At a time of national uproar over corruption and the Lokpal Bill, the government is proposing to enact a law making it compulsory for every ministry and department to act within 30 days on complaints from the pubLIC. The law will set up a mechanism similar to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and dovetails with Anna Hazare’s key demand of a “citizens’ charter” to deal with pubLIC grievances. Under the proposed...

Anna Hazare’s Ramlila brinkmanship flamed deep into another night despite the UPA’s many accommodations and in defiance of mounting civil society and intelligentsia opinion that the government had committed to enough on the Lokpal legislation for him to break his fast. Hazare and his core team of Arvind Kejriwal. Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi remained unmoved by pubLIC and bipartisan commitment from the highest quarters that key features of their Jan...

-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,...

Mahesh Kundu paid 2,500 rupees for a driving LICence, Rupam Bhatia 5,000 rupees to be admitted to hospital and Vishrant Chandra 6,000 rupees for a marriage certificate. These are the commonplace bribery stories experienced by middle-class Indians who have poured into the streets to say "enough is enough". Corruption in India is as old as the Ramayana, when the evil demon Ravana bribed a guardian of hell to avoid punishment in...

-Express News Service   An RTI activist from Union Territory of Diu who had sought information in connection with the construction of an allegedly illegal restaurant and bogus LICence issued by Road Transport Office to bike vendors has been allegedly attacked by local politicians and government officers. Jaisukh Bambhania ,39, president of Diu auto-rickshaw drivers’ association, was attacked with sharp weapons and pipes on Sunday night. Later, acid was thrown on him. Bambhania has...