Left, Right & Centre

The Delhi High Court has denied P Chidambaram, the former Finance Minister, anticipatory bail in the INX Media case. The court said its "Preposterous to say prosecution of Mr Chidambaram is baseless, politically motivated and an act of vendetta." The court also said facts of the case reveal prima facie that the petitioner is the king pin in the case. This on a day when Ratul Puri, the nephew of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister was arrested in a corruption case and sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for six days.

Hours after Pakistan announced its decision to approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the Narendra Modi government's decision to end special status to Jammu and Kashmir, top diplomat Syed Akbaruddin today said that India was ready to fight its regional rival in any arena of its choice. "Every country is entitled to use every course available to them. We have different approaches too. If they would like to tackle us in different arenas, we will address it in that arena. This is an arena of their choice. They tried once, but they did not succeed," Mr Akbaruddin, who is India's permanent representative in the United Nations, told NDTV.

In an exclusive interview, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen speaks about dissent, discussion and democracy in the context of Kashmir. Among other things, he says that the argument that political leaders in Kashmir needed to be arrested and jailed to ensure security on the ground harks back to colonial times. This, he said, is exactly what the British used to do.

With Jammu and Kashmir's special status gone and signs of a return to normalcy, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has made it clear that the goal of integrating Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with India still remains. The implications of this are huge. It turns back the clock on the division of the state in 1947 but also points to a potentially violent future. Any move to reunite PoK will mean war. Was the Defence Ministers statement therefore a war cry that comes just a day after he said India would need to reconsider its doctrine of no nuclear first use?

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday hit out at Pakistan at a rally in Haryana, saying if talks were held between New Delhi and Islamabad, it would only be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He also said India will not initiate a dialogue with Pakistan as long as it supports terror on its soil.

An attempt by Pakistan to internationalise the Modi government's move to end the special status to Jammu and Kashmir has failed. The rare closed-door consultations on Kashmir by the UN Security Council ended without any outcome or statement from the powerful 15-nation body. At the end of the informal, closed door consultations, requested for by China the members stressed that it was a bilateral matter. Is Pakistan isolated? We discuss.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation spoke about a strong, integrated India. He also announced a massive reform in the defence sector, introducing the post of Chief of Defence Staff. He also talked about how incremental growth wouldn't be enough to fuel India's economic aspirations. Can he deliver on his promises? We discuss.

Six men, accused of beating dairy farmer Pehlu Khan to death, have been acquitted. The court said there was not enough evidence to convict them. Mr Khan, 55, was assaulted in Rajasthan by a mob of cow vigilantes. The attack was recorded on camera. He was transporting cattle that he had bought from a fair when he was attacked. He died two days later. Later, some accused admitted on camera to have beaten Mr Khan. Is this not an utter failure of our criminal justice system? We discuss.

Jammu and Kashmir politician Shah Faesal was on Wednesday arrested at the airport from where he intended to fly out of the country. Is this a necessary security measure or an anti-dissent move? How long will the mainstream political leaders remain in custody? We discuss. We also look at the broader story of Kashmir. Is Pakistan getting isolated with no international support?

As Jammu and Kashmir remains on the edge over last week's tectonic changes, there is immense pressure on security forces ahead of Independence Day on August 15. In Srinagar, the governor will take the salute. We take a look at the situation in Jammu and Kashmir through eyewitness accounts and photographs and discuss the road ahead.

The numbers are out and they are frightening. More than 3 lakh job cuts in the auto sector in India. Demand down massively - July sales down more than 30 per cent. The auto sector is critical for India's growth. Just where is the crisis and why?

Record rainfall and floods in some parts of the country have killed hundreds of people. Yet, some areas have seen less than average rain. Some statistics bring to light how these weather patterns are anything but normal. Is this going to be the new normal? Uneven rainfall patterns across the country has been rising.

Today was a big day for Jammu and Kashmir. Exactly a week ago, the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was remove and made into a Union Territory. It happened after an unprecedented security deployment on the ground. On Eid, the situation has been peaceful. However, concerns remain over the lockdown, with hundreds of political leaders under arrest.

Sonia Gandhi has returned as Congress president 20 months after making way for her son Rahul Gandhi in 2017. At a time when the party faces its biggest crisis yet, She returns as interim president, pulled out of near retirement two months after the Congress suffered a massive drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls under Rahul Gandhi's leadership. With large-scale defections in Telangana and Goa, 14 MLAs resigning in Karnataka and the party's most recognised faces in Maharashtra and Assam switching over to the BJP, can Sonia Gandhi's return stem the exodus of partymen and regroup the opposition? Or is this yet another admission that the party just cannot look beyond Parivar Raaj?

The Congress' top decision-making body--the Working Committee--is meeting for a second time today to take a call on who would succeed Rahul Gandhi as the party chief. Sonia Gandhi is at the meeting where the final decision will be taken. Today morning, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had excused themselves from the zonal body meetings, saying they cannot be part of the selection process. Rahul Gandhi had announced his decision to quit the party's top post in May after its disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha election. Tonight on Left right and Centre, we ask, can Congress shake off Gandhi fixation?