It is clearly the absence of political will rather than a paucity of ideas that is responsible for the country's agrarian crisis. EXACTLY seven years ago this month, the Commission on Farmers' Welfare, appointed by the government of Andhra Pradesh, submitted its report to the then Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. His Congress government assumed office earlier that year replacing the Telegu Desam Party regime led by N. Chandrababu Naidu, which...

-The Times of India   A government forensic lab's report on a CD allegedly containing conversation between SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan has said the CD was doctored, contradicting two previous reports. Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh's report has been made public for the first time in response to an RTI query. The conclusion of the report was that the CD...

-The Indian Express   The controversial compact disc containing purported conversations between noted lawyer Shanti Bhushan and political leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh “is not not doctored or tampered with”, the Delhi police told a court here. The Special Cell of Delhi Police has said the opinions of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), New Delhi and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) suggest there was no editing or tampering...

Lawyer and co-chairman of the joint draft committee on the Lokpal Bill, Shanti Bhushan, has urged Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to make public the report prepared by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, on the controversial CD containing his purported conversation with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh and former SP leader Amar Singh. The Chandigarh CFSL report said the CD was a “cut-and-paste” job, contradicting the Delhi lab...

As the joint drafting committee begins work on the Lokpal Bill, its civil society members face challenges from various quarters. AS the leader of the five-member civil society group within the 10-member joint drafting committee to prepare the new Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare finds himself in an unenviable position. After his successful agitation for equal participation for civil society in the legislative exercise to create the first Lokpal at the Centre,...