NL Hafta

In this episode of NL Hafta, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kripal, Anand Vardhan and Nistula Hebbar, The Hindu's Political Editor. The panel talks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “One Nation, One Election” proposition, encephalitis-related deaths in Muzaffarpur, Anjana Om Kashyap’s controversial reporting from Bihar's Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital and more. Nistula shares anecdotes from a recent parliamentary session. Doctors' strike, and Sanjiv Bhatt's life imprisonment are also discussed. On the issue of “One Nation, One Election”, Nistula said, “You can’t have a situation where the political class basically looks at the elections as a blanket validation for all policies." Talking about the encephalitis outbreak in Bihar, Madhu says, “It’s the systematic historical neglect of the medical area” which has led us to this situation. While talking about Anjana Om Kashyap’s controversial reporting, Anand said, “The demonstration of orchestrated anger is a spectacle something that suits television news, this kind of drama sells." Moving on the panel discusses a June 16 incident where two civilians were thrashed by cops. “Anywhere in the world, you cannot take out a weapon against a cop, yet the amount of sympathy that he (Sarabjeet, the victim) has got is enough for the Home Ministry to ask for a report and no one has the guts to back-up the cop,” Abhinandan said. For this and more, tune in!