-Outlook Lawyer Prashant Bhushan today accused the government of misleading people by selectively quoting the judgement on Presidential reference on 2G verdict, claiming it clearly spelt out that auctioning was the way to go when commercial purpose and profiteering was involved. He alleged that the government has gone on an "overdrive" after the Supreme Court's opinion on the 2G presidential reference, to project the judgement as a vindication of the government's policies. "They...

-The Times of India The government on Thursday seized upon Supreme Court's ruling that auctions are not mandatory for allocating natural resources as a validation of its stand against the comptroller and auditor general's (CAG) findings in the 2G spectrum and Coalgate cases. Talking to media after the verdict, telecom minister Kapil Sibal and law minister Salman Khurshid welcomed the judgment, suggesting it had vindicated the government's position. Sibal said all constitutional authorities...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court, while answering the presidential reference on the 2G judgment, took note of the coalgate scam that stalled Parliament and said whatever be the mode of allocation of natural resources, it can never be a handout for private players. Justice JS Khehar agreed with the majority opinion of the constitution bench on the reference that auction could not be termed as the only constitutionally permissible mode...

-The Hindustan Times The UPA government, staging a comeback through economic reforms after months of being on the back foot, got another boost after the Supreme Court said that auction was not the only method allowed in allocating natural resources. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has been rocked by criticism that it handed out telecom spectrum and coal fields at an alleged loss of Rs. 3.6 lakh crore to private players instead of...

-The Times of India The Planning Commission may drop reference to crony capitalism in the plan document after protests from some ministers who are of the view that any mention would be a tacit acknowledgment of the existence of the practice. Besides, it has suggested "transparent auction" of natural resources as the solution, something that the government is not willing to accept as the one-size-fits-all approach for all sectors. Apart from crony capitalism,...