NGOs differ on Jan Lokpal, pick on Team Anna’s shortcomings Conflict Amongst NGOs?     * Great response to Anna seen as success of civil society     * NGOs agree on wiping off corruption in government, not on solutions     * They celebrate the middle class finding voice; but mourn lack of reach among villagers     * Divergence in views seen as healthy for debate; onus on govt to take final call *** First the good news:...

Over the last few days, as a desperate government tried to tide over the Lokpal Bill crisis, it received over half-a-dozen variants of the draft legislation. On Saturday, both Houses of Parliament took up the subject and though the debate was mostly confined to the Jan Lokpal Bill, it made the political point that while an effective law should be devised to tackle corruption, Parliament’s supremacy must be maintained. The...

-The Hindu   It may not be binding on the Standing Committee: experts The ‘Sense of the House' resolution adopted by Parliament on the three key issues raised by social activist Anna Hazare on the Jan Lokpal Bill may not be binding on the Standing Committee, considering the draft but it will have persuasive and even moral value, say legal experts. The resolution moved by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee says: “This House agrees...

A day after Parliament passed a resolution conveying the “sense of the House” on the Lokpal Bill, the Parliamentary Standing Committee which is examining the Bill said today that it has a “challenging task” ahead. Asked what the Parliament’s resolution meant for the Lokpal Bill, which is under consideration of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, and Law & Justice, its chairman, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, told The Indian Express:...

Anna Hazare’s Ramlila brinkmanship flamed deep into another night despite the UPA’s many accommodations and in defiance of mounting civil society and intelligentsia opinion that the government had committed to enough on the Lokpal legislation for him to break his fast. Hazare and his core team of Arvind Kejriwal. Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi remained unmoved by public and bipartisan commitment from the highest quarters that key features of their Jan...