- 1 hour ago
A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain inside the cockpit, causing the Boeing aircraft to drop thousands of feet before crew members and off-duty pilots subdued the attacker.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today, your primetime destination, news, newsmakers, talking points.
00:07Wednesday night, let's tell you what's that big story that's breaking tonight.
00:11A hijack scare that has rocked the world. A plane on its way from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
00:17A pilot stabs his co-pilot inside the cockpit. Terror bid or was it a brawl in the cockpit?
00:26Netanyahu is claiming it is an attempt to down the plane.
00:30We'll have more on that story with live updates from Tel Aviv as well as top pilots joining us.
00:36Also, the India bloc has now come together against Chief Election Commissioner Yanesh Kumar.
00:42What does it plan to do? We'll try and find out.
00:45And my newsmaker tonight is the Telugu Desa minister and one of the next generation millennial politicians, Nara Lokesh,
00:54on whether the TDP is fully behind the Modi government on the Election Commission and the Gen Z outreach.
01:02But first, as always, it's time to get cracking with the nine headlines at nine to nine.
01:09Major hijacking scare on a Tel Aviv-bound fly Dubai flight amidst reports that it could have been a terror
01:17attack.
01:18Pilot stabs co-pilot, tries to crash the plane.
01:2318,000 feet altitude dropped in just 29 seconds.
01:29Off-duty pilots who are aboard safely land the flight in Saudi.
01:33Netanyahu claims the aim was to bring the plane crashing down.
01:39Israel suspects a terror angle behind the fly Dubai incident.
01:44Mossad to probe the incident.
01:46Shin Bet to assess.
01:47Netanyahu claims terrible disaster prevented.
01:50Pilots say it's been a miracle.
01:55India bloc's all-out war against the Chief Election Commissioner announces march to Election Commission next week.
02:02BJP slams the India bloc for blaming CEC for defeats, calls the outrage a sign of frustration.
02:11Another day, another shocking incident from Bihar.
02:14Woman abducted, assaulted and raped in Begu Sarai, accused Rohit Kumar arrested by the police after the video goes viral.
02:28In an exclusive interview at the India Today South Conclave, calls on all leaders of the Congress, including Jaganmohan, ready
02:36to return to the party.
02:38Says it's time for a grand merger.
02:44Akhilesh Yadav throws a curveball in the Rajya Sabha polls, feels Dhanraj Natwani, son of former BJP MP Parimal Natwani,
02:53a Reliance Group executive, as its Rajya Sabha candidate.
02:59Another twist in the Tata power struggle.
03:02Tata son's nominee director, Venul Srinivasan, writes to the charity commissioner, demanding a probe into alleged governance lapses at the
03:10Tata Trust.
03:13Amidst the escalating tensions in West Asia, Prime Minister Modi holds a telephonic conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
03:20Talks held on trade, defense, energy and critical technologies.
03:27And India has its best day at the Asian Games, jumps to 8th position in the tally after Indian athletes
03:33win 4 gold medals.
03:35Shooters and archers shine as the medal tally now rises to 16.
03:53But the big story that we are breaking at the moment, the story that has shenched shockwaves across the world,
03:59particularly in West Asia, after a fly Dubai flight.
04:02West Asia was, saw an unprecedented brawl between a pilot and a co-pilot that led the flight to plunge
04:11over 14,000 feet.
04:14A pilot stabbing his co-pilot, unprecedented.
04:18And it's only a miracle that the plane has landed safely.
04:22Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a ramp-ups of security, both on Israeli carriers and non-Israeli
04:31carriers.
04:31Israel suspecting a terror plot, it says, behind the incident.
04:36Netanyahu says Saudi authorities are currently probing the pilot who stabbed his co-pilot.
04:42Reports suggest that one of the pilots was of Omani origin.
04:45There have also been reports which have not yet been confirmed that one of the pilots was an Indian,
04:52the one who was stabbed and showed great bravery in ensuring that the flight remained on track.
04:59All passengers who are on board of that fly Dubai flight have left to their final destination through a replacement
05:06flight.
05:07So terror in the skies is our top focus tonight.
05:34Okay, on that big breaking news, I want to go to two guests.
05:37Guy Azrael, diplomatic correspondent, joining me from Tel Aviv.
05:41Also Ron Malka, former ambassador of Israel to India.
05:44Good to have both of you on the show on this big story.
05:47Guy Azrael, what are you picking up?
05:49Because conflicting reports, Israel initially suggesting this could be a terror act, an act of hijacking.
05:55The prime minister, Netanyahu, claiming that there was a possibility that this was an attempt to get the plane to
06:03crash.
06:03What are you picking up?
06:05What is now coming to light?
06:07What is it that we know, Mr. Azrael?
06:12First of all, thank you very much for having me.
06:14If Israeli officials were at least very cautious in the first few hours after this serious incident,
06:23now Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is saying it very clearly.
06:27This was an attempted jihadist terror attack to crash this plane with all its 180 passengers.
06:35And this is a story that is coming to a close in the sense that the Israeli passengers are now
06:42making their way with a flight,
06:44an alternative flight to fly Dubai from Saudi Arabia to Israel.
06:49But the investigation of this incident is already has just begun, of course, a very serious event in which a
07:00co-pilot of Omani origin has stabbed the main pilot,
07:05as you mentioned, an Indian national who was the main pilot on board this flight.
07:12And as we understand, has courageously fought this attacker, his co-pilot in the cockpit.
07:18He has managed to send at least one alert through the cockpit and then open the door so that the
07:27Israeli passengers on board
07:29were able to take down this individual that Omani co-pilot,
07:35and then allow the, miraculously, another team that was on board this plane.
07:42Another pair of pilots allowed them to enter the cockpit and then eventually safely land this plane.
07:50But, of course, Israeli authorities, the Israeli Mossad, the Shin Bet,
07:54and many others are investigating the circumstances of this major terror attack.
08:01They are in touch with officials both in Saudi Arabia and at the UAE to understand what were the motives
08:09and who was connected to this Omani co-pilot in this attempt.
08:19But, Guy, what is the basis to call it a terrorist attack?
08:23What is the proof, the evidence that the defense minister and others have provided to suggest
08:27that the pilot was aiming to crash the plane?
08:30What has suddenly led the Israeli authorities to claim that this was an attempted terror attack?
08:37Yes, when the plane initially landed in Saudi Arabia this morning,
08:41the initial report that we received was that this was just an altercation between the pilots.
08:48But as more and more information came through, including both testimonies of the passengers
08:54and even videos filmed on board the plane, it was clear that this co-pilot was aiming to assassinate his
09:05pilot
09:05and also crash this plane.
09:08In the videos and in the testimonies of the passengers,
09:12we know that the plane ascended down very quickly in an effort by this co-pilot to crash that plane.
09:22Eventually, that was thwarted thanks to the bravery of some of those Israeli passengers on board.
09:28And, of course, thanks to the complete miracle of having two qualified additional pilots on board
09:36working for Fly Dubai that were able to eventually take the steering wheel and safely land this plane.
09:45Of course, the Omani co-pilot is being investigated now by the Saudi authorities.
09:52And we can imagine there is a lot of security cooperation between Riyadh, Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi right now
10:00to find out about his motives and whether he was operated by any foreign entity.
10:08Ron Malka, how do you respond to what you're just hearing, what Guy is putting out,
10:13that this was a potential terror attack, that there is now, the Israelis believe that this was an attempt
10:19to crash the plane with 180 passengers on board.
10:23How do you see it, given all that's been happening in the troubled region in recent months?
10:32Is it a question for me?
10:36Please?
10:37Yes, yes, Mr. Malka. Go ahead.
10:39Okay, okay.
10:41See, I heard what Guy was saying, and yes, I totally agreed.
10:46First, you know, the investigation is on point.
10:48And as much as we'll evolve, we'll know more and more.
10:52But looking at the facts that we know by now, sending the code, the security code of a hijack,
11:00the 7500, a rapid descent, a cockpit breach, this is enough evidence to tell us that something
11:08in this area of terrorism or, of course, bad intention has happened there.
11:15But let's leave the authorities investigate and come out with the conclusions.
11:20And I think the focus now should be on the safety of flights and to see what we can do
11:27now
11:28for the future in order to make sure that things like this will not happen again
11:33and at least will not risk passengers again.
11:37I think we should be shifting from a perimeter defense to internal resiliency.
11:42Because post-9-11, we were focusing on, you know, what is around the cockpit.
11:49So, you know, the security checks of luggage and the boarding and safety doors for the cockpit.
11:58So saving the cockpit from every external risk or danger.
12:04But now we see the threats can come from the within.
12:07And since technology is already there, it's only a matter of an implementation.
12:17Please.
12:18I take your point because, you know, these are, of course, these are, of course, very worrying times.
12:24But I just want to understand also from you there, Guy, Saudi does not, Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic
12:31relations with Israel.
12:33Israel wanted to send a plane to Saudi Arabia to bring back the passengers.
12:37That request was refused.
12:39Eventually, we are told the fly Dubai plane, a fly Dubai plane has brought them to Tel Aviv.
12:44Do you believe that incidents like this will bring UAE, Israel and Saudi Arabia closer together?
12:51That a plane that takes off from Dubai to Tel Aviv, when it gets, when this happens,
12:57will it necessarily involve all three countries' security agencies working together now, Guy?
13:05In this particular case, I certainly think that that is correct.
13:09There was no wrongdoing by the Saudis or by the Emiratis.
13:13Obviously, there was a serious breach here with the vetting process of this pilot, not just him personally,
13:24but just the fact that an Omani national was able to fly a plane to Israel.
13:29That goes against the protocol and the agreement between Israel and the Emirati airlines that only pilots from countries that
13:38have diplomatic relations with Israel can fly planes to Tel Aviv.
13:43But beyond that, there is no question that Israel is considering all these sensitivities, both with Saudi and with the
13:52Emiratis in particular,
13:53when managing this case.
13:56This reflects both the statements that we've heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu and from the defense minister,
14:01very cautious, certainly not accusing anyone in the Emirates or with the Saudis.
14:07And it goes in line with the security cooperation that we already have, very strong one with the Emiratis,
14:14but also with the Saudis in recent weeks in their war against the Kurdis.
14:19Right.
14:21I'm going to leave it there.
14:23Guy Azril, Ron Malka, this is a developing story.
14:26We'll have more details, of course, but I appreciate both of you joining me here at the top of the
14:30news today.
14:32Thank you very much.
14:59Thank you very much.
15:03Thank you very much.
15:23Thank you very much.
15:33A hijack attempt, a fight between the pilots or a bid to crash the plane.
15:39Take a look at today's top story.
15:44A routine flight turned into a massive security scare.
15:48After a violent confrontation, a hijack alert and a sudden sharp descent.
15:57Fly Dubai flight FZ-1073 bound for Tel Aviv left Dubai, but transmitted a hijack signal after two hours when
16:06it was close to the Saudi Jordan border, following a fight between the pilots.
16:11One pilot was allegedly stabbed by the pilots, one pilot was allegedly stabbed by the other inside the cockpit.
16:16Shocking images from the flight showed a stabbed pilot lying on the floor and bleeding profusely.
16:21Do you want to sleep?
16:22You don't sleep?
16:30online aircraft tracking portal flight radar 24 showed the plane rapidly descended nearly
16:3714,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency signal
16:46minutes later the flight transmitted another emergency signal that indicated a possible
16:52unlawful interference commonly associated with hijacking the flight then diverted over jordanian
16:59airspace towards saudi arabia and eventually landed at tabooq airport passengers recounted
17:06screams and chaos inside the cockpit my daughter she's she was in the on the fly they heard voices
17:17or it's a coach somebody asked for help the plane start to lose control so all the people they
17:28scream the things they are going few israelis they run away to the guy he took a knife and
17:35try to kill the the the pilot they take his hand and put him on the floor
17:47as the plane landed in tabooq passengers were seen rejoicing and applauding
17:53both pilots were hospitalized after the aircraft landed
17:59as per israeli media reports the pilot who stabbed the other pilot was of omani origin
18:05during the flight as they approached the country one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot
18:10and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board the stabbing pilot has been
18:14arrested and is currently being interrogated by the saudi authorities we are maintaining continuous
18:20contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued well-being of the passengers and to
18:26ensure their safe return home israel spy agency mossad and security agency shin bet are leading the
18:32investigation there saudi security agencies are interrogating the arrested pilot bureau report india
18:40today okay uh let's then go across to my other special guest because this incident is also raising
18:48serious questions over air safety in particular joining me now captain sam thomas president airlines
18:55pilots association of india captain sharat panikar former boeing 787 dreamliner pilot former dgca inspector
19:02good to have both of you on the show captain sam thomas your first reaction to what has happened almost
19:08unprecedented that a co-pilot uh should look to stab the pilot in this manner do you go along with
19:15the
19:15view that this was not just a by a scuffle this could well have been a very very dangerous
19:20act of terror to bring down a plane good evening rajdeep uh good evening panik sir firstly the only thing
19:30with certainty that i can say is it was a miracle because on multiple uh aspects one is the captain
19:38being able to overpower momentarily at least the co-pilot secondly him being able to open the door
19:45i just got off the phone with the israeli uh airline pilots association and they said that there was
19:53a lady in the washroom who was the first to know of this and raised an alarm and the captain
20:01was
20:01somehow able to open the door where the flight attendant came in and then the passengers charged in
20:07now there has been a structural uh failure in the aircraft as well as far as the rudder is concerned
20:14and i don't know how and the most miraculous is the additional crew member traveling as a passenger
20:21and uh and i have taken this flight uh on more than one occasion because this takes us from bangalore
20:27to dubai and dubai to tel aviv so uh at the moment i think we should just wait for more
20:37information to
20:37come in i feel there is much more than what meets the eye and as far as the israelis are
20:43concerned even if you light a matchbox they will consider that a terror incident so uh they are
20:49best suited to uh you know take a judgment on this particular issue but other than a miracle
20:56i don't see uh what else can be said with certainty
21:03you're calling it a miracle but there will be serious questions raised captain panikar over air
21:08safety i mean how did a co-pilot in this manner get away with having this weapon where he then
21:14uses
21:14that weapon to stab his pilot potentially creating a situation that could lead to air crash uh do you
21:23believe that the real question will also have to be asked about air safety protocols yet again
21:28particularly when it involves pilots uh razeep i have a slightly different take on it i've been uh
21:37generally given to understand that it may not have been a knife as has been reported it possibly could
21:45have been the crash hacks which is a integral part of the emergency equipment in the cockpit in all
21:55commercial aircraft we have a crash axe which is part of the emergency equipment and it's shaped like a
22:04proper axe the head is considerably big and possibly that could have been the weapon that is used possibly
22:11because the idea of a knife having passed through device security and being smuggled on board whether it's
22:20a passenger or whether it's a pilot or the cabin crew is pretty much remote so that could possibly have
22:29been the weapon that was used possibly and the second aspect of it is that this is something that is
22:35unprecedented
22:38we've we've uh not heard we've heard of situations what are the kind of
22:46so go ahead please complete please complete captain panika sorry to interrupt yeah so basically
22:54the weapon that was being used for the attack could possibly have been the crash axe which is present in
23:04all the commercial cockpits of all commercial aircraft this is basically meant as an equipment
23:12to hack your way out of the cockpit or to break down the cockpit door in the event of a
23:17crash and that's
23:19the reason why it is called the crash axe possibly this could have been the weapon that was used it
23:25is
23:25inconceivable that a knife of any you know significance would have escaped the security of
23:34the dubai uh the dubai uh the dubai uh the dubai securities and uh finally i think an altercation of
23:45the of of of this nature is unprecedented what do you do if if the pilots are now fighting with
23:51each
23:51other and uh you know trying trying to hurt each other the very fact that the pilot apparently of indian
23:59origin the commander of the aircraft has been able to contain the fight has been able to squawk
24:05the emergency and eight minutes later he's been able to squawk a hijack code and also somewhere in
24:12the process been able to open the cockpit door uh a phenomenal amount of things have occurred which are
24:19still unclear at this point in time but from the available information it appears that the pilot has done
24:26a commendable job in saving the aircraft and the final point is this aircraft has lost something like
24:3315 to 16 000 feet of altitude in something like two minutes i've had a look at the flight radar
24:39images
24:41and the data that is there the ground speed in a dive has reached nearly 600 knots which is practically
24:49well above the structural limit of the aircraft it also appears that the rudder has sheared off
24:56and this can only happen when the aerodynamic loads upon that control surface is so high and the rudder
25:04is deflected to some extent which puts it into the airflow leading to a structural failure
25:09and the final thing is that i think the passengers on board have made a commendable effort to control the
25:17situation it's providence that you had a third pilot on board who's been able to take control of the
25:23aircraft and there afterwards safely landed the point i'm also wanting to make is that uh i've done
25:29plenty i've done plenty of these uh delhi tel aviv flights approximately 200 to 300 kilometers away from
25:38the airspace of israel you have to seek permission to enter israeli airspace while you're still in
25:45the airspace right and this the flight route would have taken them through the airspace of jordan before
25:51you enter to the airspace of israel the moment uh hijack code has been transmitted the israelis have
26:01scrambled their fighters and in all probability israeli authorities would not have permitted that
26:08aircraft to enter israeli airspace which is probably the reason why the aircraft has diverted to tabuk and
26:16there afterwards gone and recovered into tabuk so all things that i think the biggest plus point is when
26:23all the actors in this particular scene are alive and are well we just have to wait for a certain
26:31period
26:32of time before the picture becomes much clearer as to actually what happened and what was the sequence
26:38of events that have followed
26:43you know captain thomas and captain panikar you've described both of you in such great detail that
26:50i don't think there's very little else to be said we must wait as both of you are saying for
26:55more details
26:56to emerge but clearly this is a shocker and one that has stunned the world at the moment of course
27:03images of 9-11 will keep coming back every time something like this happens but we still don't know
27:08for certain just what exactly happened in the cockpit so we must wait for the full investigation i appreciate
27:16both captain thomas and captain panikar for joining me here on the show tonight thank you both very much
27:23thank you thank you okay let's turn to our top political story now where the opposition's
27:30india alliance got together in the national capital and have now announced that they will take their
27:36agitation against the election commission and the chief election commissioner gyanesh kumar
27:41to the streets the opposition-led alliance today announced that they've drawn up an action plan
27:46starting from october 2nd to hold rallies across the country including on the 6th of october
27:52a march of all mps to the election commission and then the next day to go and meet the president
27:58of
27:58india is the india alliance united on this attempt to take on the chief election commissioner take a look
28:07at this story save democracy is now the opposition's new battle cry and today the india bloc turned that
28:17anger into a joint battle plan a three and a half hour meeting in delhi with most major opposition
28:24parties at the table from the meeting the attack on the election commission was relentless and opposition
28:31has said they won't take it lying down india has said they won't take it lying down hindustan
28:35ka joe log tantric system hain us par bjp narendra modi amit shah gyanesh kumar ji na akraman kiya hai
28:44and we are not going to take it lying down we are going to ensure this is personal commitment of
28:54all
28:56india leaders we are going to ensure that the people who have destroyed indian democracy
29:02are punished
29:04We have been killed in B.J.P. 24, in Madhya Pradesh, in Haryana, in Bihar, in Bengal.
29:16We have been killed in Bengal. You know that we have come here.
29:20We have been taken to the election commission.
29:22Now it has been opened up that Venice Kumar is a fool.
29:27He is a fool. He is a fool.
29:29What was the E.B.M.S. in hijacking?
29:31What was the counting, digging?
29:34What was it not done?
29:35For this, he must resign immediately.
29:39India Bloc has prepared an action plan.
29:43From October 2nd to 8th, safe democracy marches and demonstrations at district level.
29:50Opposition MPs will march to the election commission on October 6th.
29:54Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will seek a meeting with the President in the second week of October.
30:00And five major rallies will be held in October and November over the vote chori issue.
30:06The Opposition Alliance will hold a mega rally in Delhi on November 1st.
30:11India Bloc leaders will appeal for an early resolution of all SIR-related cases in the Supreme Court.
30:18The BJP mocked the Opposition Alliance and claimed Congress' allies questioned Rahul Gandhi's leadership.
30:49With the India Bloc now taking that battle to the streets, the confrontation,
30:54with the election commission has entered a far more explosive phase.
30:59With Mazmi Singh, Bureau Report, India Today.
31:05Okay, with the India Alliance now saying that they are going to hit the streets to demand the resignation of
31:13the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
31:15Joining me now is Congress General Secretary and Member of Parliament, Nasser Hussain, who is playing an important role in
31:21bringing all these parties together.
31:24Nasser Hussain, what is the message the India Alliance wants to send out today?
31:29Because the fact is that one of your important components, DMK, is no longer with you.
31:35Do you believe that the India Alliance is completely united including those parties who didn't attend today's meeting in demanding
31:45the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar?
31:47Will the DMK, for example, support you on this?
31:54Rajdeep, today's meeting was a meeting of India Alliance partners.
32:02Those who are in opposition but outside India Alliance also support this.
32:06It was a meeting of India Alliance, so only members of India Alliance were there in the meeting today.
32:13India Alliance parties are united, opposition parties are united, even three parties from NDA bloc spoke against this.
32:22And couple of senior leaders from BJP itself spoke about this.
32:26So that means every nook and corner of the country, parties, politicians, voters, citizens,
32:35they are all up in one voice against the election commission and the entire process that has been compromised,
32:46that has been manipulated in the last several years.
32:48So they want answers to this.
32:52They want the CEC to go.
32:54They want people behind the CEC to be exposed.
32:58They want to fix them for their accountability.
33:06No, but the question, Mr. Hussain, is this now a Congress-led India Alliance where the Congress is taking all
33:12the decisions?
33:13Is this a collective voice or a Congress-led voice that Rahul Gandhi now is the one who is going
33:19to lead this show?
33:20Others are expected to follow, which was very different when the India Alliance before 2024 gathered.
33:25Then you had Nitish Kumar in power in Bayar, Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, Stalin in Tamil Nadu.
33:31So you seem to have, you know, the Alliance seem to be of equals.
33:36Now it seems to be entirely driven by Congress and Rahul Gandhi in particular.
33:41Is this mission Rahul or mission India Alliance to target Gyanesh Kumar?
33:50Rajdeep, India Alliance has all parties into it, has most of the opposition parties into it.
34:00And Congress has always played an important role in India Alliance and before that also in UPA and before that
34:09also in many opposition parties, like-minded parties, forums that were formed earlier.
34:16Since Congress is a bigger party, since Congress has more MPs, since Congress is an older party, since Congress is
34:21a party that ground this country for a long time, with all its experience they have led from the front.
34:26But that doesn't mean that we want only our agenda or we want to dictate terms in India Alliance.
34:32Obviously, at the national level, when Rahul Gandhiji is the LOP in Lok Sabha and Malika Jun Kargai Sabha is
34:39the LOP in Rajya Sabha, they lead the struggle, the protest, the movement, the questions in both the houses.
34:47You have been noticing the functioning of India Alliance and the opposition parties.
34:52When both these leaders take meetings every time, every day, every day morning there are briefings, there are meetings, there
34:58are strategy meetings, and then accordingly we take up the issues in the parliament.
35:03So in that way, Rahul Gandhiji has emerged as a very important leader of the India bloc.
35:10And obviously, since he has been a former Congress president also, he has all that authority, following, acceptability, not only
35:18in Congress party, but in the India bloc and also in the entire country among the masses.
35:25You could have seen the way people, students, youth are responding to him across the country.
35:30That's a different thing. But here, in the meeting today, 20 parties deliberated, discussed, views were taken, opinions were taken,
35:39and collectively the course of action was decided.
35:45No, no, but you see, the feeling is that the India Alliance only gets together in a crisis.
35:50I mean, y'all don't have a common minimum agenda, y'all don't seem to work when, once parliament is
35:57over, y'all go your separate ways, y'all fight with each other in election, but you are coming together
36:03because now it's an existential crisis.
36:05Mamata Banerjee has lost Bengal. The Congress also is worried about its own prospects in the near future.
36:15Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav did not send, did not come himself, sent representatives.
36:21Many believe that's because there are divisions within the SP Congress for an alliance in UP.
36:26We, is this an alliance of convenience, or is this now an alliance of conviction, at least on certain issues?
36:34Will we see y'all working together consistently, or only when it suits y'all, when there is an existential
36:39crisis? A quick answer.
36:45Rajiv, see, India alliance was formed with a specific common minimum program with our own understanding of things before 2024
36:55parliament elections.
36:56We do come together on issues at the national level. We have our alliances and maybe not alliances in some
37:05of the states during the assembly election. That's a different matter.
37:08But we all are very determined. It's an alliance of conviction. We are all associated with different parties, different ideologies.
37:20But at the center, there's a common minimum plank on which we are all together. And it is not just
37:27during crisis.
37:28Even otherwise, during the parliament, after the parliament, whenever there are need, we have Zoom meetings, we have virtual, we
37:33have physical meetings, we have virtual meetings.
37:35We meet every day in the parliament. After the parliament, we meet with the leaders. There are consultations on one
37:41-to-one level, personal level.
37:42Things are on continuously. But if you want to ask me, why are we not meeting?
37:50Your only single point agenda seems to be BJP. I think that is not possible.
37:54Your single point agenda, Mr. Hussain, your single point agenda is BJP.
38:00Modi, Modi, Modi, Modi, Modi.
38:05Obviously, Radheepji, when the BJP and the current government at the center is destroying the democracy in our country,
38:15they are supporting the entire democratic process. When they are undoing the constitution,
38:20scant regard to anything in the constitution, the way this government has been functioning, the way our economy has gone
38:28to docks,
38:30the way our foreign policy has been deviations in the foreign policy, the crisis in the country that is there.
38:40Obviously, not only we in Congress Party are the India Alliance, the entire country wants this government to go.
38:46That's the reason why they are up in arms and on the streets on every other issue.
38:51That's your...
38:51The Jendis, the students, the youth, the farmers, the Mazdur, everyone is asking for this government to go.
39:01We'll... I'm going to leave it there. We'll wait and see how your alliance plays out on this issue of
39:06CC Hatau.
39:07But for now, for joining me, appreciate your joining me, Nasir Hussain there of the Congress.
39:13Thank you very much.
39:17Thank you, Radheepji.
39:19Okay, so there you have it. The India Alliance is threatening to take its battle to the streets now against
39:25the chief election commissioner.
39:26But the ruling NDA is closing ranks. All the BJP allies are now falling in line.
39:32The Telugu Desam, in particular, is saying that they are satisfied with the clarifications given by the election commission on
39:41the SIR exercise.
39:43I spoke today at the India Today South Conclave to the TDP leader and minister, Nara Lokesh.
39:51Listen in to what Nara Lokesh had to say on the two hot button issues of the moment.
39:56Election Commission and Gen Z.
39:59Listen in.
40:11I want to start by two hot button topics which are resonating nationally, not just in Andhra Pradesh, but across
40:17the country.
40:17The first is the election commission.
40:21Where does the TDP stand?
40:24Because immediately after, when this entire election commission issue blew up, your leader of the Lok Sabha, who is probably
40:32here, said that the EC should clarify in the interest of transparency.
40:38Now it seems all is well. The TDP seems to have suddenly no problem with the EC. Where does the
40:45TDP stand?
40:47Do you believe that Gyanesh Kumar ji should step down as the rest of the opposition is demanding?
40:54Thank you very much for having me in the session. And I love the first question. It is a hot
40:59topic.
41:01I believe that there is responsibility on the people also who are questioning the system.
41:07Now you see a lot of political parties also questioning regarding SIR.
41:11As a political party, Telugu the SM party has always sought clarifications on various subjects related to SIR, in opposition
41:21even when we are in power.
41:23In fact, as recently as about a year back, we sought a lot of clarification because we also went through
41:28our own SIR process.
41:29So is the system perfect? Absolutely not. There are areas of improvement like any system is.
41:35But is the intent there to make it better, to resolve the issues that need resolution, that is in place.
41:42So as a party, we have seen the letter that the election commission has put out. We believe that is
41:47in order.
41:48And as we go forward, we will give our input on how to make it even better.
41:52The fact that over 13 crore voters, as of today, don't find themselves on the draft roll.
41:59Some of them may have passed away. Some of them may have shifted residence.
42:02But isn't that a whopping number? Should that not concern you that this exercise perhaps has been carried in a
42:08manner,
42:09whatever the intentions, in a manner that leaves a lot of scope for doubt and suspicion on the seemingly neutral
42:15umpire?
42:16If you look at it, maximum number of votes were also deleted in Gujarat. In Andhra Pradesh, we went through
42:23our SIR process.
42:24Ninety-two percent of the votes got mapped. We did that. We were very active. As a political party, we
42:29were very active in the field.
42:31We have our booth in charges. It's an activity that the election commission along with the BLOs, BLAs of all
42:38political parties, they work together.
42:40And they work on mapping it. See, if you look at it in this SIR, our votes were in Hyderabad
42:46in 2002 because we were a combined state.
42:48So we had to submit documents. We had to submit documents. We did it. We were able to map ourselves.
42:53Like that, everyone can. And in Andhra Pradesh, we have done it.
42:56So you don't agree with the Rahul Gandhi view that the EC is working at the behest of the BJP
43:01or the NDA leadership,
43:04that Gyanesh Kumar Ji has been put there as a hatchet man to ensure that every election is won by
43:11the BJP, according to him, irrespective of anti-incumbency?
43:14Well, he won elections in Kerala, Karnataka, Talangana. So there, there's no role of SIR. If you lose, there's a
43:24role of SIR.
43:27I mean, where is your organization to even look at votes, where votes are getting added? Have you done any
43:32homework?
43:32Where is your boot level organization? In absent of it, you're blaming the election commission.
43:38You know, let me ask you a slightly contentious question. It seems where you stand in politics depends on where
43:43you sit.
43:43Your father, Chandra Babu Naiduji, was in alliance with the Congress in 2019.
43:47There is a tweet of him, which still stands, where he said that the EC is destroying democracy along with
43:53the BJP.
43:54Now, today, you are coming out in defense of the EC and the BJP.
43:57It seems in Indian politics, where you stand depends on where you sit.
44:01In our case, we believe based on facts and data. Our belief system is quite clear. And as a political...
44:07Facts could not have been different location 2019 to 2026.
44:11No, but we continue to fight. Who said we don't? We have expressed our opinions. We have gone to election
44:16commission multiple times.
44:17We have stated that, you know, SIR should be done in a certain way. We have our opinion at the
44:21table.
44:22We continue to, continue to voice our opinion. Who said that our opinion has disappeared on it?
44:28So I want to understand, what is the TDP's role? Are you a constructive critic within the government?
44:34Do you all have a voice within the government? Because one perception is this government is a one and a
44:38half man show.
44:39That the allies no longer really matter. Do you all matter? I found it interesting.
44:43For example, before the monsoon session, many of your TDP MPs reportedly objected to the Viksit Bharat Education Bill, for
44:49example, which was then pulled back.
44:51On work board, you all gave various suggestions. What is the TDP stand within the NDA?
44:55Are you completely committed to the BJP and Narendra Modi ji or are you all constructive critics within this framework?
45:03We are an ally of NDA. We have an opinion on a subject. We will voice it within the four
45:09walls.
45:10And similarly, the Wakaf bill went to JPC. We gave our input. In various other matters, we have given our
45:16input.
45:16And we will continue to do it. We will continue to play a role in the India government.
45:21We will continue to give our feedback to the government.
45:24So you are very clear that when the opposition calls for the impeachment of the CEC,
45:28when the opposition starts says that they are going to have a jail-bharu-andolan or street-wide protest,
45:34TDP will stand firmly by the Narendra Modi government on this issue.
45:40You don't see that the BJP has tried to game the system or fix the system to ensure that they
45:44win elections.
45:45If they gamed and fixed the system, then why did they lose Kerala?
45:49Because the BJP is not a major force in Kerala.
45:53The BJP, you could argue that Congress and the BRS were the top two forces.
45:57Can you say that? If you look at it in the Parliament elections,
46:00majority of the MP seats were won by BJP.
46:03Same thing in Kerala.
46:05So see, it's political convenience to blame.
46:08But then do you have an institutional framework in the field to ensure that the voting is mapped?
46:14It's not there for Congress.
46:15It's easy to blame when you lose on election commission.
46:18When you win, you can say that there are various other reasons that you won an election on.
46:21So you are saying parties with superior organization can do the mapping,
46:25can ensure that their voters are on the electoral rolls?
46:27I'm saying it's important that every eligible voter is on the electoral rolls.
46:31And as a political party, we've understood the power of the voter list.
46:35From day one, we've been very focused.
46:37Even in opposition, we raised our opinion with election commission regarding the voter list.
46:42And we worked through the entire process.
46:45Let's turn to Gen Z.
46:47In many ways, I don't know where you qualify.
46:49You're 43.
46:50You're a millennial.
46:52But I want to understand, where do you stand on this Gen Z and the angst of a younger India,
46:59which seems, after particularly the rise of the Cockroach Janata Party,
47:03to be railing against the system?
47:06They've become anti-establishment.
47:07Do you believe Gen Z has a genuine reason to be angry?
47:12Fundamentally, I believe that we are seeing a new movement in India,
47:15where it has nothing to do with caste, religion or region.
47:20It has to do with the demographic, where there is a set of youngsters,
47:23who believe that the system has to be transformed.
47:27I believe that are there areas to improve?
47:29Absolutely.
47:30Even in our own government, I believe that there are multiple areas that we can do better.
47:34So what really excites me is that now we've identified the problems.
47:38We understand where we stand.
47:40As youngsters, all of us can come together and find solutions to those problems.
47:45And that's what excites me today.
47:46Do you believe that we need a complete revamping of the education system of this country,
47:51including the way exams are conducted?
47:54Absolutely.
47:55Absolutely.
47:55I agree with you on that.
47:57I believe that the education system has to be realigned with the requirements of Bharat of tomorrow,
48:05not of yesterday.
48:06And as Education Minister, I'm taking it head on.
48:09I've done teacher recruitment, 16,000.
48:12Teachers have been recruited in the most transparent fare process.
48:14Today, I have a data set where every child is tracked.
48:17So we ensure that there are no dropouts.
48:19Because dropout is where, potentially, they take diversions from society.
48:25They can become drug peddlers, so on and so forth.
48:27So we are very conscious of it.
48:29So we have already done a lot of reforms in the education system.
48:32As far as examination conduct is considered, do we need reforms?
48:36Absolutely.
48:36No second thoughts about it.
48:37There are areas that we can do better.
48:39As you rightly said, the IIT exams are a great example where it's done very well.
48:44DSC exams is a completely computer-based testing.
48:47It's not manual.
48:48We have shown the way in teacher recruitment to other states.
48:52So I think there's a lot that we can learn and improve.
48:54How important is it to align this Gen Z to the changing ecosystem where AI is going to become central
49:01to a lot of the professional challenges of the future?
49:05How do you train, for example, young children in a rural school in Andhra Pradesh or across the state to
49:11equip them to be AI friendly students who can compete with the best in India and the world?
49:17Because Andhra's great quality has been that you are able to embrace the IT revolution.
49:22How do you now embrace the AI revolution?
49:25So the Honorable Chief Minister has taken a stand that every family should either be a user of AI or
49:31should have a use case for AI.
49:33This has been the stand.
49:34And we are working through the education department, our own department, of creating mechanisms where you can expose students to
49:41the next frontier technologies ranging from AI all the way to quantum.
49:45So we are doing micro courses.
49:47We are now building out our computer labs.
49:49And if you have seen, we have modernized quite a few schools in our ecosystem where labs have come in.
49:55Exposure is now started.
49:56But I believe this is just the beginning.
49:58Education system cannot be reformed overnight.
50:00It requires a decade, at least a decade of investment.
50:04And as a state, we are now doing that investments.
50:06Just for a moment to come back to the Gen Z point.
50:08It seems that the government has said that MPs, ministers should all go to universities across the country, interact with
50:15students.
50:16Rather than interact, should they start listening to students?
50:19You know, putting up Instagram reels.
50:21I don't know whether you are also an Instagrammer.
50:24You put up reels, but do you believe that's the way to connect with the young as the government wants,
50:28but actually to listen to what the young really want?
50:32I believe every government should listen, irrespective to the age group.
50:36Is this government listening? Is the Modi government listening to the voices of the young?
50:40In Andhra Pradesh, we are doing it.
50:42Our MPs are now going to colleges.
50:44I am also going to colleges.
50:46With no agenda.
50:47We are sitting there, having an open conversation.
50:49That is where great ideas actually end up coming.
50:51You know, there's specific advice given on quantum.
50:54When I went to Narsarapa at a constituency, and I went to the university there,
50:59the kids asked me that they want courses in quantum computing.
51:02And that's where I worked backwards with IBM to bring about capsule courses for the kids there.
51:07And they get credit for it.
51:08So once you, you know, create this practice of just sharing them out, there are a lot of ideas that
51:13we can put together.
51:13So is that an advice that you are in a way giving?
51:15Because you said in Andhra Pradesh we are doing it.
51:17Is that the advice you would give to the center?
51:19Rather than rely on one-minute reels, Instagram reels, the way actually is to go on the ground,
51:24listen to the students and then build the infrastructure to make them AI friendly for the future.
51:29I believe we are already doing it.
51:31Can we do it?
51:32What do you mean?
51:32Is the central government doing it or is the Andhra government doing it?
51:36In central government we have one cabinet minister.
51:38We have one minister of state.
51:39Their feedback to me is that they are also going to the field.
51:42They are interacting with the youngsters across board.
51:45And I believe that this is just the beginning.
51:47Greater discussion should happen.
51:50Good to have you taking on all our questions and we wish you and your state very well.
51:57Thank you very much Nara Lokesh for joining us here on this fireside chat at the India Today South Conclave.
52:05Okay, let's take a break at this point.
52:08When we return, we are turning to our Get Real India story.
52:13And that's coming from Maharashtra where large parts of the state are affected by drought at the moment.
52:20That is our Get Real India story.
52:23Back in a moment.
52:24You are watching the news today.
52:26News without the noise.
52:29You are with the news today.
52:30Our Get Real India story.
52:32Maharashtra is in the grip of a drought or several parts of Maharashtra certainly are facing drought at the moment.
52:39A village in Solapur district for example is up in arms.
52:44People there have put the village itself on sale in what is being described as a rather unique protest against
52:51what their demand is at the moment.
52:54A demand for water.
52:57Just give us water is what the villagers in Solapur are saying.
53:01It's our Get Real India story.
53:18A village in Maharashtra has put itself on sale.
53:22People of Tulshi village in Solapur want any of India's rich industrialists to buy them out.
53:34All they want in return is water.
53:40Villagers claimed they deserted to this unique protest after their pleas for water were ignored by authorities.
53:48You are very people 19.
53:51We are of 10,000 or 20.
53:53We are a small village.
53:55Just have a nice support for our government.
53:58Let our village do that they sell their agents.
54:00We want to make a big deal in this country.
54:08The price of our village is only water.
54:16If we give water, water and take our village, we recommend it.
54:23We recommend it to you.
54:30The Sina Madha lift irrigation scheme, which draws water from the Ujjani Dam, a lifeline
54:36for Madha Taluka, has been operational since 2000.
54:42But Tulshi village somehow wasn't included.
54:45After long protests, Tulshi was finally covered under the scheme, but water is yet to reach
54:51it.
54:55So, the villagers are totally dependent on tankers, especially in this drought year.
55:40No water to drink, no water for farming.
55:45Tulshi is desperately looking for help.
55:49With Nitin Shinde, Bureau Report, India Today.