Left, Right & Centre

The home ministry issues another advisory on lynchings. As the government faces the opposition's attack in parliament, ministers continue to make outrageous statements. Tonight, we look at the status of previous lynching cases and how they have fallen apart. Will there ever be justice for the victims?

Two more people have been arrested in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh taking the total number of arrests to nine. Tonight, her former husband, journalist and author Chidanand Rajghatta joins us on his new book on Gauri and her murder "Illiberal India" as we ask whether that is indeed what India has become.

Horrific details continue to emerge from the latest lynching in Rajasthan's Alwar. The police have admitted to lapses, saying that they did take over three hours to take the victim to hospital in what could have saved his life. Instead they took care of the cows first and even had tea while the hospital was just 20 minutes away. As a huge political storm breaks out over this latest murder, and there seems to be no end to mob violence in sight, we ask if India has lost its moral compass.

The Congress has formed a committee and the process of forming alliances ahead of the General Elections in 2019 has begun. This was the highlight of today's Congress Working Committee meet along with the party's endorsement of Rahul Gandhi has their Prime Ministerial candidate. The CWC is the highest level body of the Congress and this is the first time that Rahul Gandhi has headed it. The Congress Working Committee sports a relatively new look this time around with a mix of old and young leaders. Some senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh had been dropped from the Congress panel earlier.

A few days after the Supreme Court expressed concern over the increasing cases of mob killings across the country saying Mobocracy cannot take over, and asking the parliament to frame a law to deal with mob violence comes the news that a 28-year-old man, Rakbar Khan has been lynched on the suspicion of cow smuggling in Alwar in Rajasthan where last year another man, Pehlu Khan was beaten by cow vigilantes and died. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament that it's for the states to tackle lynching incidents and then referred to 1984 Anti-Sikh riots as the biggest case of lynching something that was echoed by another minster today who said as PM Narendra Modi's popularity increases more such incidents will come to light. Tonight on Left Right and Centre we ask, is politics pushing India into mob rule?

Government defers introduction of amendments to the right to information bill amid protests. Why has the new bill sparked so much controversy? Is the government uncomfortable with the surge in RTI applications?

Is the Opposition's no-confidence motion turning out to be Prime Minister Modi's show of strength? On Thursday, BJP President Amit Shah reached out to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and sources say the Sena is almost certain to support the government in the no trust vote. The TRS and AIADMK are also likely to support the government on Friday.

Why was a 78-year-old activist like Swami Agnivesh attacked so brutally in Jharkhand, allegedly by BJP youth workers? A day after the attack, the police are yet to make arrests while senior BJP leaders from the state are attacking Agnivesh instead, despite the Supreme Court's warning on lynching and mob violence. Will states really act on what the court has said?

A no-confidence motion by opposition parties against the government is submitted in the Lok Sabha and the debate will take place on Friday. So who has the edge as the government's performance is debated? The BJP or the opposition?