This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by journalist Nidhi Razdan and economist and writer Vivek Kaul.
The panel begins with the Delhi polls, and Abhinandan says the BJP’s USP is primarily centred around portraying Kejriwal as a horrible politician. Shardool points out that the BJP is “organisationally strong” but doesn’t have a face in Delhi. Nidhi talks about the AAP’s shortcomings and Kejriwal’s struggle to hold onto his image as an aam aadmi. She also says the Congress is entirely missing from the conversation.
The conversation shifts to the current state of the media and the lack of accountability in newsrooms. Nidhi says, “Things that we thought were just shocking or immoral or unethical or unconstitutional – everything is being normalised. And part of the reason is because the media doesn’t ask difficult questions.”
Vivek then unpacks the rupee falling against the dollar and its repercussions. He emphasises that this isn’t a crisis, saying, “The rupee will keep depreciating against the dollar for the simple fact that inflation in the US is usually lower than inflation in India.” He also explains the downfall of the Indian economy in the last few years.
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Song: Dollaran Wangu Ni Naam Saada Chalda
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introductions
00:00:20 - Announcements and appeals
00:01:54 - Special message
00:03:28 - Panel introduction
00:04:38 - Headlines
00:10:58 - Delhi elections
00:37:50 - Current media landscape
01:12:34 - Rupee crash
01:55:44 - Recommendations
References
NL Sena: The Hindu Rashtra project
Exclusive: In 3 Lok Sabha seats swung by BJP, many wrong voter deletions, violations of EC norms
In Farrukhabad, targeted voter deletions came before BJP’s thin victory margin
Let’s Talk About: Inside India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections
The Midas touch of Ashwini Vaishnaw
Against AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi BJP wants Smriti Irani as an option
What Went Wrong With Capitalism
Recommendations
Vivek
Nidhi
Jayashree
Shardool
बायाँ कांधा, तुम और चश्मे का फ़्रेम
The Midas touch of Ashwini Vaishnaw
Abhinandan
The Dollar at the Centre of the World podcast
Best of Both Sides: 90-hour work week isn’t always bad: Holidays and vacations are colonial hangover
Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters
Produced and recorded by Prashant Kumar and Priyali Dhingra.
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