Ahead of next year’s assembly elections, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government plans to revise a proposed food security law to bring it in line with a previous draft that is deemed more liberal, and expedite its execution. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who also heads the National Advisory Council (NAC) that drafted the initial National Food Security Bill, has suggested some crucial changes to the version that was made public...

Amid opposition from its alliance partner Congress, the Omar Abdullah-led government on Friday deferred the decision on withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain parts of J&K. A cabinet meeting was held here which was presided over by chief minister Omar Abdullah decided that the issue would be taken up in the next cabinet meeting in Jammu after the bi-annual Darbar shifts to the Winter capital...

-EPW   The Anna Hazare group’s foray into electoral politics exposes its shaky foundations. The script of this drama was already written. A single issue campaign, focused narrowly on corruption in public life without a wider world view on the root causes of corruption or on the myriad other problems afflicting Indian society, had to come apart at the seams at some point. That moment arrived when “Team Anna”, as the people behind...

Team Anna has deviated from goal of fighting corruption Waterman Rajendra Singh has accused Team Anna of straying from its goal of fighting corruption and turning into a “bunch of power brokers.” The success with the public during the Delhi fast of social activist Anna Hazare made them give up all pretensions to democratic functioning while at collective action, he charged. Mr. Singh, along with another social activist P.V. Rajagopal, recently quit...

In the Winter of 2009, a few months after the Congress announced a financial austerity drive for its staff, Sonia Gandhi famously travelled by economy class. But what UPA government's ministers probably saved on air fares, they seem to have more than made up on land. Fuel bills of Union ministers, since the financial curbs were put in place, were accessed by RTI activist Chetan Kothari. Merely 31 of the 84...