791% in Maharashtra elections.
51:50But Sharath Pawar's spokesperson sits here and lectures on constitutional propriety to the BJP.
51:56That is moral cowardice. But my final point…
51:58Isn't there a difference between election results and what happens on the street, ma'am?
52:02Rajiv, you have a great memory. You have a great memory. And I say this to many off-record, on
52:08-record, for whatever it is worth.
52:10In 2022, two incidents happened. A young engineering student called Nikhil Bhamre was picked up from his residence in Nashik
52:20for simply sharing a meme on Sharath Pawar.
52:25And a young Marathi actress called Ketaki Chitale shared an innocuous meme on Sharath Pawar.
52:31She had 22 FIRs against her.
52:34And my final point, you know this very well.
52:39There is a civil engineer called Anant Karmuse.
52:42He was picked up, kidnapped, beaten, abducted by Jitendra Ahwaad, the close confidant of Sharath Pawar.
52:51In the face of Nikhil Bhamre was killed.
53:01But, you know, Anish Gawande, you want to respond. Anish Gawande, you want to respond.
53:05The fact at the end of the day, the one point that the BJP keeps making, whatever you want to
53:10do at the end of the day, do it through the ballot.
53:12You want… if you believe that this government has failed on… fight them on the ballot.
53:18By taking it to the streets, you're actually trying to create extra constitutional methods to target the Modi government, a
53:26final point.
53:28The same Bharatiya Janta party that learned from Ram Manohar Lohia must remember his famous saying,
53:39The reason the streets are alive with the voice of the people, Rajdeep, is because, and I will say this
53:47purposely, so Sanju Varma today gets agitated again, because she thinks our voice does not matter.
53:52And the voice of the BJP is the only thing that does.
53:58This country is the jagir of the BJP, but it is not Hindustan's father.
54:04Rajdeep, this is a regime change operation, and regime change in a democracy is called a no-confidence motion.
54:11Their allies will lose confidence in them. Members of the Bharatiya Janta party will lose confidence in them.
54:16This is a moral battle fought on Mahatma Gandhi's principles.
54:21Even the oppressor will realize that their oppression is no longer valid.
54:25And that's why we will hit the streets.
54:27Okay, I'm going to leave it.
54:30I've listened to you, Anish, and I've listened to you, Sanju Varma.
54:33Thank you very much, Sanju Varma and Anish Gawande for joining me on the show.
54:37No, madam, I have some time, 30 seconds for my take on this special.
54:43State versus the street.
54:44It's been a turbulent week in Indian politics, with the battle moving from parliament and television studios to the streets
54:52of this country.
54:52But here's a fundamental democratic principle.
54:56Protest is not a threat to democracy.
54:59It is a safety valve that keeps democracy alive.
55:02The state has every right, indeed a duty, to maintain law and order.
55:07But there is a crucial distinction between preventing violence and criminalizing dissent.
55:13Or picking up someone from their house or an aircraft when they have not committed any crime.
55:19Detaining protesters, arresting young activists, shutting down public spaces,
55:24cannot become the default response to what is primarily a political disagreement.
55:30Peaceful protest is a constitutional right, not a favour granted by the government.
55:37The test of a democracy is not how efficiently it can silence its critics,
55:42but how confidently it can accommodate them.
55:46When the state begins to see every gathering as a law and order problem,
55:50it risks turning a legitimate democratic demand into a confrontation.
55:55The state must maintain order, but not at the cost of liberty.
56:01A democracy should fear violence, not peaceful dissent.
56:06And yes, whether there is a regime change or not,
56:10will not be decided in the end with street protests.
56:13It will be decided by the ballot box.
56:16Let's leave it in the end to Janata Janardhan.
56:21But at least respect the Janata of this democracy of ours.
56:26And only then can we call India a true mother of democracy.
56:31Think about it.
56:33Thanks very much for watching.
56:35Stay well, stay safe, have a safe festive weekend.
56:39Jai Hind, Namaskar.