This essay describes and compares Parliament and the Supreme Court and examines the relationship between them. Parliament may still be a great institution, but its members are no longer great men. How long can a great institution remain great in the hands of small men? The SC has held its place in the public esteem rather better than the Lok Sabha, despite the occasional allegation of financial impropriety. Parliament, the...
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Will convey your views to government, Sonia tells Hazare
-The Hindu Team Anna on Saturday concluded its programme of contacting political parties with a call on Congress president Sonia Gandhi ahead of Sunday's all-party meeting on the Lokpal Bill. Ms. Gandhi assured social activist Anna Hazare that she would convey his views to the government, according to Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, who was present at the meeting. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who headed the joint panel on the Lokpal...
More »The discreet charm of civil society by P Sainath
There is nothing wrong in having advisory groups. But there is a problem when groups not constituted legally cross the line of demands, advice and rights-based, democratic agitation. The 1990s saw marketing whiz kids at the largest English daily in the world steal a term then in vogue among sexually discriminated minorities: PLUs — or People Like Us. Media content would henceforth be for People Like Us. This served advertisers' needs...
More »Anna Hazare sets Aug 15 deadline for Lokpal Bill by Abantika Ghosh
Beginning his day-long hunger strike at Rajghat to protest against corruption and the recent police brutality, the 73-year-old-Gandhi devotee Anna Hazare said that if the Lokpal Bill was not passed, he would fast unto death at Jantar Mantar from August 16. Anna described his movement as the second battle of independence but underlined Gandhi's non-violent path. He said his Wednesday fast was to condemn the police action on Ramdev's supporters at...
More »Confident TMC & anxious Left shun Netai by Naresh Jana
A deathly silence hangs over Netai. In neighbouring areas, poll campaigning is on in full swing but the village where nine persons were killed in firing from a CPM camp on January 7, is untouched by it. The Trinamul Congress is not canvassing in Netai as it is “confident” that nobody will vote for the CPM in the area. The CPM, on the other hand, is avoiding campaigning in the area...
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