On their “day of victory”, leaders of Anna Hazare’s movement faced nepotism charges over the inclusion of the father-son duo of lawyers Shanti and Prashant Bhushan in the joint drafting committee for the Lok Pal Bill. Many protesters refused to break their fast when Hazare broke his at 10.45am. They wanted to know why ex-cop Kiran Bedi wasn’t picked while both the Bhushans were in. “This is nepotism. Why is there no...

Rejecting allegations of nepotism in selecting the five civil society members on the joint drafting panel of the Lokpal Bill, social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday said they needed experienced people and law experts to draft a stringent anti-corruption law. "The committee is not permanent, it has been formed only for two months and we should not think that he or she is there or not there. We need experienced people...

The government appointed committee to draft the Lokpal Bill has set June 30 as the deadline to complete the task, law minister M Veerappa Moily said on Sunday. Moily, who is also the covener of the committee, said the government was keen to introduce the bill in the monsoon session of Parliament. "If all cooperate, the bill will be passed in the monsoon session itself," he told Reporters here. Moily said Karnataka chief...

A day after he ended his 97-hour fast demanding a stronger anti-graft Lokpal Bill, social activist Anna Hazare Sunday said the process of formulating the act will be videographed and the procedures will be made public. 'The committee will start its work on the draft from April 16, the procedures will be videographed and made public,' Hazare told Reporters. 'The procedure will be totally transparent, from formulation to the time after it...

Government will introduce the Lokpal Bill during the monsoon session of Parliament, and once passed, corruption cases will be handled by fast track courts for speedy disposal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ashwini Kumar on Saturday said. Describing corruption as a "national issue" and not the concern of just an individual or any political party, Kumar told Reporters here that the government's accountability and responsibility would increase with the passage...