- 7/2/2025
This episode of Newstrack focusses on a viral video from Thane, Maharashtra, showing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers assaulting a shopkeeper for not speaking Marathi. The incident has sparked outrage and debates on linguistic chauvinism.
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NewsTranscript
00:00MNS workers assault shopkeeper.
00:06Refused to speak Marathi.
00:20Thrashed by MNS goons.
00:23Language war takes a violent turn.
00:30MNS workers refuse to apologize.
00:49Mahal language war.
00:50That is our top focus on NewsTrack.
00:53Hello and welcome.
00:57Good evening.
00:58You're watching NewsTrack here on India Today.
01:00I'm Akshita Anandha Gopal.
01:01We're going to be getting you all the latest updates coming in on that horrifying video
01:05from Thane of a shopkeeper being slapped by MNS workers.
01:10Why?
01:10Because he refused to speak Marathi or said, I don't know how to speak Marathi.
01:14This is a state in which we speak multiple languages.
01:17Is the language war not just in Maharashtra but in different states of the country going
01:21too far.
01:23We're going to be talking about that.
01:24Here are the headlines first.
01:29Dead toll in Telangana.
01:31Factory blast rises to 40.
01:33Shocking lapses in safety emerge.
01:35Factory operated without a fire NOC.
01:37It's a fragile truce in the Karnataka Congress.
01:46DK Shivkumar says no option but to follow party decision.
01:51Chief Minister Sidra Mayer warns cabinet against rumblings over leadership.
01:54Kolkata rape accused Monajit Mishra now blames the victim, alleges that the survivor participated
02:06in the act and calls scratch marks on his body as love bites.
02:10Prime Minister Modi kicks off Five Nation tour, arrives in Ghana.
02:19First visit to Ghana by an Indian Prime Minister in three decades.
02:23Talks on investment, energy and security slated.
02:30And a 16 lakh rupee renovation.
02:34At Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's residence sparks political showdown.
02:38AARP fires Maya Meher Jaip, calling it an extravagant splurge.
02:42BJP says it's a non-luxury spending on residence.
02:54A disturbing video from Maharashtra has sparked outrage across India.
02:59In the video, workers from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the MNS, the party led by Raj Thakere,
03:05were caught on camera confronting a shopkeeper, a stall owner, simply for not speaking Marathi.
03:12The altercation quickly escalated.
03:14It starts off as an argument where there are multiple abuses being held.
03:18And then, it's outright assault as these MNS workers start slapping the shopkeeper repeatedly
03:24because they told him, speak in Marathi.
03:28And he said, in Maharashtra, all languages are spoken.
03:31Now, the owner was interrogated why he didn't speak Marathi and then physically assaulted
03:36once he mentioned Hindi.
03:39This viral clip has led to an FIR being registered against seven MNS workers.
03:44But mind you, over 24 hours on, not one of these MNS workers have actually been arrested.
03:50Take a look at that entire sequence first.
03:51I think it's so important to keep prison since 11,000 years later,
03:59then also to a hospital.
04:01He says, he's been brought to the Indian Health Center,
04:03but he's been opened by a few months later.
04:05So, you really want to be brought to the Indian Health Center,
04:07and you will have to be brought to the Indian Health Center.
04:12There are some of these MNS workers who are in the Indian Health Center,
04:13who are now in the Indian Health Center.
04:16The Indian power of the Indian power is a red.
04:21He was was doing a little overboard for the water,
04:26so there was a work in the Odhpur,
04:27and he asked for the situation,
04:29what happened was the one that happened.
04:31So he was a Indian power of the Indian power,
04:33because he had a red from the Moharashya's side.
04:36So he tried to talk to the other side of the Indian power,
04:38and he said,
04:39how many people at the time did this happen?
04:42He said,
04:43So that's the eminence leader there who you heard, no trace of an apology whatsoever.
05:02Instead blames the shopkeeper, calling him arrogant, seemingly suggesting that he deserved
05:07it. And the reality is, like I said, none of those eminence workers seen in the video
05:10have been arrested. But let me bring in on this broadcast, Rajdeep Sardesai. We've also
05:15got Sahil Joshi joining us from Mumbai. Rajdeep, you're from Mumbai. What do you make of this?
05:20It's unfortunate. The reality is that we see this happen quite often and largely related
05:24to either some Shiv Sena workers or the eminence. You know, why does this keep happening in
05:30Mumbai, in Maharashtra?
05:32You know, this happens all over the country. I'm sorry to say, Akshita, thuggish behavior.
05:38When I mean thuggish behavior happens across the country. Thuggish behavior linked to language
05:43is something that has unfortunately become part of Maharashtra's political landscape, not
05:49just today, but for decades. We saw a bit of it in Karnataka the other day. And from time
05:54to time, we witness it in different states. But what has happened in Mumbai, sadly, and
05:59Mumbai and surrounding areas, Akshita, is for over half a century, the Shiv Sena and various
06:04offshoots of the Shiv Sena have built their politics around linguistic chauvinism. The
06:09sons of the soil movement, which emerged in the 1960s, took on for a while. Gujaratis
06:15eventually targeted South Indians. And then for a while, about 15 years ago, even targeted
06:20North Indians. MNS workers had targeted North Indians at the time. This belief that the Marathi
06:28Manus, that Mumbai is the city of the Marathi Manus. And therefore, if you want to live in
06:33Mumbai, you've got to speak Marathi, has been the basis, the core of the Shiv Sena's belief
06:37system for decades now. So I'm not surprised by it. What really shocks me, Akshita, is that
06:43all of this is filmed. It's almost as if you have this impunity that you believe you can
06:48get away with it. The police don't do anything about it. There is no action taken. I saw similar
06:53videos only a couple of weeks ago of MNS workers thrashing a bank official. Today, I'm seeing
06:58them doing this to a shopkeeper. And the actual irony of it is that Mumbai is a multilingual
07:05city today. Large number of Mumbaikers today are those who are migrants from North India,
07:11who do all the sort of service employment, whether they are guards, whether they are taxi
07:16drivers. A number of them are from North India. They speak Hindi. And they've assimilated
07:21into Mumbai's culture. About 20-25% are North Indian speaking. Over the years, South Indians
07:26have come in. You go to Dharavi, you will hear Tamil speakers. You come to South Mumbai,
07:31you love so many Gujarati speakers. Mumbai is a melting pot. But in this melting pot, politicians
07:36who have run out of ideas go back to their original theme of sons of the soil and believe
07:41that this is Thokshai or what Manasai Thakre called Thokshai, that if you don't speak Marathi,
07:46we will use violence almost as a weapon. So the weaponization of language is deeply troubling,
07:52but it has been embedded, sadly, in Mumbai's political landscape. These people don't represent
07:57me. I'm a proud Maharashtrian. I just gave a speech in Marathi the other day at the Mumbai
08:02Marathi Patrakhan Sank. I was very proud of the fact I didn't utter a single word of English
08:06in 40 minutes. But I will not stop anyone else who chooses to speak English, Tamil, Gujarati,
08:14Hindi or any other language. For God's sake, unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable.
08:20No, I agree with you, Rajdeep. I lived in Mumbai. I didn't know Marathi and yet I found the city
08:24to be hugely welcoming. I didn't face any problems of language and I hope that remains the case
08:28even now.
08:29No, I'd be very happy if you learned Marathi.
08:31I agree. I want you to learn Marathi. But I want you to learn it out of choice, voluntary,
08:37because it will help you in Mumbai. I think in that sense, I would like you to, but I will
08:41not force it on you.
08:43No, and that's the point. You know, I'm from a state, Tamil Nadu, where you see all of this
08:46language war also playing out. The reality is, Rajdeep, do you think that political parties
08:51actually gain any political dividends by resorting to this kind of, you know, language fight,
08:56talking about sons of the soil, as you've put it, even in Maharashtra?
08:59Yeah. That's a very good question. I think what's changed, Akshita, is in the 60s and 70s,
09:04it had a lot of resonance because it was also linked to jobs and employment. The feeling
09:09that jobs, our jobs are being taken away, taken away by South Indians, taken away by
09:13North Indians. So it had a lot of resonance, particularly among local Maharashtans, that
09:18sons of the soil movement. But over the years, I don't think that job issue has that same
09:23level of job competition exists anymore. In the service sector, you have people across
09:27communities who are, you know, playing particular roles. There isn't that same kind of middle
09:33class competition also for clerical jobs that existed then. And I genuinely believe that the
09:39future is multilingual. And I think people have realized that people want jobs. Before
09:43anything else, people want jobs. And to get a job in Mumbai, today you have to be multilingual
09:48often. It is a huge competitive advantage, unlike in the past 50 years ago, where speaking
09:54Marathi gave you an enormous advantage, in a sense, over others. Now I don't think it
10:01exists. I think, as I said, politicians have run out of ideas. It's a way to attract your
10:06core. There is a core vote bank for it. But you don't win elections anymore by just the
10:11core vote bank. You need additional voters. Not just in Maharashtra, the same problem across
10:16the country that you're facing. The world has changed. You're from South India. In the past,
10:23for example, in parts of South India, if you spoke Hindi, it would be resisted. Today,
10:29a Mahendra Singh Dhoni, if I may use, is an iconic figure, Ranchi Born, Hindi speaking in Chennai.
10:34And Tamilians want their films to be dubbed in Hindi and become blockbusters or in Andhra.
10:40The world is slowly changing. So I think this language politics is slowly running its course.
10:47For now, the MNS gets some political traction relevance. You're discussing it on prime time.
10:52The Shiv Sena and MNS hope to come together before the BMC elections using, in a way,
10:57this battle of insider versus outsider. I'm not so sure that it will succeed as much today
11:02as it succeeded 50 years ago.
11:04Well, I don't know if this is really a positive campaign for them.
11:07In my sense, and I'm sure all your viewers will agree with us, that this is more negative
11:11than positive for them. Sahil, I'd like to bring you in on this broadcast as well.
11:15Well, you know, politically, what do you make of this? Language has been a huge issue, Maharashtra,
11:19especially off late. The government has been forced to go back on its decision of a three-language policy,
11:25scrapping the decision of making Hindi a third language.
11:28That clubbed with all of this happening and the fact that you have not seen any of them being arrested.
11:33Do you think the government also now is under considerable pressure to kind of be okay
11:36with this kind of, you know, movement that's happening?
11:39Well, there are two different issues and one issue which, you know, somewhat I agree with Rajdeep
11:46when he says that the violence is not acceptable at all in any form,
11:51be it for a language, be it for a religion, be it for anything else.
11:54So, you know, the action against the violence, against the attack needs to be done.
11:59Now, let's come to the political side of it.
12:02It's very clear right now that, you know, the party which started on the issue of jobs
12:09for the localites, the jobs for the Bhumiputras, the jobs for the Marathi-speaking people in Mumbai
12:14has gone beyond it now.
12:16He's right that, you know, the state is, the Mumbai specifically has become a multilingual city
12:23and the whole region around it, the Mumbai metropolitan region,
12:27has changed, you know, is looking at a changed demography at this point of time.
12:31But at the same time, the issue now has become a kind of a Marathi pride.
12:36And the pride for the Marathi-speaking people.
12:40And that is the reason why this whole fight over to implement a three-language policy
12:46the way we saw in Tamil Nadu, similarly in Maharashtra as well,
12:51the third language, which predominantly will be Hindi,
12:54from standard first to standard fifth,
12:56introducing that language as a third language has created a huge ruckus in the state of Maharashtra.
13:01And almost all the political parties have joined hands against that.
13:06Only the BJP was supporting that particular movement.
13:09Even Iktat Shinder had his tough time to first explain to his people
13:15that why they are supporting this particular stand.
13:17And then later they changed the stand.
13:18What it brought today is that, again, unthinkable in Maharashtra politics,
13:23that two Thakene brothers who have been fighting against each other for 19 years
13:27have come together on the issue and they will be addressing a joint rally on 5th of July in Mumbai.
13:33So united only by language as per you, Sahil?
13:36Well, right now it is only the linguistic formula.
13:41And what we saw today, this particular incidence where the MNS worker is saying
13:45that they were celebrating that the government had taken back the GR,
13:50the rule by which they had implemented the three-language policy.
13:54And while celebrating that, the shopkeeper came in between
13:58and started having his own voice about it
14:01and how that three-language policy should be implemented.
14:04And so on that, this whole fight erupted.
14:08But having said that, whether it will be useful for them
14:12for the upcoming Mumbai Municipal Corporation election or not
14:15is yet to be seen.
14:16But one can clearly see that the new combination,
14:19the new alliance might be formed before the BMC elections,
14:23that two Thakene brothers might come together
14:25and contest these elections together,
14:27which will have a different impact altogether in Maharashtra politics.
14:30So that is yet to be seen.
14:31So this language, the pride of the language
14:34has brought the two brothers on a political front as well together.
14:38But will this actually create any sort of resonance
14:42with a vote bank in Maharashtra is really the question.
14:45But Rajdeep, go ahead.
14:46You know, the hypocrisy.
14:47Just a second, Sahil.
14:48I just want to point out the hypocrisies of all of this.
14:52Sahil will tell me better.
14:53Aditya Thakre went to Bombay Scottish,
14:56elite English-speaking institute.
14:58Raj Thakre's children went to English-speaking schools.
15:02You want others to speak Marathi, build Marathi.
15:06You know, you want them to sort of ensure that they are the ones
15:10who are the flag bearers of regional pride.
15:14All very well.
15:14As I said, I also believe that every state has a right
15:17to promote its cultural ethos.
15:19Where do you send your children?
15:20Right?
15:21You send them to English-speaking schools.
15:22You send them abroad.
15:23Even a Hindi-speaking loyalist who used to rail against English.
15:27Or even Amit Shah, home minister, who says,
15:30you know, a few years from now,
15:31you'll be ashamed of speaking English.
15:33Well, Amit Shah was enrolled in Sanzevius College
15:36in Ahmedabad for a year in biochemistry.
15:38His son, Jais Shah, is the president of the ICC,
15:41which is the ultimate colonial,
15:43you know, which rules the ultimate colonial sport, cricket.
15:47No, it's a good thing.
15:48Where the language, don't know.
15:48Actually, I want to add something.
15:49But admit it.
15:51But you see, you can't have different rules.
15:52So, DMK, all their leaders speak,
15:54you know, we stand up for Tamil pride.
15:56Where do they send their children?
15:58They go either abroad to English universities
15:59or English schools in Chennai.
16:01We have to all be multilingual.
16:04Instead of, you know, you build cultural pride.
16:07No problem with that.
16:08But cultural pride must also coexist with multilingualism.
16:11So, if that shopkeeper, for example, today,
16:14jisko apni roji roti karna hai,
16:16if he is speaking Hindi and not Marathi,
16:17or a taxi driver, he is speaking Hindi and not Marathi.
16:21I mean, I don't think you can use it to assault someone.
16:23No, can I just...
16:24You can kind convince him that if you speak Marathi,
16:26it will benefit you.
16:27I wanted to finish...
16:28Or you want to speak Tamil, it will benefit you.
16:29Or if you want to speak Hindi, it will benefit you.
16:31But stop assaulting people on the basis of that.
16:34Don't enforce.
16:34English is aspirational.
16:35Being multilingual is a huge competitive advantage in today's India.
16:39My friend Sahil Joshi is doing a prime-time show on Achthak in Hindi.
16:44Now, imagine if Sahil Joshi was only speaking Marathi,
16:47he would only be restricted to speaking on...
16:49No, I agree.
16:49He opens a world of opportunities.
16:50He's a prime example of it.
16:52Yeah, Sahil.
16:54Akshida, I want to add something.
16:55You know, having been...
16:56done my schooling in a Marathi medium school,
16:59which is a completely Marathi medium school till 10th standard,
17:02I can tell you for a fact that
17:04there was a policy in Maharashtra earlier
17:06that the school education,
17:08specifically the primary education,
17:09should be in your mother tongue.
17:11And that is what was the policy for a very long time.
17:14Now, very interestingly,
17:15what we can see at this point of time here in Maharashtra,
17:17and similarly in Tamil Nadu,
17:19that there is no opposition for the English language.
17:22The opposition is specifically for the Hindi
17:24to be introduced from the first standard
17:27in the Maharashtrian school of the state board.
17:31In Maharashtra, there is a policy
17:33that there are three language formula
17:34from the fifth standard.
17:36And that is where this whole tussle started,
17:39that when the government decided to introduce
17:41the third language, which is Hindi,
17:43from the first standard to the fifth standard,
17:45then it...
17:46What is wrong, Sahil?
17:48Sahil, what is wrong if a child is able
17:51to speak multiple languages?
17:53What's the problem?
17:54I'll tell you, let me finish.
17:56So there is a report by a language committee
18:00which consists of...
18:03There are two different reports.
18:05There is a report by the Mashilkar committee
18:07which says that there should be an introduction
18:09of the third language from the first standard.
18:11But there is another report by the people
18:14who says that introducing a third language
18:17from the first standard
18:17will unnecessarily create a burden
18:20on the students who are going for the primary education.
18:23Is the challenge here the fact
18:26that the third language is Hindi?
18:28Is that the problem?
18:29Like in Tamil Nadu, very clearly, Rajdeep,
18:31we're okay with Tamil,
18:32we're okay with English.
18:34It's a big question.
18:34What are Hindi?
18:35Now they're saying we're okay
18:36with another regional language
18:37but not Hindi.
18:38So do you think this is pointed Hindi-age?
18:40I mean, look at it.
18:41The absurdity of that.
18:43Mumbai is a city
18:44where Hindi is a lingua franca.
18:46If I go to the street,
18:47there is a Bombay.
18:47Let me tell you why.
18:48Let me tell you why.
18:49When I lived in Bombay, for example,
18:50the reason that I didn't get a chance
18:52to run Marathi
18:53is because I didn't have exposure
18:54to the language.
18:55Why?
18:55Because everyone I spoke to
18:56spoke to in Hindi.
18:57Spoke to me in Hindi.
18:58So I'm just flipping this around.
19:00These things have to be...
19:01These are organic.
19:02You cannot force anything.
19:04My limited point is
19:05if you have a three-language formula
19:06when you are...
19:07Exactly the point.
19:07Every study shows
19:10when you are young
19:11you are far more capable
19:12of embracing different languages.
19:14What's the problem?
19:15I feel today, actually,
19:17I would have been very happy
19:18to have learned
19:19all three languages
19:21in a far better way
19:23than I did.
19:23My Hindi would have been
19:24much better by the end.
19:25My Marathi would have been
19:26much better
19:27and so would my English.
19:28What's the problem?
19:29I am not able to get...
19:31What is India
19:32in a multilingual world?
19:33Okay, let me put this out
19:34for you this way.
19:35That the argument constantly is
19:37that Hindi is on a pedestal.
19:39Other languages
19:40don't stand a chance.
19:41So in the ensuring opportunities
19:43of teaching Hindi,
19:44learning Hindi, etc.,
19:45other languages lose out.
19:47That is the argument
19:48constantly put forth
19:49in a Maharashtra,
19:51in a Tamil Nadu as well.
19:53Ma'am, as I said,
19:54there are a lot of hypocrisies
19:55in this.
19:55You send your children
19:56to English medium schools
19:58willfully.
19:59You know what those schools
20:00are.
20:00Bombay Scottish,
20:01you know,
20:01or a champion school.
20:02I come from a Maharashtrian family.
20:05We are in South Mumbai.
20:05My parents chose the school.
20:07It's their choice.
20:08If they feel their children...
20:10You know,
20:11Sahil's parents consciously
20:12chose to send him
20:13to a Maharashtri medium school.
20:14Very good.
20:15I mean,
20:16his Maharashtri is
20:16100 times better than mine
20:18and good luck to him
20:19and credit to him for that.
20:20That's why he's the editor
20:21of the leading Maharashtri website.
20:23I mean,
20:23my point is,
20:24please leave it to parents.
20:26You cannot have this dadagiri
20:27and if you think
20:28that this dadagiri
20:29will work in today's world,
20:31there are other ways
20:32in which you can show
20:33regional pride.
20:33Why doesn't Raj Thakrab
20:35start a quality production
20:36house of cinema film?
20:38Why doesn't he start
20:39a Maharashtri channel
20:40that will,
20:40you know,
20:41take speaking Marathi
20:43to another level?
20:44Lokmanya Tilak
20:45had a Marathi newspaper
20:46like Kesri.
20:47Please,
20:47please find better ways
20:49to promote your language,
20:50your diversity.
20:51Many,
20:51you know,
20:53Mursoli,
20:54Karnanidhi had his paper,
20:56Mursoli is Mursoli.
20:57Samna is there
20:58for Shiv Sena.
20:59Those who want to read it
21:00will read it.
21:01My mother gets Samna.
21:03She also reads
21:04The Times of India.
21:07She reads both newspapers
21:08in the morning.
21:08Good luck to her.
21:09Leave it to people
21:10who are you
21:11to force it on people.
21:12That's my limited point.
21:14The imposition
21:15and the violence.
21:15I have an additional point.
21:17I have an additional point.
21:17Akshita,
21:18I have an additional point.
21:19Exactly what Raj Dip
21:20is saying,
21:21that why enforce
21:22a third language
21:23in the primary school
21:25is what the opposition
21:26is saying
21:27at this point of time.
21:28And please,
21:28please understand this.
21:30Against this
21:31three language formula,
21:32the Congress,
21:33the NCP
21:33of both fractions,
21:34Sharath Pawar and Ajit Pawar,
21:36MNS,
21:36as well as Shiv Sena,
21:37UBT.
21:38And now even Iktarch
21:39in this party
21:39are on the same side.
21:41That there should not be
21:42a three language formula
21:43from the first standard
21:44as it has been
21:45in Maharashtra
21:46that the third language
21:47is taught
21:48from the fifth standard.
21:49That should be
21:49the criteria.
21:51And that is what
21:51is being said
21:53at this point of time.
21:54So, you know,
21:55now it has gone beyond that
21:56because,
21:57you know,
21:57this particular issue
21:59has brought
22:00more of a political
22:01front together.
22:03As I mentioned before,
22:04that the two
22:04Thakere brothers
22:05came together.
22:06Everybody is
22:07against the imposition
22:08of a particular language.
22:10Nobody is against
22:11the language.
22:11No, but that's the point,
22:12Sahil.
22:13That what's happening
22:14right now in that video
22:15is also imposition.
22:16Imposition of Marathi.
22:18And I think we'll all agree.
22:20I've run out of time, Sahil.
22:21But I think we all agree
22:22on one thing,
22:23that imposition
22:24and assault
22:25in this manner
22:25in no part of the country
22:27over any language,
22:28over any issue
22:29is acceptable.
22:30And the reality is
22:31that those men
22:31are still roaming out there
22:32with no action.
22:33So you have not
22:34sent out a message
22:35of deterrence
22:36if they resort
22:36to this kind of action.
22:37Thanks, Sahil,
22:38for joining us.
22:39Rajdeep,
22:39you know,
22:40as we speak about
22:41this entire issue,
22:42how many languages
22:43do you know?
22:44Look,
22:45I know my...
22:46I must confess,
22:47I must make confessions.
22:49English is my first language.
22:50I have spent
22:51the last 31 years
22:52in Delhi,
22:53so I have really
22:54made an effort
22:55to learn Hindi.
22:56And my Hindi
22:57is good enough
22:57to do a program
22:58like Netanagari.
23:00As I said,
23:00I delivered
23:01a 40-minute speech
23:02recently in Marathi
23:03without a single word
23:04of English.
23:06I'm very proud
23:07of that as well.
23:08When I speak to my mother,
23:09I speak more often
23:10in a mix of Marathi
23:11and English.
23:12Number four,
23:13I know Gujarati reasonably.
23:15A lot of Gujarati friends,
23:16particularly when I played
23:16cricket as a young man,
23:17and also I was born
23:18in Ahmedabad.
23:19My grandfather
23:19was a police officer there,
23:21so a bit of Gujarati.
23:22I feel actually
23:23that my father's tongue,
23:24which is Konkani,
23:25I can understand
23:26that I don't speak it well
23:27and my next challenge
23:28is in the next 10 years,
23:29I want to master Konkani.
23:31So I would hopefully
23:32have had five languages.
23:34I learned French
23:35in my 10th standard,
23:36but I was very bad at it
23:37and my worst marks
23:38came in French.
23:39I'm not good with languages,
23:40but I would encourage people
23:41to learn as many languages
23:43as possible.
23:43I mean,
23:44I really find this,
23:45you know,
23:46hypocritical
23:47and I actually find it
23:48self-defeating
23:49when you tell young kids,
23:50only learn this language
23:51or don't learn this language,
23:52that won't work.
23:53Agreed.
23:54You know,
23:54you get more opportunities
23:55when you know more languages.
23:56Do you know?
23:56I beat you, Rajdeep.
23:57I know six.
23:58Okay, let's see.
23:59I know Tamil, Telugu,
24:00Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi,
24:02to some extent I'd say,
24:04English of course.
24:05Fantastic.
24:06Akshita is too good.
24:08That's too good.
24:08Hopefully.
24:09That's why you can cover
24:10the South much better
24:11than anyone else.
24:11Agreed.
24:12So I'd say
24:12it's a competitive advantage.
24:13Agreed.
24:14It gives me a great advantage.
24:15I wish I knew Marathi too
24:16because like I said,
24:18if you know more languages,
24:19opens up more opportunities.
24:20But very clearly,
24:21what's happened in Maharashtra
24:23now is shameful.
24:24The onus is on the government,
24:25the administration,
24:26to ensure action is taken
24:27and you send out a message
24:29that this kind of violence
24:30is simply unacceptable.
24:32Those men out there,
24:33they are goons
24:34and they deserve to be behind bars
24:35for what they did
24:36to that shopkeeper.
24:37Thank you very much, Rajdeep,
24:38for joining us here
24:39on Newstruck.
24:40All right, let's move on
24:41and talk about a story
24:42that's come in from Delhi.
24:44One of the biggest issues
24:45during the Delhi elections
24:47was the BJP campaigning
24:49against Arvind K. Jival
24:51and the Shishmahal,
24:52as they called it.
24:54You've got a new
24:54Chief Minister now,
24:55Rekha Gupta,
24:56a new bungalow
24:57that's in controversy.
24:59Delhi Chief Minister
25:00Rekha Gupta's
25:00official residence
25:01is getting a 60 lakh
25:02rupees facelift
25:03and the opposition
25:04has called it
25:05the Maya Mehal.
25:07Is this a necessary
25:08renovation
25:08or a luxury
25:10at the taxpayer's cost?
25:11We get you all the details
25:12in our report.
25:13A new Chief Minister,
25:27a new address
25:28and a new Rao
25:30over renovation costs
25:32with a price tag
25:33of 60 lakh rupees.
25:34Delhi Chief Minister,
25:39Rekha Gupta's
25:40official residence,
25:42bungalow number one
25:43on Raj Nivaas mark
25:44is getting a high-tech
25:46facelift.
25:47The Public Works Department's
25:49tender lays it out
25:51in black and white.
25:5214 air conditioners
25:55for 7.7 lakh rupees,
25:5714 CCTV cameras
25:59for 5.74 lakh rupees,
26:021 UPS system
26:03for 2 lakh rupees,
26:0523 remote-controlled
26:06ceiling fans
26:07for 1.8 lakh rupees,
26:091 OTG
26:10for 85,000 rupees,
26:12a washing machine
26:13for 77,000 rupees,
26:15a dishwasher
26:16for 60,000 rupees,
26:18a gas stove
26:20worth 63,000 rupees
26:22and a microwave
26:23for 32,000 rupees
26:25and to that
26:266 geysers
26:27worth 91,000 rupees
26:29for lighting alone
26:30115 lamps,
26:32wall-mounted lights,
26:33hanging fixtures
26:34and 3 large chandeliers
26:36and a bill touches
26:386.03 lakh rupees
26:40and all of it
26:42billed to the taxpayer.
26:45The opposition is calling it
26:46Maya Mahal 2.0
26:48But the BJP is unmoved
27:11with party leader
27:12Manjinder Singh Sirsa
27:13defending the plan.
27:141, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:211, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:211, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:211, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:221, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:231, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:241, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:251, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:261, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:271, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
27:29For now,
27:31Chief Minister Gupta
27:32continues to live
27:33in a Shalimar Bagh home
27:34but with tenders floated
27:36and bits opening
27:37on July 4th,
27:38her newly renovated residence
27:39should be ready
27:40in 60 days
27:41but the controversy
27:42over it
27:43may rage on
27:44for a while longer.
27:46Bureau Report,
27:47India Today.
27:52All right,
27:52that's all we have time
27:53for in this edition
27:54of NewsTrack.
27:55Thanks very much
27:55for tuning in.
27:56Good night.