The big focus of this episode of Newstrack is on the political war over Maha Kumbh.
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00:00The grand Maha Kumbh set for its finale at the Mahashivratri Isnaan. Politics though
00:12over the Kumbh continues to simmer. We look back at one of the grandest spectacles and
00:19organisations that this country has seen and how the opposition parties seem to refuse
00:25to come to terms with the scale of what has been achieved. That's my top focus on the
00:30news show.
00:55Prime Minister, Chief Minister slam Kumbh critics. Opposition taunts and mocks. Devotees
01:16undeterred. Divinity breaks all records. Maha Kumbh, Maha success. That is a big focus
01:29on News Trap. Before we dive into our show, let me take you through the headlines. I'm
01:36Pratik Rai. Delhi government tables CAG report on the Likha scam, says 2000 crore rupee revenue
01:43loss under the Kejriwal government. AAP demands probe against the left wing governor, the
01:47CBI and the enforcement director. Heat on former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
01:55glaring AAP financial misconduct revealed in CAG findings over 37 crore GST refunds
02:02allegedly made without verification. Preeti Zinta and Kerala Congress clash on X over
02:11an 18 crore rupee loan write-off charge, slams the Congress for promoting fake news
02:17by linking her with the BJP. Ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar sentenced to life in jail in
02:261984 and PC Karai's case, convicted for leading a mob and inciting to kill. Lokayu probe that
02:37gave clean chit to Siddharam Iyer under fire. Lokayu pins blame on the Muda commissioner,
02:42asks 30 arbitrary questions to the Chief Minister, no questions asked on the ED findings. Nearly
02:5264 crore devotees, 45 days of faith in a political storm over the Mahakum. UP Chief Minister
03:00Yogi Adityanath is leading the charge against Samajwadi Party and the Congress, accusing
03:05them of maligning the congregation and defaming the nation. But despite the political firestorm,
03:12crores of devotees continue to flock to Prayagraj for a once in a lifetime experience of the
03:18Kumbh.
03:35Over 60 crore devotees and counting. 45 days of devotion and divinity.
03:50And non-stop politics. The Mahakumbh in Prayagraj is set to conclude with the last
03:57naan on Mahashivratri. But the political war of words is far from over. Uttar Pradesh Chief
04:03Minister Yogi Adityanath took on Kumbh critics in the assembly.
04:26He also accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of defaming Prayagraj.
04:33He also accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of defaming Prayagraj.
05:03The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's attack came after Prime Minister also took on RJD
05:18Chief Lalu Yadav, who dismissed Kumbh as meaningless.
05:33He also accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of defaming Prayagraj.
06:03The opposition, though, is undeterred.
06:33The opposition, though, is undeterred.
07:04Fight over stampede death count, allegations of VIP culture and mismanagement have been used by
07:12the opposition to corner the Yogi Adityanath government. But despite the politics, unprecedented
07:18number of devotees continue to pour into Prayagraj. Bureau report, India Today.
07:34of the Juna Akhada, one of the most senior spiritual religious gurus in this country,
07:40Pramukh of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
08:03of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
08:33of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
09:03of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
09:33of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:03of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:08of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:13of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:18of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:23of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:28of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:33of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:38of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:43of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:48of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:53of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
10:58of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:03of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:08of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:13of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:18of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:23of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:28of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:33of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:38of the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:43the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:48the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:53the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
11:58the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:03the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:08the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:13the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:18the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:23the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:28the Juna Akhada, one of the most prominent Akhadas in Hinduism.
12:33The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
12:38The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
12:43The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
12:48The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
12:53The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
12:58The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:28The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:33The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:38The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:43The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:48The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:53The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
13:58The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:03The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:08The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:13The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:18The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:23The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:28The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:33The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:38The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:43The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:48The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:53The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
14:58The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:03The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:08The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:13The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:18The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:23The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:28The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:33The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:38The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:43The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:48The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:53The opposition parties and the Congress leaders are saying that
15:58Central Pollution Control Board report
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23:58The state government and local authorities are leaving nothing to chance.
24:25With Simar Chawla in Prayagraj, Bureau Report, India Today.
24:55The opposition was really looking for some flaw to attack the government with?
25:07And is that really in going against the spirit of how a majority of India sees this grand organisation?
25:17To talk about this, to give us a Trinamool leaning perspective, I have Tausif Ahmed Khan from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
25:24I have its National Spokesperson Sanju Verma. We've got Taisin Punawala joining us in the studio.
25:30I have Ghanshyam Tiwari from the Samajwadi Party. I'll kickstart this discussion with Ghanshyam Tiwari.
25:35Because from Lalu Yadav saying that the Kumbh was phaltu, to Malik Arjun Kharge saying that this will not deal with poverty,
25:43to Akhilesh Yadav calling this PR activity, money taken out, wasted on the, and the word Kumbh being added.
25:52You know it's almost like some kind of propaganda going on. It just seems as if on balance when all these things are taken together,
26:00that the opposition was willing and wanting for something to go wrong with the Kumbh so they could attack the government.
26:06Ghanshyam Tiwari.
26:07Good evening Rahul to you, the viewers and fellow co-panellists and let me wish everyone on Mahashivratri, on the eve of Mahashivratri.
26:16Let me also ask on this national channel, what is the latest toll that India today thinks is the toll of stampede in Delhi?
26:23And what is the latest toll on the stampede of Kumbh itself?
26:28Second, what is the compensation that was paid to those who died murderously by the administration in Delhi?
26:35Because you called us vultures, you said we were waiting.
26:40I didn't say you were vultures. I said acting like vultures, waiting and willing for something to go wrong.
26:46Just allow me to complete. I saw 21 minutes of a program that said, you said it's maha success.
26:54So please tell the viewers, what is the compensation paid to those victims who were murdered by Indian railways in the stampede in New Delhi,
27:03the capital of India where we celebrated G20?
27:06What is the compensation paid to the victims of Kumbh?
27:10And what is the number of people who died in Kumbh in that stampede?
27:14Okay, let Sanju Verma, I saw my job.
27:17I have not completed my point.
27:19No, no, you can complete your point. I will not be entering the debate on favour of one side or against the other.
27:25I will be asking the questions, you will be answering them. I'm going to give you 20 more seconds Ghanshyam, make your point.
27:30So my point is, the grand answer is, for at least for the victims of Delhi, 10 lakh rupees.
27:36The price at which Prime Minister's suit was auctioned.
27:39And the point is when somebody calls us vultures, calls maha success to maha kumbh,
27:44we neglect the voices that were heard in Parliament that we represent.
27:49Final point is that when NGT was talking, the UP government was tongue-tied in front of NGT
27:58about the quality of water at Sangam.
28:00The UP chief minister on the same day in assembly was parroting a lie that could not be proven in NGT.
28:08This is the reality, let the viewers decide.
28:10Okay, Sanju Verma, what compensation have those who died in Delhi and at Prayag been given?
28:16The National Green Tribunal holding a mirror to the government talking about how much pollution there is in the water,
28:23the level of fecal coliform being at 4500, the water not being deemed fit for bathing
28:29and the opposition making the point that this is just one PR spectacle.
28:33In the long list of television spectacles, one more PR spectacle without looking at the nuts and bolts,
28:39the water itself wasn't fit for bathing.
28:41You know Rahul, let me first make one thing very clear and let me rub it in for the opposition.
28:47You know, hear this again loud and clear.
28:49You know, word to word translation in five seconds of what Yogi Adityanath said.
28:54Vultures found bodies here, pigs found dirt, believers got blessings,
28:59bhakts found their God, traders got business, poor got employment,
29:03gentle people found kindness, devotees got facilities.
29:07To aapko bura lagta hai, learn to digest the hard truth.
29:10With more than 630 million, as in 63 crore people, as of yesterday having partaken of the amrit snan at the Kumbh.
29:22This is the world's largest gathering of humanity, not just the world's largest spiritual gathering,
29:28but the world's largest gathering of humanity at one small place on the banks of a small river.
29:35So first and foremost, huge amount of applause and kudos to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath
29:43for pulling this off brilliantly.
29:45Yes, my heart goes out to the people who died in the fire at the Kumbh and at the New Delhi railway station stampede.
29:53But having said that, I will not allow anybody from the opposition to take away from the fact
29:58that this was a brilliantly organized event.
30:02And let's make one thing very clear.
30:04Jo aaj yahan baith kar keh rahe hain, you know, bacterial levels are very high.
30:10Ganga mein snan karne se, you know, pollution itna zyada hai, aap bimaar ho jayenge.
30:15Arre bhai sahab, kisi ne aaj tak jaana hai kya?
30:18Ki marne ke baad aap jab jannat jaate ho, aapko wahapar 72 hoorain milti hain ya nahi?
30:24Has anyone ever confirmed?
30:26You know, you worship a religion which worships flying camels and flying horses.
30:31We don't question it. You worship a religion.
30:33No, please now, allow me 20 seconds. I heard this Samajwadi Party.
30:37Don't, you know, take away from my time.
30:39Have we ever questioned, you know, a religion which says that, you know, Mother Teresa ought to be canonized?
30:45We never question anybody's faith.
30:47Because faith is something that cannot be bracketed into black and white or even grey.
30:53Sanju ji, you've made your point. Now let me get in another word.
30:57Do you think, Tehseen Poonawalla, that Congress leaders missed a trick by not going to the Kumbh for a Shahi snaan, for an Amrit snaan?
31:05Because ultimately, it's quite clear that about half of India's population, even if those figures are slightly exaggerated,
31:11a large part of India's population felt very strongly for the Kumbh.
31:14By constantly trying to find fault and by, you know, staying away from the Kumbh,
31:20are they sending a wrong message at a time when so many are feeling so emotional and passionate
31:25about taking a dip at the holy waters?
31:28Rahul, good evening. Thank you for having me to share the onset. A very happy Mahashivratri to all your viewers in advance
31:33and to you and to your family in advance. There are two issues roughly out here.
31:37I'll come to the political one later. Let me just ask one thing. The nuts of the debate is,
31:41should the opposition have been so critical of what is definitely the greatest event in the world?
31:46Maybe the choice of words could have been different. I do agree and concede to that.
31:51But there were our fellow citizens who lost their lives. Sure, sure.
31:55When the Honorable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh said, pigs found dirt,
31:59is he referring to the environment ministry headed by Shri Bhupendra Yadavji?
32:03Because it is their report that said this water that you have there is not, is not tenable even for bread.
32:08When he saw vultures found dead, is he saying that those, the railway ministry and the other
32:13officers who are helping the dead out there, our fellow citizens, were vultures out there?
32:17Is he calling Ravi Shankar Prasadji a vulture, who in the parliament got up and said that this was
32:22perhaps an international conspiracy, not a national conspiracy to destabilize the Mahakum.
32:27Now may I ask you, the parliament is the most serious body in our country.
32:31When a former union minister and a very senior member of parliament gets up and says,
32:35there is a conspiracy to destabilize the Kumbh. It's been about 15 days since that statement has been made.
32:39Has there been any investigation except by a retired judge? Is this a gravitas with which we do an investigation in an international conspiracy?
32:46Who is trying to do politics over this? The 2019 TAG report of the Kumbh, I had the honor of going to the Kumbh,
32:52said that the drone cameras were not functioning, it would lead to a stampede at some point.
32:56Had we looked at it in 2019 and not gotten the emotional card, maybe we wouldn't have lost the fight.
33:02But the fact is, Tauseef Khan, that when about 50, the government is saying 63 crore people came,
33:08I'm saying let's discount that figure by a bit, but a large number of people still went in the high crores.
33:13And those many people gather, and it's the world's largest gathering.
33:17Unfortunate as it might be, something is likely to go wrong.
33:21And the fact is, when it goes wrong, it almost seems as if the opposition gets excited and says,
33:25Hey, look, look, they're dead. You know, it's almost as if they're willing and waiting for something to go wrong.
33:30Yes, it's terribly unfortunate what happened. But it's all, which is why the vulture analogy,
33:35you're almost wanting that there be some carcass you can pray over.
33:40Rahul, the vulture analogy or the pig analogy is an attempt by the Uttar Pradesh government
33:48or the Uttar Pradesh chief minister to hide, you know, to not face or own up to the failure
33:56to perform in this auspicious occasion and hide behind the religion.
34:04Now, the report that was presented to the National Green Tribunal by the control board,
34:10that does not attack the Aastha, that does not question the divinity,
34:15that does not question the divine nature of the Sangam water.
34:21That questions the responsibility of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister to ensure
34:26that the untreated sewerage water does not mix with the Ganga water,
34:31especially at this time, at the time when half the population of the country is excited
34:38to take a holy dip in Ganga on this auspicious occasion of Mahakum.
34:42The responsibility to ensure that it remains free from untreated sewerage water is even higher.
34:49And the accountability has to be taken by the chief minister when he is taking the credit
34:56that I have arranged so many people to come. He is not the inventor of Hindu religion.
35:01He is not the inventor of Mahakum. It is the Aastha of the people. It is the religious belief of the people.
35:06Let Sanju Varma respond to this. The 8-page submission before the principal bench of the National Green Tribunal
35:13on the 17th of February talks about an extremely high level of fecal coliform,
35:18which makes the water at the Treveni Sangam, according to the control board itself, unsafe for bathing.
35:24Now this is on the watch of your government and the opposition is saying,
35:27you are calling people to bathe, you can't even provide clean water, Sanju Varma.
35:31You know Rahul, I always say the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
35:36Let's be very honest. Assuming 63 crore people have taken part in the Mahakum
35:43and have partaken of the Amrit Snaan, 1% of 63 crore, at least by now 63 lakh people
35:52should have complained about some form of ill health, you know, diarrhea or fever or pneumonia or indigestion,
36:01so on and so forth. Not a single person has even mentioned the disease.
36:06You are sitting here and raising questions on Hindu faith.
36:10Your religion teaches you that 30 people can eat from the same plate without washing their hands.
36:16You know, that leads to bonding. I did not heckle you, keep quiet now.
36:23You are lying Sanju, you are lying.
36:26Okay, one at a time, let Sanju complete, Tauseef, I'll come to you in a moment.
36:30Yes, this man has a habit of getting rattled. Which religion says,
36:3630 people can eat from the same plate without washing their hands.
36:41I wouldn't be able to do it, but I will not question somebody's faith.
36:45So, let me make one thing very clear, as Swami said,
36:48Ganga, Vishnu ke charno se, Shivji ke mastashka se,
36:53aur Brahma ke kamal se nikli hui hai, Ganga ke snaan se toh nahi,
36:58sirf Ganga ke smaran se, Ganga ke sirf sparsh se, Ganga ke sirf tat par jane se bhi,
37:04aap moksh prapt kar sakte hai.
37:07You know, Ghanshyam Tiwari, respond to this point,
37:10because ultimately it's about Aastha, it's about belief.
37:13For the crores who went, the water was clean, they had a bath,
37:17they have spoken to so many people, as they were bathing, coming out,
37:22they felt divine. That's what matters. It is a question of faith, this is religion.
37:27This is not about what the Ganga makes you feel.
37:29They went into that water, they felt cleansed and that's what matters most, Ghanshyam.
37:35Well, Rahul, the famous Ganga ka beta said, Ganga saaf karenge.
37:39Namami Gange should be shut down, because now as per Sanju Verma,
37:43Ganga Aastha se hi saaf ho gayi hai.
37:45So Namami Gange should be shut down, it should be announced, point number one.
37:49Point number two, she said 63 crore, Yogi Adityanath says 63 crore.
37:54You are wanting to discount it a little bit.
37:56The census says that in India, the number of children under the age of 14 is 42 crores.
38:02The number of elderly is 14 crores.
38:04So we are saying that of the 80 crore who are between 14 and 65, 63 crore have visited Kumbh.
38:11There's a limit to the stupidity that BJP can expect people to believe in.
38:17How can we sit and believe a government who's parroting these numbers,
38:21simply to dumb us down and say that, see 63 crore people visited,
38:25so it is okay to not know what was the compensation paid to the people
38:29who were murdered by their mismanagement.
38:31It is okay to not know how many people died in the stampede.
38:35It is okay for this government to shower petals when dead body is still not counted
38:41on that very day, few hours, it is okay.
38:44India Today and every media channel showed those images.
38:47What kind of Sanatan are they following where they are showering petals
38:52when dead bodies are still not counted.
38:54So let us not get dumbed down.
38:56Sanju responds, let Tahseen make a counter as well and then Sanju can respond.
39:00Yes.
39:01Because the first time I asked you the question, you dodged the question that I asked.
39:05My question was, do you think opposition leaders, in particular leaders from the Congress,
39:09the Gandhi family, should have gone, have they made a mistake by not connecting
39:13with this big spiritual and religious movement, by wanting to stay away.
39:16It's almost as if they are telling all these crores, whether it's 63 crores, 50 crores, it doesn't matter.
39:20But they are crores and you are telling these people, we don't feel like you,
39:24we don't care for what you feel and we don't want to be part of you.
39:27I do think religion is a personal matter.
39:31But if you were to ask me a political question, then the political answer to that is,
39:35Prayag Raj has elected a Congress member of Parliament.
39:38Sure. Which is even more reason to go.
39:40It is Nehruji's Karam Bhoomi. So I would have, if I was leading the Congress party,
39:45I would have been there. That's my answer. But I'm not doing that.
39:48The answer to the acquisitions of the BJP is doing, that deflects from what has happened.
39:53We've had real lives that have been lost, both at the railway station and at Prayag Raj.
39:58We don't have the numbers. The response was terrible. I saw the India Today report.
40:01And your reporters continuously bought stories. They were under-reported.
40:04Showers were petted. Railways were bullying people to take down the tweets that showed
40:09the bodies that were dead in the stampede. This is not how a government behaves.
40:13I understand that an accident happened. Very unfortunate. A mature government takes its people.
40:19This is an important point. I would have expected my Prime Minister, he is my Prime Minister,
40:23to at least have empathy for those families. Not just give compensation.
40:27Listen to my question and then respond. So while the opposition was willing and wanting
40:31for someone to go wrong and trying to say, oh mar gaye, mar gaye, mar gaye,
40:35the government was, on the contrary, seeming as if they wanted to pretend as if nothing went wrong
40:41for hours, didn't even accept that people had died, even after the Prime Minister had condoled
40:45the deaths, the Chief Minister and the UP government wasn't accepting that something had gone wrong.
40:49So it's almost as if this was the complete opposite reaction.
40:53They wanted things to go wrong. You didn't want to accept that things had gone wrong.
40:57Both seem to be living in alternate realities. Sanju Verma.
41:01You know, Rahul, you've asked me such a lengthy question, which is simply not your style.
41:06And you are always very pointed. But today you're trying to monkey balance.
41:09No, I'm not monkey balancing. I'm asking you a straight question.
41:12Yes. Now, if you're asking me a straight question, have the patience to listen to my straight answer
41:18because I'm not into the habit of shoving uncomfortable truths under the carpet.
41:22First and foremost, I agree with Tahseen. Religion is a very personal issue.
41:26And faith, aasta, is a very personal thing. You know, you cannot question it.
41:30And if you do so, it is at your own peril. Having said that, you know, I completely rebut
41:36this preposterous charge and allegation that Prime Minister Modi and Yogi Adityanath,
41:42you know, wo apni hi duniya mein mast the, you know, nobody was bothered about, you know,
41:47the dead bodies that piled up due to the fire or due to the stampede at the New Delhi railway station.
41:52No. The entire administrative machinery, including Rapid Action Force, including, you know,
41:58ITBP police personnel, including the CRPF, everybody swung into action and the damage was contained.
42:05Point number one. Point number two, I agree that, you know, by giving 10 lakhs compensation,
42:10you cannot bring back somebody who's lost their kid and kin.
42:13But at the same time, compensation is something which is mandated by law,
42:18especially in these kind of unfortunate incidents, more will happen.
42:22And I always say let accountability prevail and I'm sure heads will roll.
42:26Point number three to Ghanshyam, you made some, you know, you think, you know, you know numbers.
42:32Now I will call out your bluff on Rahul Kaval show. What is the population of India?
42:37143 crore on last count. What is the adult population of India?
42:4298 crore, which means 68.53% of India's population are adults.
42:49Now, how many people have visited the Qom? 63 crore people,
42:53which means 67.74% of India's adult population visited the Qom.
43:00Why is that so difficult to believe? If 67.7% of India's adult population visited the Qom,
43:07how is it that you're saying this is not mathematically possible?
43:10I'm doubtful. Ghanshyam Tiwari, very quickly, because I also want to move the needle,
43:14but I want to give you 20 seconds to respond.
43:16I'll just lay out the math for you viewers to know.
43:19The 2011 census said that number of children under the age of 14 was 37 crore.
43:24Wait a second, please, please, please.
43:27By now that number will be 44 crore.
43:31The number of elderly is 15 crore.
43:34Ma'am, there's been no census in 2011, so he has no data from the last couple of years to talk about.
43:40But let him make his point. Ghanshyam.
43:42So of the 80 crore people who are between 14 and 65, BJP is saying 63 crore have visited or 60 crore have visited.
43:50Look around you, which is they are saying that 4 out of 5 adults in India who can travel have visited Qom.
43:56Why are they saying this?
43:57No, but why are you discounting young people and old people from that figure?
44:00Anyway, this debate will get a lot of attention.
44:03Why discount old people? A lot of old people went, a lot of young kids.
44:06But anyway, that's not the point.
44:07Why are they lying? My point is, why are they lying?
44:10Because they want to dumb you down to tell you that the number of people who died in the stampede is minuscule compared to this mega success.
44:18But even the point that you are making is not mathematically valid because you've left out as a set of the population,
44:25you've left out all young people and old people and both categories of people went and therefore that's not the right way to do these numbers.
44:32But that's a different matter. I don't want to get derailed.
44:34The fact is that many opposition leaders chose not to go and bathe at the Mahakum.
44:41Yes, of course, religion is a private matter, but when you're seeking votes, is that a message as well to minority vote banks
44:47that despite all these people going, we didn't go because we don't feel strongly enough and therefore we didn't feel the need to go?
44:55Is there a double messaging happening there, Tauseef Khan?
44:58No, Rahul, you see, if you're referring to Bengal, the election is far away in Bengal.
45:05More than one year later, the election will happen.
45:07You see, if I rely on the government data itself, that 63 crore people went to Mahakum
45:14and we have on record multiple occasions stampede took place in Prayagraj,
45:20including stampede in railway station and multiple times fire caught in tank.
45:26So can we accept that only 30 people died?
45:31You know, that is what we are criticizing, that you are showing disrespect.
45:35It is one thing that in an unfortunate incident, people, devotees are dying,
45:39but it is equally disrespectful and insulting to the dead bodies when you do not count them.
45:45No, I agree with this. The fact that everyone should be transparent with data.
45:49The number of people who went, the number of people who died, the number of people who bathed, all of it should be transparent.
45:55So what I want to do, I want to thank all our guests for joining us. Thank you for taking out time.
45:58I want to show you this report on how the numbers are actually being counted
46:02and try and make sense because there's so much debate about whether 63 crores went, how do you know 63 crores went,
46:07could it be 50 crores, could it be less. So how is this number really being arrived at?
46:11The world's largest religious gathering continues to witness an unprecedented influx of devotees.
46:16The logistics are monumental, but cutting edge AI technology is being used.
46:21Authority is trying to ensure that the crowd is well managed.
46:25Our teams look very carefully at how a lot of innovation is playing an important role in trying to manage this historic event
46:31and also how the numbers of those coming in for the snan are being counted
46:36and why there is this risk and this element of double counting.
46:39Which basically means that if some people bathe more than once, are they being counted just once?
46:44Are you subtracting the fact that they bathed earlier? So there is that element as well which does bump up the figures.
46:49But despite that, the fact that this was the world's largest gathering of humanity, I don't think by any stretch is in doubt.
47:02It's the world's largest religious congregation, the Divine Mahakumar.
47:09Nearly 64 crore devotees have already taken the holy dip.
47:16With millions gathered, the logistical challenges for law enforcement and authorities are enormous.
47:25But how have authorities successfully tracked the daily count of pilgrims?
47:31A team of technical experts have been working on an AI-driven system,
47:36integrating technology with the complexities of managing this colossal human gathering.
47:48The green boxes on your screen are known as computer vision,
47:52allowing machines to identify and count individuals in video footage.
47:58Meanwhile, the red dots represent markers indicating crowd density.
48:09Two kinds of use cases and AI models have been deployed here.
48:13One is for getting the crowd density data in a camera field of view
48:19and then mapping different cameras in a particular zone.
48:24So let's say there is a ghat and there are X number of cameras installed at ghat.
48:28So we need the data, how many people are at that ghat at any point of time.
48:32So we make it as a reason.
48:35That is one thing. At the same time, we have got people count camera, that is another AI model.
48:41Of the 1,700 cameras deployed, 500 are AI-enabled, connected to servers through an optical fiber network.
48:51Two advanced AI models work in tandem.
48:55One estimates crowd density, while the other counts individuals.
49:00These models interact with live feeds and the data is further refined
49:05using information from facial recognition cameras,
49:09ultimately processed through a business algorithm to provide even more precise insights.
49:16The Integrated Command Center in Prayagraj receives final data and critical alerts
49:22via a cloud-based dashboard, which helps in law and order maintenance.
49:29As you can see, the card on the left is calculating crowd density using a camera.
49:38The card on the top right is calculating parking status using AI.
49:45The card on the bottom left indicates the flow of people, the flow of the crowd.
49:54On the right, there are some alerts on which we act upon,
49:58on which we instruct ground teams to intervene.
50:03This AI-driven system not only estimates crowd,
50:07but also helps understand and manage human behavior on an unprecedented scale.
50:13The Mahakumbh provides an opportunity for AI to learn from the flow of millions,
50:19setting the stage for future innovations in crowd control and safety.
50:25With Simar Chawla in Prayagraj, Jainam Shah and Ankit Kumar in New Delhi,
50:30Bureau Report, India Today.
50:37The war of words between Preeti Zinta and Congress' Kerala wing has grown bigger.
50:42The actor slammed the Congress after the party alleged that she gave her social media accounts to the BJP
50:47in return for an 18 crore rupee loan waiver.
50:50Preeti Zinta dismissed the allegations and accused the Congress of spreading fake news.
50:55Here's more.
51:00The war breaks out between Preeti Zinta and Congress.
51:04The Bollywood actor blasts Kerala Congress for promoting fake news targeting her.
51:09Hitting out at the grand old party's Kerala wing on X,
51:12Preeti Zinta dismissed social media chatter that she had a loan waived
51:16by a cooperative bank in return for favors to the BJP as vile gossip.
51:22The Kerala Congress had alleged that the Bollywood actress had given her social media accounts to the BJP
51:28and got 18 crore loan written off by the New India Cooperative Bank.
51:34Preeti Zinta in a strongly worded statement said that she operates her own social media account
51:40and the Congress should be ashamed for spreading fake news.
51:44Responding to Preeti Zinta's statement, the Kerala Congress asked her to prove her innocence.
51:50Citing a media report, Kerala Congress claimed that Preeti's name had come up in a corruption report of the bank.
51:57This comes after Preeti Zinta on social media said that people need to relax
52:01and stop calling each other ant bhakts for appreciating the Prime Minister.
52:06With Shivamol KG, Bureau Report, India Today.
52:11This is where we wrap up the news track tonight.
52:13For your time and your trust, thank you very much.
52:15I look forward to seeing you at 8pm tomorrow evening.
52:18Till then, from all of us here on the News Track team, goodbye.