The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has triggered a nationwide debate, with the government defending it as a step toward greater transparency and efficiency in managing Waqf properties, while critics claim it threatens the autonomy of the Muslim community. The bill has faced strong opposition from Muslim organizations and political leaders, who argue that it undermines the constitutional rights of religious institutions.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome, you're with the news today.
00:04This is your prime time destination where we put news above the noise, where we bring
00:09you the knowledge that you need to make sense of the stories.
00:14The big story today, the stage is set for the Waqf Bill Showdown in Parliament.
00:20We'll explain why this is such a contentious issue.
00:24Also, the Donald Trump tariff deadline looming over the world.
00:29What lies ahead?
00:31And our special talking point on the Kerala film Empuran that has been sliced and diced.
00:37What really is troubling so many about this film?
00:41We'll tell you more, but first, as always, it's time for the 9 headlines at 9.
00:48The stage is set for the Waqf Bill Showdown, centre to table bill in the Lok Sabha.
00:54Tomorrow, Home Minister Amit Shah to speak during the bill, the government hopeful that
01:01the bill will be passed in this session.
01:06All eyes are on the allies of the BJP on the Waqf Bill, the TDP likely to support bill
01:12after its three suggestions are brought in.
01:15The JDU says it will vote in favour of the bill.
01:18India block allies likely to protest against the bill.
01:27Donald Trump's tariff deadline now looms.
01:29The US president will reveal a reciprocal tariff plan, says he expects India to cut
01:34down on tariffs significantly.
01:40The Kerala film Empuran sliced and diced after outrage.
01:45Two and a half minutes of the movie removed riot scenes, violence against women cut out.
01:50A new version now likely to be out tomorrow.
01:56Comedian Kunal Kamra seeks anticipatory bail.
01:59The comic claims Mumbai police are out to arrest him, says he didn't criticise anyone
02:04directly in his comedy special.
02:10The Delhi court orders 2020 riots probe against him, claims charges against him in the FIR
02:17are cognisable.
02:22India China talks on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
02:25Prime Minister Modi speaks to counterpart Li Guang, that's for stability in bilateral
02:30ties.
02:31Xi Jinping speaks to President Murmu.
02:38Myanmar quake toll mounts, 2,700 at least killed in the devastating quake aftermath,
02:44100 still missing as rescue operations continue.
02:50Russia says no to the Ukraine ceasefire terms.
02:53Russian President Vladimir Putin says can't accept a deal brokered by the US, demands
02:58root cause of the conflict be the key focus.
03:08But the big story that we are breaking this evening, the stage is set for the Waqf Bill
03:18showdown in Parliament.
03:20The bill will be brought in the Lok Sabha tomorrow at noon.
03:24Kiran Rajuju, the Minorities Affairs Minister expected to table the bill and Home Minister
03:29Amit Shah among those who's likely to speak on it.
03:33India allies have made up their mind to vote against Waqf Bill and will meet in Parliament
03:38tomorrow.
03:39Two key allies of the government, the JDU and the TDP are almost on board to support
03:46the government.
03:47So both sides now gearing up.
03:49Let's listen in to how it's going to play up.
03:53It is fundamentally against the constitutional provisions.
03:57We cannot support the provisions against the constitution.
04:02All the parties who attended the meeting, all the parties of India alliance attended
04:06the meeting and some more like-minded party will also be there tomorrow.
04:11We will strongly oppose the provisions which are anti-constitutional on this.
04:16The whole of India is united, we all are one, tomorrow we want a debate and we will debate
04:23with all our strength and all of us, India alliance, will participate with all our strength
04:28tomorrow.
04:30We will be expressing our opinions as one and we will come together and oppose this
04:37bill as parties who believe in the secularism of this country and we believe in protecting
04:47the minorities and the majority of this country and we will stand together to protect the
04:55constitution of this country.
05:00Sabhi cheeze hain amare organizing secretary hain, aapko prove karenge.
05:08Okay, let's go across to our two correspondents, Maushmi Singh who has been tracking that
05:12opposition meeting that just concluded and Piyush Mishra who is tracking what the government
05:17treasury benches intend to do.
05:20Maushmi Singh to you first because that meeting of the opposition party just got over late
05:25this evening.
05:26Are the opposition parties now ready for a discussion on the Vak bill or is the intention
05:32to somehow block even a discussion and try and attempt an adjournment of parliament over
05:39the Vak bill?
05:40What is the opposition strategy?
05:41Clearly Rajdeep, something is really brewing in the opposition camp, there was a clarity
05:48over what they had to say after they walked out of that meeting of the opposition in the
05:54evening that saw Rahul Gandhi and Kharge attend that meeting and they said that we will oppose
06:00the bill.
06:01Now there are two strategies that are being discussed, one is to oppose the bill tooth
06:06and nail, not allow any discussion to go on whether it's sloganeering or entering the
06:13well, adopt all the strategies possible so that the bill doesn't even see any progress
06:20or the discussion does not happen.
06:24And on the other hand, the other strategy is to oppose the bill in terms of participating
06:28in the discussion and voting against the bill and as of now I feel that the leaders are
06:34keeping the cards very close to their hearts, in fact to be in detail plan out a strategy.
06:42I spoke to one of the top leaders in the opposition and he said the night is still there and we
06:49need to really chalk out a strategy later in the night, so perhaps the discussions are on.
06:55Okay, the discussions are on, so the opposition keeping its options open.
06:59What about the government?
07:00Piyush Mishra, one of the government's aims was to ensure two key allies, JDU and TDP
07:05are on board, especially JDU which has a Bihar election a few months from now.
07:10Has the government succeeded in ensuring a united front because if they had the united
07:14front as the numbers on the screen show, the government can pass the bill.
07:18So is the government confident that all allies are on board?
07:27Okay, we will try and go back to Piyush in a moment.
07:30Remember, what we are picking up is that all the government allies as of now are on board
07:37that includes the Telugu Desam which Chandrababu Naidu wanted a certain key amendments to
07:42ensure that the state government also had a role in the Vak Board and the JDU which
07:49has an election.
07:50So both those parties at the moment seem to be on board and if they are on board then
07:56that gives the government a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha and then they bring it into
08:01the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
08:03So the government certainly appears determined at the moment to try and push the Vak Bill
08:08through.
08:09The question is of course, how will parliament function?
08:12Will there be a full discussion?
08:13Eight hours have been allotted to the bill.
08:17Remember, the contentions Vak Amendment Bill is set to be tabled in the Lok Sabha tomorrow
08:24and that is our top focus.
08:26In a moment I will be joined by one of the country's top legal scholars to explain what
08:31this bill is all about but first take a look at our top story.
08:40The stage is set for a fiery showdown over the Vak Amendment Bill.
08:46The bill will be tabled at around noon on Wednesday as per the decision taken in Lok
08:53Sabha Business Advisory Committee.
08:56The total time to be allocated for discussion on Vak Amendment Bill would be eight hours
09:05extendable after taking the sense of the house.
09:09Rijiju warned opposition against fear mongering on Vak.
09:36Though TDP and JDU have cautioned the centre against implementing the new law retrospectively,
09:48saying they will reveal their cards after going through Vak law draft.
10:05U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed loot of public land in garb of Vak.
10:35The opposition has slammed the Vak Bill calling it a calculated ploy to deprive Muslims of
10:58land and a direct attack on constitution.
11:05The Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:07This Vak Bill, Article 14, Article 25, Article 26, Article 29, Article 30, Article 31, Article
11:1531.
11:26The Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:28This Vak Bill, Article 14, Article 25, Article 26, Article 29, Article 30, Article 31, Article
11:3731.
11:38The Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:39This Vak Bill, Article 14, Article 25, Article 29, Article 31.
11:40The Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:41This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:42This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:43This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:44This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:45This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:46This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:47This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:48This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:49This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:50This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:51This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:52This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:53This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:54This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:55This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:56This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:57This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:58This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
11:59This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:00This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:01This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:02This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:03This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:04This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:05This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:06This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:07This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:08This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:09This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:10This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:11This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:12This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:13This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:14This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:15This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:16This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:17This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:18This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:19This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:20This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:21This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:22This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:23This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:24This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:25This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:26This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:27This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:28This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:29This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:30This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:31This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:32This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:33This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:34This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:35This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:36This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:37This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:38This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:39This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:40This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:41This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:42This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:43This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:44This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:45This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:46This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:47This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:48This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:49This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:50This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:51This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:52This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:53This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:54This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:55This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:56This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:57This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:58This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
12:59This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:00This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:01This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:02This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:03This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:04This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:05This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:06This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:07This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:08This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:09This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:10This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:11This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:12This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:13This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:14This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:15This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:16This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:17This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:18This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:19This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:20This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:21This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:22This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:23This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:24This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:25This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:26This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:27This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:28This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:29This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:30This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:31This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:32This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:33This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:34This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:35This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:36This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:37This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:38This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:39This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:40This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:41This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:42This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:43This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:44This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:45This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:46This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:47This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:48This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:49This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:50This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:51This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:52This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:53This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:54This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:55This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:56This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:57This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:58This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
13:59This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:00This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:01This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:02This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:03This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:04This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:05This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:06This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:07This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:08This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:09This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:10This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:11This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:12This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:13This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:14This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:15This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:16This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:17This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:18This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:19This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:20This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:21This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:22This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:23This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:24This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:25This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:26This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:27This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:28This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:29This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:30This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:31This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:32This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:33This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:34This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:35This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:36This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:37This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:38This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:39This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:40This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:41This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:42This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:43This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:44This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:45This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:46This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:47This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:48This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:49This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:50This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:51This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:52This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:53This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:54This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:55This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:56This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:57This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:58This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
14:59This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:00This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:01This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:02This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:03This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:04This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:05This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:06This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:07This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:08This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:09This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:10This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:11This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:12This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:13This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:14This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:15This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:16This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:17This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:18This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:19This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:20This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:21This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:22This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:23This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:24This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:25This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:26This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:27This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:28This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:29This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:30This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:31This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:32This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:33This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:34This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:35This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:36This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:37This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:38This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:39This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:40This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:41This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:42This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:43This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:44This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:45This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:46This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:47This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:48This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:49This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:50This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:51This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:52This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:53This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:54This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:55This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:56This Vak Bill is unconstitutional.
15:57Now, this is a four-letter term which is unique to Islamic law.
16:03In fact, even the English law of trust was borrowed from law of Vak, even though both
16:09are slightly different because in Vak, the property is not vested in the trustee.
16:15It is vested in God.
16:17And generally, the Vakif who is creating a Vak cannot retain any benefit for himself.
16:25Nevertheless, what we are trying to do, now we are suggesting about a 50-letter term for
16:32this word, Vak, and we are saying we are going to improve management, we are going to improve
16:38the efficiency.
16:39Change of name does not change anything on ground.
16:44If the idea is, Rajdeep, to improve the efficiency of Vak boards, and I am conceding, like many
16:52government departments, as I told you that Vak board is like a government department,
16:58it has government nominees, is inefficient.
17:03There have been, you know, charges of corruption about governments, about political leaders,
17:07about bureaucrats, about judges.
17:10So there may be some corruption in Vak board as well.
17:13But the remedy we are prescribing, is it going to make the Vak management more efficient?
17:19Now, if you are reducing the powers of the regulator of Vak, now Vak board is what?
17:27It regulates the management.
17:30There are thousands and lakhs of managers of Vak properties who are called Mutawallis.
17:37Vak board is an apex body to manage and supervise the work of Mutawallis.
17:45If we are going to reduce their powers, how can they improve the efficiency of administration?
17:53You know, you mentioned the question of efficiency versus the question of unaccountability.
17:59Those in government who are saying that this bill is needed are saying that Vak boards
18:04are unaccountable.
18:06Do you see anything in this new bill that will ensure greater accountability of those
18:12who manage Vak properties?
18:14No, no, there is a greater accountability, but not at the desired level of the Mutawallis.
18:22We are trying to reduce the power of the regulator.
18:27The greater accountability should be in respect of managers of Vak on ground.
18:34We are trying to regulate, let us say, not the assemblies, but the parliament.
18:40That is not a good idea.
18:42Ideally, greater punishment should be provided to Mutawallis.
18:45There are some provisions which are an improvement in terms of punishment of Mutawallis in the
18:52bill.
18:53But as such, in terms of encroachment of Vak properties, I believe that the protection
19:01of Vak is being reduced.
19:04It is not being improved.
19:06There is absolutely no denial of a fact that there may be corruption in Vaks, but the remedy
19:12we are providing, is it a good remedy?
19:14That is what should be debated.
19:17So let's debate that.
19:19In a sense, you're saying that you do need a greater level of accountability.
19:26You're not sure whether the bill provides that.
19:28I want to understand from you the other question.
19:32The worry is that the bill, therefore, will be used as a weapon, and there is this fear-mongering
19:39going on, particularly among minorities and Muslims, that tomorrow this is going to be
19:45a direct intervention in minority affairs.
19:50Do you believe that this bill does that or not?
19:53Rajdeep, if I had power as a legal academic, instead of bringing the Vak bill, I would
20:00have brought a uniform law on religious properties for all communities with almost identical
20:08provisions.
20:09Because that would have fulfilled my promise of one nation, one law, and a constitutional
20:15mandate of a uniform civil code.
20:18Different laws which have different provisions.
20:20So we have one provision for the Hindu religious properties, another for Sikh properties, and
20:26a third for Muslim properties is not a great idea.
20:31And if the Muslim community feels that in respect of their religious properties, particularly
20:37graveyards and mosques and this and that, Vak by user, we are trying to take away those
20:44properties, I think the government has a duty to convince them.
20:48Whenever the British government was passing law about natives or any religious community,
20:53it was taking them on board.
20:55In many cases, a member of that community was nominated to Imperial Legislative Assembly
21:01to pilot the bill.
21:03I think we are trying not to make them convinced about the utility of the bill, rather we are
21:11playing it to the gallery and telling the majority community that we have, you know,
21:17fixed the Muslim community in terms of Vak, which is not a good politics in my opinion.
21:22Professor Faisal Mustafa, for giving us a sense as to why this bill is so contentious,
21:28I appreciate you joining me and giving, explaining really what the Vak Board is all about.
21:36Thank you very much.
21:37We'll of course turn to the politics around it in the days ahead once that bill is stable
21:43inside Parliament.
21:45Now speaking of what could happen in a day or two, a day ahead of U.S. President Donald
21:51Trump's reciprocal tariffs kicking in, global markets are volatile with investors bracing
21:58for potential trade conflicts and their economic impact.
22:02Across the world, investors have seen red.
22:05Dalal Street was no different.
22:06For a second day, the Nifty is down a massive 354 points.
22:10The Sensex also melting and volatility high, as I said, across the markets.
22:17Asian equities rose today with Japan's Nikkei up by 0.6 percent and South Korea's Kospi
22:23up by 0.9 percent.
22:26The question, of course, is how is all this going to play out?
22:29How should India be looking at Donald Trump's tariffs?
22:34Joining me now, Chetan Bhutani from Business Today and also Arun Sharma, senior nonresident
22:40fellow at CSIS in Washington, D.C., joins me.
22:44I want to come to Arun first.
22:45In Washington, what are we expecting?
22:47What is the world expecting from Donald Trump?
22:51Will his bark be worse than his bite come tomorrow, which he says is going to be the
22:55big day when he announces these reciprocal tariffs?
22:58OK, I'm going to go to Chetan Bhutani first.
23:03Chetan, how is India seeing this at the moment?
23:05Well, Rajdeep, you know, the markets, as you correctly mentioned, is absolutely spooked
23:11with the Liberation Day tariff of the United States coming up.
23:15Well, if I talk about the markets, the IT sector especially, you know, very spooked
23:20and sharply fell today due to its substantial exposure to the United States.
23:24But uncertainty over the Trump tariffs really looms.
23:27In fact, if I could talk about something positive is, of course, towards a possible rate cut
23:31that the MPC could be doing between the April 7 to April 9 is something really the investors
23:36and the traders are really watching out for the Indian markets.
23:38But also, what really we have to see is the fact that now we have the fourth quarter earnings
23:43coming up for the Indian business corporates.
23:45Over the past three quarters, we saw, you know, muted to substantial to a flattish kind
23:50of earnings from the Indian corporate houses.
23:51So, that's all so being accommodated in the market.
23:54Yesterday, in fact, we saw that the Asian markets fell by close to 4%.
23:58And today, as we see, Dow Jones is a little bit flattish to up about 60 points up.
24:02So, clearly, experts are, however, Rajdeep, saying that, you know, India is still well
24:07poised to its global competition and one should, of course, keep an eye on what's really happening.
24:11But what to really watch out for is to the MPC meeting that the RBI is currently holding.
24:16But yes, Indian markets poised to be, and of course, in a very good condition as of
24:19now.
24:21Arun Sharma joining me from Washington.
24:23Arun Sharma, are we expecting Trump's bark to be worse than his bite?
24:28This is the uncertainty that we are all struggling with and the markets are struggling with.
24:33There has been volatility as Trump has gone and climbed down on a couple of occasions
24:41already.
24:42And so, there is that uncertainty, which is why there is a lot of feeling in the market
24:50as to we don't know.
24:51And an uncertainty discount is showing in the global markets from all countries, all
24:57regions, that is Asia, Europe, even the United States.
25:00All markets are down for that precise reason, because all these tariffs have been levied
25:07not in one particular schematic or strategic way, but in dribs and drabs, in spurts and
25:16in waves.
25:17And then there have been climb downs as well.
25:19So, the market is certainly spooked by it.
25:23And the challenge is twofold, Rajdeep.
25:26First, there is the risk that people are seeing of an immediate impact on companies, sectors
25:33and then markets.
25:35That's the immediate impact of the volatility per se.
25:38The second, more deeper concern, and that is what is impacting the asset allocation
25:44and therefore the movements in the markets, is whether this uncertainty will lead to deeper
25:51macroeconomic negative impacts around consumer sentiment, around capital investment, around
25:58the shift in the interest of people to scale up their activities that they were planning
26:06to.
26:07And that is what is showing in the record increase, in fact, in the price of gold, which
26:12hit record heights of 32.90 just yesterday.
26:17But what's your bet?
26:20Is Mr. Trump going to go ahead with uniform reciprocal tariffs across the world?
26:25Will he give certain countries a relative free pass?
26:29Could India be among those countries or do you believe he will go after every country
26:34at the moment?
26:35What's your sense that you're getting?
26:39My sense is actually quite similar to the rest of the market, which nobody knows.
26:44Even in his statements, if you analyze it carefully, he said, well, I will be generous
26:49or things will be generous.
26:51We really don't know what the term generous means.
26:55Does it mean will he give some countries a free pass?
26:57Will it mean that certain reciprocity levels will be determined on what he believes and
27:03what the administration believes is means by reciprocity?
27:07It's all very, very uncertain.
27:09So it's very hard to predict.
27:11But one thing is sure that we are in for a volatile period and that companies and countries
27:18have to be prepared to adjust and adjust rapidly.
27:21So a couple of companies already have announced, especially in the auto sector, changes in
27:27pricing where they're saying, I'm going to absorb some of the tariff costs and I'm going
27:32to only pass some of the cost to my customers.
27:35So it is that kind of practical challenge that is spooking the companies and therefore
27:41the markets and therefore the investors.
27:43And that's what we're going to see for some time.
27:45Okay.
27:46I think you put it well.
27:47You know, it is an uncertain world in the world of Donald Trump.
27:51And we don't know what the next 24 hours will hold.
27:53We don't even know whether he will make an announcement formally in the morning, evening
27:57or even midnight.
27:58The world waits and sees what Donald Trump does with tariffs tomorrow.
28:03And I appreciate Arun Sharma and Chetan Bhutani for joining me on that explainer.
28:07Let's move on from there to another of our top focuses today.
28:12Another film in the eye of a censorship storm, Kerala superstar Mohanlal facing RSS-BJP IR
28:20for the depiction of the 2002 Gujarat riots in his latest blockbuster, Empuran.
28:26Now the Malayalam movie, which is being taken across the country, will be re-released tomorrow
28:32by cutting out 24 controversial scenes.
28:35The lead actor has also issued an apology, suggesting that pressure is being brought
28:41on the filmmakers by political forces.
28:45Is this yet another case where film censorship is taking place?
28:51Take a look at the Empuran controversy.
29:02Mohanlal and Prithviraj starrer Empuran has been making headlines for all the controversial
29:18reasons.
29:20The film has sparked intense discussions over its critique of right-wing politics and its
29:25covert reference to the Gujarat riots.
29:37The re-edited version of Empuran now includes 24 cuts.
29:54These changes involve the removal of riot scenes, graphic violence and muting of certain
30:17dialogues.
30:19The villain's name has also been changed from Baba Bajrangi to Balraj.
30:28Other actors have come in support of actor Mohanlal, stating that cinema should be left
30:33out of political debates.
30:56The BJP and Congress have slammed each other over the film's content.
31:26Meanwhile, despite the backlash, Empuran has become the fastest film of 2025 to collect
31:39200 crore rupees worldwide.
31:43Are movies in India soft target to score political goals?
31:50Bureau report, India Today.
31:56So why has a Kerala film angered the entire Sangh Parivar?
32:01Are filmmakers unable to deal with political pressure?
32:05Is censorship on the rise?
32:07Just some of the questions we will raise.
32:09I'm joined by M.G. Radhakrishnan, senior journalist based in Thiruvananthapuram, Anand Kochikudi
32:16journalist and columnist joins me and Rahul Eshwar is also with us.
32:20He's a Hindu activist as he likes to project himself apart from being an author.
32:25I appreciate all of you joining us.
32:27I want to come to M.G. Radhakrishnan first because you've tracked Kerala for decades.
32:32Have you seen something like this where a film bends to cut 17 scenes because of political
32:38pressure allegedly?
32:40Is it clear that this is the filmmakers fearful of the center in particular, even Mohanlal
32:47issuing an apology?
32:48Well, it has never happened before because Kerala cinema, Kerala film industry has been
32:57known for films with very, very pronounced political messages, political critiques.
33:04And even top leaders have been, you know, sort of extremely criticized in some movies
33:10irrespective of their political parties and colors.
33:14But such a thing has never happened.
33:15This is something which the Amin of Uganda said sometime back, I can give you freedom
33:21of speech, but I cannot ensure freedom after speech.
33:25No Empuran has been released and then released with the proper censor board certification
33:31and all.
33:32And then after that, now the producers have been forced to introduce 24 cuts.
33:39This has never happened before.
33:43Is it specifically though, Mr. Radhakrishnan, because part of the movie tracks the Gujarat
33:482002 riots, is that the concern or are there wider concerns about the way politics is depicted?
33:55Not at all.
33:56I don't think so.
33:57This is exclusively a Gujarat, you know, the references about Gujarat riots that have been,
34:07you know, that has caused this huge sort of anger from the BJP leaders and their Sangh
34:15Parivar.
34:16And the film actually mentions very graphically about what happened in 2012 in Gujarat.
34:22And in fact, but the film never says, you know, it's been done by BJP or anything.
34:27It's actually, you know, they put the criminals who, you know, perpetrated all that gory violence
34:34in Gujarat.
34:35And the film even, you know, goes out of the way to portray that it is not the Hindu community
34:42which should be blamed because there's a lady, there's a Hindu lady who has been portrayed
34:47as a person who goes out of the way to protect, to shield the kind of the Muslim neighbors
34:55in their locality, to help them out.
34:59And in the process, she herself becomes a martyr to this, you know, this hooligans.
35:04So this is actually, you can no way can portray this film as anti-Hindu or anti-national as
35:11the BJP leaders, not the party as such, but the leaders and the entire Sangh Parivar in
35:16social media have portrayed.
35:18Anand Kochukudi, in your view, why has this film particularly triggered so much of outrage?
35:23We thought the BJP was a marginal force in Kerala, but clearly it's a growing force large
35:29enough today to get the actor of a film to, you know, one of the biggest stars of Malayalam
35:34cinema to apologize and get the filmmakers to cut 17 scenes already.
35:40Yeah.
35:41For one, Rajdeep, the actor, the superstar Mohanlal who acts in the film, he is somewhat
35:51sympathetic to the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.
35:55So it was easy for the Sangh Parivar to intervene here and create political pressure on the
36:03makers, namely Prithviraj, the director, who is a well-known actor himself, and Murli Gobi,
36:10the writer.
36:11So I'm not sure whether Prithviraj and Murli Gobi would have consented to the cuts had
36:19Mohanlal not been a part of this film.
36:22So the Sangh Parivar cleverly used their hold or their, you know, closeness to Mohanlal
36:29to enforce these cuts is what I would say.
36:33And Rahul Eshwar, my friend, is here.
36:35He would perfectly know the behind-the-scenes activity.
36:39There are people like Mehtar Ravi, who is a former army personnel turned filmmaker who,
36:46you know, came first to make statements, who gave statements to the media as if he
36:52was speaking as an agent of Mohanlal, which was proved to be untrue later.
36:59And Mohanlal's producer, Antony Perimbaur himself had to distance himself from the statements
37:08of Mehtar Ravi.
37:09So I'm sure that there is a lot of behind-the-scenes activity.
37:13It was not clearly the BJP which took the lead on this.
37:17It was the RSS, the Sangh Parivar.
37:20You know, Rajdeep, we have to understand that the Sangh Parivar was always a force to reckon
37:24with in Kerala.
37:25They have the largest number, second largest number of shakhas anywhere in the country
37:30in Kerala.
37:31But the BJP was, of course, as you said, a marginal force in Kerala.
37:35True.
37:36But, you know, following the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the BJP managed to raise its
37:41vote share to almost 20 percent and the Hindu World Bank of the CPIM gradually began to
37:48erode and switch to the BJP, the Sangh Parivar and the BJP sees an opportunity to, you know,
37:54to try and emerge as a Hindu party by taking the votes of the CPIM.
38:01So there are lots of factors at play here.
38:04So it's interesting.
38:05You're giving us a sense of the politics that's playing out in Kerala at the moment.
38:10The rise of the Sangh Parivar in recent times, both politically and culturally, Raul Eshwar,
38:16you're back with us.
38:17Raul Eshwar, is this, you know, when the film Kerala Files was released a few years ago,
38:24there were people in Kerala who had objected to certain scenes, particularly from the left
38:28parties at the time.
38:29But there were no cuts of this kind.
38:31Now suddenly the outrage has provoked 17 cuts, almost unprecedented in a film of this kind.
38:38Is this showing the growing clout of the Sangh Parivar?
38:41Does the Sangh Parivar not believe in freedom after speech?
38:45Rajdeep sir, three humble and quick points.
38:49One, I'm a Hindu right-wing activist, but that doesn't mean we should have Islamophobia.
38:54See this movie is a great movie, but this movie has overstated some things regarding
38:58the Hindu right-wing.
38:59For example, there is a scene where a Hindutva leader says, we will bomb a dam and we will
39:04drown two districts, which will result in the killing of lakhs of people.
39:07See, this is overstretching.
39:08I really like the movie, you know, it is very courageous of Prithviraj and Mohanlal sir
39:13to show all this, but at the same point of time, there has been some references which
39:17is stretching it too far.
39:18Second point, the real issue is the loss of the middle ground.
39:21Either you are an ultra-leftist or you are an ultra-rightist.
39:24There is no middle ground, no, that's there.
39:26So there should be a space where we respectfully disagree with the movie while we celebrate
39:30this achievement.
39:31This is a KGF of Kerala movie industry, this will take us to a pan-Indian, pan-global level.
39:36But one humble request, they could have shown somebody in BJP and RSS as good.
39:40Entire BJP-RSS spectrum is shown as villains and bad.
39:44That is unfair and unfortunate.
39:45Modiji got a clean sheet from the courts.
39:47They could have portrayed Modiji in a good light.
39:50But to say that the entire family of RSS and BJP is wrong, it is stereotyping.
39:54Second and third, at least, I believe, Godhra could have been represented better.
39:58Gujarat and Godhra, both are scars in the soul of India.
40:02At the same point of time, playing up Gujarat and underplaying Godhra will naturally trigger
40:06reactions.
40:07So this is a political statement too.
40:09The movie is a brilliant movie.
40:10But the movie has a political subtext and a text too.
40:13So it's natural that our Sangh brothers and BJP brothers will rise up against this.
40:17But I thought that Kerala, I thought that, I thought, Rahul Eswar, that Kerala was a
40:22land where you could make such films without worrying about the repercussions.
40:27Clearly that has changed.
40:28Now it seems the moment you make a film like this and there is public outrage, the filmmakers
40:33are pushed on the back foot.
40:35See, they had the same outrage regarding Kerala story.
40:38I also led the protest.
40:39I said three girls went was right.
40:41But 32,000 is wrong.
40:43See the issue with left and right is, left will tell regarding Kerala story that no girl
40:47went.
40:48The right will tell that it is 32,000 girls.
40:50Both are wrong.
40:51The truth is somewhere in the middle.
40:52There is a loss of middle ground.
40:54That is a real issue.
40:55Kerala story exaggerated three girls story into 30,000, which is absolutely wrong.
40:59In this case also, there is a middle ground and Mohanlal sir didn't apologize.
41:03He expressed regret and he came to a beautiful middle ground where he acknowledged that there
41:08are sadness to some people.
41:09He expressed regret.
41:11He didn't apologize.
41:12He didn't disown Prithviraj, but rather took the onus and responsibility saying, I knew
41:16all about his story and Mohanlal is perceivedly close to Sangh.
41:19So Sangh people were very offended that Mohanlal could hem such a movie.
41:24So there is a complicated nuance to the entire matter and one last line, it will be interesting
41:27for you to know that Prithviraj's mother was a campaigner for Modi ji.
41:31She campaigned for BJP actively last time, but Prithviraj is an anti-Hindutva person.
41:35See this is the beauty of India.
41:37This is the pluralism.
41:38This is the political pluralism.
41:39We should be applauding.
41:40No, but that's, you know, that's precisely what M. G. Radhakrishnan is that pluralism
41:45somewhere lost.
41:46Is Kerala becoming the latest example of the manner in which some group can decide that
41:52they don't approve of a particular, in Mumbai, they may not approve of a comic character
41:57of a stand-up comedian, Kerala, they don't approve of a film scene.
42:01And therefore the pluralism that is just spoken by Rahul Eswar is actually getting more and
42:06more diluted that today you have to conform unless you conform.
42:12You will struggle to get your film through or do a stand-up comedy act.
42:16We thought Kerala was different.
42:18Absolutely, Rajdeep.
42:20That is the most disturbing aspect of the entire incident because it is happening in
42:25Kerala and that too without the BJP or any agency, any, you know, sort of security agency
42:33or any court or saying, you know, or even censor board coming in to sort of ask them
42:38to do any cuts, the producers themselves volunteer to do this kind of, you know, complete re-editing.
42:47So this is actually extremely worrying because this shows the atmosphere of fear that's prevalent
42:54in the country, which is, you know, Kerala also part of it and it has come, it has cut
42:58into Kerala also.
43:00And also the chilling effect that, you know, certain things have happened, certain things
43:04have actually created.
43:05For instance, you know, people like Mohanlal or Prithviraj would never like to be a Stan
43:10Swami or a G. N. Sai Baba or a Gauri Lankesh or Dhabholkar, you know, they are ordinary
43:15people or film people or, you know, artists or industrialists or, you know, they wouldn't
43:19like to take such kind of a risk and that too, and the film, as mentioned earlier, this
43:25is the first, the largest, you know, film with the highest budget ever in Kerala history.
43:32And Kerala in this particular film, to this film, the industry is trying to sort of, you
43:36know, get out of that limited borders of Kerala, Kerala geography, it is trying to have a pan-Indian
43:42market.
43:43So it is exactly when this industry is trying to do this, that this kind of, you know, threats
43:50are rising.
43:51So naturally, they would be afraid, they would be terrified.
43:54And that is what has happened.
43:56So in Kerala, it has happened, is extremely worrying, as you said.
44:01But at the same time, the filmmakers are laughing their way to the bank, Anand Kochukudi.
44:06You know, the film has already crossed 200 crores.
44:09It's on its way to becoming one of the blockbusters of the year.
44:12We saw it also with Chhava.
44:15Nothing succeeds quite like controversy, Anand.
44:18Yeah, that's true.
44:20You know, to be fair, this movie is not actually that great compared to its first installment,
44:26Lucifer, which was released five or six years ago.
44:29So people had a lot of expectations riding on this film.
44:32They thought that it would be even better than Lucifer.
44:37But it turned out to be, you know, much worse than expected.
44:41But then the controversy has catapulted the film into such a huge hit.
44:46And I think the makers would have wanted to make these cuts.
44:50They would have wanted to compromise on some of their creative freedom, purely on the basis
44:57of business reasons.
44:58They wanted the film to, you know, make as much money as possible.
45:03And this wouldn't have happened without the controversy.
45:06This film would have probably ended up as a sub-100 crore film because the film is not
45:12as entertaining, remotely as entertaining, as its first part.
45:17Now there's a third installment.
45:18I don't know whether that will ever happen.
45:21But does it boil down, Rahul Eshwar, that the moment you make today, even in a state
45:26like Kerala, a film with political connotations.
45:29There was a time when Kerala showed the way on films with strong political connotations.
45:35That was the nature of Kerala's film industry.
45:37Now it seems, after this, there could be a pushback.
45:40Should that not be of concern to people that you're not a...
45:44That cinematic expression will now always come against these offended sentiments.
45:50Someone's sentiment is offended, 17 scenes are cut.
45:54Rathi sir, please remember, 59 RSS people or Karsevaks were unfortunately killed in
46:00that fire.
46:01So let us remember that there should be fairness and balance.
46:04And that fairness and balance should be there.
46:06It should not be stereotyping any party.
46:08And Mohanlal acknowledged this in the Facebook writing where he said, it is my responsibility
46:13to see to it that there is no hatred against any community or political party.
46:17So you cannot brush and brand the entire RSS-BJP right-wing spectrum as bad.
46:21See, I have nuanced points of view.
46:23But there are films which are being done which target the Congress and the Congress's failures,
46:29whether it's in Kashmir, whether it's in 1984, that's okay.
46:35So it almost seems that whoever is in power can now set the agenda for films.
46:40Now the RSS is in power, they can demand cuts.
46:43If the Congress was in power, they would have demanded cuts.
46:46How is the RSS different then?
46:48I would say it is fairness and balance that really matter.
46:52To every truth and fact, there is a fairness and balance context.
46:56And that should be maintained.
46:57And that's a very legitimate ask from them too.
46:59And please remember, a huge arena of Mohanlal fans are the RSS's sunk aiders.
47:04They were disappointed that Lalit or Mohanlal took such a step of taking a one-sided view.
47:09That's the reason why everyone was requesting nuance in US language, pivot a bit more.
47:14So Lalit pivoted more to the center from a left of center view.
47:17And right now, I think the movie is more acceptable.
47:19But the core issue here is, we should always portray balance regarding Godhra or Gujarat.
47:24Both are scars on our soul.
47:26So it should have a balance portrayal and a nuance portrayal.
47:29That nuance was missing.
47:30And I'm happy that it came back.
47:31I hope this film will get to 400 crores and will lead the way.
47:35The movie is great.
47:36But a bit more balance was needed.
47:38I think that balance was restored.
47:40The question, of course, is who will decide what is balanced and what is not?
47:44At the moment, it seems the RSS decides and the RSS is playing the role of the censor,
47:50the sort of super censor in deciding what is acceptable and what is not.
47:55And that perhaps is troubling because the moment a political organization gets into
48:00film censorship, then you are opening the doors for greater and greater censorship in
48:05the future.
48:06I would have always thought what Kerala thinks today, India should think tomorrow.
48:10But in this instance, that would be very worrying for the rest of the country.
48:14I appreciate my guest joining me here on the show tonight.
48:17Thanks very much on our Top Talking Point.
48:20Let's turn to our Get Real India story.
48:23Now, you will recall a few years ago, Hyderabad Central University was in the eye of a storm
48:30over the suicide of a student, Rohit Vemula.
48:33Among others, Rahul Gandhi had raised the issue, saying a student from the Dalit community
48:38had been targeted.
48:40It is all these years later, once again, students versus the state in Telangana.
48:45Only this time, the Congress is the government in power there.
48:49Hyderabad Central University has turned into a political battlefield over the last few
48:53days, with students protesting against the auction of land for an IT park.
49:00The Revanth Reddy government claims the land belongs to the government, while the BJP is
49:05alleging police high-handedness against the university students.
49:09It all seems to have changed as to who is facing the students' ire from Rohit Vemula
49:15to now the latest controversy.
49:18Get Real India.
49:49The students claim the auctioned land is part of the university, leading to a mass boycott
49:57of classes against what they call illegal encroachment.
50:18On Monday, cops cracked down on protesting students.
50:49But the university fight has taken a political turn.
50:57BJP claims high-handedness by Revanth Reddy, while the Congress claims the land belongs
51:04to the government, not the university.
51:07Whether it belongs to SU or not, if the land belongs to the government.
51:12Does it mean that any land belonging to the government has to be auctioned and sold?
51:16This is the fate of the Telangana, that the Congress government is following the same
51:20policy of the TRS.
51:21TRS then similarly has auctioned hundreds and hundreds of acres of land, thousands of
51:25acres of land, and minted money.
51:28They just wanted to mislead the people.
51:30Now they are alleging my chief minister, saying that he is selling some properties and running
51:35the government.
51:36Then what should I tell?
51:38In the last ten years, Narendra Modi has disinvested so much of PSUs.
51:42You take Air India, you take LIC, you take recently, they were supposed to sell that
51:47Vishakha Steel plant also.
51:50The BJP's youth wing has now declared a Chalo HCU march likely to trigger a big escalation.
52:01PRSS KT Rama Rao also lashed out at the Congress, reminding Rahul Gandhi of his visits at the
52:08Hyderabad University during the Rohit Vemula showdown.
52:13The Telangana government will continue to clear the forest land next to the university,
52:18despite the students demanding the auction be called off.
52:25With Abdul Basheer in Hyderabad, Bureau Report, India Today.
52:38The summer has arrived and a new bird park has been opened in Mumbai, where over 500
52:43birds from 70 different species are being taken care of.
52:47The bird lovers are working round the clock to ensure proper treatment of birds.
52:51Here's our Good News Today story of the day.
53:01Summers are here, and while we have ways to beat the heat, have you ever thought about
53:07how birds survive?
53:12At Mumbai's bird park located in Gorai, over 500 feather friends get special summer care.
53:25Home to 70 different species, visitors can meet the winged wonders of nature up close.
53:31From playful and talkative parrots, to exotic cockatoos who perch on your shoulder, these
53:43birds offer peace and joy.
54:02With dozens of bird friends working round the clock, every bird gets personalized attention,
54:10hydration and nutrition.
54:12The birds are also checked every 15 days for issues like weight maintenance and diet plans.
54:32On Gudi Parva, the park also welcomed two new tiny Swiss bird chicks, now fondly named
54:47as Gudi and Parva.
54:49This summer, let's make new feathered friends along the way.
54:55Bureau Report, India Today.
55:01It's nice to see some happy images on television for a change.
55:04Let's leave you tonight with our fact check segment.
55:07A viral video doing the rounds of Samajwadi Party leader Mahendra Yadav being beaten up.
55:12Our fact check team has found out that the video is false.
55:15It was from 2021 when the Karni Sena beat up Yadav for insulting, they said, Chief Minister
55:22Yogi Adityanath.
55:24Let me leave you with that fact check.
55:27Just a reminder that we do this to ensure that we can, in our own small way, try and
55:32bust some of the fake news around you.
55:34Thanks for watching.
55:35Stay well.
55:36Stay safe.
55:37Good night.
55:38Shubhratri.
55:39Jai Hind.
55:40Namaskar.