-The Hindu In an incident that has assumed a communal tinge, a group of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad supporters allegedly assaulted a girl at her college in Bellare, Sullia taluk, on Tuesday afternoon. The FIR, however, was registered by the Sullia police only on Wednesday evening, with a counter complaint coming immediately from the accused. The students had allegedly roughed up the final year B.A. student for not participating in the ‘Bharat...

-The Indian Express Competitive politics within the legislature is threatening to undermine the space and legitimacy of executive authorities to implement social and economic policies in the country. The Congress-led UPA may have been weakened to a point where any observation by the CAG becomes a millstone around its neck, even if the CAG is seen as excessive in the way he interprets the alleged lapses by the government. The danger...

-People's Democracy IT seems the Sheila Dixit government of Delhi, backed by powerful elements in the UPA-2 central government, will let nothing stand in the way of water privatisation in the capital. Several earlier attempts going back many years to fully or partially privatise distribution of water, especially the big loan application to the World Bank in 2005, were foiled by vigilant community organisations, public interest groups, trade unions and political...

-Live Mint Cabinet refers land acquisition Bill to GoM to resolve differences after five ministers express apprehensions Differences within the Union cabinet have nixed the plans of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to fast-track a new legislation for land acquisition and compensation, widely seen as a key measure to spur investment in the economy. Consequently, the cabinet on Tuesday referred the controversial land acquisition Bill to a ministerial group (a so-called group...

-The Hindu Refusing to join the public debate over its findings on the Centre’s coal block allocation during 2004-08, Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) Vinod Rai on Tuesday said he would clarify his position at an appropriate forum. The CAG report has come under attack from the Prime Minister, the Congress party and critics. The watchdog was criticised for coming out with ‘presumptive figures when no loss had taken place.’ “Being a Constitutional authority,...