Left, Right & Centre

Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy commander sentenced to death in Pakistan on espionage charges, was allowed to meet his wife and mother through a glass partition for a little over 40 mins today in Islamabad. Pakistan has touted this as a humanitarian gesture on the birth anniversary of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. But Pakistan didn't stop at letting the meeting happen. The event was turned into a full-fledged media circus with the release of a new video where Mr Jadhav is made to parrot lines about how he was caught and where he thanks his captors. Mr Jadhav has been sentenced to death in Pakistan after a three-month military trial which India says was a fraud. New Delhi has been denied consular access to Mr Jadhav despite more than 20 official requests.

More than 100 countries including India defied US President Donald Trump on Thursday and voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favour. A total of 128 countries backed the resolution, nine voted against and 35 abstained. Trump's threat appeared to have some impact, with more countries abstaining and rejecting the resolution than usually associated with Palestinian-related resolutions. India's position has been applauded by most specially after that recent cautious statement when Donald Trump announced his Jerusalem plans.

It was the case that many feel led to the beginning of the end for the UPA government but today the court has said that "2G scam" wasn't even a scam while acquitting all the accused like A Raja and Kanimozhi. It said the accusations were a well-choreographed plot based on rumours and wrong perceptions. We ask what is the collateral damage of this 2G case? And more importantly, was there a scam at all?.

The juvenile arrested for the murder of his classmate at the Ryan School in Gurgaon will be tried as an adult. Is that a good idea?

From attacks on Muslims to threats against Christmas, are we becoming no country for minorities? Why is the government not speaking up?

On the eve of a crucial bypoll for Jayalalithaa's RK Nagar seat, a video of her in hospital is released by the TTV Dhinakaran faction of the AIADMK, hoping it brings some political luck. Is this ethical? Will it settle the dust on all the conspiracy theories?

As the results in Gujarat throw up a very narrow win for the BJP and a better than expected performance for the Congress, will there finally be a real contest in the 2019 elections? Can the opposition get its act together or is PM Narendra Modi going to hold on.

First priests were attacked while singing carols, now Hindu right wing groups warn schools in Aligarh in UP not to celebrate Christmas. Why are they being allowed to get away with it?

A bill that proposes to make the "triple talaq" a criminal offence has been cleared by the union cabinet and the government hopes to get parliament clearance for it during the short winter session that began today. In August, the Supreme Court said in a landmark ruling that the practice of Muslim men uttering "talaq" three times for an instant divorce is unconstitutional. Judges agreed with Muslim women that "triple talaq", often delivered by their husbands over Skype or WhatsApp, violates their right to equality and leaves them destitute. Despite the court's order, however, "triple talaq" still continues to be practiced, the government has said. The proposed bill, called the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, is a "priority agenda" for the government, people familiar with the matter said. Home Minister Rajnath Singh led a group of ministers to draft the bill.

The voting in Gujarat is finally over and we will know on Monday who has finally won. As far as the exit polls are concerned they by and large predict the same thing - a victory for the BJP in Gujarat and a huge sweep in Himachal Pradesh. It was a day also marked by lot of political drama with the Congress protesting at the Election Commission accusing the poll panel as biased, a charge with the other opposition parties also echoed.