-Down to Earth High debts, sexual exploitation, gender disparity, caste discrimination and exclusion from the political process continue to bedevil these mostly Dalit women An eye-opening study released on March 19, 2019, on the plight of rural women labourers in Punjab, has brought to centre-stage, the issue of the failure of India’s political system to deliver after more than 72 years of independence. The document points at the marginalisation of these women, overwhelmingly...

-The Indian Express CEO Surendra Kumar did not respond to calls for comment on the BJD allegation. BJP leader Pratap Sarangi, however, said: “They (BJD) are desperate and know they will be defeated. That is why they are attacking the CEO Odisha.” Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD Monday alleged that the Odisha Chief Electoral Officer had stopped implementation of the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (Kalia) scheme, the state government’s...

-The Hindu SC to hear petitioner next week In a time of deep political polarisation, refusing to comply with the RTI Act seems to be one of the few issues that has united national parties across the ideological spectrum. Despite a June 2013 ruling from the Central Information Commission (CIC) that they fall within the ambit of the transparency law, parties insist that they cannot be considered public authorities under the Act. Six years...

-The Hindu Decision to stop the scheme for now was based on opinion that unlike other schemes announced in the budget, this scheme entails cash transfer to beneficiaries, “which could sway them weeks before polling.” Bengaluru: The farm loan waiver scheme of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government has been stalled temporarily by the Election Commission of India after the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha election came into force. The...

-Hindustan Times From a constitutional point of view, the scheme fails the tests of rationality and non-arbitrariness Earlier this month, the Supreme Court indicated that it would hear the long-pending constitutional challenge to the electoral bonds scheme. The electoral bonds scheme, which was introduced by the government in early 2018, provides new channels for private funding of political parties, and has been subjected to severe criticism, including by a former Chief Election...