Left, Right & Centre

At least 21 cases of the Omicron variant have now been detected in India, with Rajasthan and Maharashtra reporting 9 and 8 cases of the new variant respectively. On this edition of Left, Right and Centre, experts who're directly involved in fighting the spread of Omicron in these two states join us to tell us about this latest strain of COVID-19.

Congress' Manish Tewari talks to NDTV's Vishnu Som about his new book, the Mumbai attacks, Chinese intrusions, Pulwama-Balakot attacks and the surgical strikes. The Congress MP is critical of the UPA government's response to 26/11, saying India should have reacted with conventional force and the restraint was not a sign of strength.

With the fourth case of the Omicron variant now being detected in India and over 700 cases being reported globally, we analyse what the spread of this new variant means for India and the world. In this edition of Left, Right and Centre, a special global town hall with some of the finest minds who discuss whether India needs to scale up genome sequencing and consider administering booster doses now.

Children, contagiousness, severity - what we know (and don't know) about the Omicron variant and its effects on children. We speak with Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Britain's Warwick University.

Two Covid cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Karnataka, the Health Ministry said Thursday, calling for calm amid growing concern over a strain that has triggered global alarm. We speak to top medical experts on what this means for India and how we should gear up for the possible spread of the new variant.

Congress' Manish Tewari talks to NDTV's Vishnu Som about his new book, the Mumbai attacks, Chinese intrusions, Pulwama-Balakot attacks and the surgical strikes. The Congress MP is critical of the UPA government's response to 26/11, saying India should have reacted with conventional force and the restraint was not a sign of strength.

On Left, Right and Centre, we discuss UP Deputy Minster's tweet in which he renews focus on Mathura Temple. However, the Opposition slams the decision calling it a communal move and a sign of defeat. Can temple talk help BJP save its west UP fortress?

Professor Devi Sridhar, Director of UK research body GlobalHealthGP, speaks to NDTV on how several vaccine makers are claiming that their shots are effective against the new variant without any data and the real data will be available when we test the vaccines against the virus.

"For the past three months, the ministry has been regularly monitoring the genomic sequence and the kind of variants that we are seeing. The moment the WHO alert came in about Omicron, they picked up these cases in a couple of days. They have been quite quick in taking samples and giving the report," Karnataka Covid Task Force Member Dr Vishal Rao tells NDTV. The Centre today said India's first two cases of Omicron have been detected in Karnataka.

Maharashtra needs to be more careful than other states regarding the new Covid variant Omicron as it was "hit first and hit the hardest" last time, state minister Aaditya Thackeray told NDTV today amid friction with the Centre over the guidelines at airports. The state has revised its guidelines, which the Centre wanted in sync with the national rules. But Mr Thackeray, who is also the son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, made it clear that Maharashtra's rules will still be different from the Centre's version as "People's safety is top priority".