Left, Right & Centre

As the political controversy over Facebook data leak snowballs, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has hit out at the BJP and partner JDU. Mr Yadav said that both BJP and JDU are answerable to the country for their links with the firm at the heart of a global scandal of infringing on people's privacy and influencing polls.

The countdown to crucial state elections have already begun starting with Karnataka in May and then the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. A year ago, after the BJP's massive victory in UP, many said the Modi-Shah duo was invincible. But so much has changed since then. Today, the BJP may have conquered new areas like Tripura but its losses in key bypolls including in UP has left the 2019 question open. The allies are more aggressive and the opposition more assertive. But does the opposition have what it takes to take on the BJP? Can the Congress under Rahul Gandhi get its act together? Is Prime Minister Narendra Modi the frontrunner next year? Or are the many promises he made catching up with him? Former union minister in the Vajpayee government and former editor and economist Arun Shourie shares his take.

How the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has begun the process of withdrawing as many as 131 riot cases related to the 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar which include 13 cases of murder. This comes after a demand by BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan who along with MLA Umesh Malik is facing cases of his own. Is this a brazen attempt to let the rioters go scot-free? Will the victims ever get justice?

A JNU professor is accused of sexual harassment by eight students but is out on bail within minutes. He still holds important posts in the University which won't suspend him. The young women who spoke out join us to tell us their harrowing story as we ask whether india is not serious about tackling sexual harassment.

It is a story that has had huge international implications and now it has hit a raw nerve right here in India. Facebook and a data analytics company called Cambridge Analytica are under fire after it turned out that Cambridge Analytica took the data of 50 million Facebook users without their consent and then used it to influence the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum. Companies like these look at your social media profile, your friend lists, your perosnal information, which posts you've liked and then they use social media to influence your choices. A Channel 4 documentary in the UK also shows the head of Cmabrdige Analytica bragging about how they can launch smear campaigns for their clients to discredit their poltiical rivals by hiring prostitutes or offering bribes. However, in India, the story took a dramatic turn today as it turned out that Cambridge Analyica has an India arm which says it has worked for the Congress the BJP and the JDU.

When the finance bill was passed in the Lok Sabha without debate last week, there was so much uproar that such an important bill was not discussed that one almost missed this crucial detail. Among the laws that were passed that day was a bill that will exempt political parties from scrutiny of funds they have received from abroad since 1976. This controversial bill was cleared by an amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 2010 that bans overseas corporations from funding parties. The centre had in 2016 amended the FCRA to make it easier for parties to accept foreign funds. Now, it has amended it further so that foreign funding of parties isn't open to scrutiny for the last 42 years. The retrospective amendment will help the BJP and the Congress escape the fallout of a 2014 Delhi high court judgment that held both guilty of violating the FCRA.

For the families of 39 Indians, their worst nightmares came true today when External Affiars Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed in parliament on Tuesday that ISIS had killed these Indians - all of them labourers working at a site in Mosul in Iraq. Ms Swaraj said DNA tests had confirmed bodies found were of the Indians. Some bodies had long hair and kadas and most of those killed were from Punjab, The prime minister also tweeted his condolences saying the government had left no stone unturned. Ms Swaraj talked of VK Singh sleeping on the floor in a dilapidated house in Iraq in his many visits to try and find them. The opposition, however, asked why the government had raised hopes of families earlier and potentially misled people.

Just ahead of the state elections, the Congress in Karnataka plays the "religion" card with the cabinet recommending the recognition of Lingayats as a separate religion. This is a hugely poltically significant move by Chief Minister Siddaramiah. Lingayats form 17% of the vote bank in the state and many support the BJP. This is a move that could divide the vote and the ball is now in the centre's court. Will the religion card work for the Congress in these elections?

For the second day today, the Lok Sabha did not take up the two no-confidence motions against the government put forward by the TDP and the YSR Congress. The Speaker said she wanted to but the shouting in the well of house by the TRS and the AIADMK led to the Lok Sabha's adjournment till tomorrow. Now, its worth noting here that the AIADMK and the TRS are both parties that have taken a neutral stand on the no-confidence motion. And they are the ones stalling parliament. So what exactly is going on here? The government says its ready for a debate. Yet the speaker, who allowed the finance bill or the budget to be passed in the noise without any debate last week now wants order in the House for a no confidence motion first. Is the BJP actually running away from a debate on the floor of the House on its performance? Or does the problem lie with the opposition which isn't able to unite properly?

In his concluding speech at the Congress plenary, Congress President Rahul Gandhi delivered virtually an election manifesto, attacking the BJP, but also significantly reaching out to Congress workers and conceding that some changes were needed in the party. The BJP hit back, measure for measure, calling his speech the "rhetoric of a loser". We discuss the implications of Rahul Gandhi's speech for his party, and what it means for the BJP.