The government’s desperate race to redraft the Lokpal bill in time for passage this Parliament session has left political circles uneasy, with even some Opposition leaders conceding the dangers of lawmaking under such abnormal pressure. The Centre too is squirming at this “indecent haste”, prompted by its keenness to avoid another face-off with Team Anna. But it feels it has little choice in a political climate where “confrontationism” is giving the...

-PTI Not yielding to Anna Hazare's demand, government is understood to have decided to keep CBI out of the purview of the proposed Lokpal. This is the view that has emerged out of the discussions senior ministers, who are lawyers in their own right, had among themselves and had reportedly recommended to Prime Minister manmohan singh. The draft Cabinet note, to which officials of the Personnel and Legislative department had given final touches...

-PTI Strongly opposing the draft National Food Security Bill, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa today said it was replete with "confusion and inaccuracy" and asked the Centre not to attempt encroaching into the domains of states. In a strongly-worded letter to PM manmohan singh, she said the Central government "should not attempt or be seen to attempt encroaching into the domains of the states" and sought exemption of Tamil Nadu from...

-PTI The government has finally accepted the resignation of Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), almost six years after he quit the job. The acceptance of resignation came 45 days after Kejriwal deposited over Rs 9 lakh as dues to settle the issue. "The government has finally accepted my resignation from the Income Tax Department. I received the letter today," Kejriwal told PTI. He had quit the IRS...

-IANS The food security bill, that seeks to legally entitle majority of India's population to cheaper foodgrains, is not sustainable as it would put further pressure on fiscal deficit and worsen inflation, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said on Tuesday. "While the purpose of ensuring food security to the poor is laudable, the food security bill is not the right mechanism for it," said Biswa Nath Bhattacharyay, lead professional, Asian Development...