-The Telegraph The BJP has slammed the Centre’s move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, alleging this would destroy self-employment, create monopolies, facilitate foreign takeover of farming units and impair local manufacturing. Sources in the BJP, which has a following among small and medium traders who own the most of the mom-and-pop “kirana” shops, warned that this section would start an agitation as the Centre’s decision amounted to the “Wal-Martisation” of India. The...

-The Hindu   The Bharatiya Janata Party is unambiguous in opposing the government move to throw open the retail sector to Foreign Direct Investment. The party believes that allowing foreign investment in multi-brand retail would adversely impact the retail sector, which is growing, and put the country's entire food chain system into the hands of foreign firms. At a news conference here, leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,...

-The Telegraph   Team Anna members today lobbied BJP leaders over their Jan Lokpal Bill but failed to get a commitment. Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley told the team that their party wasn’t opposed to the government introducing separate bills to tackle corruption in the lower bureaucracy and judiciary. The team wants these brought under the ombudsman. Hazare’s associates were also told that the BJP favoured a strong Lokpal but not a draconian one,...

-The Telegraph   The government has listed the Lokpal bill for discussion and passage during the winter session of Parliament but has failed to line up the land acquisition bill though an unscheduled introduction is not ruled out. Both bills had gone to House standing committees around the same time after the monsoon session of Parliament, and both hold electoral significance for the Congress. Failure to get the Lokpal bill passed in the November...

-PTI   140 Rajya Sabha members have declared that they do not have any pecuniary interests as directors of companies, controlling shares, regular salaries, paid consultancies and professional engagements despite some of them having declared assets worth crores in their election affidavits.   Voluntary groups, Association of Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, which received this information under the Right to Information Act, on Thursday made public the Register of Interests of Rajya Sabha Members...