Left, Right & Centre

With the Haryana Government mandating board exams for Classes 5 and 8, there are serious protests from parents and schools. Does a Class 5 child really need board exams?

Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar today quit the Congress, his party of over 40 years, saying, "there comes a time when you can't take any more". He also said he sees the Congress going downhill in the "foreseeable future". The Congress, he said, didn't seem to be reflecting the mood of the nation. NDTV speaks to Mr Kumar in an exclusive interview.

On a day when India issued an advisory to citizens in the Ukraine, there appear to be clear signs that Russia may be moving away from the edge of an invasion of Ukraine, with diplomatic efforts now back at the centre stage. The Ukrainian ambassador to India talks to NDTV on where he sees all this going.

There is no law that prohibits the use of headscarves in educational institutions, is what lawyers representing students who insist on wearing the hijab to educational institutes today argued in the Karnataka High Court. While the hearings continue, the key argument being made was that the hijab was mandatory as per the Quran, and that there is no authority which can say no to its use unless there is a law and order issue. Today though, there were several unfortunate scenes in the districts of Karnataka which have seen the hijab row. There were students who chose not to attend school if they were not allowed to wear the hijab. Elsewhere, there were videos of women having to remove their hijab under public glare before being allowed to enter schools and colleges and there was also a video of a little girl torn between what her father wanted - for her to keep wearing her hijab - and a school teacher who said rules were rules. These are all perspectives in what appears to have become a difficult debate. We just have one question, since education is fundamental, shouldn't everyone prioritise that and attend school even as we wait for the outcome of the court judgement?

A former CEO of the National Stock Exchange (which has a market capitalisation of nearly $4 trillion) allegedly let a faceless yogi make key, seemingly ludicrous decisions - as per an official SEBI report.

In the largest military buildup since the Cold war, nearly 150,000 Russian armed forces personnel are now deployed along the borders of the Ukraine, with many suggesting that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is just a matter of time. Russia disputes this and maintains that for now it has no plans for invading while Washington, it appears, is fairly certain that Moscow will make a move, perhaps in days. For President Putin, this is all about reclaiming the strategic space that Russia lost with the end of the Cold War while for the United States and its NATO allies, the prospect of an expansionist Russia would mark a dangerous return to a Cold War like situation. On Left Right and Centre, some of the finest analysts from around the world, at what is now, perhaps, the gravest international crisis.

The high-pitched electoral campaign reached a crescendo on the concluding day of electioneering today for single-phase polls in Goa and Uttarakhand, and for second phase of seven-phase Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh. But where are the 'Bijli, Sadak, Paani issues? Have problems of people been highjacked by personality and polarization politics?

A three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court began hearing the hijab case on Thursday. The hijab protests began last month at the Government Girls PU College in Karnataka's Udupi when six students alleged that they had been barred from classes for insisting on wearing the headscarf. The hearing will resume on Monday. Can religious symbols be banned from classrooms? We debate.

Tearing into Samajwadi Party and the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an exclusive interview with news agency ANI that dynastic politics is the "biggest enemy of democracy". The Prime Minister targeted Rahul Gandhi describing him as a "person who does not listen and does not sit in the House". The interview came on the eve of polling. On Left, Right and Centre, we discuss Prime Minister's comments and claims.

As the row over hijabs in Karnataka intensifies, with the situation in some areas getting violent, the Karnataka High Court has appealed for peace. On LRC, tonight we are asking, is religious polarisation destroying beti padhao?