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Reporters Without Orders Ep 61: SSC Paper Leak, NaMo TV, Congress Manifesto and more
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This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal with Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari and desk writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about the SSC paper leaks, Yogi Adityanath’s rally, the Congress manifesto and the newly launched NaMo TV.
Ayush talks about the press conference he attended on the SSC paper leaks conducted by Yogendra Yadav and Kanhaiya Kumar, an SSC aspirant from Bihar. He explains what happened and how the government and authorities were hand-in-glove. He says: “The Chairman of the SSC should be taken into account because this incident has happened under his nose.”
Cherry discusses the recently released Congress manifesto which made a slew of promises including some focusing on the media, like the amendment of Press Council of India Act to strengthen self-regulation of the media, and the empowering of the Press Council of India to fight the menace of fake news and misinformation. Most fake news is amplified by TV news on a daily basis, and Cherry says: “TV newsrooms have whipped up war hysteria, communal mongering ... Be it Ayodhya, Pulwama, Balakot—I mean TV newsrooms go insane.” She also discusses the Congress’s promise of making defamation a civil offence and the removal of the controversial sedition law.
Gaurav tells us about Yogi Adityanath’s rally in Bisara village near Greater Noida where the prime accused in the Akhlaq lynching case were present in the front rows, attending the rally. Gaurav quotes one of the accused as saying “we are out on bail and nothing can happen to us”. Ayush adds, “When one of the accused died, he was wrapped in a tricolour.” The panel discusses religion and the caste system in the context of the beef ban, and its impact on people.
Cherry also brings up NaMo TV—now renamed Content TV—and how most details about the channel are hidden. "The Election Commission should examine its funding, violation of the Model Code of Conduct, ownership and whether the broadcasting rules are being violated or not,” she says.
This and more, so listen up!
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Hafta 482: JDS-BJP in Karnataka, inheritance tax debate, issues with PMLA
02:08:24This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by The News Minute’s Pooja Prasanna and lawyer Vakasha Sachdev.On the Karnataka polls, Pooja says the JDS and BJP are “better allies” than the Congress and JDS since “their target base does not overlap. Both parties bring something new and fresh to the table”. She adds that the “myth of the Vokkaligas being secular is nonsense”.The panel discusses the inheritance tax debate, with Vakasha saying the tax has a solid rationale behind it “from a social justice perspective”. Jayashree says the matter escalated into a controversy because people are “conflating a lot of things, like what Modi said about the Congress taking away people’s money”. Shardool adds, “Most of the people arguing about this tax won’t have to pay it because it applies to the creamy layer of society.”Vakasha then explains why the PMLA is problematic. On the state of the Indian judiciary, he says over the years, “we’ve had our justice system constantly become a voice for the establishment”, adding that there is a lack of critique of the courts. Abhinandan says people are possibly “afraid of critiquing the court because of contempt of court...so courts have completely gone out of scrutiny”.This and a whole lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are here and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00: 04:31 - Headlines00: 12:49 - Lok Sabha elections: Karnataka 00: 26:30 - Inheritance tax01: 00:00 - Prevention of Money Laundering Act01: 28:55 - Letters 01: 57:30 - Recommendations Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh.Hafta 481: Trust deficit in EVMs, BJP manifesto
01:42:28This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by political analyst Suhas Palshikar, tech expert Madhav Deshpande, and professor Shruti Kapila.On the robustness of the election voting machines, Suhas Palshikar says EVMs have “definitely lost the credibility that they initially had”. He cites Lokniti-CSDS data. Madhav says “major technological change” in 2013, with the introduction of VVPAT has made EVMs a “different beast”. The panel then discusses the manifestos and poll promises. Shruti says the BJP manifesto is “very weird” and that “it wants to lower the temperature on Hindutva”. Anand calls it the manifesto of a party that is “very sure of a renewed mandate”, unlike the Congress manifesto, which is trying to “tick too many boxes”. This and a whole lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00:00:00 - 00:05:02 - Headlines00:05:03 - 00:13:16 - Trust deficit in EVMs 00:13:17 - 00:53:24 - BJP’s manifesto00:53:25 - 01:28:36 - Letters 01:28:37 - 01:34:00 - RecommendationsHafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal.
Hafta 480: Indian think tanks, Congress’s inevitability, ‘Ram’ in election campaigns
02:03:51This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by policy researcher Yamini Aiyar and senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai. On the challenges facing think tanks in India, Yamini says working in policy has “moved from jholawala inputs to suit-boot inputs” over the years, referring to the increased corporatisation. The panel then discusses the Congress manifesto, and the party’s relevance in the upcoming elections. Abhinandan asks, “Is the Congress inevitable?” Rasheed says the grand old party is “not a dead body. It is very much alive and kicking.” The conversation then moves on to the controversy around Ramayana fame actor Arun Govil campaigning in Meerut with a photograph of the deity Ram. On the use of religion for votes, Rasheed says it’s “not an issue” for voters in India. This and a whole lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00:07:09 - Policy research in India 00: 17:41 - Headlines00:27:09 - Think tanks in India 00:38:13 - Is the Congress inevitable?00:59:50 - Use of religion in election campaign 01:22:31 - Letters01:55:19 - Recommendations Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, edited by Samarendra K Dash and Umrav Singh. —------------
Hafta 479: Katchatheevu controversy, the role of India’s Election Commission
01:53:02This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Manisha Pande are joined by ex-Chief Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi, and academic Professor R Manivannan.Dr Quraishi says that ensuring a level-playing field is the Election Commission’s “dharma”. He says it is necessary for conducting free and fair elections which are “a basic structure of the Constitution”. He adds that the EC follows the principle of “what can wait must wait”, and asks whether the arrest of opposition leaders could have waited.On the Katchatheevu island issue, Prof. Manivannan says the island was historically “within the revenue region of the king of Ramanathapuram”, adding that by 1976, the fishing rights of Tamil fishermen had been taken away in the region. “What happens to the population that relies on fishing in the region?” he asks. This and a lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00: 02:41 - Headlines00:10:53 - Role of Election Commission41:01:30- Katchatheevu 01:22:01 - Letters01:46:48 - Recommendations Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta and Priyali Dhingra, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh.
Hafta 478: TM Krishna awards row, Kejriwal’s arrest
01:26:27This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardan are joined by music producer and public health consultant Dr Aiswarya Rao.On the controversy around TM Krishna being conferred the Sangita Kalanidhi award by the Madras Music Academy and the Carnatic music fraternity’s response, Rao says it is an “intra-Brahmin musician dispute”. One faction wants to “take Carnatic music to the masses”, while the other wants to maintain its “hegemony”. On Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, Manisha says the PMLA Act is “scary”. “You cannot get bail in PMLA till the court is satisfied that there is prima facie no case.” This and a lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us. Timecodes00:05:40 - Headlines00:12:20 - TM Krishna’s Sangita Kalanidhi award controversy00:31:32 - Arvind Kejriwal arrest00:59:57 - Letters01:16:13 - RecommendationsHafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal.
Hafta 477: Electoral bonds, seat-sharing for Lok Sabha, Ramnath Goenka awards
01:47:27This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardan are joined by Dhanya Rajendran, co-founder of The News Minute.On electoral bonds, and the Trinamool Congress being its second-largest recipient, Anand says, “One factor [which determines this] is which party is seen as remaining in power for more time. Power magnets in a region.”The conversation moves on to the seat-sharing arrangements for the Lok Sabha polls. Talking about Tamil Nadu, Dhanya says the BJP has “almost sidelined the AIADMK” and has become “confident of forming an alliance in Tamil Nadu without the party, which was not possible five or 10 years ago”.On the Adani group funding the Ramnath Goenka Awards, Abhinandan says, “It’s complicated. For new journalists, it is a motivating factor, it builds morale.” Raman says it’s okay to receive awards funded by conglomerates as long as they do not interfere in the outlet’s coverage. He adds that The Indian Express’s coverage of the Hindenburg Research report accusing Adani group of stock manipulation was “relentless”.This and a lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00:05:20 - Headlines00:17:02 - Electoral bonds00:38:28 - Tamil Nadu, Bihar seat-sharing00:53:15 - Adani sponsoring Ramnath Goenka Awards01:13:55 - Letters01:35:11 - RecommendationsHafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Haftai recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Umrav Singh.
Hafta 476: Electoral bonds, BJP candidates, CAA implementation
01:46:17This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Shardool Katyayan and JayashreeArunachalam are joined by Jagdeep Chhokar, founder and member of the Association for Democratic Reforms.On electoral bonds, Jagdeep says the exercise of matching the bonds data can never be conclusive, but “we should remember that the window between a bond being purchased and it being redeemed is 15 days”.The panel then discusses the BJP’s second list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. Abhinandan asks if the party is trying to change its image by dropping names of sitting MPs with a history of hate speech. Jayashree says it is fielding new faces only to strengthen the central leadership’s grip on state units.On the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, Shardool says the law is “practically useless”. He explains that the naturalisation process requires 11 years of residency in the country, whereas the deadline for granting citizenship under the CAA is December 2014, and the law is being notified almost after a decade.Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00:02:31 - Headlines00:19:19 - Electoral bonds00:38:15 - BJP’s second list of candidates 00:48:33 - Notifying of CAA rules01:02:49 - Letters01:34:48 - RecommendationsHafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Haftai recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Satish Kumar and Samarendra Dash.
Hafta 475: BJP’s candidates list, TMC strongman’s arrest in Sandeshkhali case
01:35:44This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by journalist Radhika Ramaseshan.On the BJP’s first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, Anand says the party has announced candidates for its “weak seats” first. Radhika points out that Uttar Pradesh will be a tough battle for the Opposition despite the Congress-SP alliance. The panel then discusses the arrest of TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, the main accused in the Sandeshkhali case, and why the West Bengal police did not hand him over to the CBI. “The BJP is making an all-out effort,” says Radhika, adding that it was time for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to deliver on her promises, especially to women voters.This and a lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00:04:43 - Headlines00:42:11 - BJP’s first list of candidates01:01:35 - CBI custody to Sheikh Shahjahan 01:08:17 - Letters01:30:11 - RecommendationsHafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal.
Hafta 474: Cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls, on India being a ‘dictatorship’
01:41:29This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by The News Minute’s executive editor Sudipto Mondal.On the cross-voting during Rajya Sabha polls in Karnataka, Sudipto points to the similarity in ideological stance of the state’s three major political parties. “There is no difference between the average BJP guy, the average JDS guy and the average Congress guy,” he says. Raman adds that in Himachal Pradesh’s RS polls, some members of the Congress knew beforehand that MLAs of their party would vote for the BJP.DiscussingDilip Mandal’s article responding to Dhruv Rathee’s video on India taking a turn towards dictatorship, Abhinandan says it’s a weak critique since debunking an idea with “whataboutery” is a nihilistic argument. Sudipto believes that nihilism is an important form of critique for the oppressed classes who have been kept out of power systems for centuries.This and a lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media.Download the Newslaundry app.General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us.Timecodes00:06:13 - Headlines00:31:44 - Rajya Sabha polls00:39:41 - Discussing Dilip Mandal’s article01:06:06 - Letters01:32:07 - Recommendations Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and referencesCheck out our previous Hafta recommendations.Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta, edited by Hassan Bilal.