Just when they seem to be hurtling towards confrontation, Congress has successfully reached out to the Anna Hazare camp, persuading the civil society activists to appear before the standing committee on law and justice. Activist Arvind Kejriwal confirmed to TOI that he along with his colleagues have accepted the invite from the parliamentary panel led by Congress's Abhishek Singhvi and will attend the deliberations on Wednesday. Gandhian Anna Hazare, former law...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Aruna Roy, social activist interviewed by Shoma Chaudhury
The Lokpal Bill is in danger of skidding off the rails. As it is introduced in Parliament, eminent activist Aruna Roy tells Shoma Chaudhury why we should not rush into it. THE LOKPAL BILL is now being debated in Parliament, almost 40 years after the idea was first mooted. Unfortunately, parented on one side by decades of wilful government inertia and, on the other, by the panicked hustle of ‘Team...
More »Opening act
-The Indian Express Great expectations are pinned to the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, given the sheer volume of unfinished legislative business, and the amazing free fall of the past few months. The opposition’s passive-aggressive behaviour and the government’s reflexive obduracy over a JPC were the reason the winter session had to be written off, and that certainly contributed to the clear authority vacuum of recent months, even as agitations...
More »Another fast from Anna Hazare won't help the Lokpal, the country and civil society leaders by Saubhik Chakrabarti
Anna Hazare has called the cabinet-cleared version of theLokpal bill a "deceit on the nation". That kind of rhetoric pretty much indicates Anna and Co's future plans. If they stick to those kinds of plans (Jantar Mantar protest theatre redux), this group of prominent people would miss a great opportunity - the opportunity to demonstrate their maturity. Yes, the cabinet has cleared a Lokpal bill that differs in important respects with...
More »Aruna Roy camp lobbies for own Lokpal draft by Himanshi Dhawan
Days before the draft Lokpal bill is expected to be put before the Union Cabinet for its consideration, the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) headed by Aruna Roy has begun lobbying for its version of the anti-corruption legislation. Roy and her colleagues met with law minister and government representative on the joint drafting panel Salman Khursheed on Tuesday and are likely to meet HRD minister Kapil Sibal...
More »