This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by author Chetan Bhagat, academic Sarthak Bagchi, and journalist Dhiren A Sadokpam to discuss the Maharashtra government formation, the increased violence in Manipur, and the ‘foreign hand’ allegations against OCCRP. 

On BJP’s campaign in Maharashtra, Chetan says, “A little bit of humility has come to the BJP. The whole talk of building a larger than life image – the party feels that the voters don’t need it right now.” Sarthak explains how the BJP may absorb Shiv Sainiks in the state, saying the party “wants to establish hegemonic dominance”. 

Moving on to the BJP’s ‘US propaganda’ allegations and primetime outrage against OCCRP, Abhinandan says, “I just find it fascinating that Indian media that is surviving on sarkari patronage is outraging about another media surviving on sarkari patronage.” 

Dhiren then explains the spike in violence in Manipur and what it’s like to live in a state of war. “We need to understand the intersection between insurgency, ethnic violence, poppy cultivation, and national security,” he says. 

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.

Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/PIiK-K8fbQ0

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:04:36 - Announcements

00:15:00 - Headlines

00:19:00 - OCCRP controversy

00:32:41 - Maharashtra government formation

01:20:00 - New wave of violence in Manipur?

00:49:38 - Maharashtra election results

01:57:30 - Letters

02:06:30 - Recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Prashant Kumar, edited by Hassan Bilal. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.