It is quite apparent that the gulf between the government and Team Anna on the Lokpal Bill is unlikely to be bridged. Whatever amendments the government may move, the final result will be considered inferior by the man from Ralegan Siddhi and his followers. This is not a wholly unanticipated development. On Tuesday, the lines of division in Parliament were clear. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other opposition parties have...

India Against Corruption' spearheaded by Anna Hazare achieved spectacular success in harnessing public anger against corruption and converted it into perceived movement to drive home the seriousness behind their demand for Lokpal. Anna's 97-hour-long fast at Jantar Mantar in April forced the polity and Political Parties to admit the need for urgent legislative measures to assuage the public, who had now found a perfect icon in Anna to vent their frustration...

If we get it right, the Food Security Bill carries the potential to alter the destinies of millions of India's poor and disadvantaged people, by assuring them as a legal right sufficient food to live with dignity. It was approved by the Cabinet after over two years of intense, sometimes fractious debate. Opinion in the Cabinet itself was reportedly divided around the proposed law. Gaping divisions persist, even as the...

Women's groups may need to take lessons from Team Anna in campaigning for their quota bill Most MPs are opposed to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, just as they were opposed to the Women's Reservation Bill. But the Lokpal Bill stands a better chance of being enacted. Unlike the Women's Reservation Bill, which had no support on the streets, the anti-corruption law...

-The Times of India   Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday that opening up of the multi-brand retail sector to foreign investment was still on the "mind of the government" and it would be pursued once consensus emerged among Political Parties and other stakeholders. Mukherjee blamed lack of consensus among Political Parties for the government's inability to implement the reform measure but said it did not reflect the lack of intention or...