-The Indian Express Ignoring the CPIM's official line, party veteran VS Achuthanandan today set out to Kundankulam to pledge solidarity with anti-nuclear protesters but was stopped by Tamil Nadu Police at the border town of Kaliyikkavila near here. As Achuthanandan's car entered the border town, an officer of Tamil Nadu police stopped the vehicle and requested the 88-year-old leader not to proceed further in view of the security concerns. Complying with the request,...

-The Times of India India is likely to be on an unchartered territory when it implements the Supreme Court order mandating the presence of a judicial officer and an expert to hear appeals in information commissions across the country. According to an independent survey on information commissions across the world there was no precedent of retired or serving judges as members of panels hearing cases related to freedom of information. The rapid...

-Outlook Alleging a Rs four lakh crore scam in iron ore mining as the state government kept renewal of licenses in abeyance, Union Minister Srikant Jena today demanded exclusive rights to Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) over minerals. "The scam relates to renewal of licenses. Official documents show of the 107 iron ore mines in Odisha, 83 are operating by using 'deemed to' clause of the mining law," the senior Congress leader told...

-Economic and Political Weekly  The Government of India is considering a proposal to notify farming as an essential service. This is ostensibly to bring drought relief to farmers suffering from a weak monsoon - a laudable goal indeed. However, if farming is deemed an "essential service", farmers and farm workers could lose many of their political and civic rights because the government can then invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act to...

-The Hindu Ongoing agitation in Kudankulam illustrates how State criminalises popular protest To what extent will the State go to criminalise an agitation, especially a prolonged popular struggle against a project seen by the government as a vital necessity, but as a hazard by the people living in its vicinity? It will charge the protesters with grave offences such as “waging war” and “sedition” regardless of whether there is any basis. The ongoing...