ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash

Punjab is long known for its rich heritage, food, tradition and culture, but in recent times the frontier state has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, from Amritpal Singh (the self-styled Sikh preacher and Khalistan supporter who was arrested on April 23 after being on the run for 35 days and is currently lodged in Dibrugarh central jail) to drug menace among youth. This edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash which was recorded in the city of Amritsar, co-hosted by FICCI Flo, Amritsar chapter brings you a distinguished set of panelists which include Professor Sarabjot Behl, Dean of academic affairs at Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr Pushpinder Walia, Prinicipal, BBK DAV College for women. Apart from that, we also have noted Punjabi Author Dr. Arvinder Kaur and senior faculty at The Art of Living Paulomi Mukherjee. In a candid conversation with Smita Prakash, the panelists discussed the NEP 2020 and how it is going to benefit the future generation with vocational courses and additional skills. Apart from that, the panelists also discussed the role of theatre and art in Punjab, migration among youth, NRI marriages and solutions to stress management.

Dharmendra Pradhan is a second generation politician and currently serving as a minister in PM Modi’s cabinet looking after Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He also has the feat of being the longest serving minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, a role which he donned for seven years between 2014-2021. Pradhan is also known as ‘Ujjwala Man’ after he successfully implemented Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana providing LPG connections to over 8 million families from Below Poverty Line (BPL). Pradhan started his political career as an ABVP karyakarta and has donned several hats in the organisation too, including serving as national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP, between 20024-2006 to becoming national secretary of BJP in 2007. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Pradhan talks about National Education Policy in detail and provides a detailed insight into the changes in curriculum, structure and its implementation across the country. He also talks about resistance and opposition to the NEP by a few state governments. He also talks about the Balasore rail tragedy, the Manipur issue, the opposition's I.N.D.I.A alliance and BJP-BJD relations in Odisha with Naveen Patnaik sharing a close bond with PM Narendra Modi.

Yogi Adityanath is the two-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and head seer of the Gorakhnath Math. Prior to this, he also had the feat of becoming the youngest MP at the age of 26 after he was elected to the lower house of parliament from Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency of the state of Uttar Pradesh in 1998 after his Guru Mahant Avaidyanath chose to retire from active politics and declared Adityanath as his successor. He is also termed as an undefeated parliamentarian as he won consecutive parliamentary elections from 1998 to 2014. Unlike other politicians, he is always dressed in a saffron dress and wears his Hindu identity as pride and is projected as a Hindutva hardliner by his political opponents. However, he is also termed as a firebrand CM for his government model and actions against the mafia, which have been adopted by many other chief ministers in other parts of the country. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash recorded in the city of Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath speaks about his early days and his transformational journey from Ajay Singh Bisht to head seer of the Gorakhnath Math of Nath community situated in the city of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. In this enlightening conversation, the monk turned politician also talks about religion, spirituality and how it helps one in the path of divine pursuit through service to people. He also talks about his family and how a young science student decided to become a Sanyasi. Yogi Adityanath also talks about his governance model and explains how he has been able to successfully ensure peace in Uttar Pradesh by acting against mafias in his little more than six years of tenure. He further talks about the I.N.D.I.A alliance, Kashi Vishwanath temple – Gyanvapi row, violence during polls in the state of West Bengal and raises his suspicion behind Manipur violence.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is an Indian politician serving as the leader of the Indian National Congress in the 17th Lok Sabha and a Member of Parliament from Baharampur constituency in the state of West Bengal. He also heads the Public Accounts Committee as chairperson and is current president of the West Bengal Congress Committee. In his three-decade political career, Chowdhury has been an MLA in the West Bengal assembly and has also served as union minister of state for railways in the Manmohan Singh government. He was made leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha by Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi in 2021, as he was one of the most vocal MPs of the party and has been raising political as well as party issues inside as well as outside the house. Chowdhury stoked controversy on July 28, 2022 after he referred to President Droupadi Murmu as "Rashtrapatni" instead of "Rashtrapati" for which he was attacked by political opponents and he apologized for the same by writing a letter to President Murmu. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Chowdhury talks about the newly formed coalition of opposition parties INDIA, which is all set to contest against the incumbent NDA. He also accused the ruling dispensation of discrimination over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as the member of the Lok Sabha and said that he is ready to offer his seat to Gandhi siblings if they wish to contest next general elections. Chowdhury also talks about how poll violence has become a part and parcel in his home state under TMC’s rule and exuded confidence that the Congress party will win upcoming state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Punjab is long known for its rich heritage, food, tradition and culture, but in recent times the frontier state has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, from Amritpal Singh (the self-styled Sikh preacher and Khalistan supporter who was arrested on April 23 after being on the run for 35 days and is currently lodged in Dibrugarh central jail) to drug issues among youth. This edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash which was recorded in the city of Amritsar, co-hosted by FICCI Flo, Amritsar chapter brings you a distinguished set of panelists which include Mrs. Rajni Bector, who has made a name for herself in the food industry by converting her hobby into a successful business. We also have the giant Slayer Jeevanjyot Kaur, a social worker turned politician who defeated political heavyweights Navjot Singh Sidhu and Bikram Singh Majithia in her first election and is currently MLA from Amritsar East constituency. Apart from that, we also have Dr H P Singh, former medical director of Fortis Escorts hospital and Lt. Col. H P Singh (retd) who served as general manager at the War Memorial and Museum of Amritsar post his military stint. In a candid conversation with Smita Prakash, the panelists discussed the entrepreneurship journey of Mrs. Bector in making Cremica one of the leading brands in the food industry. Apart from that, the panelists also discussed the reason behind youth migration in the state of Punjab and how the drug menace is plaguing the state and its harmful effect on society as a whole.

Jatinder Brar is the founder of Punjab Naatshala, a live performance theatre in the city of Amritsar which gave numerous actors, directors and playwrights a platform to showcase their talent, earn a livelihood and make a name for themselves in the television and film industry. Mr Brar is a trained mechanical engineer and worked in factories before starting as a full-time playwright and a theatre artist. Apart from being an actor and a playwright, he is also an expert sound engineer. Comedians like Kapil Sharma, Bharti Singh, Rajeev Thakur and a dozen others who made a name for themselves in the Bombay film industry are a product of Naatshala and were mentored by Brar. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash which was recorded in Amritsar, Brar talks about his journey from being an engineer to establishing his own theatre. Brar also talks about his association with theatre personalities from across the border, including Madeeha Gauhar, Uzra Butt of Pakistan, and his relationship with Kapil Sharma and Bharti Singh and how his students have continued to be in touch with him. Apart from that, the veteran playwright also talks about Punjab’s society, youth migration and how the audience continues to be the king.

Lt. Gen KJS Dhillon (Retd), popularly known as 'Tiny Dhillon', is a decorated officer with a career spanning over 39 years. He has served as Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence). He earned widespread appreciation for initiating unconventional, people-friendly operations during his tenure as head of XV Corps in Kashmir. He has authored ‘Kitne Ghazi aaye kitne Ghazi gaye’ in which he recounts tales of his military journey and his experiences in Kashmir during the toughest era of the region during the militancy period of 90s till abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. In this edition of ANI podcast with Smita Prakash Lt. Gen KJS Dhillon (Retd) talks about Pakistan’s economic turmoil, Imran Khan’s arrest and how the ISI and Pakistan’s military continue to rule the roost in the rogue nation. He also talks about his active involvement in the abrogation of Article 370 and his meeting with home minister Amit Shah. Dhillon also provides us with excerpts from his book ‘Kitne Ghazi aaye kitne Ghazi Gaye’ and mentions the importance of Army wives and their untold stories.

With 2023 being the penultimate year before the general elections of 2024, domestic as well as international developments are going to affect the outcome of elections which will determine whether the incumbent Modi government will get a mandate for continuing in office as they seek a third term from the electorate. This special edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash hosts four special guests from different backgrounds who discuss Indian politics as well as international developments which affect India. So we bring you an analyst on Pakistan affairs Sushant Sareen, a political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla, an author and scientist Anand Ranganathan and a defence expert and researcher in political ideologies Abhijit Iyer Mitra together who discussed UCC, Manipur issue to drone deal and much expected technology transfer on aircraft engines from the United States to India. This special edition also adds flavours to its guests with a variety of food which is served during the episode as food for thought is what brings our guests together as they decode various issues related to people and politics.

Sheela Bhatt is a veteran journalist with a career spanning over four decades and has covered a host of beats as a field reporter and has also donned the roles of an editor and publisher. Sheela is known for her work as a crime journalist and she has interviewed all mafia dons of Mumbai’s underworld, which include Karim Lala to Vardarajan Mudaliar and Chhota Shakeel to Dawood Ibrahim. She is one of the few journalists who has interviewed Dawood in-person at his Dubai home and is known to have had access to the mafia don for years. Recently, a picture posted by Sheela on her Twitter account went viral on social media in which she can be seen sitting with Dawood interviewing him. Apart from field journalism, Sheela has covered all general elections since 1979 and continues to write on politics, international affairs, among others. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Sheela talks about her entry into journalism, her personal life and marriage to Kanti Bhatt and the transition from being a revenue reporter to running a magazine of her own. She also talks about the Godhra riots and how religion is being used for defining politics.

Mansukh Mandaviya is a minister in PM Modi’s cabinet and is known for his proactiveness and being a problem solver. Mandaviya like many other BJP politicians is known for his RSS background and started his political journey as a karyakarta of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Born in a small village named Hanol in Palitana taluk of Bhavnagar district in Gujarat Mandaviya's political career took a jump when the then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi decided to field him in Gujarat assembly polls of 2002 from Palitana which he won and became youngest member of the state assembly, a position he held till 2012 when he was elected to the upper house of parliament from Gujarat. Mandaviya's political rise saw another jump when he was made union health minister in 2021 when the country and the world was battling COVID pandemic but his management skills and attitude of getting things done led to successful implementation of world's largest vaccination program which has earned him laurels from the country as well as from the world. Mandaviya is also credited for sucessful roll out of Jan Aushadi Kendras which aims at providing generic medicines at affordable prices to poor. He has been honoured by UNICEF for his contribution towards women health care initiatives by distributing 10 crore sanitary pads through Jan Aushadi Kendras.In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Mandaviya talks about his mission on providing affordable quality healthcare to 1.4 billion people of this country. He also talks about the story of COVID vaccine research and how it was implemented amid criticism from different quarters. He also talks about challenges from Big Pharma and his passion for cycling and health routine. On the political front, he slams Rahul Gandhi for showing indifference over COVID protocols and opposition parties campaign for doing politics during COVID.