-The Hindu Ensure that the grievances are redressed at the initial level itself, says Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Jaiipur: Amid the demand for an early tabling of the Transparency and Social Accountability Bill in the Assembly, the Congress government in Rajasthan has decided to strengthen the public hearing system in the village panchayats for a prompt redressal of grievances. Activists have been staging an indefinite “jawabdehi dharna” on the issue at the...

-The Hindu Activists participating in jawabdehi dharna in Rajasthan have said their protest will continue until the statute is enacted JAIPUR: Information and livelihood rights activists in Rajasthan have shifted their emphasis from enactment of a transparency and social Accountability Law to an early introduction of the Bill on the subject, following a budgetary announcement in the State Assembly. The ruling Congress had, in its manifesto for the 2018 Assembly election, promised to...

-Outlook India Just ahead of the state assembly elections in October 2018, the Congress party had promised to bring a social Accountability Law in the public manifesto for elections. In October 2020, Ratnu Devi of Bikaner completed 86 days under MGNREGA in her local panchayat in Bajju village in the Bikaner district. At present Ratnu has not received 14,000 rupees.  After visiting the local Atal Seva Kendra she learnt that her payments...

-IDROnline.org/ TheWire.in "The problem with Indian democracy is that despite the presence of millions of voters, the pool of decision makers get smaller and narrower at the top." Aruna Roy is a social activist and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). Her work and leadership led to the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005—a landmark act that empowers citizens to demand transparency and accountability from government institutions....

-The Hindu India is a republic only when its laws result from free public discussion and pass open scrutiny The Preamble to the Constitution declares that India is a ‘Republic’. This self-description must be taken seriously: being a republic is integral to India’s political identity. Moreover, this is not just a descriptive but also a strong, ethical, normative claim. Being republican is an ideal to which we are meant to consistently aspire,...