-The Hindu Any political benefit the Congress hopes to reap in 2014 will come at the cost of reducing the effectiveness of social welfare schemes In getting its ministers to endorse the shift to cash transfers from the AICC office in New Delhi, the Congress has highlighted the political nature of the move. The party clearly expects cash transfers to play the same role for it in 2014 that the National Rural...

-The Hindu Cleansing political parties and elections of illegal money is the first step towards tackling the evil of graft Corruption is nothing but a reflection of the distribution of power within societies. The country is where it is because the political system is self-perpetrating and no party is accountable to anyone except a coterie of people that dominates all decisions. Unless the political system is accountable, going after individual cases of...

-The Indian Express Nearly 50 activists and organisations are coming together on a common platform to lobby for “issues of the people” with political parties ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. They include Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan’s (MKSS) Aruna Roy (a member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council); former NAC member Harsh Mander; Ekta Parishad’s P V Rajagopal, who recently led a march of tribals and others from MP to...

-The Business Standard No full stops for forcible acquisition, poor compensation Lawmakers have been tinkering with a new land acquisition regime for a cynically long number of years. However, there is no change at the ground level. The news that a displaced woman in Madhya Pradesh immolated herself last week, starting a Chita (funeral pyre) satyagraha, was buried below the fold in the last page of newspapers. Meanwhile, more and more gross...

-The Telegraph The four Left parties today iterated the need for a debate and vote in Parliament on FDI in multi-brand retail, but suggested they might not press beyond a point if the government refused a vote, stressing that Parliament needs to function. “A decision of this nature is the right of the executive. But any major decision affecting a vast number of people must reflect the opinion of Parliament. If not,...