- 27 minutes ago
On News Track with Marya Shakil, political tensions escalated over demonstrations against the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille.
00:03For days now, the Congress, the CJP and other groups have been protesting against the Special Intensive Revision
00:10and the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Gyanesh Kumar.
00:13Today, the CJP founder, Abhijit Dipke, was set to lead another such protest in the heart of the Nakhir capital
00:20called the Tiranga protest.
00:23But even before Dipke could hit the streets, he was detained by the Delhi police.
00:28AISA President Neha Bora was also detained while protesting at Delhi's Mandi House.
00:33Their detentions came hours after AISA-linked protesters spoke of regime change as an objective of these protests.
00:42Today, the BJP's big guns went after Neha Bora and Prashant Ghoshan over their remarks on regime change.
00:51The BJP claims it has been saying this from day one,
00:55alleging that the protests are an attempt to use young protesters to create unrest and seize power through anarchy.
01:04The Congress, meanwhile, is unapologetic about its stated objective of changing the regime,
01:09arguing that in a democracy, governments change through elections.
01:14So what actually is the opposition's endgame?
01:17Is regime change simply the opposition's stated democratic goal?
01:21With the government and the opposition trading charges, the confrontation is only escalating.
01:26Take a look at this report and then I'll be joined by Senior Congress Leader,
01:31P. Chidamram and BJP MP, Sudhaan Chudravely.
01:34We present you our Red Salute and we know that the Gen Z movement that we are seeing everywhere in
01:40this country
01:40first started in Bangladesh and congratulations to you for showing us the way.
01:46This remark by AISA chief Neha Bora has triggered another showdown.
01:52The BJP claims the protests over SIR are an attempt by the opposition
01:57to destabilize the country by using youth as pawns in a political war.
02:04The BJP claims the regime change in a press conference and they say that they have taken the regime change
02:16from Bangladesh.
02:35Rajnath Singh also accused India Block of using protest over electoral reforms
02:40and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanish Kumar has a pretext to create unrest and seize power through NARQI.
02:49This is not for Gyanish Kumar.
02:55This is not for the people of the country.
02:59This is not for the people of the country.
03:13Responding to the allegations made by the Defence Minister, the Congress doubled down,
03:17arguing that it wants a regime change through elections.
03:21The same BJP was a cheerleader of the same activist
03:25who was protesting, agitating against our government in 2012, 13, 14.
03:33Even then his objective, stated objective, was regime change.
03:39The Congress also pointed out that similar demands were made during the UPA rule
03:44but no objections were made then.
03:47We know that the Gen Z movement that we are seeing everywhere in this country
03:50After Neha Bora's social media video listing regime change
03:54as an objective of the protest went viral,
03:57lawyer Prashant Bhushan echoed the view.
04:23Actors Prakash Raj, who is part of CGP's protest against a CEC over SIR,
04:28backed the call for regime change.
04:34The selection process of Jnanesh Kumar,
04:36why was the Chief Justice of India removed?
04:39Why was Amit Shah brought in?
04:42Who gave you the right where the President doesn't have,
04:45Prime Minister doesn't have the judicial immunity?
04:47That means you knew he is going to steal.
04:50So you wanted to save him.
04:52Whole country is becoming a Jantar Mantar.
04:55Beware, you will be nailed.
05:04Union Minister Kiran Rajju slammed actor Prakash Raj,
05:08calling him a shameless villain and Demagi Naksal
05:11after a viral video showed Raj laughing in response to a question
05:15about protesters allegedly pushing female police officers.
05:18Jantar Mantar work and Harold
05:21on línght me theWS.
05:45Jantar Mantar
05:49Earlier, CJP's Lehera Do Tiranga protest was disrupted in Delhi as Central Park in
05:55Kanaat Place was shut amid heavy police deployment.
06:00CJP founder Abhijit Dipke was detained outside NCP-SP leader Anish Gawande's residence.
06:10AISA President Neha Bora was also detained.
06:30With protests, detentions and political attacks escalating, this is no longer just a
06:37battle over voter rules.
06:39It is a battle over power and political legitimacy.
06:46Bureau Report, India Today.
06:52And let me go straight to P Chidambram, senior Congress leader and former union minister.
06:58Mr Chidambram, appreciate your time here on India Today, sir.
07:01BJP leaders and several BJP ministers and chief ministers are alleging that there is a Bangladesh
07:08style regime change plot through street mobilization.
07:12Does the Congress then unequivocally reject regime change through violent protests?
07:22We have never supported violent protests, nor do we aim to bring about a regime change through
07:33violence.
07:34We are a democratic party committed to Gandhian methods, protest, demonstration and building
07:44public opinion against the government.
07:50Sir, in your tweet today, you have said that the SIR has been abandoned in the 17 remaining
07:56states and union territories, with only customary SSR taking place.
08:01Why are you saying so, sir?
08:03And what makes you think that the election commission has abandoned the special intensive revision?
08:11Because SIR and SSR can't go together.
08:17It's either SIR or SSR.
08:21SIR, I've got the numbers, was conducted in three phases.
08:29The first phase was only in Bihar.
08:32The second phase was in nine states.
08:39The third phase was in 16 states.
08:42So, totally about 26 states the SIR was conducted.
08:49Now, they have announced an SSR.
08:52SSR summary revision is the usual customary method.
08:59It is updated every year on January 1 in all states.
09:04That has been going on for several years.
09:07They have announced an SSR, which means they are not going to do an SIR.
09:15Both can't go together.
09:20Mr. Chitamram, if you're saying that the SIR has been abandoned, the BJP, let me talk about
09:25that, sir, says that the opposition's campaign goes beyond electoral reforms.
09:30Where do you draw the line between legitimate protest against alleged electoral malpractice and attempts to destabilize an elected government?
09:44The government will destabilize itself.
09:47There are already voices within the BJP questioning the support to the Chief Election Commissioner.
09:57We can hear the voices and we have heard several state chief electoral officers appointed by their ECI and supported
10:12by their government speak out.
10:15Therefore, we don't have to do anything to destabilize the government.
10:20We have to only build the public opinion and public opinion is gathering strength.
10:28See, young people are protesting.
10:31Their minds are protesting.
10:33Their hearts are protesting.
10:35The parents and elders and the family are supporting the young people.
10:41Therefore, when young people protest, nothing can stop them.
10:47We are committed to peaceful protest.
10:50We are committed to demonstrations.
10:53We are committed to non-violence.
10:57So, why should the BJP attribute violence and violent protest to us?
11:07We have never indulged in violence.
11:09We are carrying on peaceful protest.
11:16Mr. Chidamram, today, AISA Chief Neha Bora and CJP founder, Bijit Dipke, have been detained.
11:23And there is heavy police deployment.
11:26That's what we saw in Connaught Place.
11:28What is going to be the opposition's strategy, sir?
11:32Because how do you ensure that this fight over special intensive revision remains focused on electoral accountability and does not
11:41get subsumed by a larger confrontation?
11:49Mr. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition and other political leaders of various parties have filed a comprehensive petition
12:01in the Supreme Court, bringing together all the arguments, all the aspects of the misdeeds of the Chief Election Commissioner
12:13and the election committee.
12:14of India.
12:15As a response to that petition and as a response to the notice issued yesterday by the Supreme Court,
12:25according to me, and let the ECI deny it, the BJP should not speak for the ECI, the SIR has
12:37been abandoned after 26 states.
12:4126 states, the SIR removed 13 crore 30 lakh votes.
12:49That is the subject matter of a petition in the Supreme Court.
12:55The Supreme Court has already asked questions orally.
12:59They will ask more questions, I assume, and then all that will be exposed.
13:07Now, the ECI, according to me, has abandoned the SIR and has switched over to the SSI.
13:15Why is the BJP explaining the ECI's action?
13:21The ECI should explain its actions and should justify its actions.
13:28Why did it conduct SIR in 26 states?
13:33Why did it switch over to the customary SSR in the remaining states?
13:38According to me, according to one newspaper report, the remaining 17 states and some union territories will go through the
13:47customary SSR.
13:49It's for the ECI to explain why is the BJP appointing itself as a spokesman of the ECI.
13:57Point taken, sir.
13:59But, sir, since you're talking about the petition before the Supreme Court,
14:02if the Supreme Court addresses the concerns over SIR, will the Congress accept the outcome
14:08or will the demand for the CEC's resignation continue regardless?
14:17We are in a court. We can't say all our arguments will be accepted.
14:25Some arguments will be accepted. Some arguments may not be accepted.
14:30It's a court of law. A court of law is based on law, procedure, evidence, due process.
14:38I can't comment on the proceedings in the Supreme Court, but I hope that the Supreme Court,
14:46and I fervently hope that the Supreme Court will expose the SIR for what it is.
14:52It was a mischievous attempt. It is an illegal attempt to exclude 13 crore,
15:0030 lakh voters, including some lakhs who were dead.
15:07So, my last question. What is the Congress Party's endgame?
15:12Is it to secure transparent voter rolls and electoral reform,
15:16or to turn the SIR controversy into a larger political campaign against the government?
15:25See, it's starting with the SIR. We are fighting for freedom. We are fighting for the fundamental rights of India's
15:37citizens.
15:37SIR is only one aspect of the fundamental freedoms. The right to vote. But there are other issues. The right
15:50to assemble, the right to speak, the right to write, the right to protest. All that will follow.
16:09Thank you for speaking to India today.
16:10And let me bring in Sudhanchu Trivedi, BJP national spokesperson and also a member of parliament.
16:17Sudhanchu ji, BJP leaders, senior ministers are holding press conferences and are talking about Bangladesh-style regime change plot.
16:27Besides what has been said by Neha Bora and Mr. Prashant Bhushan, what concrete evidence supports this charge? And how
16:39do you distinguish a genuine threat to democracy from the opposition's right to protest?
16:49Maria ji, have you ever heard the word regime change just couple of months back? If your millions of viewers
16:57do not remember, then I would like to remind the same word was used by America against Iran that they
17:05want a regime change.
17:06Then the same people, same set of people were saying that regime change is like a coup. How they can
17:15do it? Any government of any country can change only through constitutional process.
17:20And same people are trying to give a false justification that regime change is no.
17:26When you want to overthrow a government by a non-democratic process, this is a regime change. When you change
17:33the government by a democratic process, it's a government change.
17:38And I would like to remind Dr. Ambedkar in his last speech on 25th of November, 1949, has said that
17:46socialists want their fundamental right without any restriction in the absolute term,
17:53so that if they are unable to win the election or unable to form the government, they should have power
18:00to even overthrow the government by the agitation.
18:04Same thing is there.
18:05I just have one left country which is having an illiberalism on the genuine protest. Yes, genuine protest you can
18:14do there. What's the problem when the designated protest sites are there?
18:18So if the government thinks that there is a larger conspiracy, then what is the government doing here?
18:32Government and everybody is understanding what the larger conspiracy is. I would ask your cameraman to focus on my mobile.
18:42Then you will understand what the problem is and what the conspiracy is.
18:56We need to spend 21 million and 21 million dollars for voter turnout in India. What do we need to
19:03spend 21 million for voter turnout in India?
19:08Well, 21 million dollars. I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. Well, we ought to tell.
19:14Now, who is saying this? It is the American president is saying on 9th of February, 2025, that US NGO,
19:23USAID, US Agency for International Development,
19:26were spending millions of dollars to increase the voter turnout in India. Means hundreds of crores of rupees in Indian
19:33currency.
19:34Though you know very well that if somebody wants to become the voter, there is no need of any fees
19:39not there where this rupee is being invested.
19:43This is being used by those favorable government to make the documents and then try to claim on the basis
19:52of that become the voter.
19:54That's why the president is saying I am astonished. I am surprised that why any NGO of US should have
20:02interest in increasing the voter turnout.
20:04Now, it happened in 2024. Now, when the special intensive revision has started coming, anybody can understand.
20:15And one more thing I would like to ask that those who are our opponents just three, four days back
20:24by elections of the state assemblies and now gone looks about happened.
20:28I ask you, have you checked all the electoral rolls before voting? Say yes or no.
20:34If yes, your BLA has signed or not? If no, have you lost a complaint? Second thing, your polling agent
20:44has accepted everything and signed or not? If not, have you lost any complaint?
20:54Yes or no. And if no, have you lost any complaint? And you keep on shouting that why this 45
21:06days limit for there for CCTV and others is still 40 days are left in the recently concluding by election.
21:13Whether you will ask for CCTV footage or not. That shows the reality.
21:22And as far as the paper ballot is concerned.
21:26Sudhanshuji, what P. Chidambram has said, and he has said today in his tweet, and he is claiming the former
21:33finance minister of India that SIR has been abandoned in the 17 remaining states and union territories in favour of
21:40customary SSR.
21:41What is the truth here? And why should voters trust the process then?
21:54Whenever they try to interpret as per their own assessment, once SIR is complete, SIR is not a routine process
22:04of adding and deleting.
22:06It happens after a certain duration. Like the last SIR was done in 2003. And this SSR keeps on going.
22:14So they just, the basic objective of Congress party is to create a confusion at any point of time.
22:21And the fact of the matter is they themselves are confused. That's why Rahul Gandhi sometime goes and starts load
22:28porting in front of the prime minister.
22:30And then start into jumping into the Akashwani Bhavan. Then he starts jumping into from another gate into Supreme Court
22:37on which Supreme Court has also given an observation that the manner in which they are conducting themselves.
22:42So I think there is a problem on the part of the Congress party, they are utterly confused and, and
22:49particularly even Rahul Gandhi says, there is no need of planning.
22:52I am talking to my sister. Yes, he was correct that the planning is not done by him, neither done
22:58by him nor by his sister. It is done by big brother who is sitting somewhere else.
23:03That's why Sam Pitrodha, who is an overseas Congress chief has, I think yesterday has given a statement. If George
23:09Soros wants to invest $10 billion in India, I think some great thing is there.
23:14That's why he's saying that, look at his mental state. He says, my friend, Alan, Alan Maas, you come here.
23:22And just a couple of months back, he said, Indian economy is a dead economy. He should have said, my
23:28friend, Alan, Indian economy is a dead economy. Why you want to come here?
23:34And on the other hand, the only trillionaire of the world, the only trillionaire is Alan Maas. And he's interested
23:44in coming to India. And he's saying that I'm not getting an entry.
23:47And if some person is supporting both the arguments, I think he can either be a balbuddi or the dhimaki
23:54naqsal. Another I would like to ask. Congress uses to say that the EVMs are managed.
24:01And if their imaginary allegation, that EVM is managed, then why anybody needs to manage the electoral rolls? These both
24:12the allegations cannot be simultaneously correct. Either you are lying at that time or lying at this time.
24:19The fact of the matter is lying at both the times.
24:22Very well argued, Sudhanshud Rivedi. So let me come to my final question. And this is with regards to the
24:27developments of today.
24:28ISA chief Neha Bora and CJP founder Abhijit Dipke have been detained.
24:35There was heavy police deployment in Connaught Place to prevent protesters from gathering.
24:41How does the government really justify this response? And how will it ensure that peaceful dissent is not conflated with
24:49a threat to public order?
24:55What they have done in the month of July, it has given a litmus test that what their intention is.
25:03There is a proverb in Hindi,
25:06As far as today's development is concerned,
25:09Maria ji, you might have gone to Connaught Place several times,
25:13around 5, 6 and 7.
25:15Always there is an almost traffic jam.
25:18There is a huge crowd there.
25:20And look at the,
25:22and you look at the visuals.
25:24Where is the crowd?
25:26This is the,
25:27I can say on the eve of new year,
25:29there is a much,
25:30much more crowd than which is today.
25:32And I give you one statistic.
25:34NSUI has,
25:35was defeated in DUSU election,
25:37though we won,
25:38but NSUI got 22,500 votes.
25:41And ISA has got some 4,500,
25:434,000, 5,000 votes in JNU.
25:46If their supporters would have come,
25:4927, 28,000 people should have there.
25:51If the half of them would have been there,
25:5414,000,
25:55then it would have been the jam-packed.
25:59I think this is statistics.
26:01And definitely,
26:02you show the visuals.
26:04People are moving,
26:05usually,
26:06autos are going,
26:07and the cars are going.
26:09If somebody is having the flag,
26:11even,
26:11not even a 10 people
26:12are walking behind it.
26:14Most of the people
26:14are making a real,
26:16video footage
26:17from the mobile phones
26:18and others.
26:19Toh mujhe lagta hai,
26:21the visuals are quite enough.
26:23That the so-called
26:24big movement
26:26has fallen
26:28because
26:30people of the India
26:31has accepted
26:32that these are the same people
26:33within three months
26:34they have changed the face.
26:35They were saying,
26:36we are only concerned
26:37about the issues
26:38of the students.
26:39We are only concerned
26:40about the issues
26:41of the exams
26:42and the paper leak.
26:44Now,
26:44suddenly,
26:45they jumped
26:45within 90 days
26:47to electoral politics.
26:49I think
26:49Ahmadinejad
26:50Party has took
26:50one or one and a half year
26:52to remove the mask
26:54from their face.
26:55But I think
26:56this has happened
26:56too fast.
26:57So,
26:58the crisis of credibility
26:59seems to be there
27:00and which is
27:01very well
27:04visible
27:04on the
27:06footage
27:07which you are seeing.
27:08And one more
27:08last thing
27:09I would like to ask.
27:10This is,
27:10I think,
27:10seventh or eighth day
27:12of
27:14Congress protest.
27:15So,
27:16I think they have
27:17taken around
27:19192 hours
27:20of footage
27:21at the national
27:23media channels.
27:24And they are claiming
27:25that they are having
27:26such a mass base
27:27but BJP
27:27I would ask
27:29that their
27:30major partner
27:31Samajwadi Party
27:32whether they
27:33consider
27:34even Congress
27:35to give half
27:36the seats.
27:37They are ready
27:38to give Congress
27:3896 seats.
27:40This is a half
27:41the number
27:42of hours
27:43which they have
27:43used,
27:45which they have
27:45taken the footage
27:46of the national
27:46media channel.
27:47All right.
27:48Then their
27:48family is telling
27:50that they don't have
27:51anything.
27:52And the
27:53fight
27:53in Congress
27:54Uttar Pradesh
27:55is the outgoing
27:55president
27:56and the incoming
27:56president.
27:57We will talk
27:58about that,
28:02Sudhan
28:03and the member
28:04of the BJP.
28:05Appreciate your time.
28:06Thank you for
28:07joining us
28:07and sharing
28:08your views.