Left, Right & Centre

From the massive Rs 3,000 crore statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel unveiled by the Prime Minister in Gujarat, to the RBI Governor Urijit Patel fighting to keep the autonomy and independence of the central bank intact. Tonight, we look at both these issues, on a day that Rahul Gandhi accused the government of betraying what Sardar Patel stood for, by destroying the institutions he helped build.

This is not the first time that a rift has happened between a regulator and the government, says former vice chairman of the Niti Aayog, Dr Arvind Panagariya. He says that media is blowing this issue out of proportion and one shouldn't speculate on this. Dr Panagariya also said that fundamentals of Indian economy are strong but problem of underemployment pursists and India needs better paying jobs.

Two policemen and a Doordarshan cameraman killed by Maoists in an attack in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada. Is the Maoist threat being underplayed? How much will this impact the upcoming polls?

After the CBI, now the RBI - another institution at war with the government. Is the autonomy of the central bank under threat?

Author and journalist Aatish Taseer is ready with his new book, 'The Twice Born - Life and Death on the Ganges', which deals with Aatish's own complex upbringing, his relationship with his motherland India and India itself - its culture, politics. Aatish's mother is journalist Tavleen Singh, his father, the late Pakistani politician Salmaan Taseer.

Could the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Temple be delayed till after the 2019 general election? Well, that possibility now remains high as the top court today postponed the hearings in the Ayodhya title suit to early next year. Does this now put pressure on the BJP to bring in an ordinance as the RSS chief had suggested just days earlier?

As US President Donald Trump declines India's invitation for Republic Day, should New Delhi see this as a snub?

A clash between the BJP and the Left has erupted in Kerala, as the state orders police action against thousands who blocked the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple. BJP President Amit Shah says he backs the protesters 100 per cent and will stand with them for protecting the traditions of the temple. At the same time, Arun Jaitley says the debate in India is similar to a global debate between constitutionalists versus devotees. Tonight, on Left, Right and Centre we ask, does our belief in the law of the land mean the rights of devotees to maintain Sabarimala's traditions is getting extinguished?

In a fiery speech in Kerala's Kannur, BJP chief Amit Shah swore his party would stand like a rock with Sabarimala devotees in their stuggle to preserve tradition, and keep out women between the age of 10 and 50 from the Ayappa shrine. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hit back saying Amit Shah's remarks were nothing short of an attack against the Supreme Court and the constitution.

Will the BJP's strategy of making the Sabarimala a key plank of its Mission Kerala pay off in the run up to 2019? Has Sabarimala become a tightrope walk for the Vijayan government caught between implementing the Supreme Court's order and a huge public backlash?

With the battle lines between the Left and the Right clearly drawn, will the Sabarimala impact determine the fate of Kerala in 2019?

Taking up Central Bureau of Investigation chief Alok Verma's case against the government for divesting him of his powers and sending him on forced leave, the Supreme Court today said a vigilance inquiry against him would be time-bound and monitored by an ex-judge. The supervision is a "one-time exception felt necessary in the peculiar facts of the case and should not be understood to be casting any reflection on any authority of the government," the court said. M Nageswar Rao, who was asked to stand in as interim CBI chief, cannot take any policy decision, said the judges. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi did not give any ruling on Mr Verma's deputy Rakesh Asthana, who has also challenged his forced leave.