Left, Right & Centre

There has been an unprecedented crackdown on NGOs by the government and 30 of them have had their FCRA or foreign funding licences cancelled over the last five months citing what is called "public interests" by the Home Ministry. But is it just a coincidence that many of those whose licences have been revoked have been openly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP like Indira Jaising, a leading lawyer or Teesta Setalvad, and now Shabnam Hashmi who has extensively worked for the Gujarat riots victims, or is it that these NGOs have simply violated the law and not been transparent about their funds? We debate on Left, Right and Centre.

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi dramatically announced the end of the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on the night of November 8, there have been more than 50 notifications by the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India on the rules of withdrawing and depositing money. While the PM and the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said people didn't need to rush right away to banks to deposit old notes and they had time till the end of December, turns out, not quite. The government changed its mind once again. Today the Reserve Bank of India announced that people can deposit over Rs 5,000 rupees in the old notes only once and when they do they will have to explain to at least two bank officials why this could not be deposited earlier. Have the constantly changing rules helped or hurt ordinary people?

As treasury benches now disrupt proceedings, has Parliament hit a new low? As the government and the opposition accuse each other in various scams, everyone is running from the demonetisation debate. 20 days of parliament have been washed out and with the last day devoted to private members bills, this means the winter session is done and dusted. Have taxpayers been the biggest losers as MPs refuse to let parliament work? A day of zero business in parliament means an approximate loss of 18 crores.

As over 20 people are arrested in the 48 hours after it became mandatory to stand up during the national anthem in cinema halls, is this patriotism or vigilantism?

In a sensational charge, Rahul Gandhi says he has proof of the prime minister's personal corruption. The BJP has rubbished his claims. But as the politics of demonetisation takes centrestage, has the winter session of parliament become the casualty, with just two days to go?

Demonetisaiton or notes ban was supposed to be a massive blow to black cash hoarders but every day hoards of cash in new currency is turning up in nationwide raids. Are bank officials and middlemen part of the great Indian whitewash and what has been caught is only the tip of the iceberg?

It has been exactly one month since the Prime Minister surprised everyone with his announcement that the 500 and 1000-rupee notes were being banned. The effect has been enormous across sectors. A month later we are still dealing with a massive cash crunch and the RBI has revised India's growth for this fiscal downwards from 7.6 to 7.1 per cent. When the move was first announced it had plenty of popular support despite the problems and even now that may be the case. But with the PM's 50-day deadline fast approaching at the end of the month, is it still advantage PM Modi?

India's Reserve Bank today surprised many by not announcing a rate cut as expected to help the economy at a time when its already been badly hit by the cash crunch. So this means that home and car loan rates won't come down. And with the Revenue Secretary admitting that nearly all the banned notes will probably come back into the system, many are asking what the point was of the entire exercise, which has turned more into a currency swap, than a black money clean up.

From mega movie star to formidable politician. Amma, as they called her, was laid to rest at Chennai's Marina Beach today, buried next to her mentor MGR. Lakhs turned out to say goodbye to a leader whose legacy is complex. She was extremely popular for her welfare schemes that helped the poor, but was also authoritarian. She faced serious corruption charges, for which she went to jail twice. But for many, what stands out is how she made a mark in a world dominated by men.

This has been a particularly difficult year for our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The number of soldiers killed has already more than doubled from this time last year, and just yesterday, we saw another horrific security breach in Nagrota where seven soldiers, including two officers were killed. First there was the Pathankot airbase attack, then the attack on the Uri army camp, and now Nagrota. Is it time for us to ask some difficult questions about our own security apparatus? Why is it that terrorists are able to enter our defence establishments again and again and what can we do to plug the gaps?