After Beer Biceps Case, Could Broadcast Bill Be Pushed Through the Backdoor? | Amit Varma
The Wire Talks21 Feb 2025

After Beer Biceps Case, Could Broadcast Bill Be Pushed Through the Backdoor? | Amit Varma

The crass statements made by YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, who goes by the name of Beer Biceps, have caused outrage among the general public. The police too is after him and the Supreme Court, while giving him some relief, has made strong statements against him. But does the state have any business to get after him?

Amit Varma, a veteran podcaster who also runs a YouTube show, thinks not. Describing himself as a ‘free speech absolutist', Verma says unless there is direct incitement to violence, no one should be prevented from saying what they want to.

“The principle of free speech should matter. But Article 19 (2) of the Constitution talks about decency and morality – who interprets them?” he asks, in a podcast interview with Sidharth Bhatia. He says he is not as worried about politicians or the courts as much as society. “As Ambedkar said, a liberal Constitution was imposed over an illiberal society.”

He says top government ministers like Dr S. Jaishankar, Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal were happy to talk to him because “he fawned all over them” rather than ask tough questions. “But it was a question of use and dump,” he says.

There is a lot of more obscene and violence-inciting content online, but no one bothers about that. “But now if the Broadcast Bill comes there won’t be much opposition to that. This Bill will be a disaster.”

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Episoder(57)

An India-Pakistan cricket match today is like fisticuffs rather than a game

An India-Pakistan cricket match today is like fisticuffs rather than a game

Recently Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar were among those who signed a letter along with 18 other captains to the Pakistani prime minister, appealing for more humane treatment to Imran ...

11 Sep 45min

The Mecca Pact Could Tempt Pakistan Towards More Adventurism Against India.

The Mecca Pact Could Tempt Pakistan Towards More Adventurism Against India.

Three Muslim-majority countries — Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan have come together and signed a mutual defence agreement — popularly called the “Mecca Pact“. What are the implications?“The primar...

4 Sep 38min

There is Fear in the BJP and RSS and They Don’t Know How to Manage the Situation

There is Fear in the BJP and RSS and They Don’t Know How to Manage the Situation

After the Jantar Mantar protests, Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat tried to reach out to Gen Z. But these have not been successful because “Gen Z knows that the RSS is part of the problem,” s...

21 Aug 40min

Doing away with Article 370 Has Hurt India’s Secular Foundation

Doing away with Article 370 Has Hurt India’s Secular Foundation

Seven years ago Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was read down and done away with and the region was converted to two Union Territory-J & K and Ladakh. The BJP had then said that this would fully inte...

14 Aug 41min

The Cockroaches’ Protest Has Been one of the Most Positive Developments in India for Some Time.

The Cockroaches’ Protest Has Been one of the Most Positive Developments in India for Some Time.

“The youth movement consisted of many who were supporters of this government and that is significant”, says Tariq Ali, the icon of protest movements in the 1960s and after.“This is not a movement orch...

5 Aug 1h 5min

If Satluj had been shown in the theatres two years ago, it would have come and gone without controversy

If Satluj had been shown in the theatres two years ago, it would have come and gone without controversy

The sudden takedown of the film Satluj from an OTT platform within 48 hours of release sparked a lot of discussion. The film was made four years ago and the censors had asked for 127 cuts which the di...

31 Jul 46min

The Govt’s Reaction to the Students Has Been Strong But They Do Not have the Guts to go Beyond This

The Govt’s Reaction to the Students Has Been Strong But They Do Not have the Guts to go Beyond This

Actor and activist Shabana Azmi was among those who joined the protestors at Jantar Mantar and says she saw “hope and anger” among them. “I and Javed saab (Javed Akhtar) wrote a letter directly to the...

24 Jul 35min

The Iranians Did Not Express Any Disappointment to us with India’s Positions. They were Very Positive.

The Iranians Did Not Express Any Disappointment to us with India’s Positions. They were Very Positive.

Congress leader Salman Khurshid, was among those who attended the funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran in early July. He was invited personally and was also representing the Congress party.“I saw a...

17 Jul 31min

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