-Outlook Transparency promotes democracy, more the reason for political parties to come under RTI Act's purview There was great public outrage when legislators in Mumbai beat up an assistant police inspector because he stopped an MLA's car for speeding on the Bandra-Worli sealink. The sentiment was: What arrogance! How can lawmakers have so little respect for the laws they themselves made? However, the amendment in Parliament aimed at removing political parties...
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No one can contest elections if affidavit silent on antecedents: SC -Dhananjay Mahapatra
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday ushered in a fresh dose of electoral reforms by ruling that no one can contest elections without making a full and honest disclosure about his/her assets and educational and criminal antecedents. Curbing the practice among candidates to leave columns demanding information blank in the affidavits filed along with nomination papers, the court authorized returning officers to demand relevant details and reject...
More »Ordinance to bail out convicted netas likely
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The UPA government is mulling an ordinance to undo the Supreme Court judgment striking down Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act that has paved the way for immediate disqualification of an MP, MLA or MLC on being convicted for an offence leading to a sentence of two years or more in jail. With the government's review petition in the apex court being rejected, a...
More »Protecting forest lands
-The Hindu The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General underscoring the blatant violation of conservation laws and Supreme Court orders in the diversion of forests for destructive non-forestry use confirms what former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said about the system: it's a bit of a joke. The compensatory afforestation mechanism instituted to balance the devastating loss of natural forests has failed abysmally. The CAG's report is proof that India's...
More »New law no relief to manual scavengers-B Kolappan
-The Hindu Central law has provisions that only justifies the age-old practice Chennai: There is a law, a court order and a committee. The Centre passed the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 on Saturday. However, the death of 30 workers in 30 months since February 2012 in Tamil Nadu seems to suggest that nothing is able to prevent the abominable practice. Most of those who died were workers...
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