Former telecom minister Arun Shourie on Sunday stirred a controversy by claiming in a TV interview that he was replaced by senior party leader Venkaiah Naidu in Parliament as the BJP's lead speaker in a debate on the 2009 Budget so that the party could take a more accommodating line on proposals that could favour industrialist Mukesh Ambani. Referring to tapes of a purported conversation between lobbyist Niira Radia and JD(U)...
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Marginalized communities cry for dignity by Himanshi Dhawan
India may well be on its way to becoming a superpower, but for millions of marginalized communities — transgenders, female sex workers, men having sex with men (MSM), intravenous drug users (IDUs) — the struggle to live a life with dignity and respect continues. These communities face an uphill battle for a government recognised identity card cutting access to nearly all welfare schemes. Representatives from 20 NGOs and community based...
More »Commonwealth Games: a citizen's memoir by Krishna Kumar
The opening and closing ceremonies received wide acclaim but left many citizens like me a bit terrified and confused. Now that the terms of inquiry into the conduct of the Commonwealth Games have been extended, let us hope that the process of probe will be more open than was decision-making for the CWG. Let us also hope that the review will cover the opening and closing ceremonies as well, both in...
More »Shortchanged by Manoj Mitta
For Sonia Gandhi, the change could not have been more dramatic. Just last year, her contribution in pushing for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was hailed as the single largest reason for the fresh mandate received by a government avowedly dedicated to the aam aadmi. Yet, last week, Gandhi, as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) was reduced to lodging a complaint with Prime Minister...
More »CWG revenue is 80 p.c. less than expected
OC's expenditure overshot its budget by Rs. 638 crore The OC has taken Rs. 2,307.82 crore in loan, well above the originally approved amount M.S. Gill admits that there were no earnings from advertisements as such The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) has fallen more than 80 per cent short of its revenue target, according to Union Sports Minister M.S. Gill. While the OC was expected to generate Rs. 1,708 crore, it only managed...
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