MUMBAI: It was anything but a polite panel discussion. By the time the dust settled at the Times Now Summit 2025 in New Delhi, the audience had witnessed more fireworks than a Diwali finale. What started as a debate quickly turned into a political mud-wrestling match, as AIMIM’s Waris Pathan and BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi squared off in a no-holds-barred clash of ideologies, history, and hot potatoes.

The brawl began with BJP MP Trivedi laying out his now-signature ‘chronology’ on the Aurangzeb controversy. According to him, the blame game begins not with the BJP but with Samajwadi Party’s Abu Azmi, followed by Congress’ Rashid Alvi and Imran Masood. “It was Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party who raked up the issue of Aurangzeb, followed by Rashid Alvi of the Congress Party and then Imran Masood,” Trivedi claimed, looking more historian than politician.

Pathan, never one to duck a punch, fired back with a stinging retort. “Everyone knows who has mastered and holds a PhD in polarisation—it’s the BJP. For the last 10 years, we have seen BJP-driven polarisation across the country. The party has completely lost focus on its priorities,” he said, accusing the ruling party of sowing division like it’s sowing season.

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The debate flared up further over the Waqf Amendment Bill. Pathan slammed the BJP for what he called a deliberate attack on minority rights. “What message do you want to send? What was the need to bring the Waqf Amendment Bill? We know BJP’s intention is to take over our land. The BJP wants to usurp our Waqf land just to polarise the situation. Why do they want to spread hatred”

Trivedi, unfazed, cited land statistics to back his party’s move. “The Waqf Board claimed 120 properties in Delhi, and the Congress handed them over by 2014. The move was necessary to protect government assets,” he argued.

While the political slugfest stole the spotlight, the Summit wasn’t all fire and fury. BSE MD & CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy joined virtually with a more optimistic pitch. “The theme of Keeping India Ahead aligns very well with India’s vision of Viksit Bharat, a developed nation by 2047, led by our PM Narendra Modi,” he said. He cited India’s $4.5 trillion economy and projected a leap to $30–35 trillion by 2047, potentially hitting $50 trillion.

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Minister of consumer affairs and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi, flexed the green credentials, revealing a Rs 20,000 crore investment push into renewables. “India is currently the third-largest producer of renewable energy globally,” he noted, casually.

Jal Shakti minister Chandrakant Raghunath Patil dived into water politics—literally. Speaking on rainwater management and pollution, he pointed fingers at agricultural chemicals like urea for polluting rivers. “If agricultural water is used specifically for agriculture, this problem can be addressed,” he said. He added that the government had launched a cleanup drive for six major rivers, including the Ganga.

The summit, backed by state partners such as Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Haryana, along with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and a raft of brand partners, served up a heady cocktail of policy, polemics, and personality clashes.

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And if day one was anything to go by, Times Now Summit 2025 might need a referee as much as a moderator.

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