- 5/28/2025
The episode of 5ive Live focusses on the political controversy surrounding Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's comments praising Operation Sindoor and Prime Minister Modi.
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00:00Congress caught in the crossfire.
00:15Implosion after Shashi's sindoor stand.
00:18Operation Sindoor was necessary because these terrorists came and wiped the sindoor off
00:26the foreheads of 26 women.
00:31Is Tharoor now a super spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party?
00:35Our Prime Minister has made it very clear, Operation Sindoor.
00:41Chaiwala selling sindoor, says the Trinamool Congress.
00:49Operation Sindoor, political war heats up.
01:02Indian Army gives out more evidence of precision strikes as political clash unfolds.
01:08Top focus on Five Live.
01:16Good evening and welcome to Five Live.
01:17I am Pooja Shalli.
01:18Thank you for tuning in.
01:20While there is a united stage for all Indians, all members of Parliament on the global stage
01:25in narrative warfare against Pakistan.
01:28But back home, bickering has escalated and in the eye of the storm is Congress MP Shashi
01:34Tharoor.
01:35We'll tell you more about that and amid all of this, fresh videos emerging of precision
01:39strikes that have been done by Indian Armed Forces.
01:41Alright, the top story of Five Live this evening is about Operation Sindoor, but the politics
01:46around it.
01:47It's a political controversy while putting out a united forum, united face to the global
01:53stage.
01:54Operation Sindoor's envoy to the USA, even though he's an opposition leader, but Shashi
01:58Tharoor has not only, of course, praised India's strikes, but appears to have praised Prime
02:04Minister Modi as well, calling the Operation Sindoor a bold and symbolic move never attempted
02:09before.
02:10Sources have revealed that this has led to while a lot of praise, appreciation, viral
02:15moments for the Congress MP, but his party, Congress, is not too happy with what's turning
02:20out to be what appears to be Shashi Tharoor's praise of Prime Minister Modi.
02:24In fact, they have said this appears to be chamchagiri of PM Modi.
02:28Tharoor said the operation sent a clear message to the world that the sindoor that was wiped
02:32off from the grieving women's foreheads has been avenged with the blood of the terrorists.
02:37Observers say that this is in many ways similar to what Prime Minister Modi had also said,
02:42Sindoor ka badla humne le liya.
02:45Leading the charge against Shashi Tharoor is Congress leader Udit Raj, one of the first
02:50to have responded and said, super spokesman of the BJP is now Shashi Tharoor.
02:56He's saying he's going overboard and he's targeting the Congress party by saying that
03:01the BJP did so great.
03:04Our Prime Minister has made it very clear, Operation Sindoor was necessary because these
03:12terrorists came and wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women by depriving them
03:21of their husbands and father, their married lives.
03:26In fact, there were some women who cried out, the terrorists killed me too.
03:30And they said, no, go back, tell what happened to you.
03:35We heard, we heard their cries and India decided that the colour of the sindoor, that vermilion
03:43colour on the forehead of our women will also match the colour of the blood of the killers,
03:51the perpetrators, the attackers.
04:05I say to the people of this country, those who came out to wipe the sindoor, those who
04:26came out to wipe the sindoor, I have mixed them in the soil, those who used to shed India's
04:38blood, today I have paid the price of every drop.
04:46So of course, remember at this juncture, the Congress party believes that he's being critical
04:49of the grand old party, the party from which he's the member of parliament and going overboard
04:54when it comes to praising the prime minister of the country.
04:58Shashi Tharoor, remember, has been one of the most articulate voices, especially in
05:02the United States of America and Guyana and other countries as well.
05:05But here's what has happened.
05:06I want to tell you how this has led to perhaps at this juncture, what he had said in the
05:12recent times as well, the Congress MP has been quite vocal about his support and praise
05:16for Prime Minister Modi's initiative.
05:18So it's not the first time that he's appreciated the government or the incumbent prime minister
05:24and different instances on your screens as well about how this has happened.
05:28Let's listen in to one.
05:30I'm still wiping the egg off my face because I was the one person in the parliamentary
05:35debate who actually criticized the Indian position at the time, back in February 22,
05:41on the well-worn grounds that Espen will understand, because he and I talked about all this in
05:45my UN days, that there was a violation of the UN Charter, that there had been a violation
05:51of the principle of inviolability of borders, of the sovereignty of another state, namely
05:55Ukraine.
05:56And we had always stood for the admissibility of the use of force to settle international
06:01disputes.
06:02And all of those principles, I said, had been violated by one party, and we should have
06:05condemned it.
06:06Well, a couple of years later, three years later, it does look like I'm the one with
06:11the egg on my face, because clearly the policy has meant that India has actually a prime
06:16minister who can hug both the president of Ukraine and the president of Moscow two weeks
06:20apart, and be accepted in both places.
06:24So a short while ago, I had this exclusive conversation with Congress leader Udit Raj.
06:29Why is he angry?
06:30And it appears that Congress leaders like Pawan Khera, who's a national spokesperson,
06:34is sharing the view, reposting what Udit Raj has said.
06:37Here's what Udit Raj said to India today.
06:40Why is he upset?
06:41Why is he calling Shashi Tharoor the super spokesman of the BJP?
06:47So how can he say that it never happened, that Indian government or Indian army never
06:54crossed the LOC or international border before that?
06:57This is just actually incorrect, very, very much incorrect.
07:02And for that, he should be rewarded, either as a spokesperson, super spokesperson of BJP,
07:07or before he lands in India, he should be declared as a foreign minister.
07:12See, in a way, that he's denigrating Congress.
07:16So again, the question, is it just Udit Raj or are other leaders as much sharing the sentiment
07:22of Shashi Tharoor?
07:23And why I say that this is now more out in the open.
07:27Congress top brass, and I will take you through some of the previous instances as well, where
07:31the top leadership believed that although the party nominated him, and twice, in fact,
07:37as chairperson of parliamentary committees, but his praise for even CPM in Kerala, from
07:41which he's a member of parliament, and Prime Minister Modi and the government on foreign
07:45policy is seen as crossing lines.
07:48Remember, Congress has been as much in a tussle with the left government and of course, the
07:53BJP government.
07:54Then remember, a late entrant though, Tharoor's bid for Kerala Congress chief, the speculation
07:59that he wants to become at least Kerala Congress chief, that didn't happen.
08:03And that led to ruffled feathers as well.
08:06But then when he was appointed as the All India Professional Congress head, that there
08:11wasn't much impact is what sources in the Congress party believe.
08:15And then amid all of this came in his praise, his articulate support, whether often for
08:22Prime Minister Modi or the Modi government, or even the left parties and that perhaps
08:26is sending out feelers.
08:28Is he not getting his due in the Congress party?
08:31Is he looking out?
08:32Does the Congress want him out?
08:33Will that happen?
08:34Or will this rift come to an end?
08:36I have some big news coming out on that.
08:38Let's take a look at this great news.
08:45The Congress unease is clear over Shashi Tharoor.
08:48And while he's putting out the best foot right now with regard to the global stage on Operation
08:53Sindoor, Congress media cell head shares the post, social media post against Tharoor.
08:59That's Pawan Khaira.
09:00Remember, he's one of the top national spokespersons.
09:02He's the social media cell head.
09:05So clearly one of the top voices.
09:07It cannot be just by himself.
09:08It clearly appears to be an endorsement of the top leadership.
09:12He has reposted on social media, on social media site X, Pawan Khaira is sharing Udit
09:18Raj's comments.
09:19So throughout the afternoon, the speculation was if it's a random comment that Udit Raj
09:23as a Congress leader has made about how Shashi Tharoor is the top spokesperson of the BJP
09:28right now.
09:29But if this is being shared by what Pawan Khaira has done, is that a reflection of precisely
09:37a larger Congress sentiment?
09:41Mosmi Singh joins me for the latest on that, closely tracks the Congress party.
09:45Mosmi, good evening.
09:46Tell me, what do you pick up from the Congress party?
09:50Are they miffed?
09:51Are they uneasy about how Shashi Tharoor is putting out this narrative?
09:55Because many would say he's speaking up for India.
09:58Clearly, Pooja, Shashi Tharoor has been at it and it's been brewing for over a period
10:09of some one or two years, you know, these intermittent praises of Prime Minister Narendra
10:15Modi and the Modi government.
10:17And but, you know, the recent past two, three weeks have been really troublesome for the
10:23Congress party as it is at pains trying to drive the point, drive home the points, the
10:31questions that it is raising on Operation Sindoor and the conduct of the Modi government
10:36on the home turf.
10:37Shashi Tharoor seems to be undoing all the damage that the Congress wants to cause.
10:44And his recent comments are way beyond the so-called Laxman Rekha, which one leader reminded
10:50him of in a recent Congress working committee meeting, where he said that Mr. Tharoor has
10:55crossed the Laxman Rekha.
10:57He was reminded about that.
11:00And just about weeks later, Shashi Tharoor does it again.
11:04So perhaps, you know, the distance between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress party here,
11:11I see him as increasing somewhere.
11:14It's reached a threshold where Shashi Tharoor is completely taking a divergent line.
11:21You can go on foreign soil, talk about the unity of India, talk about being the opposition
11:28leader and how you're on one voice in one, you're on the same page as the government
11:35on Operation Sindoor.
11:37But to turn back the pages of time and say that time and again, Prime Minister Narendra
11:43Modi has performed and I've landed with an egg on my face, is like telling that the Congress
11:49party or the opposition parties are simply crying foul because they don't want Prime
11:56Minister Narendra Modi to shine and he deserves a lot of praises.
12:00And that's why, you know, this is really unsettled, the Congress leadership this time.
12:06We are told that the leaders, top leadership is watching this very closely.
12:12Watch me quickly, watching only or do we expect perhaps any disciplinary action, any
12:17sort of action that could be taken against Shashi Tharoor or will that not happen?
12:22Because if the Congress is watching it, so is the BJP.
12:24Could they open their doors too to Shashi Tharoor?
12:31Usually the stick is waged when you want a leader to be ridiculed or told that he's done
12:39something wrong.
12:41Yes.
12:42And, you know, put him on the mat and so thereby the disciplinary action could be a possible
12:48trigger or a start to something more, you know, as far as Shashi Tharoor's ideological
12:56stand is concerned and which party he really belongs to.
13:00So I think that there is a dichotomy here and Shashi Tharoor simply doesn't seem to
13:06be on the same page as the Congress.
13:07Very interesting.
13:08We'll keep tracking the latest on that.
13:11Are we looking at perhaps the clock ticking for Shashi Tharoor in the Congress party?
13:15Will they be able to settle this?
13:16Is he still an asset to the grand old party?
13:18We'll be tracking that and more.
13:20Mousavi, stay on with me because what I want to now tell you is about Prime Minister's
13:24visit to North Bengal.
13:25It's just a day to go.
13:27But even before his visit, Bengal Minister, which is basically from the TMC, Udian Goa,
13:32used some very strong words against Prime Minister Modi.
13:35And I want you to listen in to what he said.
14:05Mousavi Singh continues to be with us.
14:25Mousavi, a united face on the global stage.
14:28Abhishek Banerjee, in fact, has been one of those articulate voices.
14:31But back home, such a remark.
14:34But how do you see this as a political discourse, Mousavi?
14:36You've been tracking all of these netas, irrespective of parties.
14:40But to say, chaiwala selling sindoor now, I don't know what to make of it.
14:46Pooja, there are two messages very clear with what the TMC leader has just said.
14:55One is that the battle on the home turf, domestic politics will be a different ballgame for
15:01the Modi government in the upcoming monsoon session.
15:04There's also a unity over a call for a special session within the opposition that is growing
15:10now.
15:11So they will have to confront those challenges.
15:13And secondly, you know, the TMC leader would be well remember that how dearly the Congress
15:21is, how dear it was for the Congress when Manish Shankar Iyer made that chaiwala jai
15:28that the Congress literally lost the Lok Sabha elections with the BJP building the
15:33entire campaign on that jai.
15:35So it's often reaped rich dividends for the BJP and perhaps, you know, motor mouth leaders
15:42continue to make those remarks.
15:45So at this juncture, this is what the TMC leader said, saying Prime Minister Modi will
15:48divide Bengalis arriving here.
15:50But then to make a jai like that, are you looking down at the chaiwala or are you saying
15:55that the Prime Minister is selling the sindoor with regard to the operation?
15:58All right.
15:59We'll be tracking that and more.
16:00And Mamata Banerjee has something to say about one of her minister's statements here.
16:04We have some news coming in.
16:05Let's take a look at that.
16:13Big exclusive coming up now on Five Live.
16:15India Today accesses crucial details of the Justice Yashwant Parma inquiry report.
16:21This is huge.
16:22This is a cash haul case to which the judge maintained he had nothing to do with it.
16:27He doesn't even know how the cash appeared in that cupboard that the emergency services
16:31had noticed.
16:32Now the top detail that had come in, the top finding from the inquiry report, presence
16:38of cash undeniably established.
16:41It is piles of unaccounted cash.
16:44Nobody has been able to ascertain how much cash there was even which was found burnt.
16:50Now the burden of proof is on the judge to explain the presence of that cash.
16:56But this is where it proves to be trouble possibly for the sitting judge.
17:00Justice Varma, according to the special report, the preliminary inquiry report that Justice
17:06Varma has failed in providing a plausible explanation regarding the source of cash.
17:11Remember three judges.
17:13It was a top court appointed panel of sitting judges who have examined this case further
17:19have said Justice Varma has not been able to provide a plausible explanation regarding
17:24the source of the case.
17:26He's not been able to give a proper clarification, explanation and also there's been a flat denial.
17:33He's alleging conspiracy against him.
17:35But is alleging conspiracy enough?
17:37What evidence is he bringing to the table that at his home, in a storeroom, in a cupboard,
17:42there were piles of unaccounted cash?
17:45The staff of Justice Varma is instrumental in removing the burnt cash from the storeroom.
17:49Why was the storeroom in a covert and active control of the family?
17:54It's after all a storeroom and that's where perhaps a lot of questions are unanswered.
17:58There are misconduct allegations that have come in.
18:01I'm talking about at least one and a half feet high of stacks, currency notes from the
18:06storeroom and that were found in this burnt condition.
18:11Several other findings I want to immediately bring in.
18:13India Today's legal editor, Nalini Sharma for the latest on that.
18:17Nalini, take us through all the big findings of this inquiry report and do you believe
18:22this could land the judge in trouble?
18:24Well Pooja, remember that since this entire case has happened and since the day that the
18:29video came out when there was a press release issued by Chief Justice of India, Justice
18:33Sanjeev Khanna, we've been constantly reporting on this story and a lot of these details have
18:37also been put out into the public domain earlier.
18:40But some of the crucial details that are emerging for the first time in this report,
18:44the details of which have now been accessed by India Today.
18:47Number one, it says that the witnesses who were examined by the inquiry committee have
18:52confirmed that there were not one but multiple stacks of cash that were found in that storeroom
18:58right from the door of the storeroom till the opposite end.
19:02So the entire length of the storeroom, there were stacks of cash that were kept and these
19:06stacks were at least 1.5 feet high, not only on the floor but there were stacks also on
19:11the ledge.
19:12Another important point that has come out is that during the inquiry committee's interrogation
19:17of several persons, including the Delhi Police Commissioner, they had specifically asked
19:22the Delhi Police Commissioner as to why there was no FIR that was filed in the case despite
19:27the fact that the cash had been found at that particular site, to which the Delhi Commissioner
19:31had replied that keeping in mind the legalities that are surrounding lodging an FIR against
19:36a sitting judge, which means that an FIR cannot be filed until and unless there is approval
19:40that is already given by the Chief Justice of India, is the main reason why the Delhi
19:45Police did not go ahead and file the FIR, while at the same time the report also says
19:49that the action or inaction done by the Delhi Police is not within the scope of this inquiry,
19:54but this is something that has come out now.
19:55Another major revelation that has come out during these details is that there was a liquor
19:59cabinet that was present inside the storeroom which had liquor bottles in it and when that
20:04liquor cabinet caught the fire, it was due to the liquor that was present inside the
20:08cabinet that the fire actually expanded and became a major fire because of which a lot
20:13of the cash that was present in the storeroom had actually caught fire, which is why we
20:17saw the visuals of the half-burnt cash.
20:19So if it wasn't for the liquor cabinet, the fire comparatively could have been smaller,
20:23essentially because that liquor cabinet was specifically next to a switchboard.
20:27Along with that, the report also says that the burden of proof was in Justice Verma to
20:32prove where the source of this money had come from and he completely failed in giving any
20:37details for it and his misconduct is so serious that it calls for impeachment to be initiated against him.
20:43That's the big story.
20:44If that happens, it would be historic to say the least.
20:48Nalini, stay on with me.
20:49Nalini and our India Today Legal Bureau is tracking every development.
20:5414th March, remember when the country was shocked when these half-burnt piles of cash,
20:59unaccounted, we don't even know how much money we are talking about here, was found from
21:05the cupboard at a sitting judge residence.
21:08Now remember the judge has denied all the charges, but a major scandal has surfaced
21:12ever since.
21:14According to our sources, the government of the centre is weighing impeachment against
21:18the sitting judge.
21:19This is rare, but also a complex move.
21:21I want you to understand what could happen, what are the implications, procedure and importantly
21:26why an impeachment motion possibly against Judge Yashwant Verma.
21:34A story shocking the very foundations of Indian judiciary.
21:38The Narendra Modi government is considering impeachment proceedings against Justice Verma,
21:44a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court.
21:46This comes after a shocking discovery of cash at his official residence in the National
21:51Capitol during his earlier posting at the Delhi High Court.
21:56Sources tell India Today, the impeachment motion could be moved in the monsoon session
22:00of Parliament if Justice Verma doesn't resign.
22:03Then Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna had written to the President and the Prime
22:08Minister recommending impeachment after Justice Verma refused to step down.
22:14A Supreme Court-appointed committee of three judges from the Punjab and Haryana, Himachal
22:19Pradesh and Karnataka High Courts had indicted Justice Verma in its report to the CJI.
22:26Sources say the panel confirmed the cash was found in a locked storeroom used by Justice
22:30Verma's staff and yet the judge pleaded ignorance.
22:45Sources say the government will take the opposition into confidence before moving the impeachment
23:03motion.
23:04But impeaching a sitting High Court judge is no easy task.
23:09Under Articles 1244 and 217 of the Constitution, the process is lengthy and politically sensitive.
23:17It begins with a motion of impeachment, backed by at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha or 50
23:23in the Rajya Sabha.
23:24Once admitted, the Speaker or Chairman must constitute a Special Investigation Committee.
23:29If the panel confirms proved misbehaviour, the motion must then pass both the Houses,
23:36with a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
23:40Only then can the President order removal.
24:06Justice Verma has rejected the Supreme Court panel's findings, calling them motivated and
24:17false.
24:18With the monsoon session just weeks away, the pressure is building, and India could
24:23be headed for a rare and unprecedented showdown in Parliament.
24:28Bureau Report, India Today.
24:36This is from Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice, also of Himachal Pradesh High Court
24:40and Karnataka High Court.
24:42So clearly important, significant positions of judges who decided to investigate this further.
24:47We have the findings about what precisely appears to have been found in that panel.
24:51Let's take a look one by one.
24:52According to our sources, when Yashant Verma was questioned about the cash haul, a very
24:57basic information that deserved acceptance, denial or clarification, that there appeared
25:03to be a certain misleading info.
25:04What does that mean?
25:05Misleading info in the sense that there wasn't enough clarification that had come in with
25:09regard to what the sitting judge had to say.
25:12Now, the staff was present there.
25:13He wasn't even there.
25:14That's what he said, that he doesn't even know where the cash came from.
25:17And the staff may have removed the cash after the fire.
25:20Remember 14th March, when the emergency services personnel were told to come a day later.
25:25Burnt money was in a locked house, in a locked cupboard, basically.
25:29And therefore, what was it doing there?
25:30How did it reach?
25:31What is the source?
25:32All of these were asked but did not get a plausible explanation to the panel.
25:37The burnt cash the next day vanished.
25:39How did it vanish?
25:40Nobody knows.
25:41No clarity on the amount.
25:43So, we don't even know how much of cash there was because the judge and the staff says,
25:47we don't even know how the money appeared.
25:49Must remove Justice Verma.
25:51Basically, the panel is not convinced.
25:54They do believe burden of proof lies on the judge.
25:56They are not convinced with the answers that have come in.
25:59But you need to understand, when we talk about impeachment and from the highest authority in
26:04judiciary, it's not that easy a process.
26:07It has happened before but I'll tell you the process.
26:09Impeachment motion needs the backing of members of parliament.
26:13100 from the Lok Sabha, 50 Rajya Sabha MPs have to come forth to at least believe this
26:19needs an impeachment.
26:20So, that's number, that's step one.
26:22What happens after that?
26:23The speaker in the parliament, the Lok Sabha will tell the Supreme Court to form an investigation
26:27panel of judges.
26:29After that, when of course that panel report has been, has come, concluded, has been submitted,
26:34the government will nominate eminent jurists to investigate more and further with regard
26:40to the panel.
26:41So, this is an elaborate process that comes in and brings in not just the members of parliament
26:46but also the judiciary.
26:48If found guilty, this is important.
26:50If all of this is clear, the parliament voting takes place.
26:53That is both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will have a voting if this judge needs to go.
26:59The motion needs to be passed with a two-third majority.
27:02Again, the highest number of the members of parliament of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
27:07Sabha have to vote and believe this judge has definitely indulged in misconduct and
27:12needs to go.
27:13And eventually, if that also happens, president orders a removal.
27:18Justice Varma is possibly set to face that impeachment motion.
27:24But will he clear it?
27:25What will happen?
27:26I want to bring in our legal correspondent, Anisha Mathur for the latest on that.
27:29Anisha, tell us about the precedence in this case.
27:33How big controversial is this?
27:35Because judiciary is still that one arm of this country, which in many ways is still
27:40untouched.
27:41So, you tell me more about this.
27:43Well, Apoorva, as we've been discussing, impeachment is not an easy task.
27:47We've seen at least five instances in the history of independent India where impeachment
27:54motions were attempted in the parliament of India.
27:57Now, as you just mentioned, 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs have to introduce
28:02that motion in the house that they belong to.
28:05We've seen instances coming in where V Ramaswamy was the first judge in 1993 when an impeachment
28:12motion was brought in.
28:13But that failed to secure that majority.
28:16We saw Justice Soumitra Sen of the Kolkata High Court who resigned before the Lok Sabha
28:25could consider the impeachment motion, but after the Rajya Sabha had passed the motion.
28:30We saw in 2015, once again, impeachment motion was attempted, but they could not get the
28:37adequate number of MPs to sign it.
28:41We also saw the entire process going through for Justice Ganguly who was accused in a sexual
28:49harassment case.
28:50In that particular case, we saw the motion being brought.
28:54We saw three different inquiry committees being created.
28:58But then in the meantime, insufficient evidence was found and therefore the motion was dropped.
29:04So, there has been multiple instances where attempts have been made.
29:08But because of the requirement of the evidence, because of the requirement of consensus, it
29:15has not so far never happened that something like this has gone through the parliament.
29:20But now what we're hearing from government sources is that the government is going to
29:24attempt to bring in this motion.
29:26We've been speaking to opposition MPs, we've been speaking to lawyers.
29:29It is going to be a difficult task to first bring in the motion with the adequate number
29:34of MPs, then have the inquiry committee, which needs to have a sitting Supreme Court
29:41judge, a sitting High Court judge and a senior jurist who will be conducting this investigation.
29:46Then their report will come to the parliament again and then on that, they will be voting.
29:51So, we'll have to wait and see how and when this process is really initiated.
29:55The court has already done its job.
29:57The Chief Justice has sent the in-house inquiry committee report to the president.
30:01I think this is incredible.
30:03This is unprecedented in so many ways.
30:06Yes, there have been motions, for example, and Anisha, thank you for that.
30:09Justice Deepak Mishra's case in 2018, misuse of authority allegations was the last that we
30:15heard of.
30:16Rajya Sabha chair eventually rejected the motion.
30:19But there have been different judges for different reasons.
30:21Allegations of misconduct, impeachment motion has come or at least there was a possibility
30:27of it coming and being brought to the parliament.
30:29But in each of these cases, for one reason or another, the motion was dropped.
30:33Now, it is Judge Yashwant Verma.
30:35Could he be impeached if there is no clarity coming in?
30:38Because remember, after all, you're talking about judiciary.
30:42The one that gives out judgments is believed to be completely independent and cannot have
30:47allegations of misconduct as well.
30:50I mean, all of this advocate and member of parliament of Congress, Vivek Tanka has said
30:54no party will oppose because this is an issue of serious corruption.
30:58At least the charges that he's facing.
30:59But the government has to share the inquiry report with all members of parliament.
31:03Let's listen in to this conversation.
31:07A serious motion when you want it to be debated in parliament, at least the material on the
31:13basis of which we are going to ask the parliament to initiate the process should be known to us.
31:21It can't be just on television cameras or part of gossip columns.
31:25So I'm waiting for a reply on that.
31:29Just today, I saw one of the papers reporting at the front page news that the government
31:34wishes to initiate.
31:36But even if the government wishes to initiate it, I'm sure it will have to inform its MPs
31:42about the material.
31:45Yeah, generally, when you don't want to show the report, then at least there should have
31:51been a high powered investigation.
31:55And that high powered investigation, which I would have wanted to greater details, would
32:00have given conclusive findings, which could have been the basis of initiation.
32:04Even that has not happened.
32:06I'm not aware if anybody has spoken to my party leaders, but nobody has spoken to me
32:12or there are a lot of lawyers who are my friend MPs.
32:16None of them have been.
32:17There has been no outreach to them also.
32:20So maybe they will do it in the times ahead.
32:23Maybe they will do it when the parliament meets.
32:26But as I said, we all hate corruption.
32:30We are all there for any move to fight corruption.
32:34There's no way we are going to shield any corruption.
32:37But before we initiate a serious move like a removal motion, the least that I expect
32:44from myself and any other thinking MPs, we should know the material or the basis of which
32:50we are signing the paper.
32:52I will be closely tracking this development.
32:54Remember, because it's not just about one sitting judge or another.
32:57It concerns all of India and our judiciary as much.
33:0022nd April Pehelgam terror carnage, a massacre that led to the loss of lives of 26 innocent
33:06men.
33:07The women left behind and told to tell the tale to Prime Minister Modi.
33:12That led to an immediate dip in the tourism in Jammu Kashmir, especially in the Kashmir
33:17Valley, where there was a direct impact.
33:19Now, as a result of that, while there have been investigations, there have been military
33:22strikes, the chief minister of Jammu Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, decided in a confidence boost
33:28measure to revive the tourism in Kashmir Valley, have back-to-back high-level meetings in
33:34valley's top tourist spots.
33:35Pehelgam in South Kashmir, Gulmarg in North Kashmir.
33:38He convened the special cabinet meeting first in Pehelgam, not exactly in Bison, but in
33:43other parts of Pehelgam, where the incident had taken place, and then also is focusing
33:48on tourism as a conflict neutral economic activity.
33:51He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
33:55heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
33:58He chaired another meeting in Gulmarg, attended by senior police and civil officials, including
34:03the IGP Kashmir and district officers.
34:05It's a symbolic outreach, of course, but it's a border strategy to not only project normalcy
34:10and that tourism will be revived, but also inviting people to return to Kashmir.
34:15Let's listen in now to this exclusive conversation that Mir Fareed had with JNK chief minister,
34:19Omar Abdullah.
35:05Omar Abdullah, JNK chief minister of Kashmir, said that the government is committed to insulate
35:09the tourism sector on which Kashmir heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it
35:13should be kept separate.
36:05He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
36:10heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
36:35He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
36:41heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
36:45He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
36:51heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
36:55He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:00heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:04He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:09heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:13He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:17heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:21He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:25heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:29He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:33heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:37He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:41heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:45He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:49heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
37:53He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
37:57heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:01He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:05heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:09He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:13heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:17He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:21heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:25He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:29heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:33He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:37heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:41He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:45heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:49He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
38:53heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
38:57He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:01heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:05He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:09heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:13He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:17heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:21He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:25heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:29He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:33heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:37He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:41heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:45He said that the government is committed to insulate the tourism sector on which Kashmir
39:49heavily depends, and from violence and politics, it should be kept separate.
39:53Right, I mean, there is no sync as of now on what the government of India is thinking
39:57and what Umar Abdullah is doing, because our sources in the central government tell us
40:01that right now the focus is Amarnath Yatra, focus is to stabilise the security situation
40:05in Kashmir, and tourism, as of now, is not in the priorities of the Modi government.
40:11But Umar Abdullah is trying his bit, he has his local constituency, some high-end hoteliers
40:17lobby, and then the overall tourism industry, which has suffered a massive setback.
40:22So he's trying to show his presence on the ground.
40:25Yesterday he was in Pelgam, today we spoke to him in Gulmarg.
40:28He was optimistic, he's trying his bit, but he also, somewhere down the line, I could
40:32sense this, that he also understands that while to a certain extent he can do certain
40:37things, but the overall messaging and the most important decision-making and message
40:43has to come from the Modi government, which as of now, it seems, wants to first be doubly
40:49sure about the security situation on the ground, get feedback from the security agencies, be
40:54absolutely sure that there is no threat on the ground, which Pooja, let me tell you,
40:58threat definitely exists, because if you have tourists being targeted in a way, you have
41:03the Amarnath Yatra, that can be a potential threat.
41:07And you have FTs in forest areas against whom operations are ongoing, so we'll have to
41:12wait till that security, that sense of security returns, and till that happens, it seems that
41:19while Umar Abdullah here is doing certain things, Modi government's intention is quite
41:24clear, their roadmap is quite clear.
41:26Yatra first, stabilize security situation, and then maybe post-yatra, once we have a
41:31successful yatra, take it forward by having a roadmap.
41:34So Amarnath Yatra July will be, of course, the prominent focus here.
41:38Fareed, thank you very much for getting us this ground report.
41:40Chief Minister Umar Abdullah putting out selfies to remind you how beautiful Pehalgam
41:45Gulmarg has been.
41:46He's trying to reach out to the hoteliers, operators locally, convince them what can
41:50be done to invite more and more tourists at this juncture.
41:53But, of course, remember, it's about tourists from other states who have to go to Kashmir.
41:58So I decided to look about what precisely is the impact.
42:01Remember, there's been a clear impact on tourism in Kashmir Valley.
42:04This is a holiday season.
42:05There have been mass cancellations.
42:07So I decided to try and understand what is happening with the flight or the hotel prices.
42:12According to our information, many tourists have either postponed their calling off their
42:17trips right now with regard to understandable safety concerns.
42:20And therefore, flight prices have dropped.
42:23And how?
42:24Let's take a look at some of the flight prices.
42:26And remember, usually this is the holiday season when there were, I would say, objectionable
42:31prices, 30,000, 20,000 rupees otherwise.
42:34Right now, Air India Express New Delhi to Srinagar is just about 5,800 rupees.
42:40Air India New Delhi price to Srinagar again has dipped about 8,000.
42:44All these prices that I'm quoting to you were at least over 15,000.
42:49Indigo, New Delhi-Srinagar, 9,000 rupees.
42:52SpiceJet, New Delhi-Srinagar is about 11,000.
42:54So there are, of course, different time slots.
42:56But primarily the price range hovering between 4,000 to 6,000 to 7,000 rupees.
43:02So there's definitely been a price dip when it comes to flight.
43:06But will people decide to nevertheless go to Kashmir?
43:10I leave it to the viewer to take that call and decide looking at the security situation.
43:15But India Today also approached the tour operators to try and understand.
43:19There have been mass cancellations as Kashmir hoteliers are telling us.
43:23How are people across Delhi, Mumbai?
43:26How are they reacting?
43:28Are there mass bookings or not?
43:30Listen in now to the tour operators from National Capital Delhi about the packages to Kashmir.
44:00And Kashmir will try to get back to the level of its piloting.
44:04Kashmir needs piloting and Kashmir needs piloting.
44:08Our Kashmir used to be at its peak.
44:10And during this time, there was a lot of boom in Kashmir.
44:14But there was an attack in Kashmir.
44:16We didn't expect anything like this to happen.
44:18This was the time.
44:19There were school holidays.
44:20There was everything.
44:21People go.
44:22But now no one is going.
44:23Everyone's cancellations.
44:24Everyone is going.
44:25We have to suffer a lot.
44:26We used to go before.
44:27In the same season, one person used to go up and down for Rs. 25,000-30,000.
44:30But now we are seeing that one person is coming for Rs. 4,000.
44:33That is, one person is coming for Rs. 8,000-10,000.
44:36It has become so less that no one is preferring to go there.
44:39So perhaps more initiatives and some time will be required, a synergy again,
44:44to be able to revive tourism because there is an understandable concern for now.
44:48So we'll be tracking how precisely and what happens in Kashmir Valley with regard to tourism.
44:53But I want to tell you about the latest fresh images that have surfaced about India's Operation Sindhu.
44:59The recently released satellite images,
45:01and these are released from the Indian Army officially,
45:03again remind to us the scale of damage that Pakistan has suffered.
45:07This is a reminder that more and more evidence daily are coming forth,
45:11revelations of what Indian Armed Forces, remember,
45:14achieved with precise, clear strikes on terror targets and military targets.
45:19A report for you.
45:23The message is clear.
45:50Any act of terror will be treated as an act of war.
45:54During Operation Sindhu, India rained fire on Pakistan
45:58after the terror state tried to attack Indian military infrastructure
46:02in response to India's attacks on terror hubs.
46:08After Pakistan's misadventures, India, in multiple precision strikes,
46:13hit 11 of their air bases, making them completely dysfunctional.
46:19Bholari was one of the worst hit.
46:21The Indian missile strike on a particular hangar damaged one Saab 2000 AWACS
46:27and three to four Western-origin fighter aircraft.
46:30India used indigenous Brahmos missiles to carry out strikes at this air base.
46:35The satellite images show a hole in the hangar rooftop and major damage inside the hangar.
46:41Not just Bholari.
46:43Other air bases, including Murid and Noorkhan, also sustained considerable damages.
46:49The satellite images show the impact of the missile strikes
46:53that made a crater of three metres on the ground.
46:57The munition impact was just 30 metres from a crucial underground facility,
47:02which could be a weapon stockpile.
47:04Another attack at the compound damaged a drone complex and other structures at the air base.
47:11A similar sight was seen at the Noorkhan air base,
47:14where earth movers were used to remove the damaged structures.
47:20Pakistan lost at least 35 to 40 personnel in these attacks.
47:25Bureau report, India Today.
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