NL Hafta

On this podcast of Reporters Without Orders, The Caravan's Nikita Saxena joins the panel to discuss her recent articles on special CBI judge Loya's death. The panel also discusses Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar-owned Asianet News and the change in its 'posturing' over time. Amit Bhardwaj, who is currently in Karnataka covering the upcoming state elections, joins the panel over the phone to talk about RSS' Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who is a key player in BJP's Karnataka election campaign. You can read Amit's detailed story on Bhat here. Amit also makes an observation about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) role in Karnataka. He says, RSS is furiously campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), something unlike before. He adds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign rally in Karnataka can severely impact Congress’ vote share despite the governing party's edge in the state. Rohin asks Amit if the remarks, circulating on social media, made by Prakash Raj, a popular, South Indian film actor, will have an effect on the voters’ choice. According to Amit, Prakash Raj has been able to galvanise only anti-BJP vote bank. He says, “Prakash Raj’s comments may reinforce the beliefs of an anti-BJP voter but will not affect neutral and BJP voter”. Cherry asks our guest panellist Nikita about the challenges she faced while following-up on judge Loya's death. Nikita explains how she investigated the case and gives a detailed breakdown of the events that lead to revelations indicating a foul play in the case. She says, "Here a judge has died. And he was staying at the guest house at that time, as we are told. And none of them find out, that’s very strange, none of them seemed to know what had happened with his belongings for example…” She adds, “Why the reception was not called?!...Why it was thought that it was a better idea to wait for two judges to come to the guest house and then take him to the hospital which I assume is going to lead to a lot of loss in time is something that was not clear at all.” To that, Rohin adds that a recent viral image which showed an auto rickshaw with “who killed Loya?” written on it, is a positive sign in the view of public perception. It suggests that the important, controversial issue had seeped into the otherwise obscure segment of the audience, especially the ‘hindi belt’, he says. Rohin talks about the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) controversy where installation of a photograph of Muhammad Ali Jinnah has sparked a row. Apparently, the photograph has been hanging there since 1938. Rohin also points out that several facts have been left out by the media while reporting on the issue. He adds that the matter of the ‘security breach’ of former Vice President Hamid Ali Ansari, who was present on the campus when the protesters created a ruckus, found less space in the media. Rohin also talks about the VK Dikshit committee report on the Banaras Hindu University controversy that happened in September 2017. “The BHU chief proctor said to the media that the protesters were sponsored in exchange for pizza and pepsi," says Rohin. Nikita examines the editorial stance of Asianet News. She speaks about the changes in the channel since Rajeev Chandrasekhar took over. Asked if the channel has been able to change its 'anti-RSS- stance, she says, "The opinion seemed a little divided but it seemed to me that it had been fractured enough for people to start having some misgivings.” Citing a previous Newslaundry report, Cherry adds, "Their new website that’s coming up will be positioned as a Centre-right news property and it will counter the left narrative."