New Delhi: Prime time debates was full of news for a change — from farmers’ protests to Covid vaccine and its rollout and the political tussle in West Bengal.
On NDTV 24X7’s ‘Reality Check’, anchor Sreenivasan Jain discussed the political affiliation of farmers who were in support of the new farm laws. He asked: ‘Pro farmers or political fronts?‘
According to the information the channels could get on 10 out of the two dozen organisations and unions which were pro-farm laws and had met the government in the past few months, “at least 3 appear to have clear BJP affiliations, with several others closely allied to the ruling party and the government”, explained Jain.
Asked if this support for the farm laws was genuine as was being claimed or was political support, farm leader and BJP member Ram Kumar Walia said, “(Support to farm laws) has nothing to do with BJP.”
Shiv Kumar Sharma, president of Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, said, “Those who are supporting the government’s #FarmLaws are the ‘Jaichands’ of farmer community. They want to destroy the farmers’ protests.”
On Mirror Now, anchor Avni Raja went into the specifics of the Covid vaccine rollout and how it would be implemented in India.
Health and bioethics researcher Anant Bhan said, “No clear guidance on how long one should wait before getting vaccinated if a person had tested Covid-19 positive and recovered. Routine advice is, however, for everyone to get vaccinated.”
Rajesh Parikh, director, Medical Research, Jaslok Hospital, and Author: The Coronavirus Book said, “Right thing to do is wait for 4 weeks instead of 12 for #COVID19Vaccine doses as this has been tested. U.K. is doing many strange things, they are even mixing vaccines.”
On Republic TV, editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami discussed how the “fight for Bengal was getting hotter by the day” with the hashtag #MamataRealityCheck. He pointed out that TMC is playing spoilsport after TMC MLA Ananta Deb Dhikari slapped a journalist for publishing an anti-government news report.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia took the opportunity to comment, “It is a criminal offense. The MLA should be immediately arrested; will Mamata Banerjee take strict action?”
Activist Chandra Kumar Bose, responding to the allegations of a rot in the TMC, said, “In the TMC, leaders have no respect at all so extreme frustration leads to this. They are not given any importance at all.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has called for the cancellation of the upcoming Republic Day parade in view of Covid. Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his participation in the event. The Congress has since distanced itself from Tharoor’s demand. On News18 India’s prime time debate, the issue was discussed by Amish Devgan.
Political analyst Sangeet Ragi said, “This party is not an Indian political party. We should say that it is being run by an Italian nationalist. After coming under the influence of Islam, the Nehru-Gandhi family has begun to slowly stand against the idea of India.”
Congress’ Supriya Shrinate hit back, “By repeatedly calling Sonia Gandhi an Italian shows that you have no respect for the Hindu religion and that is your reality. I don’t consider him a serious commentator to react to this any further.”
Devgan went on to point out that the Opposition, not just Congress, has been indulging in politics on issues that don’t require it — such as the vaccine debate. On this, Samajwadi Party’s Juhi Singh said, “It is India’s Republic Day and will be celebrated regardless of what anyone says. For us, this is not a point of politics. As for the vaccine debate, we have clarified that we just want a safe vaccine to reach the people.”
ABP News anchor Rubika Liyaquat asked whether opposition leaders are challenging WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ statement when they show their scepticism of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
Congress leader Rohan Gupta said, “We support the government and their actions as long as everyone in India procures a free dose of some safe vaccine.” He added that such debates should be held between Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech as they are the ones pointing fingers at each other’s efficacy.
BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia refuted Gupta’s comment, “India producing two vaccines against Covid-19 is a sign of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. People including Dr. Ghebreyesus and Bill Gates praised the move but the opposition won’t because they cannot praise Modi Ji.”
With inputs from Saumya Sharma.