Draft proposed by the Government of India is inadequate and will not serve the purpose, says CPI(M); BJP agrees and disagrees with HazareAs support to the agitation by veteran social activist Anna Hazare in favour of ‘Jan Lokpal Bill' gathered momentum, Congress president and the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said his views would receive the ‘full attention' of the government and appealed to...
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FAQ: What is Lok Pal Bill? Why the ruckus over it? by Kaushiki Sanyal
The Lok Pal (anti-corruption body) Bill has generated widespread interest in the past few days. The Bill is an attempt by the government, under massive pressure due to corruption charges, to gain some of its lost ground. However, civil rights activists, including Anna Hazare, Swami Agnivesh, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, have termed the draft legislation as weak and demanded that fifty per cent of the members in the committee drafting...
More »The lie of the land by MJ Antony
The court presses home its power to intervene when 'little Indians lose their small property' to land acquisition by state governments Parliament has not been able to pass an updated land acquisition law for several years, though this is a burning issue and innocent blood has been shed in many states. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court continues to deliver judgments in which disputes arose several decades ago. Two such decisions in recent...
More »Judicial Standards & Accountability Bill by Ajit Prakash Shah
In a system where half the litigants must necessarily lose their cases and where most complaints against judges are frivolous, the Bill, if implemented, would mark the beginning of the end of the judiciary. The last two decades have marked the extraordinary rise of India. This has however been tinged with cynicism about our major democratic institutions and a pessimism about their future. The judiciary, which till now has been looked...
More »PAC summons Radia, Ratan Tata
Representatives of Swan Telecom, Reliance, Airtel and Unitech also told to appear before it The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by Murli Manohar Joshi, has summoned corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata for questioning on April 4 on purported irregularities in the grant of telecom licences. The PAC has also asked representatives of Swan Telecom, Reliance, Airtel and Unitech to appear before it. A Tata spokesperson said Mr....
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