People must do politics; elected representatives must work, says Actor Prakash Raj
Kalaburagi: Actor and activist Prakash Raj has said that in a democracy, politics must be done by the people, while elected representatives are meant to work and serve after winning elections.
Speaking at the launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Prakash Raj said that once representatives are elected, their only responsibility is service. “This is our tax, our country. Service is the only job of people’s representatives. They come to seek votes every five years; the people do not,” he said.
Releasing the newspaper’s special issue at the event, he asserted that the distinction between people and politicians must never be reversed. “This is our country. Citizens must continuously engage in politics, and politicians must continuously work. Never change this order. Politics belongs to the people,” he said.
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Quoting writer P. Lankesh, Prakash Raj said newspapers, media, artists, and citizens must act as a permanent opposition. “They must be the voice of the people without seeking the patronage of the ruling party. Only then can they work fearlessly,” he said. He stressed the need to clearly tell today’s society who must engage in politics.
Referring to regional imbalance, he said Karnataka has become Bengaluru-centric and confined largely to southern Karnataka. With Vartha Bharati entering the Kalyana Karnataka region, he said the newspaper must contribute to the region’s development by consistently reporting its issues with a strong voice.
Prakash Raj also spoke about the role of independent media, saying that anyone can be swept away in a flood, including dead fish, but to swim against the current requires life. “Independent media have that life. Ravish Kumar, The Wire, and Vartha Bharati have the courage to swim against the flood,” he said.
He warned that fear strengthens authoritarianism. “If we are not afraid, they will be afraid,” he said, alleging that institutions such as the police, Election Commission, courts, and media are being pressured, silenced, and manipulated for political benefit. Expressing concern over the denial of bail to Umar Khalid, he said there is a visible lack of conscience in institutions meant to deliver justice to the people.
Recalling the early years after Independence, Prakash Raj said there was once fear of the police but also faith in the judiciary. “There was confidence that injustice would be addressed in court. Today, that faith no longer exists,” he said. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are responsible for the present situation.
Using a metaphor, he said India is like a pond disturbed by a demon within it. “A lotus blooms on the surface, that is the BJP. We are fighting the lotus, but the real fight should be against the RSS, the root power beneath,” he said.
Drawing parallels with past global authoritarian regimes, he said leaders like Hitler and Mussolini headed political parties and could be defeated electorally. “The RSS is not a political party. Defeating the BJP alone is not enough. The roots must be uprooted,” he said, adding that despite changes in appearance, the ideological growth remains unchanged.
Prakash Raj also raised concerns over Hindi imposition, delimitation, and what he described as political oppression of southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh in the name of elections. He said people must recognise who is responsible for this oppression and understand the role of newspapers like Vartha Bharati in identifying and exposing it.
The event also marked the formal launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi.
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Union Minister Manjhi rejects viral clip alleging poll manipulation, opposition seeks probe
New Delhi : A video circulating on social media that allegedly shows Union Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi claiming to have influenced the outcome of a past Assembly election has sparked a political controversy in Bihar, prompting sharp reactions from the Opposition and denials from the ruling alliance.
The clip, said to be from a party function held on December 14 to felicitate HAM (S) workers after the 2025 Assembly elections, purportedly features Manjhi stating that his intervention helped his party’s Tekari candidate Anil Kumar secure victory in the 2020 polls despite trailing by over 2,600 votes. In the same video, he is allegedly heard saying that the candidate lost the 2025 election because he did not seek similar help this time. Manjhi is also alleged to have named an IAS officer who is currently posted in Tripura, as having assisted in the 2020 victory, decided by a margin of 2,630 votes. In 2025, the same candidate lost by 2,058 votes.
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Calling the video “tampered” and accusing his political rivals of attempting to malign his reputation, Manjhi has rejected the allegations. He said the clip was being circulated to damage what he described as “Brand Manjhi” and insisted that he had never spoken about manipulating election outcomes, as reported by The Indian Express. Asserting his social and political standing, Manjhi said attempts to defame him would fail and warned that those spreading such content would face consequences.
The Opposition has renewed the allegations of electoral malpractice. Bihar Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari said the clip amounted to an open admission of manipulation of election results and misuse of the bureaucracy and added that the party was considering approaching the Election Commission of India over the issue. Calling the purported statement of a Union Cabinet minister “extremely serious” and seeking a probe into the role of the IAS officer named in the video, Rashtriya Janata Dal national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta also demanded a high-level inquiry,
Claiming that Manjhi was only referring to the slow pace of vote counting in 2020, the Bihar Industry Minister and former BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal said he had seen the full, unedited version of the video and mentioned that this reference was about his candidate who was trailing until the final rounds before eventually winning.
Janata Dal (United) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the matter should be addressed by the HAM (S) leadership, cautioning the Opposition against making broad allegations without formal complaints and noted that merely raising questions would not suffice.
