-The Times of India NEW DELHI: There was one aspect of the Lokpal bill Rahul Gandhi felt strongly about but finally decided to let go for now: Stronger accountability checks for members of the anti-corruption ombudsman. Having prodded his party to belatedly adopt the Lokpal bill, the Congress vice-president felt recent controversies involving the judiciary did raise questions about stricter standards that require closer attention. But tinkering with the Lokpal bill, already screened...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: After a 46-year wait, India is set to get a lokpal after the Lok Sabha on Wednesday took barely an hour to pass the landmark legislation to create a powerful anti-corruption ombudsman amid sustained disruptions by anti-Telangana MPs. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi introduced a note of urgency in the proceedings right at the start, crisply asking law minister Kapil Sibal to "keep it short" as he...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: While the Central Vigilance Commission's (CVC) role as the prime anti-corruption and vigilance agency against Group A civil servants and equivalent will continue; its overall workload could go up in the lokpal era. There are several noticeable similarities in both the Lokpal Bill and the Central Vigilance Commission Act in their role as anti-corruption agencies, but there are also discernible differences between the two. A false complaint...

-The Indian Express There is still no compelling rationale for the lokpal. It is either too much or too little Even as the Lokpal Bill began its journey through the Rajya Sabha, the two men who had crusaded most ardently for it expressed diametrically opposed views on it. Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader, called it a "jokepal", and said that the final version approved by the cabinet was so feeble that it could...

-IANS NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, which provides for creation of an anti-corruption ombudsman. The most prominent of the group of anti-graft bills on the anvil, the Lokpal Bill establishes a lokpal at the central level and asks states to establish lokayuktas in a year's time from the date of notification of the law. The format of the lokayukta will be left to the...