Left, Right & Centre

The Supreme Court has ordered that all FIRs against the suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma be clubbed together and investigated in Delhi - and that she is free to approach the High Court to quash the charges against her.  Mohammed Zubair, who was earlier arrested and then freed, also has the same right. Tonight on Left, Right & Centre, we ask if there is a parallel to be drawn in how the court has looked at both cases - and whether Nupur Sharma is still responsible for answering for the remarks she made against Prophet Mohammed almost three months ago.

Nitish Kumar has dumped the BJP for the second time in nine years, and has patched up with the RJD. He is set to be sworn in tomorrow as Chief Minister of the new Mahagathbandhan coalition with Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader, as his deputy. The swearing-in is tomorrow at 2 pm. Tonight on Left, Right & Centre, we ask - is the Mahagathbandhan 2.0 a setback for the BJP's Operation Kamal?

For the first time since they formed the Bihar government four years ago, the alliance between Nitish Kumar and the BJP has breached the danger mark. The JDU will make a crucial decision tomorrow where they may decide to leave the BJP, and eventually join the RJD, Congress and Left to form the government in Bihar. If this were to happen, this would be a reverse Op-Lotus in Bihar. But why is Nitish Kumar doing this? Sources say that he feels there is a conspiracy - that the BJP is set to break his party in the same way as they broke the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Tonight on Left, Right & Centre, we debate where this leaves Nitish Kumar.

Two satellites that were onboard the first flight of a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket got placed in an unstable orbit and are no longer usable, the space agency said, citing that the overall mission objectives of today's launch were not met.

The Supreme Court ruling on Prevention of Money Laundering Act or PMLA and the role of the Enforcement Directorate has strengthened the hands of the government to engage in "political vendetta of the worst kind", says a joint statement by the opposition. However, though the Supreme Court has ruled, the consequences of the verdict remain to be seen. On Left, Right & Centre, we ask: has the ED become a tool to settle political scores?

High drama in the national capital today as the office of the Young India Limited - the company the Congress party had set up to fund its National Herald newspaper - was sealed by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case. The road leading to Congress headquarters was also sealed, and forces deployed outside Sonia Gandhi's home next door. While the deployment was lifted a short while later, the Congress reacted strongly, accusing the ED of treating their leaders like 'terrorists'. Tonight on Left, Right & Centre we discuss the role of the ED - and whether this is legitimate investigation or mere political vendetta.

US Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei today despite intense pressure from Beijing. China has upped the ante, threatening a military response with what they call 'military exercises' - and have publicly stated that the USA and Taiwanese separatists will be responsible for an outcome, if any. Tonight, on Left, Right and Centre, we decode a fairly tense situation that will unfold over the next couple of days.

Sanjay Raut, one of Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray's closest confidants, is now in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate. He was arrested under what the ED says is a Rs 1,000 crore chawl redevelopment scam. While Sanjay Raut cries political vendetta, his freedom has been taken away, and the Supreme Court has made clear that the ED's role in investigation still stands. On Left, Right & Centre, we ask - the ED's conviction rate is 2.5%, but is its harassment rate at a 100%?

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was detained by the Enforcement Directorate after he skipped summons twice to appear for questioning in an alleged land scam case. The probe agency officials searched his home for most part of the day before he was detained. Sena's Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant has said that the whole drama around Sanjay Raut has been orchestrated by the BJP to distract from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's comments that Mumbai would be nothing if Gujaratis and Marwaris leave, which Sawant claimed has led to anger among the Marathis.

Has Operation Kamal, the alleged BJP strategy to bribe legislators to take over states where they are not in power, now been extended to Jharkhand? It depends on who you ask. The Congress today said that there was clear cut evidence that the BJP was willing to pay off their leaders and that 3 of their own MLAs were conduits to make this happen. These 3 MLAs, who have now been suspended, have been arrested in Bengal where the CID has launched an investigation after 'huge amounts' of money was found in their vehicle. Another Congress MLA in Jharkhand, Anup Singh, has released a letter where he says that he too was approached. The BJP, for its part, says that the Congress MLAs who have been arrested in Bengal are corrupt and they have nothing to do with them. We on Left, Right and Centre ask, is this Congress Corruption or BJP's Op Lotus in Jharkhand?