ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash

Shiv Khera is an author, motivational speaker, business consultant and an educator who is best known for his book You Can Win. Life wasn’t easy for Khera even after being born into a business family. He had to work as a car washer, a life insurance agent before becoming a motivational speaker. Today, he is a much sought after speaker for his inspiring speeches and his clientele include companies like Lufthansa, HP, Mercedes, HSBC, Nestle, Philips and many more, among others. Khera is also a political enthusiast and contested the 2004 and 2009 general elections from South Delhi constituency as an independent candidate and also launched a political outfit, Bharatiya Rashtravadi Samanata Party, in 2008. In this edition of ANI podcast with Smita Prakash, Khera talks about his early life and his journey from being a car washer in Canada to a motivational speaker. He also talks about India’s partition, the 1971 war with Pakistan and how mistakes of the past have contributed to today's problems. He also advocates bringing a uniform civil code in the country and has critical views on freebie politics. Khera also spoke about India's growth story and awareness among the global community about it. He also explains how superstition and faith system are intertwined in our country and how religious gurus mislead people in the name of religion.

Sudhanshu Trivedi is an Indian Politician who represents the BJP in the Rajya Sabha as a member from Uttar Pradesh. Trivedi is an engineer by education and holds a PhD. in mechanical engineering. The national spokesperson of the BJP is known for oratorial skills in both English and Hindi. His sharp wit is often enhanced with poetry and couplets. Trivedi is one of the best debaters in the country on Indian history, culture mythology and politics and has a huge fan following in Indian households be it through live television debates or through clips on social media. Trivedi has been handling the media interaction for the BJP for years and had worked with the media team of BJP during 2014 elections. Prior to that, Trivedi worked as an information advisor to the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Rajnath Singh and was also political advisor to Rajnath Singh when he served as BJP's national president. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Sudhanshu Trivedi talks about the opposition INDIA alliance and accuses the Congress party of having an entitled attitude that forced the opposition to boycott certain News Anchors. He also speaks about the Sanatana Dharma controversy and explains Dharma, Hindutva, and Hinduism. He also clarifies on there being no difference between India and Bharat and how the constitution speaks of both in the same breath. Trivedi explains how the British used Caste to divide Indian society that had existed peacefully in a homogenised way for centuries. He comes down heavily on dynasts in politics alleging that they have been just ensuring their own good instead of serving the people.

Muttiah Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former cricketer and is regarded as one of the most successful and greatest bowlers in the history of the sport. He is the only bowler to take 800 wickets in test cricket and 530 One Day International (ODI) wickets and continues to hold a record of maximum wickets altogether in international cricket. Muralitharan, who is also known as Murali among friends and colleagues, is the first wrist-spinning off-spinner in the history of the game and his bowling action has landed him in controversy on numerous occasions throughout his career spanning over decades. Murali has been called out for his bowling action on three different occasions and was also cleared by the ICC after subsequent tests. He also had to face criticism from cricketers as well as noted personalities for his bowling action. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Murali talks about his two-decade cricket career, his love for the game and the controversies and criticism which came along the way. Murali also talks about his relations with cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, who released the trailer of a biopic which is made on his life. He also says that he is a proud Tamilian and answers controversy around his political connections with former Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa and his party. He also terms the IPL as a platform to filter talent, which is going to prove a boon for Indian cricket.

A political slugfest erupted soon after Udhayanidhi Stalin, a Tamil Nadu minister and son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, made a controversial statement comparing ‘Santana Dharma’ to diseases like Malaria, dengue and corona as he called for eradication of the faith. The statement by the Tamilnadu minister has led to registration of FIRs against him as well as a seer from Ayodhya announcing a bounty on his head. But the question remains why someone sitting in a high seat of power would say something like that and what are the reasons behind the uproar by political parties. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, noted author and engineer turned litigator J Sai Deepak, who has written two voluminous well-researched books on Indian civilisation, decodes all aspects of Dravidian Politics, its history and the conflict with Sanatana Dharma and explains the reasons behind the statement by Udhayanidhi. In an in-depth conversation with Smita Prakash, J. Sai Deepak talks about the origins of Dravidar Kazhagam and Justice party founded by E. V. Ramasamy and how these organisations led the foundation of Dravidianism in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sai also talks about the secessionist activities undertaken by a few Dravidian organizations and how they opposed home rule for India.

Shri Thanedar is an Indian American business person, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan’s 13th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party in the US, Thanedar also served as a state representative in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. During his recent visit to India as part of a US Congress delegation, Thanedar, along with the delegation, attended the Independence day celebrations at Red Fort and met Prime minister Narendra Modi, with whom he shares a personal relationship. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Thanedar talks about his meeting with PM Modi and how political advice from the PM has helped him. The Congressman also talks about growing bipartisan support for India in the US Capitol and how the US now considers India as a strategic partner to counter China and Russia's aggression. Thanedar also talks about his personal life and his journey from a Belagavi boy who had to work odd jobs at the age of 14 to support his family to becoming a lawmaker in the United States.

Sheena Bora Murder Case- A mystery that baffled every interrogator and captured the attention of entire country in 2015 continues to remain unsolved to date. The more informed you become, more intricate the story appears. Indrani Mukerjea- one of the prime accused and mother of Sheena, who was in Mumbai’s Byculla jail before getting a bail in 2022 has made some shocking revelations. Watch or listen in to this episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash to know what revelations has Indrani Mukerjea made in her memoir ‘Unbroken’. How she grew past her traumatic childhood to make it big in her life and how things took a turn for worse and just kept getting worse. Also, how former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram are connected with the case.

As elections draw near in the Naxal-affected Central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, the third and incumbent Chief Minister of the state, speaks candidly about the state’s distinct politics, its issues and his approaches to tackle them. Bhupesh Baghel keeps a low profile in national politics and maintains his focus on his home state. Among many of his accomplishments he claims to have effectively controlled Naxalism through non-violent means. Watch or listen in to this edition of ANI podcast with Smita Prakash, to understand how the politics in Chhattisgarh has its own twists, what Bhupesh Baghel did differently than his predecessors and how prepared he is for the upcoming state election. The discussion touches upon a wide range of political spectrum including what he refers to as “petty politics of BJP”. The discussion also delves into politically hot topics such as ED, IT raids in the state, Hindutva politics, religion conversion, INDIA alliance. While Bhupesh Baghel was refreshingly candid and straightforward on all questions posed to him, he also addressed queries that have captured everybody’s attention these days like ‘Is Priyanka Gandhi jumping in the election game this time around? And who is going to be leading the pack in INDIA alliance?

Prime Minister Modi and President Xi came face to face at the BRICS summit at Johannesburg last week, but there was no bilateral meeting scheduled. The freeze remains. Pakistan could not get into the grouping though it had China’s backing. Battling economic crisis and political instability Pakistan has been offered respite from UAE which has decided to invest in assets of Pakistan. But there are going to be strings attached this time. Former Indian Ambassador to China who has also served as Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale and C. Raja Mohan, senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute explain China and UAE’s relationship with Pakistan and where the US fits into this new jigsaw puzzle. Watch or listen in to this edition of ANI podcast with Smita Prakash, to understand how these new developments will affect geopolitics in the Indo-pacific region. During the conversation the experts analyse different aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative, China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the violent attacks in Balochistan. The panel also discusses "Gulf Route to Pakistan” a paper authored by Raja Mohan which provides deep insights on the economic affairs of Pakistan and how Pak Army has now decided to get UAE to bail them out. The panel also talks about Imran Khan’s arrest, protest against Pak Army, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and India’s growing stature in the world stages with Pakistan losing its importance in West as well as China.Here's the link of 'Gulf Route to Pakistan' by C Rajamohan - https://twitter.com/MohanCRaja/status/1683980429873889280?t=FxcXfi1BJ224uBn4ToGIjw&s=19

Pushkar Singh Dhami is the 10th chief minister of Uttarakhand and also has the distinction of becoming the youngest CM of the state. Dhami started his political career as an MLA after he was elected to Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from Khatima constituency in 2012, which he represented till 2022 and currently represents Champawat assembly constituency. Dhami rose to prominence after he was chosen by the BJP leadership to replace Tirath Singh Rawat as chief minister of the state, six months ahead of legislative elections. Riding high on his promise of implementing a uniform civil code in the hill state, Dhami was able to break the trend of revolving door policy in the state of Uttarakhand and returned victorious in state assembly elections of 2022, and was sworn in as Chief minister for the second time. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Pushkar Singh Dhami speaks about how he has ensured fulfillment of promises made to the people of the state with the draft of UCC in its final stage. He also talks about his government's crackdown on enemy properties and against illegal encroachment. Dhami also talks about the Joshimath tragedy and reveals his plans to conduct detailed research on the load bearing capacity of cities to check rapid and uncontrolled urbanization in order to protect the ecology of the Himalayan region. He also talks about Love-Jihad and the anti-conversion law which he has implemented in the state. Talking about the opposition's INDIA alliance, Dhami terms it as a new version of UPA and says that Rahul Gandhi continues to be an immature person.

Madhya Pradesh polls, BJP Vs Cong & Tribal voters. Jitu Patwari talks about Congress's strategy and confidence to return to power in the state. Dr. Hiralal Alawa discusses the importance of tribal voters in over 40 assembly segments. Chapters cover determination, unclear conversation, passport issue, diversifying workforce, role of individuals in society, plans for the day, staying strong, and reservation in India.