- 8 minutes ago
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with INDIA bloc Members of Parliament, were detained by Delhi Police following a protest at Akashwani Bhavan in New Delhi.
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00:02good evening hello and welcome you're with the news today your prime time destination news
00:06newsmakers talking points the big talking point rahul gandhi priyanka gandhi vadra
00:11detained in a crackdown after they protest for the cc's removal today our face off over
00:20gyanesh kumar what really is the end game between the opposition and the government
00:25sachin pilot versus sudhanshu trivedi on the show tonight all the live updates coming in rahul
00:31gandhi at the moment has been taken to a police station in delhi but first as always it's time
00:37for the nine headlines at nine high drama in the national capital over the opposition's demand for
00:44the removal of chief election commissioner gyanesh kumar rahul gandhi and priyanka gandhi vadra
00:50forcibly dragged out of protest site at akashwani bhavan after nine hours of their dharna
00:57bjp slams rahul gandhi for misleading country with baseless vote chori claims
01:06a man who claimed to be a journalist arrested by delhi police over a fake ai generated poster
01:12depicting a cop sexually assaulting a woman delhi police released new video claiming protesters
01:17misbehaved with them after karnataka now rao over form seven in telangana congress and
01:25aimim accuse bjp of mass deletion of voters in the state poll body orders action against those filing
01:32false applications
01:36bipole battle ends in bengal and tamilnadu high voter turnout recorded in both states first
01:42poll test after tmc split results to be declared in on the 9th of october
01:51days after maharashtra fda shuts mumbai hotel after a rat was found police arrest two women over
01:57an alleged 25 lakh extortion demand circumstances surrounding the alleged rat remains under investigation
02:07air marshall ashutosh dikshit appointed as the new chief of the indian air force he will replace
02:12air chief marshall ap singh on 31st of october
02:18the world health organization react to russian plague lab researchers death says public health risk
02:24appears to be low u.s president donald trump also offers to help
02:30u.s congressman introduces a resolution in the u.s house honoring captain smith machar
02:36the crew and passengers for foiling a terror attack on the fly dubai plane
02:40trump reiterates claim iran may be behind the attack
02:46the best-selling british novelist former politician jeffrey archer dies at 86 he passed away just a day
02:52before his latest novels release
03:06but the big story that we are breaking and the visuals that we want to bring you rahul gandhi and
03:11priyanka gandhi wadra have been detained by the delhi police after nine hours of a dharna
03:17rahul gandhi and priyanka gandhi wadra detained by the police gandhi's forcibly dragged out of the
03:25protest site gandhi's were demanding a meet with chief election commissioner gyanesh kumar and were
03:31on a dharna at akashwani bhavan ec has clarified says no appointment was sought before 4 pm ec says
03:39request came to meet 240 mps at parliament annexed ec considered the meet request unusual due to the venue
03:47so clearly those visuals that you can see and that is the bus that is taking the mps now to
03:52kingsway camp
03:53where they have been detained for now and are expected to be released shortly afterwards but rahul gandhi
03:59on the right being taken away by the police after having spent nine hours at that dharna site
04:06those are the visuals that have come in his sister priyanka gandhi wadra was there along with congressman on the
04:14site
04:14moshmi singh and shriya chateji are now joining us moshmi to you first rahul gandhi we have been told has
04:20been taken to the kingsway camp along with about at least two dozen other mps can you give us more
04:27details
04:32that's right rajdeep we were trying to chase the bus we lost him midway he's about 200 meters 300 meters
04:39away uh in this uh jhandewala stretch and uh the other leaders who are there with him tell me that
04:46he's being uh frisked our way to kingsway camp uh now this has been a long haul throughout the day
04:52it started at 11 a.m around 1 p.m rahul gandhi sat uh went back to akashwani and sat
05:00there on adharna
05:01and uh we've seen we are also told that priyanka gandhi and rahul gandhi have been split
05:05in different buses uh because that's been a part of the strategy of the delhi police
05:10but all day long we saw a sit-in protest under a tree uh gaddas and mattresses and
05:18a bed chief being brought in uh talks about uh uh some communication and mediation between the
05:24top cops and uh the congress leaders there uh over a meeting uh with the cec and the ec but
05:32rahul
05:32gandhi has been adamant on that one and very quickly i think within 10 minutes rajdeep i was right there
05:38uh the delhi police moved in really fast to frisk away rahul gandhi detained priyanka gandhi
05:44uh there even uh i saw rahul gandhi resisting that a lot he fell on the ground and then was
05:51uh using
05:52his techniques to not uh be detained uh so he resisted for quite a while where we had dozens
05:59of cops putting him in that bus so it's been a long haul throughout the day okay so he's on
06:05his way
06:05to kingsway camp uh you're saying they're in separate buses shriya chatterji uh give us more
06:11details that you're picking up what is delhi police's strategy now uh they were very swift
06:16as uh moshmi just reported to whisk them away but clearly they are very careful to ensure that there
06:24are no uh that since these are mps there is no question of creating any situation between the mps
06:31and the police well absolutely rajdeep and you know uh swift yes but also after eight to nine
06:40long hours they were allowed to sit inside akash vanibhavan now two press releases have dropped
06:45right now rajdeep one from the election commission the second from the delhi police to sum up what
06:50really transpired because i was there the whole day i saw the dcp new delhi coordinate this it was
06:57he who was talking to priyanka gandhi the request went in from rahul gandhi that he wants to meet
07:02the election commissioner along with 200 mps at the parliament annex now this was turned down by the
07:09election commission saying that this is an unusual protocol uh there is a proper uh i mean method in
07:15which you can take permission they also said that if need be where the protesters are protesting one of the
07:21representatives from the election commission can go and meet the protesters but even that was turned
07:26down so all these transpired since that eight to nine long hours and when finally the delhi police
07:32could not make any headway communicating between rahul gandhi and the election commission they have
07:38mentioned it in their press release that in order to maintain law and order we had to take action so
07:44yes
07:45there was a strategy on the ground to uh i mean ensure utmost patience is uh maintained while tackling
07:52because they are member of parliament they've learned a lesson from the last time rahul gandhi
07:56protested outside the pm house so clearly there was a wait and watch procedure but there was also a
08:02to and fro communication that was being done by the dcp new delhi between rahul gandhi priyanka gandhi
08:09and the election commission when that did not happen at 8 pm they were detained okay so it's been a
08:15quite a day uh really with the drama starting early the police putting up barricades in preparation
08:20for the india bloc mp's protest against chief election commissioner gyanesh kumar the march from
08:25parliament to ec's office being blocked several opposition leaders were detained earlier today
08:30but it was rahul gandhi who surprised including his party colleagues and allies by staging a dharma
08:35outside uh akashwani bhavan here is how the drama unfolded right through the day
08:49the india bloc came marching their destination the election commission
08:57their demand action against chief election commissioner gyanesh kumar and a halt to the sir exercise
09:09but the road to the ec office was blocked barricades went up leaders climbed on top of them
09:19detentions followed samajwadi party chief akhilesh yadav tmc's abhishek banerji rahul gandhi
09:28and priyanka gandhi all detained and packed into buses that is when the script changed
09:39rahul and priyanka moved towards akashwani bhavan just a short distance from the election
09:44commission the congress leaders then started a dhana demanding they be allowed to meet the election
09:53commissioners
09:54the india bloc protest on tuesday comes day after the supreme court issued notices
10:19on a plea filed against cec gyanish kumar the opposition says the fight is about protecting
10:26voters rights and democracy the bgp has rejected the allegation
10:31i am a
11:02Why the defenders of democracy, America, England and Europe are silent? They are not acting on India.
11:44The SIR battle is no longer confined to the voter list. It is now playing out in a very public
11:50way in the heart of the capital.
11:54With Mausami Singh, Piyush Mishra, Rahul Gautam, Preeti Chaudhary, Bureau Report, India Today.
12:04Let me go to my first guest then who is joining me at the moment. The senior Congress reader Sachin
12:09Pilot now joins me.
12:11Mr. Pilot, how do you respond to what we've seen play out? Is this the politics of spectacle, grabbing headlines,
12:17eyeballs?
12:18But what does it really mean for the Congress party to stage this nine-hour dharna against Gyanesh Kumar demanding
12:25the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation?
12:28I think what we saw today were very disturbing scenes and pictures. Here is the leader of our position asking
12:36to meet the Election Commissioner along with 200 members of Parliament and only seeking clarification on what we all know
12:43for now as a fact is that the Election Commissioner, the Chief Election Commissioner sidesteped the law and the Constitution
12:50and put SIR and other number of rule regulations which are unconstitutional.
12:56What I think is most objectionable is the fact that in a democracy, if you can't have a peaceful dharna,
13:02if members of Parliament can't march towards Parliament and meet the Chief Election Commissioner, what are we taking the country
13:08towards?
13:09In other words, I know there have been LOPs before. There's been Vajpayeeji, Sushma Swarajji. When were the leader of
13:14opposition treated in such a manner? He was just seeking to meet the Chief Election Commissioner. How hard can it
13:20be for him to meet the members of Parliament?
13:24No, no, Mr. Pilot, he was seeking to meet him. We were told with 200 other MPs. You can't have
13:29200 MPs reaching the Election Commission, no?
13:32Why is the Election Commissioner above the President of India? Why can't he be members of the Parliament? Who is
13:38he? He's only a member of the Election Commissioner.
13:51Is he not the guardian of democracy? Is he not the man who's supposed to have transparent elections? And who
13:57are these people? They're elected by 2.5 million voters.
14:00If not 200, meet 10, meet 20. But not to meet and have the Delhi police drag away Rahul Gandhi
14:05and Priyanka Ji and other leaders. What does that show?
14:07It shows that not only the Election Commission, but the Government of India has things to hide.
14:12And might I ask you, when we ask questions to the CEC, why are the BJP spokesperson defending them?
14:18What is the equation between the BJP and the CEC? 13.3 crore people whose names have been struck off.
14:24This government did note bandhi, now they're doing vote bandhi. We want clarification, transparency.
14:31No less the Supreme Court has intervened. Rajdeep, please understand, this is not about Congress Party Rahul Gandhi.
14:35This is about basic fundamentals of our democracy are being challenged.
14:39The transparency, the jurisprudence and the honesty of the person, of the institution that's supposed to guard our democracy,
14:44is now under serious question. And if you don't raise up and ask questions about why this SIR was done,
14:50why people have been deleted. In Bengal itself, 22 lakh people have appealed out of 95 lakh people.
14:55And 94% of people's appeals have been accepted by the courts. That means there is foul play.
15:00That means there is an intent of deleting people by design.
15:04And that is going to hurt a democracy, Rajdeep.
15:06No, no, no. Mr. Pilot, there are two points that come from what you said.
15:10Number one, you're saying he was forcibly removed. What else is the police supposed to do when you enter Akashwani
15:15Bhawan?
15:15You see, you want to go to the election commission. You don't go there. You end up in Akashwani Bhawan
15:20staging a dharna.
15:21The police will have to, at some stage or the other, intervene. It could not be an endless dharna, no?
15:26You know better than anyone else.
15:28So, you are saying to me, Rajdeep Sardesai, that this country's leader of opposition,
15:32who is only asking to meet this election commissioner, has to be picked up by the police physically and taken
15:37away?
15:38Is he threatening anybody? Is he making an illegal action? Is he saying something?
15:42He's saying, tell me where I can sit. You won't let him go to parliament.
15:45You have put barricades all across central city, Delhi.
15:49You're not letting people agitate or protest or do sit-in.
15:52This government is scared. It's scared of the voice that is mumbering across nation, across India,
15:58that they have done something wrong and something grave, which is unforgivable.
16:01And that is why they're using brute force. This is the lowest form of democracy.
16:06When you have no discussion, no dialogue, no explanation, no question answers.
16:09Just brute force. How long will that carry on?
16:12Look at the brutality they unleashed on the young people and now again to MPs.
16:15No, that's one part. Number two, you're saying 13.3 crore voters struck off.
16:20That's only a draft role. The EC says many of them are dead. Many of them have shifted.
16:27They've been giving out numbers saying that, look, there is a draft role that's gonna take place.
16:31Don't throw this 13 crore number at us.
16:35Hmm. So basically, the SIR, every time it's happened, and you and I both know this is a large country,
16:41every time there's a census or SIR, usually the practice for last 70 years is that number of voters increase.
16:46I'm sure that people who have died, who have moved on, so on and so forth, that's understandable.
16:50But to pick in shoes and to strike off people's names from the voter list is absolutely illegal.
16:56It is challengeable in the court of law, and no less the Supreme Court has intervened and said that this
17:02must be examined.
17:03Where's the CC stand today?
17:04I mean, by the way, it's the two commissioners of election commission have said that we were not involved in
17:10the process.
17:11The law states it's either consensual by all three or majority.
17:15Now, when one person, who by the way, might I add, has been given immunity post his demitting office.
17:21No president, no prime minister has immunity beyond the term of the office.
17:24He's the only man whose special law was made that he will be given immunity post demitting office.
17:29Does 212 not add up? Does he not get protection from the government?
17:33Look, the election commission has subsequently issued a press release claiming that all decisions were unanimous.
17:39The point, Mr. Pilot, is I want to understand from you.
17:42What do you believe has been the political goal that you have achieved today?
17:46That's very clear. The government is making it very clear.
17:48Gyanesh Kumar is going nowhere. So what have you achieved?
17:52We are not making political points. We are fighting to save the right of citizens to vote.
17:57You know, judiciary, bureaucracy and media are important parts of our democracy.
18:01But the fundamental issue is universal franchise.
18:04Every single Indian has a right to vote.
18:06If you snatch that away, if you deviate from that long standing tradition,
18:10then you're harming the democracy of our country.
18:13So today, the India Alliance, the opposition, young people across India
18:16are having serious doubts about the transparency, honesty and credibility of the institution
18:22that we have revered so much for 70 years.
18:24No matter who was in government, every government respected the independence of the CEC election commission.
18:30Unfortunately, today, it is under severe criticism only because of their actions.
18:34And those actions have to be answered too.
18:37No, but how? No, no, no. The point, the point.
18:40Again, two points from what you're saying.
18:41Are you telling me that this is now an issue which is part of the common parlance?
18:45Yes. When it was NEET exam, students who are affected came spontaneously on the street, spoke out.
18:51Your election commission, do you believe, is this now an issue which will resonate among the common people?
18:57Do you believe that?
19:00Look, as an opposition political party, it is our job to ask questions, to protest when we think things are
19:06going wrong.
19:06But this is beyond any other issue.
19:08It's not about a policy decision, not about an incident, not about governance of the NDABJB government.
19:13This is about the basics of our republic.
19:15If we don't have the faith in our electoral rolls, in the machines, in the election process, in the SIR,
19:21in how people have been devoid from casting their vote, then that changes the game.
19:25It's not about this government or that government.
19:26If the institution is destroyed, mind you, democracies are not founded and made strong because of governments.
19:33It's the institution that protects the whole sovereignty of the independence and the implementation of the election process.
19:39If that comes under question, because right now, it's hiding behind closed doors.
19:44No one is giving any questions, no one is giving any answers.
19:46We have said that we want to protest and ask for clarifications, ask for a meeting.
19:51And I think this Chief Election Commissioner, honestly, I think it's about time he should own moral responsibility and put
19:57in his papers.
19:58You want a Chief Election Commissioner, Mr.
20:01You want a Chief Election Commissioner who you have no faith in to meet you.
20:05You are saying your president, Malik Arjun Kharge has said the polls are illegitimate.
20:12Mr. Modi is an illegitimate Prime Minister. Then why don't you boycott the election?
20:16If Gyanesh Kumar stays, there are elections in UP.
20:18Will you accept the verdict? My point is, if you really believe the elections of this country are illegitimate,
20:25and you have every right to believe that, that's your choice, then why not boycott the polls?
20:32Look, all I'm saying to you is that we're not here to make friends with enemies.
20:35We're fighting on principle. We believe there's enough data, document, evidence, not by Congress people,
20:40but by the election commissioners themselves, by the Supreme Court, by the voters list.
20:44We know that something has gone wrong. If we don't correct it, is it not our right to ask for
20:48course correction?
20:49Is it not our right to ask for an honest, credible person to lead the commission?
20:53We're not doing anything wrong. In fact, I think the government of the day and the election commission actually
20:58should stop being so egoistic and trying to hide behind what we think are lies,
21:02and come forward and explain. Give explanation, talk, discuss, dialogue.
21:05That's what we want to do. Today, the India Alliance and the members of parliament wanted to meet and ask
21:10for clarifications.
21:10That didn't happen. They were picked up and shoved into police stations.
21:14That really is not healthy for any democracy.
21:16So what is the end game? What is the end game, Mr. Pilot? Where will this end?
21:19We are told that the opposition now wants to take these protests on a daily basis across the country.
21:24What's the end game I want to understand?
21:26You will recall when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister during, before the opposition had given up their MP ship.
21:31They had boycotted even parliament, given up their MP ship.
21:35How far is the opposition willing to go given the fact that the government is standing rock solid behind Gyanesh
21:41Kumar?
21:41And Gyanesh Kumar could well be in the chief election commissioner's chair when the next round of elections are held
21:47in January, February.
21:50What's the end game?
21:51I can speak for my party. I'll speak for my party.
21:54We are a party that has deep roots in the Ghanian thinking and the philosophy of peace and non-violence.
22:00But let me make it very clear.
22:02We will go to any extent to save our democracy and to save the future generations from facing a country
22:08which has no faith in selections.
22:10It's not about me or this party or this leader. This country deserves better.
22:14And it's not about Mr. Kumar himself. He has done what he has done. Time will change.
22:18It's not about me also scoring political points. We will lose an election. It's not important.
22:23I think what options do we have? We can't protest. We can't demonstrate. We can't meet. We can't ask questions.
22:29And anybody who asks questions becomes anti-national.
22:31So we are saying today that proven beyond doubt that there has been something going wrong in the election commissioner's
22:36office.
22:37And he has taken away the powers of the electoral returning officers.
22:40His office now deletes and adds voters according to WIM.
22:43The SDMs who have the right to add and delete voters on Form 6 have got no access to the
22:49internet system, the IT system.
22:51All these facts add up. And if they don't answer questions, the people will then, you know, decide what has
22:56to be done.
22:56We are with the people and we will support the cause no matter what happens.
22:59My final question to you, you saw today there were, you know, this seemed like a Congress led protest.
23:04I know you say India block, no DMK, not part of your India block.
23:08Aam Admi Party, not there. There seems to be at the end of the day, is this now a Congress
23:14led Rahul Gandhi centric protest?
23:18It is a people led protest. It is a protest for young people for the future of our country.
23:23And we as the opposition have our right, our responsibility and our duty to protect that interest.
23:28No matter what the cost, no matter what it takes.
23:31Okay, I'm going to leave it there, Sachin Pilot. I've heard you clearly. You've given us where the opposition stand.
23:38You believe that you will carry on these protests. You believe at the very least, Gyanesh Kumar should come and
23:44answer the questions that the opposition is raising about the election process.
23:49Sachin Pilot, for joining me here live and exclusive, thank you very much on the show.
23:54Okay, let's go now straight across to the BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi.
24:02Okay, we've heard the Congress point of view. Let's now turn to the ruling party, the BJP.
24:07Joining me now is its senior Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi.
24:11Mr. Trivedi, it appears whether you like it or not, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress's campaign,
24:18India blocks campaign calling for the removal of Gyanesh Kumar has become part of the national conversation.
24:26Rahul Gandhi is getting all the headlines at the moment. How do you respond?
24:35It has not appeared that it has become a national conversation rather than it has been made clear that Rahul
24:44Gandhi's utter desperation to create a sensation has been proved futile.
24:50I just want two questions. Rahul Gandhi was saying that he want to go to election commission. Why he entered
24:57Akashwani?
24:58Can anybody tell me by what logic and what was the place that he entered Akashwani and where he was
25:06saying that he want to go to election commission?
25:07Because there were barricades. Because there were barricades at the election commission and no one was being allowed close to
25:13the election commission.
25:14So that's why I am saying what was the logic. What was the logic of entering Akashwani? Like or somewhat
25:26he was having some type of idea like the some subversive organization uses to capture the national broadcasters and try
25:34to control like some terrorist organization or other.
25:37Was he having this type of thing in the second thing?
25:41You have captured the national broadcaster. Let's be fair. You are a serious politician. Rahul Gandhi doing a dharna at
25:50Akashwani hardly mean that he's capturing the national broadcaster. BJP has already captured it.
26:00Rajdeep Ji, any dharna can be done on a public place, not inside any building or institution. If he would
26:08have sat down on the road outside Akashwani, it could have understood. But you forcibly entered into a premises that
26:17cannot be considered as a public place.
26:19So dharna. And second thing, the blatant lie which he was saying, in the morning they were saying around 140
26:24MPs will be going. And now Rahul Gandhi says 300 MPs.
26:28Rajdeep Ji, Congress is having 99 MPs in Lok Sabha, 30 MPs in Rajya Sabha, 129. All other parties now
26:36let's count. Second biggest party is Samajwadi party, 37 MPs, out of which almost nobody was present except in the
26:43morning.
26:44And now most of them are doing campaign in UP. Then the third biggest party was Thranmool, in which 20
26:49MPs have already deserted. Next biggest party was DMK, which is not participating. And other party having double digit MPs
26:57was Abadi party.
26:59Now all other parties are single digit MPs. From where the figure of 300 has come? Can any congress buddy
27:05tell that how he's claiming? So that's why his approach is wrong and his figures and claim is wrong.
27:13And this is the fundamental problem. And one more thing I would like to say. They are consistently trying to
27:19launch Rahul Gandhi one after another effort. People have heard about the ASLV, that is Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle.
27:27Then PSLV, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Now we can say Rahul Gandhi has become FSLV, the Failure Satellite Launch
27:35Vehicle. And Rajdeep Ji, can you ask your cameraman to focus wide and wide and wide and wide and open?
27:41Can they show just 130 Congress MPs? No.
27:45No. Is Khadkeji seen there? No. No. Let's be very clear. Is Shashi Tarut seen there? Is Abhishek Manu Singh?
27:50Are you not sitting in Congress MPs? Why? One minute, one minute, sir. Sir, let me go. Even Congress MPs
27:55are not seen there and you are claiming 300 MPs.
27:58Okay. Let me ask you very clearly. It appears at the moment that the BJP is out to defend the
28:05CEC at all costs. He is a constitutional functionary. He has to defend himself.
28:10When judges like of the likes of Justice Bhuya, sitting Supreme Court judge or Justice Roenton Nariman, one of the
28:17country's most distinguished former judges, raise issues, it is for the CEC to answer.
28:23But the BJP is jumping. Sambitpatra or Sudhanshu Trivedi. Why are you batting for them? Why not allow the CEC
28:31to respond to the Supreme Court?
28:33It appears at the moment that it has now become BJP versus Congress when Rahul Gandhi is claiming, I want
28:39the CEC out. Let him fight the CEC and let the CEC respond.
28:48Rajdeepji, we have always done conference after Congress statement. We have not responded or defended CEC. We have responded to
28:59what Congress is saying.
29:00And if they are saying we are defending election commission, then I would like to ask whom you are defending?
29:08Rahul Gandhiji, you have said that your fight is with the Indian state.
29:13And now I would like to ask your millions of viewers, name a single institution in India, which has not
29:19been attacked by Rahul Gandhi in the last 12 years, and name a single instance in which he would have
29:25been able to logically conclude and prove what he was saying was correct.
29:32No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You are saying he is claiming, Sudhanshu Ji, he is claiming there
29:38has been a capture of institution. Look at the election commission itself.
29:41There was a Supreme Court order about the way the selection of election commission should be. That was reversed in
29:48Parliament, which ensured that the BJP had a majority, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister could outvote the leader
29:54of the opposition.
29:55Therefore, the sense is that every institution slowly, according to Rahul Gandhi, is being captured by you. And the election
30:02commission, he says, is the most graphic example and is claiming the way Form 6 and Form 7 has been
30:07misused.
30:08Lacks of voters deleted is clear. Evidence, according to him, of vote chori. That's capture of an institution.
30:18Now, I will reply. First thing, it is a blatant lie that the Supreme Court has laid down this process.
30:25Supreme Court had said, till the law has been made by Parliament, the interim arrangement should be like this, in
30:33which the Chief Justice was there.
30:34And when the law was made, Chief Justice was not there and Chief Justice should not be there. Because the
30:41Supreme Court is the appellate authority. If the appellate authority becomes the appointing authority, if there is somebody who is
30:47having any problem with appointment, where he will go?
30:49And on the other hand, I would like to ask that states also have their Chief Election Commissioners. State Election
30:55Commissioners are appointed by State Government. I challenge the Congress and the Opposition Party in how many states you are
31:02having in the panel, the leader of the opposition forget about Chief Justice.
31:06I challenge. All state election commissioners are appointed by the Executive Order by the Chief Minister of the State.
31:19And second thing, today elections are going on or held up in seven by elections. I would like to ask
31:25Congress Party.
31:28What your election agents were doing? What were polling agents were doing? Is everything fine or not?
31:34What? Second thing, is still 45 days' time is there. For ask any CCTV. Will you ask or not? Or
31:41you will suddenly wake up after six months and start creating this.
31:46Oh, this has happened, that has happened and everything has happened. And one more thing, when it is being categorically
31:52explained that the absent, shifted, duplicated and dead voters are there.
31:56I have already explained in today's press conference, if 5.8 crore dubious ration cards were found when the person
32:04was not there, 4.45 crore manrega persons were found, and there are 3 crores people which are missing.
32:12It's not that their vote will be deleted. If they are unable to come up with a proper document, then
32:17how you can save the 5.8 crore rations for dubious?
32:25Mr. Trivedi, Mr. Trivedi, the fact is that as we are seeing, there are cases being reported of Form 7,
32:35where deletions are being asked en masse. There are complaints. They have to be proven and investigated.
32:43Form 6, we have already seen one of the election commissioners say that the changes, modifications made were illegal and
32:49arbitrary. These are all serious questions over the election commission.
32:53If we were a true democracy, you and the opposition should be sitting together and answering these questions. I am
33:00the voter. We are all citizens of this country. We want the elections to be free and fair.
33:04And clearly, there are questions to be asked of the election commission. Is it wrong to ask those questions? Does
33:10anyone become an anarchist or anti-national if we ask the questions of election commission?
33:17Yes. Yes. I will explain. The procedure is, Rajdeep ji, BLO, Booth-level officers, are appointed by election commission. And
33:28whenever they finalize the list with deletion and addition, they ask BLA, Booth-level agents of the political party.
33:37In Delhi, where we are sitting, BJP has 12,000 BLO and the Congress has 10,000 something BLO. Now,
33:44I would like to ask, has the Congress BLO's have attended the meeting, have gone to BLO and reported or
33:51not?
33:51And then it is to be duly signed by the BLO. Have they signed it or not? Or if they
33:57have not signed it, why they have not registered a complaint?
33:59Then the second stage comes. When the electoral rolls are published, district magistrate sent is to state, sorry, district president
34:07of all the political party.
34:09What are the Congress party doing? Tell us what are you doing in Delhi? What are you doing in Delhi?
34:16Sir, sir.
34:21Now, Congress should come out with the detail and data of their BLO's. What was the campaign launch or not
34:27launch? And if they have signed and now they are launching this type of campaign, I think this is very
34:33clear that you are having a hidden intent of creating anarchy on one issue or the other.
34:42Are you saying, therefore, in your view, elections are free and fair fully in this country when in Bihar, for
34:48example, last year, while the elections were going on, 10,000 rupees were being handed over by the government, the
34:54EC did nothing.
34:55In Bengal, 22 lakh people have gone in appeal, a majority of whom subsequently, who have been so far heard,
35:02have been found to be genuine citizens.
35:04Where in states like Telangana, Delhi, large amounts of voters as of now are not even on the draft rolls.
35:11Are you telling me all of these shows that everything sab kut changa si? Is that what you are saying?
35:16That there is no question that Gyanesh Kumar needs to answer?
35:19And the BJP which outspends its rivals several times over, you spend more money than all the parties put together.
35:26Sab changa si in elections in this country, there is no need for anyone to raise his or her voice?
35:33And if I raise my voice, I become an anarchist is what you are calling Rahul Gandhi?
35:36Now I would, yes, yes, because Rahul Gandhi is raising the voice without substance.
35:44Radeep ji, you remember, the country is having seen those videos in which after the SIR started in Bengal, hundreds
35:52of Bangladeshi gathered on the border and they were requesting, let us go there.
35:57And they said that they have voted four times.
36:00And you remember, Mamata Banerjee has thrown file over Somnath Chatterjee in 2006 on the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration because
36:08it has become so much a serious problem.
36:10We still don't have the numbers.
36:14And on the issue of Bihar, sir, let me, sir, let me, let me, let me, let me, let me
36:18complete, sir, let me complete.
36:20Abhi, abhi, or, sir, abhi, or, ah, sunne, DJ, sir.
36:23Abhi har ka election, aap ne ka, in 1985, 63 people died during election violence.
36:29And that was changa si.
36:30In 1990, 87 people died in electoral violence.
36:36Sab kuch changa si.
36:371995, four times election has been rescheduled because of the violence, both capturing, looting of the ballot box, and dozens
36:47of people killed.
36:49Four election bahut achha tha.
36:51When everything has gone peaceful, then that is wrong.
36:54And when Ramesh Charithella and Shashi Tharoor on record has said that SIR has helped Congress in Keral to come
37:03back to power because of bogus votes which has been entered in the electoral roll by the Communist Party government,
37:10they have been removed.
37:12Toh kis ko sach mana jai?
37:13And the same Rahul Gandhi was saying in 2024, with data, ki 24 times ek voter ad ho gya hai,
37:19maharashtra mein aisa hai, waisa hai, which I have shown in my press conference.
37:23Toh kongress tab sach bol nahi thi ya, aaj yeh bata hai.
37:26Okay.
37:27I'm gonna leave it there, Sudhan Shrutri Vedi.
37:30We've heard you patiently.
37:31I appreciate you as always joining with your feisty, combative answers.
37:37Good to have you on the show.
37:38Thank you very much.
38:09Thank you very much.
38:13Thank you very much.
38:44Rajdeep is your question to me.
38:47I want to show you these visuals that are unfolding.
38:50This is Priyanka Gandhi in this bus.
38:53On the right you will see.
38:56Priyanka Gandhi sitting right there.
38:58We just spoke to her a short while ago.
39:00And we have reached the Kingsway camp where Rahul Gandhi is already put inside.
39:06A lot of mayhem here because Congress workers have sat on top of that bus and Congress workers have get
39:15out this entire bus.
39:16Priyanka Gandhi right there.
39:18You know, you know, you know, we have reached the time when we have reached the interview.
39:22You know, we have reached the time when you know, KC Venu Gopal, Manikam Kegor, Neta split into two buses.
39:31Rahul Gandhi gone on a separate bus.
39:33Triyanka Gandhi in this bus and all the Congress leaders who are here, they seem to be quite adamant that
39:41Gyanesh Kumar must go.
39:43We spoke to KC Venugopal, here Raja warring right there, trying to clear the way for the bus.
39:48You look at that gate. That gate is just right there. There's no place to walk.
39:54And all the Congress workers standing between that gate and the bus.
39:59A pretty precarious situation right here. And that's the scene unfolding with the Congress's resistance over this entire row. Rajneep,
40:08over to you.
40:09Now, you know, I can see that there are about a dozen MPs at least there in Kingsway camp.
40:15A few of the allies, but mainly a core group of Congress MPs there.
40:20Now, Rahul Gandhi had said earlier 300 MPs would be there.
40:24And where are the remaining Congress MPs? I mean, many of them presumably were not there at the Dharna side
40:31later.
40:32So, did they leave earlier?
40:38Right, Rajneep. You know, many MPs were detained in the day.
40:41They sat in the buses and they were taken away and not even released.
40:46Few MPs who weren't detained were released earlier or managed to get off the bus.
40:52They are here.
40:54Other MPs were with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
40:57Priyanka Gandhi also managed to come back to Akashwani.
41:01And, yeah, you can see that she's peeping out of the window.
41:07She's been sloganeering Supriya Srinit right behind her.
41:10A dozen cameras right there.
41:14And, you know, the NETAs are trying to persuade the Congress workers to come down the bus
41:18so that their bus can move forward.
41:21So, that's the, you know, the split policy is what Delhi police adopted here.
41:27Trying to split the MPs, split Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in different buses.
41:32And, that's how they've managed to now get them to Kingsway camp.
41:37Over to you, Rajneep.
41:39Okay, Moshpi Singh joining us there with all the very latest details.
41:43Remember, we expect that the MPs will be released later tonight.
41:48Meanwhile, I want to turn to an India Today exclusive
41:51because we have filed, or more specifically, my colleague Ashok Upadhyay,
41:56filed a series of applications under the Right to Information Act
41:59with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats
42:01on the impeachment notices that had been moved earlier this year
42:05against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
42:08Both secretariats, though, refused to divulge why the notices were rejected
42:13despite the notices having the required number of signatures by MPs.
42:17The opposition now is planning to move another impeachment motion against the CEC.
42:23Here is an exclusive report from Ashok Upadhyay.
42:47The opposition is preparing to move yet another impeachment notice
42:52against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
42:55It would be the third such attempt against Gyanesh Kumar since March.
43:02The first notice was filed in the Rajya Sabha on March 12th,
43:06signed by 63 MPs above the required threshold of 50.
43:11It accused the CEC of bias in the conduct of the SIR exercise,
43:16particularly in West Bengal.
43:18On April 6th, the Rajya Sabha announced that Chairman C.P. Radha Krishnan
43:23had rejected the notice under Section 3 of the Judges' Inquiry Act 1968.
43:29A second notice was filed in the Rajya Sabha on April 24th,
43:33signed by 73 MPs.
43:36The notice listed nine charges,
43:38including allegations of partisan enforcement of modal code of conduct,
43:42mass disenfranchisement during the West Bengal SIR.
43:46The second notice is still pending.
43:48Similarly, in Lok Sabha, a notice was filed on March 12th,
43:52with 130 signatures, above the requirement of 100.
43:56On April 6th, Speaker Om Bhirla rejected it,
43:59under Section 3 of the Judges' Inquiry Act 1968.
44:05India today filed right-to-information applications
44:07with both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha secretariats.
44:11The application sought copy of the orders rejecting the notice for removal of the CEC.
44:17The criteria used to assess whether the notice met the threshold
44:21under Articles 324 Subsection 5 and 124 Subsection 4 for impeachment of CEC.
44:30The reasons recorded for rejecting the notice
44:32and names and designations of legal or constitutional experts
44:36consulted in the matter.
44:39The Rajya Sabha secretariat marked the application disposed of on April 27th.
44:45Its reply stated that the legislative section had determined
44:49the information sought was exempt from disclosure
44:52under Section 8 Subsection 1C of the RTI Act.
44:56A week later, on May 4th,
44:58the Lok Sabha secretariat's RTI branch responded.
45:01It addressed all four questions in a single line.
45:04The information sought under points 1 to 4
45:08was exempt from disclosure
45:09under the Section 8 Subsection 1C of the RTI Act.
45:14Section 8 Subsection 1C of the RTI Act
45:18allows exemption from disclosure of information
45:21as it would cause a breach of privilege
45:23of Parliament or the state legislature.
45:27The opposition has accused the Narendra Modi government
45:30of weakening the RTI Act.
45:50The BJP defended the decision to deny information.
46:05The renewed push to impeach CEC Gyanesh Kumar
46:08comes on the back of an Indian Express report
46:11that two election commissioners, Sukbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi,
46:15had raised 14 objections in 10 months on a range of issues,
46:19including aspects of the Special Intensive Revision of Voter List.
46:26With Ashok Kumarupadhyay, Bureau Report, India Today.
46:34Meanwhile, the SIR battle is spreading
46:37across the south of the country to Telangana now
46:39at the centre of a fresh Form 7 controversy.
46:42The ruling Congress and the AIMIM
46:45allege that BJP-linked individuals
46:47have tried to get genuine voters struck off the electoral rolls.
46:50The BJP rejects the charge,
46:52but the question is,
46:53what really has happened in Telangana?
46:55Here's the full Form 7 Rao.
46:57Take a look.
47:21The SIR showdown is expanding across the country.
47:28It is not Karnataka.
47:30Telangana is also witnessing a Form 7 Rao.
47:34The Congress has alleged an attempt to delete the names
47:37of one of its party workers
47:39and around 30 members of his family.
47:41India Today spoke to family members
47:43who recounted their ODE.
47:46The BLO was told that the Form 7 was submitted to your name.
47:49The other family members who have received the name of your family members,
47:51who have received the name of your family members,
47:52they have also added to their name for the deletion.
47:54What is the reason?
47:55How do you know?
47:56I am a good agent.
47:59I am a good agent who is submitted to Form 7,
48:03who is wrong.
48:04The Form 7 Rao has to submit to them.
48:07Who is the BJP or BLE?
48:09What is the BLE?
48:10What is the information about BLO?
48:23The Congress and AIMIM alleged that people linked to BJP submitted Form 7 abdications
48:29against genuine voters in bulk, particularly in Gosha Mahal and Mushirabad.
48:34They alleged that this was an attempt to remove genuine voters, particularly Muslims, from
48:39the electoral rules during the SIR process.
48:42Two parties say that in Gosha Mahal, the submitted forms were not even signed by the applicants,
48:48making them ineligible for consideration.
48:52These are all 31 forms, which are all printed forms in the name of one family.
48:58We have told the CEO of all these forms.
49:02On this note, we have asked that we should immediately look at all the criminal cases.
49:08Where are the forms from?
49:10Where are the forms from?
49:10Where are the forms from?
49:11Where are the forms from?
49:12Where are the forms from?
49:14Where are the forms from?
49:18Where are the forms from?
49:19Where are the forms from?
49:19Where do you want to be?
49:20I want to tell you, the Commission of India, to say?
49:44The Congress has sought a detailed inquiry into the matter and legal action, if any wrongdoing
49:51is established.
49:52Meanwhile, Telangana election officials said on Monday that the Form 7 applications submitted
49:57in bulk in Gosha Mahal and Nushirabad were rejected.
50:01But the BJP has rejected the allegations, saying no Booth-level agents belonging to the
50:06BJP submitted any such Form 7 applications.
50:10They are not in favour of special intensive region which has been happening in the country
50:16as well as in Telangana.
50:17By one way or other, they are accusing the Bharatiyaanthar Party, Modi's government and
50:24the election commission of India.
50:26On one way or other, they wanted to stop this submission of Form 7 and the system of SIR
50:35should be stopped.
50:36This is their main agenda.
50:38With political heat intensifying and these 30 members of one family is not just one case,
50:43but several other cases are being reported in several parts of Hyderabad.
50:47The question here remains, who is submitting these forms expecting eligible voters to be deleted
50:53from the electoral rolls and what is their intention and what would be the action that will be
50:58taken from the election commission against these people who are submitting these forms of Form 7
51:03in the state of Telangana.
51:06Okay, let's turn to celebrate someone who's done a remarkable job for Indian women's cricket,
51:14instilled a sense of self-belief and success.
51:17Harmanpreet Kaur, who remember, took India to a World Cup title last year as captain of the women's team,
51:23which was also crowned Asian Games champion only last week,
51:27has decided to step down as captain across formats.
51:32Why is Harmanpreet Kaur so special?
51:35Take a look.
51:38Harmanpreet Kaur feels she has left the team in a good place.
51:42It's a team that successfully defended its Asian Games gold medal in Japan.
51:48Looking back, surely there couldn't have been a better farewell match as captain for Harmanpreet Kaur
51:54as a team won the gold medal with a dominant 147-run win.
52:02One of India's longest-serving captains made her decision to relinquish captaincy
52:07known to the cricketing universe with a social media post in which
52:11she summed up her feeling of leading the side over the years.
52:15It wasn't an easy decision for her, but she feels she has seen it all
52:20and has given it her all as captain of India.
52:26Harman can be proud of her contributions to Indian cricket.
52:29T20 Asia Cup titles in 2016, 2022 and 2026.
52:36Asian Games titles in 2023 and 2026.
52:40And India's maiden ODI World Cup title in 2025.
52:46They've all come under her leadership.
52:49She can be equally proud of having a win percentage of 80 in Test cricket
52:55and 59% each in 1-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals.
53:02As things stand, she's also the record holder for leading in most T20 Internationals
53:07in women's cricket.
53:09At 155 matches, she's right on top.
53:14Although she never got her hands on the ultimate prize in T20 Internationals,
53:19she's the only Indian player to have played in all T20 World Cups thus far.
53:25If Harman would like to remove one stain from her time as captain,
53:30perhaps it would be the successive group stage exits from the T20 World Cups
53:35in 2024 and 2026.
53:39During her time as captain, it was also reported that she ran into a rift with Smriti Mandana.
53:47But a legend has now decided to pass the bet on to someone else.
53:52And while the team will have a new leader,
53:54the legacy Harmanpreet Kaur leaves behind will be hard to match.
54:00Sports Bureau, India Today.
54:05Well, that's a good note on which to end the show tonight.
54:09Thanks very much for watching.
54:10News and updates continue here on India Today.
54:13Thanks for watching.
54:14Good night.
54:15Goodbye.
54:16Jai Hind.
54:16Shubharatri.
54:18Namaskar.
54:18You may.
54:18I will.