Left, Right & Centre

The menace of paper leaks has been plaguing the country from time to time - where in exams for recruitment to various government positions, be it police, teacher, clerical are being cancelled. The recent example has been the cancellation of the UP Police constable recruitment exam. Watch Left Right & Centre.

 

The Centre has issued orders requiring microblogging site 'X' (formerly Twitter) to act against some accounts and posts with the Elon Musk-led organisation stressing that it disagrees with these actions and that the posts should not be withheld on grounds of freedom of expression.  Not complying would mean potential imprisonment, significant fines and penalties for X. Law and order versus Twitter censorship? Is it enough to say that Freedom of Speech is not absolute?

With farm protests showing no sign of letting up, Ramesh Chand of the Neeti Ayog and P Sainath, the Agriculture Expert speak on the solutions to the crisis. Watch Left Right and Centre.

Amid strained ties between India and the Maldives, a Chinese vessel has entered the waters of the island nation and docked in Male. The Xiang Yang Hong 03 is classified as a 'research' vessel which maps the floor of Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy has pointed out that mapping of the seabed can enable submarine operations in the geopolitically-significant Indian Ocean Region. Watch Left Right and Centre. 

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have struck a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government led by ex-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, a move that could effectively keep their arch-rival Imran Khan out of power after the controversial elections. On Left, Right & Centre, we take a deep dive into government formation in Pakistan.

A farmer has died at Haryana's Khanauri border, where protesting farmers clashed with the police this evening. Farmers' group AIKS (All-India Kisan Sabha) alleged he died during the police action, which the Haryana police have denied. The farmers have also suspended their protest march to Delhi for two days, though the sit-in protest will continue. Despite four rounds of talks with the government, there has been no progress.  What are the real issues this time ? We discuss on Left Right and Centre.

Coming down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government over the situation in Sandeshkhali, the Calcutta High Court today said local Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjahan "cannot be on the run" and the "state cannot support" him. As the Sandeshkhali showdown turns grimmer, the bigger question remains, 'Where is Sheikh Shahjahan?'

 

The Supreme Court made history today by declaring the Aam Aadmi Party's Kuldeep Kumar the winner of last month's Chandigarh mayoral election, ending weeks of controversy after Returning Officer Anil Masih was caught on camera invalidating and discarding eight votes in his favour.  The order - preceded by the counting of votes, including those erroneously rejected, in the courtroom rather than a counting centre - cancels the earlier result that saw the Bharatiya Janata Party's Manoj Sonkar elected Mayor. The returning officer for the elections faces contempt of court action ... He had been warned of prosecution if it was found that he lied to the court.

Amid a tense stand-off between the government and farmers, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha - an umbrella organisation of farmer unions not directly linked to those leading this round of protests - has rejected a five-year contract to buy three types of pulses, maize, and cotton at the old MSP.

A new study by the Christian Medical College Vellore has startling statistical data on the impact of long covid on Indians - it is much worse in India than in other parts of the world.