Video
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #sharadpawar
What is Sharad Pawar upto.. that’s a question that has dogged me ever since I joined this profession in 1988. That was the year when Sharad Pawar became chief minister of Maharashtra a second time and since then Pawar watching has been part of my political beat in a way. His twists, turns and U turns have been such that no one is sure what Mr Pawar will do next except the Maharashtra leader himself. The latest twist comes with Pawar’s statement that he is against a JPC into the Adani affair and feels that the industrialist is being needlessly hounded without hard evidence of guilt. At a time when the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and much of the opposition has been targeting Gautam Adani, there can be varying interpretations of Mr Pawar’s remarks made to Adani owned NDTV. A) Pawar wants to sabotage opposition unity B) Pawar wants to distance himself from Rahul Gandhi’s high decibel anti Adani campaign c) Pawar is sending out signals to the BJP that he could do a deal with them in the future.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #rahulgandhi #modi #pressconference
I was trending on twitter for almost 48 hours. The reason? My interaction with Rahul Gandhi at a press conference had gone viral. You see I asked Rahul Gandhi a question at the presser to tell us what would be his next steps on his legal and political strategy following his disqualification from parliament. Mr Gandhi answered: I have only one step that is to fight for the truth in the country and defend democratic nature that is under brutal attack.. At that moment, I tried to intervene and ask him to be more specific. Mr Gandhi responded: please let me finish Rajdeep, unless you want to answer it for me… you do that also sometimes..”
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #pmmodi #bjpindia #rahulgandhi #indiannationalcongress #opposition
Something significant happened in indian politics this week.. at a dinner hosted by Congress president Malikarjun Kharge, 19 opposition political parties landed up in solidarity over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha. It would have been 20 but the Shiv Sena gave the dinner a miss in protest against Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on savarkar. So, here is the big question: will 2024 be Modi and the BJP versus all?
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #rahulgandhi #bjpindia #inc
Rahul Gandhi sentenced for two years in a criminal defamation case by a surat court. His critics are rejoicing saying Rahul has got his just desserts for making reckless statements.. his supporters are anguished saying this is a deliberate attempt to intimidate him into silence. We live in such polarized times that it seems impossible to have a rational debate on most political issues.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #parliamentmonsoonsession #ombirla
We have been witnessing what I call the ‘Usain Bolt’ style of parliament politics. What do I mean? Well, like the great Jamaican sprinter, India’s parliament also seems to be in a race to adjourn every morning in the fastest possible time without conducting any business.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #modi #rahulgandhi #bjpindia #indiannationalcongress
Few nights ago I tweeted the following: I sometimes wonder if Rahul Gandhi didn’t exist, he would have to be invented to keep the political pot boiling and distract from the real issues of our times. What did I really mean by this seemingly cryptic tweet asked many followers? Well, my friends.. this tweet comes against the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to the United Kingdom where he’s addressed gatherings at Cambridge and London.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #modi #BJPIndia
The first big election verdict of 2023 has been delivered and here are my twelve takeaways.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #amitshah #udhavthakkarey #shivsena
Thackeray mukt Shiv Sena.. as the title of this week’s video blog suggests, one of the country’s most enduring regional forces is facing a major existential crisis. The party set up by Bal Thackersy in 1966 now faces the real prospect of existing without its first family at the helm. Government gone, party gone, now symbol gone. So far the focus has been on the battle between Uddhav Thackeray and family on one side and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on the other . But these are all pawns in this political chess game: the real grandmaster is Amit Shah.. that’s right, this entire attempt to finish the Thackerays is the brainchild of the Union home minister.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbatwithrajdeep #itsurveyonbcc #bccinewstoday #bbcraids #bbc #bbc #incometaxraids
A few days ago when I heard the BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia attack the BBC as a ‘Bhrasht, Bakwas Corporation’ I was a bit taken aback. Not because I expected any better from Mr Bhatia: he is after all a rough talking spokesperson of a political party which is at ‘war’ with the BBC and all is fair in war and politics. And yet, for many in my generation, the BBC was and is the original gold standard of journalism.
#rajdeepsardesai #straightbat #gautamdani
Long before Gautam Adani, there was Dhirubhai Ambani. The Reliance Industries founder was targeted for building his business empire courtesy his alleged proximity to the Congress government in the 1980s. Leading the anti-Reliance charge was former prime minister VP Singh who didn’t hide his disdain for big business. In 1990, in the midst of this high stakes Singh versus Ambani battle, south Mumbai Congress MP, Murli Deora organized a private dinner for Dhirubhai with a few journalists and Mumbai’s movers and shakers. “I don’t know what my party will say but I will stand by my friend Dhirubhai through good times and bad,” he told the elite gathering. Deora and Ambani had worked in the yarn trading business together and their friendship was built around a long-standing mutual trust.
