Truth vs Hype

The Supreme Court judgement on the 1993 Mumbai blasts is wide in its scope, involving over a 100 accused, in one of the biggest terror attacks on India. But the flood of reactions from the world of glamour and politics has largely centred around only one accused, Sanjay Dutt: On Truth vs Hype, we attempt to tackle some of the key questions arising out of what has become a polarised debate: on one hand, the film fraternity, and indeed some outside of it have expressed shock, arguing that he has suffered enough. On the other hand voices who point out how Sanjay Dutt has been given special treatment at the very outset, and that his punishment compared to others charged with the same actions, is in fact far too lenient.

The brutalising of a young girl in Delhi has rightly sparked national outrage. But while demanding tougher laws and better policing is crucial, fighting sexual violence poses complex challenges. Through a series of ground reports from Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and as far afield as London and New York, our team of NDTV reporters tackle key questions: from why some cities like Delhi are more unsafe than others, why getting justice for victims of sexual violence remains a nightmare, why much of the social apparatus to fight rape excludes men, and what is the pathology that led the men on board the bus to commit an act of such brutality.

There may be consensus that the Gujarat elections are a no-contest, but the jury is still out on whether to give credit to Modi's performance as chief minister or to his massive propaganda machine, which critics say has vastly inflated his limited success.

Just days after a White Paper on irrigation in Maharashtra gave him a clean chit in the Rs. 70,000-crore alleged scam, NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar was re-inducted in the state cabinet.

In Egypt, Tahrir Square is on the boil again, but the target of the protestors this time is not the military regime they helped topple, but the man they voted to power through democratic elections. President Mohammmed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, swept to power in elections this June, but his decision earlier this week to assign sweeping powers to himself has sparked violent unrest, with many seeing it as an attempt by the Brotherhood to monopolise political control. The events bear out the fears we had encountered while filming for Truth vs Hype in Egypt earlier this year, when the same Islamists who are in power today told us that they will adopt a moderate path, an argument which even then had left many unconvinced.

This week our investigation of last fortnight into thes ources of funding of Purti Group, the company of Nitin Gadkari, led to a major political crisis within the BJP. But support for him came from S Gurumurthy, the RSS and BJP supporter and chartered accountant, who went into Mr Gadkari's balance sheets and gave him a clean chit. But on what basis was this clean chit given? And does it answer the doubts about Purti Group's funding, or raise fresh ones?

The sustained investigations over the past few weeks into the financial dealings of Nitin Gadkari and Robert Vadra have raised enough questions of potential wrongdoing. But both sides have claimed there is no illegality committed. On TVH tonight, we place the existing evidence before a panel of experts to understand what are the grey areas in the business transactions of Mr Gadkari and Mr Vadra? Are there are potential violations of the law, major or minor? Or are these simply cases of conflict of interest where pinning accountability is not easy?

All of last week, BJP president Nitin Gadkari was the focused target of Arvind Kejriwal's anti-corruption expose. Political opponents seized the opportunity to level charges of their own. Today, Mr Gadkari was in an NDTV studio to counter all allegations and said they were "biased." There was, he said, no conflict of interest or quid pro quo in companies that he awarded contracts to as a minister, later investing in his businesses. Bring on any inquiry, "I am ready for a probe," said the BJP president to NDTV's Srinivasan Jain in an exclusive interview.

The Robert Vadra-DLF scandal has predictably degenerated into a political slugfest. But on TVH, as always, we break away from the politics, and use the charges made by Arvind Kejriwal as a starting point for our own independent investigation into the business dealings of Vadra. Was the dramatic rise in his fortunes above board, or as alleged, is it a result of cronyism, special favours, and political quid pro quo?

In Maharashtra, the political noise over the irrigation scam has taken away the focus from the actual scam itself: a state that has spent Rs 70,000 crores to build 4000 small and big dams, more than any in the country, but despite this dam building frenzy, has only managed to water 17% of its cultivated land, less than half the national average. Where has the money gone? From RTI documents, testimonies of whistleblowers and on ground reports, emerges a picture of how rules were bent and broken to favour a cartel of contractors and politicians, leaving the people of the state high and dry.