Left, Right & Centre

An important and fresh set of announcements by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the state of the economy - her focus tonight was on liquidity and growth and her argument was simple: There is no fundamental problem associated with liquidity in the economy and in some sectors, demand remains strong. We analyse what she has said with experts.

No one perhaps seriously doubts that Pakistan and terrorism are synonymous. Now, in one of the most brazen displays of its link with Haafiz Saeed, the 26/11 mastermind, Islamabad has managed to get the United Nations Security Council to allow the terror mastermind access to his bank accounts - funds he apparently needs for the upkeep of his family.

Two children, one just 10, the other 12, are murdered in Madhya Pradesh. Their fault? They defecated out in the open. How could something like this happen and what about the entire rhetoric of India being almost defecation free.

The UP rape survivor is dragged out of her home and put behind bars for extortion. The man who is accused of raping her, Chinmayanand, a former Union Minister, is still recovering we are told in hospital. He is clearly not behind bars and there is still no custodial interrogation. Apparently, the BJP has chosen to distance itself from Chinmayanand. But when asked when this decision was taken, there is no answer and what about other BJP leaders at the centre? Why have they been silent when confronting this reality - a rape survivor is behind bars. The man who allegedly raped her is not.

There's a major terrorist threat to 30 cities, to airbases, to airports as more details come in of how terrorists are smuggling in weapons into the Punjab using drones from Pakistan. Why is this such a serious security threat and how is it different from the terror alerts that we get this time of the year ahead of the festive season, we discuss on the show.

Donald Trump offers mediation between India and Pak for a third time, speaks about the Prime Minister's aggressive' statements in Houston and has called Iran, not Pak, the epicentre of terror. Should India trust Donald Trump? This on a day when the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan made a bizarre admission - Pakistan trained both the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban on their soil.

The independence of the judiciary from the demands of the government is back in sharp focus with the Supreme Court making it clear that the interference of the government in the process of appointments doesn't augur well for the institution. The hearing was about the appointment of Justice Akil Kureishi. He was recommended as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, but the government didn't approve and the Supreme Court Collegium then decided to post him to Tripura instead but that decision too is pending with the government.

The Army Chief says that Pakistan has restarted the terror training camp in Balakot. He also says that India has all options before us in the event of a terror attack. This as news comes in of 500 odd terrorists in position either at terror launch pads or at terror training hubs. On the show tonight, the man who conducted the surgical strikes, Lt Gen DS Hooda, joins me as we debate Balakot being reactivated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump delivered quite a spectacle in Houston on Sunday where the two world leaders addressed 50,000 Indian-Americans at the massive 'Howdy, Modi!' event. Did PM Modi and Donald Trump have a broader message?

BJP eyes a second term in both Haryana and Maharashtra in the first election since PM Modi's government pushed through several key pieces of legislation in Parliament's Monsoon Session. The question is will these legislations prove to be influential with the voter or will the condition of the economy be a rallying point?