Framed with a purpose of rooting away corruption, the Rajasthan Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act, 1973 seems to be only a paper tiger. Cited as one of the weakest Act in its kind in the country, it makes the Lokayukta's office a mere investigative body that gives recommendations. "We are just an investigative body that gives recommendations. We cannot take any punitive action. "Even for our investigation, we donot have agency assigned...

Veteran activist Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death gathered steam on its second day as he pressed for a stronger anti-graft Lok Pal Bill through greater involvement of civil society - a protest he has dubbed as the second Satyagraha. Hazare wants equal representation from civil society in drafting the Lok Pal Bill. The debate on some of the proposals put forward by both Hazare and the government on the contentious bill that has been...

Advocating larger consultations on the Lokpal Bill, National Advisory Council (NAC) members Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander on Tuesday said there was need for wider and more geographically spread discussion than had been done before. The statement came on a day when social activist Anna Hazare went on fast in support of a stringent Lokpal Bill. The NAC working group on transparency, accountability and governance headed by Aruna Roy, which met...

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare Monday said he is starting a 'fast unto death' to press for the demand to involve civil society in formulation of the anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill. 'I will fast unto death, as announced earlier, as the prime minister has refused to form a joint committee with civil society members in it for the formulation of the Lokpal Bill. Even if I lose my life, I will...

Global business abhors uncertainty. The ministerial-level corruption in UPA-II has slowed FDI and FII inflows. The stock market, despite double-digit corporate profit and 8.6% GDP growth, reflects the anxiety of Indian and foreign investors. To take India's growth story forward in the 20th year of economic reforms, political reforms must catch up. Misgovernance won't do in a globalised, interconnected world. Two kinds of political corruption blight India: episodical and ongoing. Episodical...