The amendments to Lokpal Bill, 2011 submitted to the Standing Committee of Parliament by the civic society group represented by Jayaprakash Narayan of Lok Satta envisage Lokpal's jurisdiction over the Prime Minister and creation of strong Lokayuktas in States. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the versions of Lokpal Bill suggested by the three civil society groups, including that of Dr. Narayan (JP), w ould...

Anna Hazare’s Ramlila brinkmanship flamed deep into another night despite the UPA’s many accommodations and in defiance of mounting civil society and intelligentsia opinion that the government had committed to enough on the Lokpal legislation for him to break his fast. Hazare and his core team of Arvind Kejriwal. Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi remained unmoved by public and bipartisan commitment from the highest quarters that key features of their Jan...

Social activist and National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy has welcomed the government's move to build a “national consensus” through Parliament for a strong anti-corruption and grievance redress mechanism. But she blamed the government of mishandling Anna Hazare's campaign. “Setting up arbitrary conditions, such as limited number of days and protesters before letting Hazare to proceed, and subsequently arresting him when he refused to comply, were anti-democratic actions by the...

-PTI   Ahead of the debate on Jan Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha on Friday, Anna Hazare team tonight reached out to BJP which said a solution to the impasse could be found in consonance with the Constitution if the government has a "constructive" attitude. Hazare's associates Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi met senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari for over...

-The Hindustan Times   Parliamentarians on Thursday expressed discomfort over supporters of Anna Hazare holding demonstrations outside the houses of ministers and MPs. MPs cutting across party lines slammed the phenomenon, arguing that it impinged upon their freedom to carry out their duties. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Congress member MI Shanavas said Hazare's call to his supporters to conduct gheraos and protest outside the houses of ministers...