Left, Right & Centre

Just over two weeks ago, on December 3, inspector Subodh Singh was killed by a mob in UP's Bulandshar. Some 400 people rampaged through a village after 25 cow carcasses were found in a nearby jungle. Inspector Subodh Singh died of gunshot wounds when he went there to control the violence. The main accused, Yogesh Raj, a local Bajrang Dal leader, is still missing but he has put out videos proclaiming his innocence. The other main accused is Shikhar Agrawal, President of BJP's Yuva Morcha in Bulandshahr. He's also made videos, but the police just can't seem to find them. For the police he priority was clear - from day one they said they needed to catch the cow killers, and they arrested four people. But now they say those four people were innocent and three fresh arrests have been made. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said his government should be praised and he called this a political conspiracy after first calling the incident an accident.

Why are opposition parties wary of projecting Rahul Gandhi as their PM candidate?

NDA ally Chirag Paswan says the BJP went overboard on the Ram Mandir issue. "It is the BJP's agenda, not the NDA's," he says.

In what came as very good news for the central government and the BJP, the Supreme Court today said there was no proof of any wrongdoing in Rafale deal. The Congress and other opposition parties allege that the Modi government scrapped a deal for 126 Rafale jets, a deal that had been negotiated by the Congress-led UPA earlier and they then entered into an expensive new contract just to help Anil Ambani's defence company bag an offset partnership with the jet manufacturer Dassault.

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia claimed that he has no regrets about not being appointed as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. In his first interview after the decision on MP Chief Minister, Mr Scindia said that he would always go by the party high command's decision. He however, refused to divulge if he was offered the deputy chief minister's role.

A UK court orders the extradition of Vijay Mally It is a huge shot in the arm for India but he can appeal in a lengthy process. Will Mallya actually face justice in India?

RBI governor Urjit Patel's has resigned citing personal reasons amid a major rift with the government. Has the centre hurt the institution of the RBI?

In a massive rally attended by thousands of people belonging to various right wing groups, there has been a renewed demand that the government bring in executive order to fast-track the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya. This demand was first made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and reiterated by other leaders. The rally, organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and attended by groups including the RSS, said it was time for those in power to fulfill their promises. The Opposition insists that the Parliament cannot be strong-armed like this. Tonight on 'Left Right and Centre' we ask, "When it comes to Ayodhya, is faith above the law? Why is the RSS pushing the Modi government to bypass the judiciary?"

Lt General D S Hooda (Retired), who was the Northern Army Commander in September 2016 when Indian troops carried out the surgical strikes on terror launch pads along the Line of Control, said the "overhype" of the strikes did not help and "it is not good" when "military operations get politicised". He was speaking at a Military literature festival when he made those comments. The Chief of Army General Bipin Rawat said that it was his individual opinion. Citing Lt Gen Hooda's comments, Congress President Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Modi, saying the BJP used the military operation to gain political capital.

Exit polls for five states in elections, billed as the semi-final before next year's general elections, predict a worrying outcome for the BJP in three heartland states, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. An aggregate of exit polls shows the BJP's winning streak is set to end in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, both heading for hung verdict. The Congress is tipped to win a clear majority in Rajasthan. The party is likely to lose Mizoram and K Chandrashekar Rao will retain Telangana, the exit polls say.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath meets the Prime Minister as controversy rages over his handling of the Bulandshahr violence and the murder of police inspector Subodh Singh. The chief minister doesn't even have the time to meet the family at their home, they are summoned to his residence instead. Three days after his murder, for Yogi Adityanath, the priority isn't to find Subodh Singh's killers, it is squarely focused on cow slaughter. So is Yogi Adityanath an asset or an embarrassment for the BJP?

Sara Ali Khan joins us as her debut film, Kedarnath, is all set for release. Today it was the Bombay High Court's turn to dismiss a plea which wanted the release postponed. Several Hindu groups say the film, with a Hindu-Muslim love story, promotes 'Love Jihad'.

Savitri Bai Phule, a BJP lawmaker from UP, dramatically quits the party, accusing the BJP of dividing society and not doing enough for SC/STs. She also launched a direct attack on the prime minister.

As India gets Christian Michel, the alleged middleman for a VVIP chopper deal, the Prime Minister takes credit and goes after Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. Is the timing a coincidence? Will this help the BJP in election season on the issue of corruption or will Rafale sting?

The UP Chief Minister seems more worried about cow slaughter than the life of a policeman in his state. Yogi Adityanath has not uttered a word on inspector Subodh Singh, who was murdered by a mob in Bulandshahr. Have we normalised hate and violence?