Tonight on Left, Right & Centre:
Political war over Uttarakhand: Has it touched a new low?
BJP's Chandan Mitra defended Sushma Swaraj's point that all the rescue work in Uttarakhand had been done by the Army, the government had been missing in all the action. The Aam Aadmi Party's Shazia Ilmi agreed, saying the government was now only trying to collect brownie points. Bharat Bhushan said he saw nothing wrong in politicians visiting the site of the disaster and holding the government accountable. The Congress' Abhishek Singhvi refused to be drawn into the debate, claiming the entire issue was manufactured by the media.
Fury over election funding: Are the limits for poll expenses unrealistic?
The BJP's Chandan Mitra said candidates will always find ways to spend more, no matter what the limit. Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the limit should be increased but that alone is not the solution, what India needs are electoral reforms. Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi disagreed with the concept of state funding campaigns while Bharat Bhushan said it would not stop private funding. Association for Democratic Reforms founder-member Ajit Ranade feels the trick lies in picking a popular candidate, then there would be no need to spend a lot of money on campaigns.
