-The Hindu   The land acquisition process by the Orissa government for the Posco project in the Dhinkia gram panchayat of Jagatsinghpur district did not make any headway on Saturday following resistance by members of a five-party delegation and villagers. The gram panchayat remained a hostile region for the district administration that had in the past fortnight stepped up the land acquisition process for the steel plant. With children and women at the...

As the Lokpal Bill gets mired in a tortuous birthing, the debate shifts to who exactly has the right to pass a law Why Politicians Hate Civil Society     * Unelected activists stealing Parliament’s right to make laws, undercutting role of parliamentarians     * Demands like an all-powerful Lokpal directly impact political-bureaucratic class and the status quo     * Rigid deadlines, fasts unto death to press home issues are akin to holding government...

-NDTV   Protests continue to intensify against land acquisition for the proposed 12 billion dollar POSCO plant in Govindpur in Orissa. After warning the government of dire consequences in a statement on Friday, five Political Parties including the CPI, CPM and even civil society activists are expected to join in the protests. Nearly 2000 women, children and men have formed a human barricade to prevent the entry of police and administration in...

Almost 65 years after Mahatma Gandhi used "satyagraha" or "truth force" to lead a movement against British rule in India, Gandhism is back, this time facing an enemy more pernicious than colonialism: corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen stashing stolen wealth abroad. The two foremost leaders of India’s anti-corruption movement, Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, are deploying satyagraha’s most potent weapon – fasting – with telling effect on the government. On Thursday, Hazare...

-PTI   Asking the Orissa government to refrain from "forcible" land acquisition for the POSCO project near Paradip, Congress today committed its support to the people unwilling to give their land for the South Korean steel maker. Congress sent a four-member team headed by party's chief spokesman Prof Kailash Acharya to Dhinkia area where about 600 policemen were deployed to acquire land for POSCO project. "Though chief minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that...