-PTI   Ahead of the debate on Jan Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha on Friday, Anna Hazare team tonight reached out to BJP which said a solution to the impasse could be found in consonance with the Constitution if the government has a "constructive" attitude. Hazare's associates Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari for over...

-The Hindustan Times   Parliamentarians on Thursday expressed discomfort over supporters of Anna Hazare holding demonstrations outside the houses of ministers and MPs. MPs cutting across party lines slammed the phenomenon, arguing that it impinged upon their freedom to carry out their duties. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Congress member MI Shanavas said Hazare's call to his supporters to conduct gheraos and protest outside the houses of ministers...

-The Hindu   Following is the note placed by the CPI(M) at the all-party meeting held by the Government on the issue of the Lokpal today. August 24, 2011 Stand of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Lokpal: For An Effective Anti-Corruption Body Introduction Corruption has become a major public concern in the wake of successive scams unfolding over the past few years. In a country like India, where millions of people still suffer from acute poverty,...

-The Hindu   On a day of fast-paced developments, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday reached out to the fasting anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare, with a new formula to break the log-jam on the contours of the proposed Lokpal institution: a debate in Parliament over his proposals with a promise to refer the sense of the House to the Standing Committee for its consideration. This was followed by an extraordinary gesture from...

Barring the very corrupt, everyone would support the ongoing campaign against corruption. But not either Team Anna's specific solution or the means it employs. In fact, there is every reason to oppose and condemn the move to blackmail the government into conceding a very flawed demand. A monolithic, all-powerful body that would hold every functionary of the state including the judiciary to account, and investigate and prosecute them if necessary, while...