-PTI The Supreme Court today refused to quash criminal proceedings against former BJP chief Bangaru Laxman for allegedly receiving Rs one lakh bribe from undercover scribes to favour them in a 'fictitious' defence deal.  A bench headed by Justice A K Ganguly refused to interfere in the proceedings of the lower court, which is conducting the trial in the case, and dismissed the plea of the 72-year-old politician.  The court, however, made it...

The anti-corruption movement has enabled the Indian middle class to feel smug about itself. Its members have gone through a vast range of emotions during the last two decades, from self-hatred to self-righteousness. Liberalisation of the economy has created for this class an excitement of many kinds. It has meant the freedom to pursue the quest for wealth without guilt and, at the same time, it has meant feeling set...

-The Hindustan Times   After providing the right to education to underprivileged children in the city, it is time for them to avail their right to health. Delhi has become the first Indian state to bring schoolchildren under such a scheme with the launch of ‘Chacha Nehru Sehat Yojna’ on Saturday. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit launched the ambitious scheme under which nearly 14 lakh school children in the city will be provided free medical...

-Rediff.com   A former Delhi chief secretary and currently Delhi's public grievance commission chairman has warned the prime minister not to strangle the 'doers' in the bureaucracy and paralyse the government while the 'non-doers' go scot free in the euphoria over ushering in a strong anti-corruption ombudsman.  In an appeal that echoes concern of all senior bureaucrats, Ramesh Narayanaswami sought Dr Manmohan Singh's urgent intervention to ensure the best safeguards possible in the...

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said the Centre and the Assam government would sign a peace accord with the militant outfit of the hill district Karbi Anglong — United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) in Delhi on November 25. The UPDS was formed in 1999 in a merger of the erstwhile Karbi People's Front (KPF) and Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) . The UPDS entered into a ceasefire agreement with the...