- 5 hours ago
Opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc carried out a protest march from Parliament toward the Election Commission of India headquarters in New Delhi over voter list deletions under the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
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00:03Welcome you're watching to the point I'm Preeti Chaudhary for what we know right now Rahul Gandhi
00:10Priyanka Gandhi as well as some leaders of the Congress continue to squat not very far off from
00:16the election office the election commission's office we're going to cut across get you the
00:22latest coming in from ground zero where the protest continues first up allow me to take
00:26you through the headlines pandemonium amidst protest in Delhi Gandhi's own dharna at Akashwani
00:38Bhavan for over eight hours demanding meet with CEC Gyanesh Kumar whole body claims no
00:43request for meet received yet from the Congress BJP goes all guns blazing against the Congress
00:53takes on Rahul Gandhi for misleading the country with baseless vote chori claims
00:58Union Minister Kiran Vijayju advises Congress to start serving people to win elections
01:08man who claimed to be a journalist arrested by Delhi police over fake AI generated poster
01:13depicting a police officer sexually assaulting a woman
01:17cops release new video claiming protestors also misbehaved with them
01:28Kamil Nadu's Dharapuram and Madhuna witnesses high voter turnout
01:34Dharapuram sees over 78.53 percent voter turnout and 83.86 percent in Madhura Natakam
01:46as of 5 p.m.
01:52Voters turnout in big numbers in Bengal's Nandi Gram and Reggie Nagar 79.39 percent voter turnout in Nandi
01:59Gram while 78.42 percent in Reggie Nagar
02:14all right let's cut across to the Akashwani Bhavan the Gandhis continue to be on dharna at Akashwani
02:20Bhavan ever since this afternoon where they took out a march from parliament to the election commission
02:26of india rahul and priyanka both adamant to meet with cec gyanesh kumar and the election commission
02:33telly police officials have urged rahul gandhi to end the dharna rahul gandhi has denied and
02:39refusing to budge from the akashwani bhavan let me simplify it for you viewers the election commission
02:44building is two buildings away from akashwani bhavan akashwani bhavan was where the biggest barricade
02:51that the opposition mps had faced when they were marching to the election commission of india
02:56rahul gandhi priyanka gandhi and certain leaders of the congress decided then to squat at akashwani
03:02bhavan inside the premises from the road they went inside the premises under a banyan tree have now
03:08squatted there over the last eight hours the poll body has countered rahul they say no
03:13formal formal request has been received yet for the meeting the commission will consider requesting
03:19the congress sends it rahul gandhi and 140 mps of the opposition today took out a march
03:26from the parliament all the way to the election commission where he was stopped at akashwani
03:31bhavan and that is where rahul gandhi has sat down continue to protest listen
03:36wong kama abhayul gandhi is the
04:21All right, I'm going to cut across to my colleague Shreya Chatterjee, who's been reporting
04:24there through the course of the morning.
04:26Shreya, what's the latest?
04:27It does seem Rahul Gandhi is now on an indefinite dharna.
04:30The Delhi police, strangely, after detaining him this morning, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka
04:35Gandhi alighted from that bus and are now squatting on dharna, the Delhi police does not want
04:40to use force to evict them.
04:42That is what at least is now the understanding.
04:51Well, absolutely, Preeti, I'm right outside the Akashvani Bhavan, which is on the right
04:56hand side of me.
04:56And this is the spot where that India Bloc MP's march was going on.
05:01Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, the moment they were put in the bus, they swift away and
05:06they entered Akashvani Bhavan.
05:08And that's been now eight long hours.
05:10Rahul Gandhi stayed put.
05:12Now, I did see through the course of these eight hours, senior Delhi police officials tried
05:16to mitigate the situation.
05:17Rahul Gandhi did not...
05:19Shreya, may I just, I'm going to just interrupt you and the reason I'm coming in is because
05:22we're going to cut across to Akhile Shiaadav speaking live right now and then we'll go across
05:27to my colleague Shreya and we're also joined by senior Congress leader Renu Karchar.
05:36Shreya, may I just, I don't know.
06:05The election commissioner and the president of B.J.P. who is a voter, who is a voter.
06:15This is where it will be.
06:17This is why all the people of B.J.P. say that you are talking about the team,
06:25foreign
06:33foreign
06:35foreign
06:38foreign
06:39foreign
06:56foreign
06:58foreign
06:58foreign
07:06foreign
07:08foreign
07:18I want to cut across right now, Shreya, I'm going to come to you, you know, just in about
07:35five minutes.
07:35Give me five minutes.
07:36My colleague, Shreya, getting us the latest, I want to cut across right now directly to
07:40Ms. Renuka Chaudhary, senior leader, Congress, also Rajya Sabha MP Ms. Chaudhary.
07:44It does seem that the Congress has decided to stake out at Akashwani Bhava, not very far
07:50from the Election Commission of India.
07:51What's the future plan of action?
07:54Rahul Gandhi not moving until and unless he's forcibly evicted, is that the plan?
08:11Ms. Chaudhary, can you hear me?
08:14All right, I'm going to cut across to Ms. Renuka Chaudhary in just a short while, but I want
08:18to just take you through the visuals that are streaming in.
08:21One by one leaders continue to join the protest.
08:24I believe Mahua Moitra, who was to join us in just about five minutes from now, has already
08:28also reached the protest site, which is at Akashwani Bhavan.
08:34So now the Congress protest is expanding to not just a Congress protest, where other leaders
08:40also one by one joining in.
08:42I want to cut across to colleague Shreya Chatterjee and then we'll go to Ms. Renuka Chaudhary.
08:46Shreya, if you're still with me, it does seem that this is an indefinite dharna and now not
08:51just limited to the Congress.
08:53The likes of Mahua Moitra and other party leaders joining in this sit out.
09:01Well, absolutely, Preeti, you know, just a while back we got a message from the Thrunmul
09:05Congress that Derrick O'Brien and Mahua Moitra are also trying to enter Akashwani Bhavan,
09:10but they're not being allowed inside right now.
09:12In all likelihood, no more leaders will be allowed by the Delhi police right now as they
09:16try to mitigate the situation.
09:17The last word I had with one of the officials, they say that they have been communicated that
09:22Rahul Gandhi is very adamant that he needs to get a time from the three-flection commissioner.
09:26He wants to meet him and only then will he end his protest.
09:30So that's a clear thing that's been communicated to the Delhi police and it's been eight long
09:34hours now, Preeti.
09:35No sign of any change happening as of now.
09:37The mattresses have come in, we've seen food come in.
09:40So clearly the Congress is going to be staying put.
09:42Now with the likes of Derrick O'Brien and Moha Moitra joining, this is only going to increase
09:47up until now, the CEC or the election commission decides that they are allowed to meet them.
09:53What is the stance of the Delhi police?
09:55Because both Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were detained this morning.
10:00They were taken and escorted into a bus.
10:01They decided to then alight from that bus and sit in on a dharna.
10:06The Delhi police seemingly doesn't want to use force and evict the Gandhis and other leaders.
10:13Yes.
10:16Well, you know, they're learning a lesson because remember the last time we saw that
10:19dharna outside the PM house, there were some visuals, I mean, that did drown in social media,
10:24the manner in which Rahul Gandhi was detained.
10:27So there was a clear message today during the protest that you have to be patient with the
10:30member of parliament.
10:31And that's exactly the kind of measure we're seeing on the part of Delhi police.
10:35There was no attempt to detain Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi from inside Akashvani Bhavan.
10:39We saw a bus come in.
10:41We saw a car come in.
10:42There were requests definitely made, but no detention, no deliberate force being put to
10:47remove Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi.
10:49And Rahul Gandhi has very clearly communicated by a Priyanka Gandhi that he'll only move once
10:53he gets the time to meet the chief election commissioner.
10:56All right.
10:57Shrest, stay on with me.
10:58Let's cut across to Amit Bhardwaj, who's also now with us.
11:01Amit, one by one, it seems the protest dharna of what was just in the beginning, Priyanka Gandhi,
11:07Rahul Gandhi, and if we now dip in, a lot of other leaders of the Congress have joined in.
11:11I mean, Dipinder Udda has always been there since the afternoon itself, but now you can
11:15see the likes of Raja Waring, KC Vanugopal had also joined in.
11:19So Congress leaders joining in from the TMC, Derek O'Brien, Mahua Moitra also trying to
11:24get into this dharna.
11:25What are you picking up?
11:27What's the sense?
11:27It seems that the Congress and other political parties are ready for an all-nighter.
11:37Absolutely right.
11:38At least that's what Rahul Gandhi has planned for himself.
11:41And when your leader decides something, the party workers and other colleagues have to,
11:47you know, match up to that particular standard.
11:49And that's what is happening because Rahul Gandhi is completely giving competition to his
11:53own party members out here.
11:56We saw what happened at 7LKM, Rahul Gandhi took all his colleagues there, sat on a dharna
12:01for nearly three hours at a location that was next to impossible.
12:05And even today, this kind of dharna was unheard of inside a, you know, government building
12:11by opposition leader Akashwani Bhavan.
12:14And what I can see is that I just got a call as well as you were mentioning, Derek O
12:18'Brien
12:18and Mahua Moitra.
12:20Both of them are trying to get inside the area where Rahul Gandhi is sitting on a dharna.
12:25Amit, you can see Derek on the screen and we are getting information as well.
12:29Mahua Moitra, who was to join us, has already joined the dharna.
12:32So you can see them.
12:33Is it expanding?
12:34Is it expanding?
12:34Are we expecting now other political party leaders like Samajwadi party also to come in
12:39and join?
12:43Could be, could be because TMC decided and they sent two of their MPs here.
12:48One from the Lok Sabha, one from the Rajya Sabha.
12:51There's a possibility that other parties also send their representatives if at all Rahul
12:56Gandhi, you know, announces and there is no resolution achieved between Delhi police.
13:02And, okay, some sort of heated argument happening between team Rahul and the para forces out
13:11there.
13:13So I believe that they are trying to calm down their workers as well.
13:17But that is Manoj Tyagi from Rahul Gandhi's team who came here, had a heated argument with
13:23the para forces in Delhi police deployed out here, but could be possibly also to calm down
13:28congress workers because constantly our congress karekartas, NSUIA and IYC karekartas are charged
13:33up and they are upbeat, they are saying our leader is inside, he's in a way detained, not
13:39being allowed to move forward and hence we will also keep extending our support and we
13:44will not move away from this very spot.
13:46Amit, just stay on with me.
13:48Allow me to just cut across to Renuka Choudhury.
13:50I'm going to come right back to you and Shreya.
13:52Those visuals there, clearly some commotion like Amit is also pointing out and I think it's
13:56an attempt by Priyanka Gandhi Wadra to pacify the workers.
13:59A lot of congress workers in Kadar are outside Akashwani Bhavan while Priyanka Gandhi and other
14:07leaders are squatting inside.
14:08Renuka Choudhury, senior congress leader, Rajya Sabha MP now joining me live.
14:13Ms. Choudhury, what's the plan of the congress?
14:14It seems you're ready to pull an all-nighter.
14:21Yes, it doesn't matter.
14:23We are fighting for the people, the citizens of this nation, Priyanka Gandhi.
14:29Whether it takes a night, a day, a lifetime, we will continue to fight.
14:37What's the problem with the EC?
14:39No, no, I just wanted to know.
14:41Ma'am, there's no problem.
14:43I just wanted to know just to get information that what is the plan?
14:46Because are you moving?
14:46You're not moving?
14:47Because now it's been over eight hours.
14:49So we just wanted to get in more information.
14:51Understandably, you decided…
14:53No, our plan of action is directly proportionate.
15:00Make your point, ma'am.
15:04Yeah, I'm saying our plan of action is directly proportionate to the inaction by the election commission.
15:11There was no need for all this.
15:14What is their problem in meeting with the LOP?
15:17But Ms. Choudhury, I'll tell you what the problem is.
15:19So many political parties have assembled.
15:21There is no official communication to the election commission of India to ask for time to meet them.
15:27They are saying, you send us a request, we'll meet you.
15:29That is seemingly what's coming out of the election commission.
15:32They are saying there's no request by the Congress or any other political party.
15:36Listen, there was no request by the election commission when they imposed form 6 on the citizens of this country.
15:45There was no permission sought when they replaced the CJI from the choosing the commissioners process.
15:52There was no permission sought by the people of this nation before they eliminated all the citizens who are empowered
16:00by the constitution that their votes have been removed.
16:03There was no permission anywhere.
16:05And we don't need permission.
16:08And LOP doesn't require permission to meet with the election commissioner.
16:13And don't they read the newspapers?
16:15They don't know what's happening.
16:17They haven't heard the news.
16:18They didn't realize that we are approaching them.
16:21What is this drama and this third-rate technique of saying,
16:25Oh, they didn't write a letter to us and that's why we are not meeting them.
16:29And should they write?
16:30Now, this is the exit they're seeking.
16:33They're just seeking an excuse, a lame excuse to say why they have blundered like this.
16:39They have blundered monumentally.
16:42And they are looking guilty.
16:44There is no transparency.
16:45The whole country is witness to this.
16:47I'm very glad.
16:48The more they behave like this, the more they stand exposed.
16:53Ms. Chaudh, there's a sense and we've been talking to other leaders of the opposition parties that have joined you.
16:58Some of them right now sitting besides you, like the TMC, the Samajwadi party also pledging support to this dharna.
17:04The difference is that most of the other opposition parties are very clear that they have limited their demand to
17:12just the resignation of the CEC
17:13and don't quite concur with what the Congress is asking by expanding the ambit of this protest to not just
17:20the CEC but asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
17:24That to the other opposition parties is an untenable demand.
17:32That doesn't matter.
17:34Please let us take the first step.
17:36They didn't have any comprehension.
17:39The people when Rahul Gandhi had raised this issue almost two and a half, three years ago.
17:47Congress was the party that kept pressing for it.
17:51And today they have understood.
17:53We have great respect and regard for all our partners in the INDA, IA bloc.
17:58So let us take the first step.
18:01First let the CEC step down.
18:03And then when they realize the level to which this intrigue has been carried out,
18:10you have no idea, even to one of the top industrial companies which were held in such high regard,
18:19right up till there, the rot has spread right up till there.
18:22So when all these facts come out, they will appreciate.
18:25But we are not pressuring.
18:27We are saying, okay, come together on the first step.
18:30The first step is let Mr. Gyanesh Kumar go.
18:34It's over.
18:35The show is over.
18:36He should go.
18:39All right, so what you are seemingly suggesting,
18:42there have been multiple press conferences, Ms. Chaudhary,
18:45from the Bharatiya Janata Party as well.
18:47And the messaging there is very clear that all of this
18:50is trying to politically milk a moment for gain
18:54where the opposition is concerned
18:56to offer an excuse from what have been
18:58consecutive poll debacles for the Congress Party.
19:06It's typical of them.
19:08They have such a narrow vision.
19:10This has nothing to do with electoral losses or gains.
19:14This is about the fundamentals and the principle of what elections are based on.
19:18What is the Form 6 controversy?
19:20Is that something we've raised?
19:23That they have put a cloud on all of this.
19:26They don't answer the citizens.
19:29The fellow commissioners have reported.
19:32Fourteen times they have complained.
19:35Court, Supreme Court of India has taken cognizance.
19:38But they don't want to answer that.
19:40They're obviously, they do these diversionary tactics.
19:43They're masters at that.
19:45But this time they've blown their cover.
19:48Whatever they say and whatever they do or don't do
19:52shows them for what they are of guilty, colluding, corruption
19:58and a very suspicious track record.
20:03It has nothing.
20:04What is it we've lost or we've gained?
20:06I mean, our party is more than 100 years old.
20:09These chappies have just come in 12 years ago
20:13and they're doing all these dramas.
20:15Let's see you last that long and we'll talk about it then.
20:17Ms. Choudhury, one quick question.
20:19We are.
20:19One quick question before I let you go
20:21and that question stems from the fact
20:22or rather inquisitiveness
20:25on why is it that the Delhi police
20:26is not forcibly evicting your party leaders
20:29from Aakashwani Bhawan
20:31because it had happened
20:32in front of the Prime Minister's residence.
20:35Why do you think the Delhi police
20:36is not using force where eviction is concerned
20:39or detention?
20:42I think some dawning of wisdom happened
20:45after the PM's house
20:46that got us a lot more traction
20:48than what they thought.
20:50So I'm glad.
20:51I'm glad.
20:53I'm baffled by one thing, Preeti.
20:55I just want to ask.
20:56They brought out this much police force today
21:01to control MPs,
21:04elected members of parliament
21:06who come to parliament every day.
21:08What happens to all this patrolling
21:10on the streets in the nights
21:11when women are being molested?
21:13And the journalists who complained,
21:15the women journalists who complained
21:17about a cop he's been promoted.
21:19Those are the questions we need to ask.
21:22Why are the streets not safe?
21:24Why are these guys guarding members of parliament?
21:27We've been cleared on several security levels
21:29hundreds of times.
21:31Okay.
21:32These guys should be out there
21:33patrolling the streets,
21:34ensuring that the women in this country are safe
21:37and that we don't ever rape
21:38one woman in every 18 minutes.
21:41That is the national shame also.
21:45All right.
21:45Thank you, Ms. Chowdhury, for joining us.
21:47I want to just quickly cut across
21:48and get in a reaction
21:49if we have our reporters on ground.
21:52Okay, we're going to try and connect
21:54to our reporters there.
21:56But right now,
21:56who you see on television is,
21:59there is, of course, Praniti Shinde,
22:03daughter of Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde,
22:06Congress leader.
22:07You can see Maua Moitro.
22:08You can see Derrick O'Brien.
22:10You can see Casey Vanu Gopal,
22:12Raja Waring Singh.
22:14All right.
22:14There is Mr. Pawan Khera
22:17and Mr. Dipinder Hooda.
22:18Lots of Congress leaders
22:19as well as other party leaders there.
22:21Meanwhile, the SIR battle today,
22:23I'll just take you through the course
22:24on what really transpired.
22:25Spilled out off the ballot box
22:27and onto the streets
22:28where politics is concerned.
22:29It's already on the streets
22:31over the last couple of days.
22:32But today was the political march
22:34by the opposition.
22:35This is how the day panned out.
22:46The India bloc came marching.
22:48Their destination,
22:50the election commission.
22:53Their demand,
22:55action against
22:56Chief Election Commissioner
22:57Gyanesh Kumar
22:58and a halt to the SIR exercise.
23:06But the road to the EC office
23:08was blocked.
23:10Barricades went up
23:11and the political showdown
23:13turned into a street confrontation.
23:18One after another,
23:20opposition leaders were detained.
23:24Samajwadi Party Chief
23:25Akhilesh Yadav was detained.
23:28TMC's Abhishek Banerjee
23:30was detained too.
23:32The BJP has said
23:34that he can't go.
23:35Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi
23:38were also briefly detained.
23:41But before that,
23:42Rahul Gandhi had already delivered
23:44the day's most striking visual.
23:46Rahul climbed on top of the barricades
23:49with the tricolor in his hand.
23:53He waved the national flag
23:55as the stand-up
23:56with police played out below.
23:59The opposition says
24:01the fight is about
24:02protecting voters' rights
24:04and democracy.
24:06The BJP has rejected
24:07the allegation.
24:38We have to have
24:38Why the defenders of democracy, America, England and Europe are silent, they are not acting on India.
25:08Those who can't do a tweet for Captain Smith, they don't have to vote for them.
25:15The government is not partisan, everyone is. The government is.
25:21Rahul and Priyanka moved towards Akashvani Bhavan, just a short distance from the Election Commission.
25:27Congress leaders tried to enter the premises. They were initially stopped and then protest took another turn.
25:35The Gandhi siblings sat down under a banyan tree inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises.
25:42Aadharna just stretched for hours.
26:02And this was not just a Congress protest.
26:05Even though several opposition party leaders hit the streets on Tuesday, two key parties were absent.
26:12Aap and DMK.
26:15The DMK questioned Rahul's stand on SIR deletions in Tamil Nadu.
26:20Even called the leader of opposition a duplicitous man.
26:25The SIR battle is no longer confined to the voter list.
26:29It is now playing out in a very public way in the heart of the capital.
26:35With Mausami Singh, Piyush Mishra, Rahul Gautam, Preeti Chaudhary, Bureau Report, India Today.
26:46All right, connecting now to Mr. P. Sandosh Kumar, CPI MP, Rajya Sabha.
26:51Mr. Kumar, thank you for taking the time out and joining us.
26:55I believe you were detained. You've just been released.
26:57I just want to get an understanding from you.
27:00The Congress leaders have decided to sit on Dharna, where the other opposition parties of the India Alliance is concerned.
27:07What is your next course of action?
27:11You know, the next course of action is yet to be decided.
27:14And on 30th September, we have taken certain decisions, and that's already announced, and it's in the public domain.
27:20On 1st of November, there will be a huge rally in Damlila Maidan.
27:25And prior to that, there will be mass movements, I mean, rallies in different states of our country.
27:31And, you know, in this movement, you cannot predict the future course of action.
27:35Because it's not only a political movement. Many other outfits are also joining.
27:39So, it depends the, I mean, how the movement is getting, you know, escalation.
27:47So, I cannot predict the future course of action.
27:50But one thing is quite clear, Mr. Ganesh Kumar will have to go.
27:54Detention or other methods cannot save him.
27:58And with, I mean, police force, they cannot suppress this movement.
28:03And that way, I cannot say that this is, we are going to do this tomorrow, day after tomorrow.
28:09So, no, but we will continue our protest, and many other outfits are also likely to join.
28:15Today, BJD joined us. It's a welcome step.
28:17So, I'm quite sure of his resignation, Mr. Ganesh Kumar's resignation.
28:24Mr. Sandosh Kumar, you said the BJD joined you, but there are certain parties, like the Aam Admi Party, DMK,
28:29that have stayed away.
28:30Now, do you think over time you will be able to project a more united front?
28:37The number of our friends, I mean, the journals, I mean, media are asking this question repeatedly.
28:44I kindly understand that DMK and Aam Admi Party are not part of India Alliance.
28:49They were part of the India Alliance, but due to certain state-level political issues,
28:54I mean, they actually just left the Alliance, so is to say.
28:59Okay. So, but the point is that this has become the issue of all political parties,
29:04whether India bloc or other political bloc, that doesn't make sense.
29:08So, I think those followers and leaders of Aam Admi Party and DMK are understanding the gravity of the situation.
29:15So, why I especially mentioned BJD?
29:17Because BJD was never part of India Alliance, but they were glad in joining this movement.
29:23But I hope this has become a mass movement throughout the country, and this will escalate in the coming days.
29:32Mr. Kumar, you know, one thing needs to be cleared now.
29:36The Congress has seemingly expanded their demand, which is no longer just the resignation of the CEC.
29:42They've taken the fight to the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
29:45They want the resignations of the Prime Minister and Home Minister, which some of the other parties, like your party,
29:51is not comfortable with.
29:55This decision of conducting a march on 6th of October was taken in the meeting of prominent India bloc leaders
30:06on 30th of September.
30:07So, the demand at that time is the resignation of Mr. Gyanesh Kumar.
30:12Nothing more, nothing less.
30:14And if someone is adding something to that, it is to be discussed, and I don't know much about that,
30:22you are now saying this new point to me.
30:25I accept it, but to be very frank with you, the resignation of Mr. Gyanesh Kumar is the only solution.
30:34Of course, Mr. Amitja and Prime Minister were helping him, and he was just a kind of project host, all
30:41of us know.
30:42But as of now, our demand is the resignation of Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, and we, all political parties in India,
30:50alliance, are continuously demanding the same.
30:54All right, Mr. Sandosh Kumar, thank you there for joining us.
30:57I understand you were detained.
30:58You've just been released, and thank you now from joining us from where you are.
31:03I want to immediately cut across to our guests this evening.
31:05Joining me, Sanju Verma, National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party, Ghansham Tiwari, National Spokesperson, Samajwadi Party.
31:12If both of you would allow me, I just want to get in a quick reaction from my colleague, Moshmi,
31:17who's joining us right now from the Akashwani Bhawan.
31:20Just to get an understanding, Moshmi, on what is the course of action of Rahul Gandhi.
31:25It seems he's ready.
31:27There are gaddas there.
31:28They are pretty much set for the night.
31:31Strangely, this time around, the Delhi police is not forcibly evicting them.
31:42Absolutely, you've got the reading between the lines, right, Preeti?
31:46You know, in a blink, the Delhi police had whisked Rahul Gandhi away when he didn't heed to their request
31:55of vacating the Prime Minister's residence.
31:57Remember, and you know, Akhilesh Yadav had merely landed there when he was detained.
32:03But this time around, the Delhi police has completely changed its strategy.
32:08And there might be some method in the madness because, you know, the heat has been on as far as
32:15Delhi police is concerned.
32:17And we've been hearing a lot of public announcements, the do's and don'ts, how the media should behave and what
32:23cautions they should exercise.
32:25A lot of public, you know, image beating is what I think that has gone through, the Delhi police has
32:32gone through.
32:32But that aside, we knew it right from the start when Rahul Gandhi turned to Akashwani and then started, the
32:40Chatters and the Chattais started coming in, that this is going to be a long haul.
32:45We are told that there, by the Congress sources, there are some negotiations in terms of a meeting being arranged
32:54that are on.
32:56The Congress has, and in fact, Priyanka Gandhi is spearheading those talks.
33:01And she has clearly said that till we don't meet the CEC and the two EECs, we are not leaving
33:07from here or any other place here a lot.
33:10So I think, and now the India Bloc leaders are starting to come in again.
33:14We've seen Derek and Bahua Moitra come in.
33:17I believe Akhilesh Yadav was also called, but a little too late because Akhilesh is already left for Lucknow.
33:22So we'll have to see whether they're going to really make it yet again an India Bloc protest right here
33:29in Akashwani, or before that, the ice could melt between the authorities and the Congress.
33:39Right now doesn't seem so.
33:41And Moshmi, I don't envy you.
33:42I was there in the morning at Akashwani Bhawan where Moshmi is standing.
33:46But such is the life of a political reporter.
33:49You have little clue on how the day is going to unfold.
33:52And my condolences, Moshmi.
33:54It seems it's going to be an all-nighter for you as well.
33:56Well, you've partnered me on the ground many a times, Priyanka.
34:01Well, luckily, I'm fortunate for me.
34:04I'm in the studio right now.
34:06But like I said, my condolences.
34:08I know it's going to be an all-nighter.
34:09Something that you never planned for.
34:11But that's the life of a news reporter.
34:13It's a tough one.
34:14But thank you, Moshmi, for joining me from Akashwani Bhawan.
34:17We're going to continue to cut across to her.
34:19I want to go back to our panelists this evening for our face-off.
34:24And it is between Sanju Verma versus Ghansham Tiwadi.
34:27Sanju Verma, three press conferences back-to-back from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
34:32All of this doesn't quite need to have happened if there was one press conference from the ECI.
34:38Two minutes' time starts now, ma'am.
34:41You know, Preeti, let's get one thing very clear.
34:44The opposition keeps asking, why is BJP coming in to support Gyanesh Kumar?
34:49Excuse me?
34:50From Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Padra to Akhilesh Yadav and the debilitated Mamda Bhanerji to Tejashvi Yadav.
34:56What do they keep saying?
34:57There is a partnership between the election commission and BJP and the BJP in the beach.
35:01There is a partnership between the BJP and the BJP and the BJP is a handmaiden, an agent, a tool
35:05of the BJP.
35:06So you expect BJP to stay deaf, dumb and mute and not come in and say what needs to be
35:12said?
35:12Excuse me, that's not going to happen.
35:14Point number two.
35:15The Congress Party says, you know, why is Gyanesh Kumar not willing to meet us?
35:19Do you remember, 11th August 2025 at 12 noon, Gyanesh Kumar was willing to meet Rahul Gandhi.
35:28Jairam Ramesh had put in an official request.
35:31The election commission waited at Nirvachan Sadhan.
35:3430 opposition parties who had requested for the meeting.
35:38Not a single opposition party turned up.
35:41Not a single leader turned up.
35:42Rahul Gandhi did not turn up.
35:44Jairam Ramesh did not turn up.
35:46Jairam Ramesh, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka, Vadra can flout the conventions, the norms of democratic ethos
35:54and that shout from every available rooftop, democracy is in danger, people are in danger,
36:00Samvidan is in danger.
36:01When the Congress won Kerala, then Samvidan was in danger.
36:05When the Congress won Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, then Samvidan was in danger.
36:10Now that the Congress Party has lost Bihar, was debilitated, vanquished in Maharashtra,
36:15was wiped out in Haryana, then democracy is in danger.
36:18And let me very quickly just say, the Supreme Court yesterday clearly said it will not be
36:23dictated by random newspaper reports.
36:26I hope Ritika Chopra and Indian Express, you are listening to what the Supreme Court said.
36:31The Supreme Court also on 27 May 2026 said,
36:34The election commission retains degree of residual authority to formulate rules pertaining to SIR.
36:42So the Supreme Court has upheld Janesh Kumar's powers.
36:46And let's see what happens in 10 days from now.
36:48Madam, if you legally dive into it, residual powers does not mean that you can change the law.
36:54Form 6 annexure, which is a modification, can only be changed by the 1960 regulation and you have to go
37:02back to the government.
37:03And we'll only know in time to come because now the ECI has to respond to the questions that have
37:09been raised by the top court of this country.
37:11Allow me to bring in Gyanesh, sorry Ghancham Tiwari, Freudian slip.
37:17So allow me to bring in Ghancham Tiwari into this conversation.
37:22Mr. Tiwari, it does seem that your leaders left for Lucknow,
37:26but will there be representation at this, what is now an indefinite dharna at Akashwani Bhavan?
37:33Good evening, Preeti, to you, the viewers and my Ferruko panelists.
37:37First and foremost, I want to salute everyone who is standing there and telling every citizen of the country
37:43that this election commissioner, the handpicked man of Narendra Modiji and Amit Shah, is illegal.
37:51His decisions are illegal.
37:53The conspiracy hatched by Mr. Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar
37:59to turn every voter into an illegal voter and ask every voter to prove their legality has backfired on them.
38:06Today, every voter in India believes that this conspiracy was against the nation,
38:10against our democracy, against its citizen.
38:13And today, every voter can easily look at the facts and believe that Gyanesh Kumar is illegal in his role.
38:21His actions were illegal.
38:22And as a result of that, the men who placed him in that role to conduct this illegal business,
38:27Mr. Modi and Amit Shah are illegal occupants of their role.
38:31Point number one.
38:32Point number two.
38:33As a result of it, if Gyanesh Kumar has to resign, which there is no way he cannot resign,
38:38every election commissioner, everybody who can keep their hand on the heart and say the right thing,
38:42believe that Gyanesh Kumar has to resign.
38:45So if Gyanesh Kumar has to resign, then the chief ministers that his conspiracy created have to resign.
38:51The prime minister and Mr. Amit Shah either have to answer to the parliament
38:55or have to think about their moral standing for future generations.
38:58And as far as the protest is concerned, it is clear that India Alliance is united
39:05in voicing the view of citizens, voicing the spirit of citizens,
39:09that an illegal election commissioner and a conspiratorial prime minister and home minister
39:14cannot continue while the nation suffers.
39:17So we will be part of every protest.
39:20The situation is fluid.
39:22It is dynamic.
39:23We hope that common sense and basic morality prevails in Gyanesh Kumar
39:27and he resigns before showing the ability or confidence to even meet up with anybody.
39:32You know, Sanjay Verma, you know, to get you back into this conversation,
39:36the fact is the election commission in the past has always come out
39:41even at the smallest of apprehension to clear any doubts and stands.
39:45I'll go back to when the opposition had raised at that point of time where they thought that
39:53or they claimed that the EVMs were manipulated.
39:56The election commission of India called a full press conference, put an EVM in front and said,
40:01come, if you can crack the EVM, we will submit to your allegations.
40:06No opposition party really showed up at that point of time.
40:10And the point was proven very well by the election commission by coming out and stating what it did.
40:17The sheer fact that, ma'am, till now, in the last two weeks,
40:21all we have seen is a one-way communication only through two press notes
40:26points a big question mark on the credibility of the EC today.
40:31And everyone is asking that question, Ms. Verma.
40:34You might say random reports, but the fact is the election commission,
40:39you know, the whole saying that you have that not just Caesar's wife,
40:42his neighbor also needs to be above board of suspicion.
40:48You know, let me make one thing again very, very clear.
40:53Residual authority, what is that?
40:55That has been explained in Article 324, 325 and 326 of the Indian Constitution.
41:01And Janesh Kumar has not violated those articles.
41:05Residual authority has been explained in Section 20, 21, 3B of the Representation of People's Act 1950.
41:13Janesh Kumar has not violated that.
41:16Residual authority has been explained in Rule 13 and Rule 16 of Registration of Electoral Rules 1960.
41:24Janesh Kumar has not violated that.
41:26And for everybody who tells the BJP, Caesar's wife should be above suspicion.
41:31Let me tell them, Rahul Gandhi's shoot and scoot politics per darbari media,
41:37kabhi sawal kyun nahi khaday karti.
41:39And I want to ask Rahul Gandhi through your widely watched show,
41:422.8 crore, dead voters, 3 crore, absent voters, 6.3 crore, permanently shifted voters, 1 crore, duplicate voters.
41:52So Rahul Gandhi, should dead, duplicate, permanently shifted voters have the right to vote?
41:59No.
41:59Oh, and my final point.
42:01People say, oh, Janesh Kumar acted unilaterally.
42:05Excuse me, TN Session did not get along with his colleague, GVG Krishnamurti.
42:10TN Session did not get along and had dissent notes against him from MS Guild.
42:15Naveen Chawla had dissent notes against him from VS Sampath.
42:19VS Sampath had dissent notes against him from Naveen Chawla.
42:23But top darbari media and Congress ecosystem said, so what?
42:28Dissent is kosher.
42:30Dissent is a part of routine protocol.
42:32My simple submission to the opposition is, stop delegitimizing our institutions.
42:39Stop crying foul.
42:40Stop playing the victim card.
42:42Go back to the drawing board and learn lessons as to why you people are being vanquished in one election
42:49after another.
42:50Okay, ma'am, your time is up.
42:53Residual powers or residual authority does not mean under any provision of the constitution that you can go back and
43:00change a law.
43:01And I think that is quite clear.
43:03That has been made very, very clear by various legal experts.
43:08Ghancham Tiwari, to bring you back into this conversation.
43:11There is a demand that has been made by the Congress Party, but seemingly is not coherent with the demand
43:18that has been made by other India Alliance leaders,
43:21which is expanding the ambit of not just asking for the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation,
43:27but going all the way and asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister as well as the Home Minister.
43:32Many from your own alliance find that demand untenable.
43:37We just had a left party leader who was a part of the protest, Rajya Sabha MP, who said exactly
43:44that.
43:44Where does your party stand?
43:46This house of magic cards against the citizens of India that Amit Shah and Naren Modi created is crumbling.
43:54And when Gyanesh Kumar resigns, every citizen of India will rejoice in his resignation.
43:59The man who at the behest of Amit Shah and Naren Modi tried to make every citizen of India illegal.
44:05By the way, the Indian Express has published a case of corruption against Gyanesh Kumar, which has been reopened by
44:12Kerala government.
44:12So a corrupt man chooses to make every voter of India illegal at the behest of Amit Shah.
44:18But Mr Tiwari, that's a 2007 case.
44:21Yes, but the case doesn't go away.
44:22Which suddenly the Kerala government has woken up to.
44:26Yes, but I'm just saying, I'm talking about the news report.
44:28The man who set out to make 100 crore voters prove their votership as a result of citizenship is a
44:36corrupt man as per that report.
44:38And that has to be, today the Gen Z, every citizen of India, as they are reading, this is going
44:44on.
44:44They had succeeded election after election.
44:47They succeeded in Haryana.
44:48They succeeded in Bihar.
44:49They succeeded in Maharashtra.
44:50They succeeded in Bengal.
44:52They succeeded in deleting 13 crore voters.
44:54They succeeded, as the media is reporting, not only to fool the citizens, they also fooled the Supreme Court.
44:59By the way, your question about whether the Prime Minister should resign, Home Minister should resign, will not just rest
45:04with the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
45:06The generations now and generations ahead will also ask the CGI, the Supreme Court, that how do they see their
45:13role in the mirror of justice and morality in allowing Gyanesh Kumar and Amin Shah to do what they did
45:20to this country.
45:21Because there are important cases, including the case related to the election of the Chief Election Commissioner that is pending
45:28in front of the Supreme Court.
45:30Today, in the day of age of information, whether the Supreme Court's role in Bengal elections, the Bihar SIR, or
45:37the Supreme Court's role in the process in which the election commissioner is elected, will not be shooed away by
45:46the future generation and the current generation.
45:48They will ask tough questions.
45:49So, when Gyanesh Kumar resigns, questions will be asked to the Prime Minister, questions will be asked to the Home
45:54Minister, and questions will come to the Supreme Court by the citizens of the country.
45:58And it does not require a consensus among everybody in the country.
46:02These questions are normal.
46:03These show the health of our democracy.
46:05If we don't ask these questions, if media does not ask these questions, if Delhi Police is not questioned, and
46:10if these institutions are not questioned,
46:12then future generations will hold us in contempt that we did not safeguard the democracy that is founded on the
46:19sweat and life of our founding fathers who fought the British to ensure we have freedom.
46:25Gyanesh Kumar with Amit Shah and Narendh Murid went out to kill that freedom.
46:29You got 20 seconds more, sir.
46:31There was a glitch in our clock.
46:32I will give the 30 seconds or 20 seconds extra to Sanju Verma.
46:36Sanju Verma, concluding statements, ma'am.
46:3830 seconds.
46:39You know, Preeti, Ghanshan Tiwari is waxing eloquent about Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, both Jory.
46:46Let me take him back to 2003.
46:48Mulaim Singh Yadav declared himself the Chief Minister on 29th August 2003 after engineering a split within the BSP and
46:57buying out 37 MLAs of the BSP.
47:01The matter went all the way to the Supreme Court, but by the time the judgment came, Mulaim had enjoyed
47:06four and a half hours, four and a half years of unadultrated power.
47:11So, Ghanshan Tiwari, go back, look at your own track record.
47:14You don't have any political or moral high ground to lecture on ethics, integrity and credibility.
47:20And I repeat, 49 governments were dismissed by Indira Gandhi under Article 356.
47:28Seven governments were dismissed by Nehru.
47:30Okay, all right.
47:31Eleven governments were dismissed by Manmohan Singh.
47:33Okay, all right.
47:34Six governments were dismissed by Rajiv Gandhi.
47:35Ma'am, I need to close the show.
47:36That's all the time we have for now.
47:37It was a good example that you gave.
47:39I have another example of the TMC 20 Lok Sabha MPs on now being a part of a different party.
47:46Well, you know, the jury on how that happened is still out.
47:56Images coming in right now from the Akash Pani Bhavan where you can see the Delhi police personnel attempting to
48:02detain Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi who were seated there for the last nine hours on Adharna.
48:09All the other Congress leaders around the Gandhis have already been detained.
48:14They've been forcibly taken by the Delhi police.
48:16We can confirm for you now that Rahul Gandhi is also being detained by the Delhi police.
48:22Chananjeet Chani, Dipinder Ghuda all taken into custody right now.
48:27So the dharna effectively being forced to come to an end by the Delhi police.
48:32The Congress leaders, the Gandhis were all set to continue their dharna through the night.
48:36But it looks like now the Delhi police has decided to crack down.
48:40You see all of the Congress leaders being taken away in buses, attempts being made to detain Rahul Gandhi.
48:46You will remember that one month ago we saw similar images of Rahul Gandhi when he attempted to continue his
48:52dharna and was literally carried away by the Delhi police.
48:55Will we see similar images now too is the question.
48:59I want to take this across to Shreya Chatterjee for more details.
49:03Shreya, take us through what you're seeing around you.
49:07All the protesters are being detained right now.
49:10You can see that bus on your screens right now where one by one all the protesters who are inside
49:15are being detained one by one.
49:18You can see Chananjeet Singh Chani, he's been brought in.
49:21Manikam Tagore, Pawan Khera, Dipinder Ghuda, all of them being removed one by one.
49:27No one will be allowed inside Akash Bani Bhavan to continue this sit-in protest.
49:32That is for sure right now because here you see the visuals on your screen.
49:36That bus is where all the protesters are being detained.
49:40I can see DCP New Delhi, Sachin Sharma, he is also requesting cooperation from the side of Priyanka Gandhi and
49:48Rahul Gandhi.
49:49But clearly since they were continuing their sit-in protest, these are the visuals that you can see from right
49:55outside, right inside Akash Bani Bhavan as clearly Delhi police officials waited all this while and now they are removing
50:05the protesters one by one.
50:09So these are the live images or on our screens right now.
50:13Rahul Gandhi hasn't officially been detained because he's resisting these attempts by the Delhi police to take him into custody.
50:19He's continuing to maintain that he wants to sit on an overnight dharna.
50:23You see those images on the right of your screens from inside Akash Bani Bhavan.
50:27It's in that particular pocket that you have Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi seated right now.
50:33It's all playing out right now in the Akash Bani Bhavan.
50:36And all the other senior leaders, we're being told Channi, Huda have all been detained, Pawan Khaira has been detained,
50:42each of them being forcibly taken in.
50:44I can see there a glimpse of Priyanka Gandhi as she sits there on a dharna.
50:49So clearly the Gandhi's refusing to budge, refusing to cooperate with the Delhi police saying we are well within our
50:55right to go ahead and continue our dharna.
50:59It's happening inside the Akash Bani Bhavan, stones thrown away from the EC office.
51:03They tried to go towards the EC office, were blocked by the Delhi police, which is why they're based right
51:08there in the Akash Bani Bhavan.
51:10So the Congress leader is asking what's wrong with us, staging a protest here.
51:14You see the manner in which several of the Congress carder have been taken into custody as well.
51:19All right, the left of your screen, more images coming in.
51:21You see Rahul Gandhi seated there, refusing to move.
51:25There are attempts by the Delhi police to lift each one of them forcibly and take them to the bus,
51:31detain them.
51:32And that's how you can see the likes of Pawan Khaira, etc. have already been detained.
51:37Kesi Venugopal seated there, Rahul Gandhi holding on to his colleagues.