-The Indian Express On a day when the UPA government’s renewed effort to attract bids from telecom companies for the ensuing auction of 1,800 Mhz and 900 Mhz spectrum drew a blank, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal said that “if the court were to take upon itself the responsibility of allocating spectrum in the public interest, in whichever manner it deems fit, it may serve us better”. With...

-The Telegraph The world lauds us as the largest democracy. Yet, how much of a democracy are we and where must we improve? Elections and their consequences: We have regular elections. They are supervised with increasing effectiveness as far as booth capturing, bogus voters and violence are concerned. The influence of money has not waned; if anything, it has increased. It is not as it used to be, for paying voters only....

-The Indian Express A register of interest for Lok Sabha MPs could help shore up the credibility of the legislature In addition to the assets and liabilities that they declare to the Speaker, members of the Lok Sabha may now have to furnish a declaration of their business and financial interests in a separate register. The move, suggested by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), has been recommended by the ethics committee...

-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...

-Outlook Former Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi and transparency activist Aruna Roy today moved the Supreme Court, seeking a review of its verdict on appointment of people from judiciary in information panels. They submitted that information commissions are not judicial tribunals and its members are not required to be judicially and legally trained. "The judgement has the potential of seriously impairing the RTI Act. The commissions are not judicial tribunals as they are not...