Left, Right & Centre

The worsening air quality is choking Delhi. The authorities have urged the public to resort to work from home and have requested some schools to shut down. Is that the sole solution? About 20 years ago, China's Beijing had a similar challenge and today it has managed to curb air pollution with certain policies. Are there more lessons for us to learn? Watch Left Right and Centre.

Sachin Pilot questions Prime Minister Narendra Modi's praise for Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as he throws his hat in the ring yet again for Rajasthan's top job.

The Prime Minister was in Morbi in Gujarat on Tuesday where more than 135 people, including more than 40 children between the ages of 2 and 18 were killed, when the colonial-era bridge that they were on collapsed. There was widespread criticism of the Gujarat government with many asking why the hospital where the PM visited injured victims had to be spruced up ahead of the visit of the VVIP. But more than anything else it's the intense human suffering that needs to be reported. And fixing the accountability. Is there a cover up underway with the police going after only small fry and letting off the big fish?

A day after the bridge collapse in Morbi in Gujarat in which over 130 people were killed, the full extent of the horror is becoming clear. There are still families out there looking for their near and dear ones. More than 100 are still missing. There are too many unanswered questions about this tragedy. Where does the buck stop?

Ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls, the state government has decided to set up a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code. The outgoing Cabinet has moved a proposal to constitute a committee along the lines of the one in Uttarakhand. This committee will be headed by a retired High Court judge and will evaluate all aspects of implementing the Uniform Civil Code in the state. Could this move help the BJP not just retain power but make it win big in a state it has been holding for 27 years?  Is this a political move ahead of election?

Is the BJP trying an "Operation Lotus" in Telangana? The allegations are raging since Wednesday night when the police claimed to have caught three people in the act of bribing four MLAs of the state's ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to switch to the BJP. Are the poaching allegations true or just political stunt?

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's latest bombshell - he wants new currency notes with the images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh along with Mahatma Gandhi. AAP has taken its appeal to Hindutva voters to the next level ahead of the Gujarat elections, but will this competitive Hindutva work on the ground?

Air pollution in north India should be a national health emergency. Because studies show that breathing this toxic air day after day is actually shortening our life span by several years. People who have never smoked a cigarette are getting lung cancer, children are facing respiratory problems on an overwhelming scale. The Delhi government is patting itself on the back saying air pollution post Diwali has not been as bad as last time, but the devil lies in details. When will pollution become a top political issue in India?

 

At an employment drive or a "Rozgar Mela" 75,000 appointment letters were distributed among government job aspirants. PM Modi called this a milesone and said that the Centre is also working on multiple fronts to create maximum job opportunities for youngsters. But the opposition points out that these jobs fill existing vacancies, no new jobs have not been announced.

Raising many eyebrows, the Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi on Friday announced that the people will not be fined for a week for violating traffic rules in the state. This triggered a barrage of criticism, not just from the people outside the state but also from the citizens of Gujarat.  This comes ahead of elections due by the end of the year, in which the BJP hopes to retain its decades of hold on the state.