Left, Right & Centre

Over the last two months, as the country grapples with the effect of the notes ban, one of the things that has stood out has been the role of India's Reserve Bank. This has been an institution since 1934, whose independence and autonomy were said to be its hallmarks. And yet today, the RBI finds itself facing serious questions on its credibility. The government told us that the notes ban was announced by the Prime Minister after the RBI board took the decision. That is what union minister Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha. Now it emerges that the RBI has in a note to parliamentary panel told them they decided on demonetisation after the government advised them to do so.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has dismissed reports of an economic slowdown after the November 8 notes ban, citing robust tax figures. However some reports are worrying. A new study by the the All-India Manufacturers Association, country's largest organisation of manufacturers, suggests that demonetisation led to 35% job losses and a 50% dip in revenue in micro & small scale industries in the month after the note ban. Will the effects of cash crunch last longer than expected, or as the Finance Minister argued today, is the period of pain and inconvenience already getting over with economic activity being restored?

With the Election Commission announcing the poll dates for five states today, the union budget seems to have the bone of contention. The budget is to be announced three days before voting starts. A united opposition along with Shiv Sena asks for budget date to be postponed but the government refuses to budge. Will the budget before polls be advantage BJP?

As the Election Commission gets set to announce the dates for the Uttar Pradesh polls tomorrow, all eyes are on the young chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who has in his very public battle with his father emerged as a leader who has come into his own. Akhilesh Yadav tried again today to make up with Mulayam Singh, but so far it hasn't worked. Many, however, believe the outcome doesn't matter anyway because by standing up to his father and to the SP's old guard, Akhilesh Yadav has come out stronger. Has he emerged as the BJP's biggest rival in UP? We debate on Left, Right and Centre.

You can't seek votes in the name of religion or caste that was the Supreme Court's landmark judgement today which says that anyone who violates this will be disqualified if elected. The order comes just ahead of state elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. The biggest question is - how will this be implemented? And how exactly will this impact campaigning? Does this mean no more appeasement of Muslims as a vote bank and the end of Ram Mandir politics?

One day away from the 50-day deadline on the notes ban announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, the PM is going to address the nation on New Year's eve this Saturday where many hope some relief is announced to ease the pain that came with the cash crunch. Today the BJP fielded its top ministers to attack the opposition Congress even threatening legal action while the Congress has drawn up an extensive protest plan.

One of the biggest news events of 2017 will be Donald Trump taking charge as President of the US, on January 20. One of his key donors and the man who got Indian Americans excited about the Trump phenomenon is business tycoon Shalabh Kumar who heads the Republican Hindu Coalition in the US. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, he says we will see real action under Trump-Modi not just optics in the case of President Obama and PM Modi. He also adds President Trump knows and understands India like no other leader and there's nothing wrong in saying he loves Hindus.

We are just two days away from the government's deadline to deposit old 500 and 1000-rupee notes in our banks. The Prime Minister had said in his November 8th address that if for some reason people couldn't do that, they had time till March 31st to deposit the money at RBI counters. But today his government has cleared an ordinance that will make it a criminal offence to possess more than 10 old notes. Meanwhile, we still don't know if bank withdrawal limits will be eased after Friday. Though reports say banks simply don't have the cash and want the limits to continue indefinitely.

Since the 2014 general election, India has seen the rise of the right wing trolls. The army of people who go on a vicious attack against anyone perceived to be anti-BJP and anti-PM Modi in particular. A sensational new book 'I am a Troll' by journalist Swati Chaturvedi claims that this trolling is organised and blessed by the ruling party. A former member of the BJP's social media camp, who spoke at length to Ms Chaturvedi in the book, claims that instructions were issued to an army of social media volunteers to go after anyone critical of the government and even a hit list drawn up. Does the BJP have an army of trolls to target opponents? We discuss on Left, Right and Centre.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging pay offs by big groups like Sahara and Birla when he was Gujarat Chief Minister. But with the Congress' candidate for UP Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also figuring in the so-called briber takers list tweeted by the Congress party, the story has a new twist. Both the BJP and a furious Sheila Dikshit have denied the charges and rubbished the documents. As the Congress says it wants a fair probe into the allegations against everyone, even their own, will the BJP agree? Or is this a self-goal by Rahul Gandhi?

There have been 60 changes in rules in just over 40 days following demonetisation. Rules governing the exchange of old notes have been changed five times, rules governing withdrawal limits have been changed six times, those governing the use of old notes have been changed eight times. But it's the latest flip-flop by the RBI that has attracted maximum criticism - they said multiple deposits of over 5,000 rupees would attract questions and then did a turnaround after a massive outcry. The opposition is now alleging that the central bank has lost all semblance of being an autonomous institution. Is the attack on the RBI justified?

Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Mehsana in Gujarat brought up allegations that not only been available on the public domain but have already been questioned by the Supreme Court. Rahul Gandhi referred to documents that seem to allege PM Narendra Modi received kickbacks from Sahara Group when he was Gujarat Chief Minister - paid on nine different occasions, totalling over 40 crores and separately 12 crores from the Birla Group. The BJP has rubbished these allegations and said panic has set in for the Congress because the AgustaWestland scam has resurfaced. Is this indeed the earthquake that Rahul Gandhi had promised or a self-goal because the entries he talks about also has alleged references to leaders of his own party including Sheila Dikshit and Jayanthi Natarajan.

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.