-The Times of India A middleclass dream that politics can be redeemed by means other than politics has just ended, with Team Anna’s decision to launch a political party and join the fray. Many of his ardent supporters and well-wishers have registered deep disappointment. Anna is becoming part of the problem, they cry. The problem was with the hope that gods out of the machine can serve up deliverance on a...

-The Indian Express When Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia announced Friday the decision of their anti-corruption movement to launch a political party, they said it was based on the “strength of the people of India”. But the decision seemed to have shaken the the strength of their own organisation, with prominent members as well as ordinary supporters openly criticising the switch and even distancing themselves from it. Sri Sri...

-The Hindu Rajesh Khanna may have immortalised a few lines that are easily recalled by everyone — “Pushpa, I hate tears” — but he will certainly not be remembered for his political speeches. Yet, one particular speech stands out in my memory. It was reported in the papers and it has stayed in my memory even though years have passed. In the speech, made in Calcutta during the 1989 general elections when...

-The Indian Express Discord between Team Anna and media brings a crucial and overdue reality check for both Unhappy with the cameras apparently turning away from their cause and reporting the dwindling numbers at their venue, several Team Anna members and supporters have now declared the media biased and complicit with power. Some in the crowd at Jantar Mantar even heckled journalists. The Broadcast Editors’ Association sought, and got, “an immediate apology...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: The Akhilesh Yadav cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to put the office of Lokayukta outside the RTI Act purview. The cabinet said there was a need to maintain secrecy while investigating corruption charges against officials. Since the office of the Lokayukta functions as an investigating agency, any queries about ongoing investigations can hamper probes, the government said.  In its election manifesto, the Samajwadi Party had promised...