-The Hindu Patna: The rejection of the Lokpal committee’s recommendation on transfer of CBI officers had exposed the government’s intention of maintaining a grip on the investigating agency, senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat said at a press conference here on Friday. “There is a question mark on the understanding of the ruling alliance on Lokpal. They forcibly passed the Bill in the Lok Sabha and when it was...

-Live Mint Cabinet-approved Bill may stir up controversy after it left out a key proposal to bring CBI within its purview On the day that it approved the anti-graft lokpal bill, the first murmurs of dissent against finance minister P. Chidambaram’s call for expenditure cuts surfaced in the Union cabinet—over the seemingly piffling amount of `90.38 crore.   The cabinet eventually overruled the finance ministry’s objections and approved the infusion of the money for...

-The Indian Express Increasing frequency and intensity of protests reflect a deeper crisis in Indian democracy: the failure of civil society In the last five years, citizens have poured out in large numbers at Jantar Mantar and India Gate (and in many other parts of the country) to ask the state to hear their demands. In 2006, marches and sit-ins forced the state to re-examine the Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo cases....

-The Indian Express Following the recent “flash mob protests” against the government over the Delhi gangrape-and-murder, the Congress is set to discuss ways to tackle this “new phenomenon” at its chintan shivir to be held in Jaipur later this week. “We also have to discuss the impact and political ramifications of the social media. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, you don’t need any organisation to mobilise people within minutes and hours... Although...

-The Indian Express The protests at Raisina Hill and Jantar Mantar against sexual violence and the way it is dealt with by the system, started off as a genuine and heartfelt mobilisation after the horrific rape of a 23-year-old in south Delhi. Young women and men came together to express their frustration at the way things are, speaking out for women’s freedoms, demanding answers. Yet, the solutions that have been on...