Left, Right & Centre

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's controversial remark today triggered a political storm. Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray launched a blistering attack accusing him of "dividing" Hindus, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde distanced himself.

 

A massive mountain of cash, gold and forex was recovered from Arpita Mukherjee's homes - the aide of Partha Chatterjee who, until he was sacked from all party posts today, was one of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's most senior leaders. While the Trinamool tries to distance themselves from Chatterjee and allege selective targeting by the ED, many may say that the Chief Minister's image as a national leader has been sullied. On Left, Right & Centre tonight, we debate if Trinamool's efforts to distance themselves from Partha Chatterjee are enough to save Mamata Banerjee's reputation.

In a huge setback to many in the opposition, the Supreme Court upheld almost all the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in proceeds of crime, search and seizure, power of arrest, attachment of properties, and bail, which were all challenged in court. Tonight, on Left, Right & Centre - given the massive rise in the number of Enforcement Directorate cases under the PMLA and the very low rate of conviction, we ask - has the ED become a tool of political vendetta?

Amid worries over four monkeypox cases in India, vaccine-maker Adar Poonawalla said today that the Serum Institute of India is spending its own funds to import a few million doses of a Danish smallpox vaccine which can be used to treat cases if there is a larger breakout of the infection in India. The initial consignment of the small pox vaccine, manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, could be here in a few months once a contract is signed.

India has a new President, Droupadi Murmu - a tribal leader with a proven track record as a teacher, MLA, Minister and Governor. But is her nomination largely symbolic, and have any of our political parties done enough to further tribal rights?

Delhi today reported its first monkeypox case as a 31-year-old man with no foreign travel history was diagnosed with the disease. This is the fourth monkeypox case reported in India with the previous three cases being reported from Kerala. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency - the highest alarm it can sound. India's finest virologists, including Dr Gagandeep Kang, join us as we look at the threat posed by monkeypox.

In a week, Sonia Gandhi was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate, a Trinamool Minister was arrested by the agency and possibly now a CBI probe against the AAP in Delhi. Are central agencies being used to target opposition leaders?

Droupadi Murmu, the NDA's presidential candidate is India's new President after decisively defeating her rival, the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. This is regarded as a victory at many levels: symbolic, political, a victory for women and for the tribal community. She was the first woman college graduate from her village, and has been a strong leader in the past as MLA, minister and Governor. However, what is clear in these elections is that there was cross-voting in her favour -  another example of a complete lack of unity among the opposition. It was also a political masterstroke of the BJP, which has been accused of not doing enough for tribal rights.

Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court after his arrest last month over what the police said was a "highly provocative tweet", walked out of Delhi's Tihar Jail at 9 pm today.

New satellite images accessed by NDTV indicate massive Chinese construction activity within Bhutanese territory near the Doklam plateau where Indian and Chinese forces faced off in 2017. This is part of a massive Chinese landgrab which could pose a direct threat to Indian defences in Sikkim.(Courtesy: Satellite Images @2022 Maxar Technologies)