Congress expected to endorse government's stand on excluding PM from ambit of Bill Some party leaders prefer to include PM, given the strong public sentiment against corruption Government's original draft included Prime Minister Ahead of an all-party meeting on July 3 to debate the controversial lokpal bill, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's apex body, will meet on Friday to discuss what is euphemistically being described as the “the current political situation.”...

-The Hindu   The Left parties on Thursday took on the Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev-led civil society representatives for their comments that sought to undermine parliamentary democracy. “Absolutely outrageous comments by some of the civil society leaders are being heard.... questioning the right of the MLAs and MPs to represent the vast millions of Indians. This is nothing else but showing contempt for our parliamentary democracy and also seeking to undermine...

The United Progressive Alliance government may have shown a willingness to draft a new lokpal bill, but it is dragging its feet on a proposal to strengthen the public institution that has done so much to expose wrongdoings in public life: the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG). For the past two years, the CAG has been pushing the Finance Ministry — its nodal ministry — for crucial changes in the 1971 Audit...

-PTI   Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday said he was not afraid of death and dared the government to fire bullets in the event of his going on fast to press for a strong lokpal bill. “Anna is not afraid of death. They can fire bullets and not just use lathis to repress our agitation and the people of this country will decide whether India has a democratic rule or a...

-The Economic Times   The ninth and final session of the lokpal bill drafting committee dispersed with little meeting of minds between civil society representatives and their government counterparts. Forget the six points on which differences have been enumerated; the basic disagreement is on the essential nature of the proposed ombudsman. The civil society representatives seek to create a new body that is all-powerful, gets appointed with minimal participation by the...