The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday charged the United Progressive Alliance government with attempting to “tinker with” the parliamentary system to suit the United States and its companies by “diluting” the rules of the Nuclear Liability Act. Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that the rules framed for the Act would sit in Parliament for 30 days, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader Sitaram Yechury said so far the Committee...

The internal documents of the CAG present a different picture to the one presented by PAC’s chairman Murli Manohar Joshi The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tried repeatedly to get the government’s auditor to share with him details of its audit of the controversial allocation of second-generation telecom spectrum in 2008 (known as the 2G scam), according to documents reviewed by Mint. The internal documents of the Comptroller and Auditor...

The relentless campaign to discredit the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and diminish the institution is continuing. One is not surprised; this has happened before, for instance in the Bofors case. However, one is dismayed because the campaign, unwittingly aided by some elements in the media, seems to be succeeding to some extent. It seems urgently necessary to dispel certain doubts and misperceptions before they gain ground and...

Prior sanction for prosecution of public servants like bureaucrats and MPs in a criminal case will not be required if the strong consensus within the Parliamentary Committee examining the Lokpal bill is reflected in the panel's recommendations.  At present, presiding officers of the two Houses of Parliament are required to give their assent for prosecution of MPs while the government is the relevant authority for civil servants. But the proposed Lokpal's...

-India Today   Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh's pet land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Bill, 2011 has run into major roadblocks in the parliamentary standing committee. Various stakeholders, including farmers' organisations, NGOs and legal experts contend that in its present form, the Bill is an empty shell that exempts 90 per cent major development projects - highways, nuclear plants, mines, SEZs et al-in the name of which, land is being acquired across...