Activists against graft have often pointed out that even the threat of jail hardly serves as a deterrent for a corrupt person, as he can enjoy his ill-gotten gains after he completes his sentence. Now, that could be set to change. Assets amassed through corrupt means by a public servant will be frozen during investigation and liquidated on his being proved guilty, if the proposed Lokpal bill comes through. The drafting...
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Arundhati Roy on Indian Democracy, Maoists by Krishna Pokharel
Writer and activist Arundhati Roy, winner of the 1997 Man Booker prize for “The God of Small Things,” is undoubtedly India’s iconoclast no.1. During the launch of her two latest books—“Broken Republic” and “Walking With the Comrades” —on Friday evening, she came to the defence of the military tactics of India’s Maoists in her polemical best: “When you have 800 CRPF [Central Reserve Police Force, a paramilitary force deployed to fight...
More »NHRC faces status downgrade by the UN
-Bar and Bench The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) currently holding a status of participant (A status) is likely to be downgraded to the position of an observer (B status) when its accreditation renewal comes up for consideration before the United Nations (UN). There are various reasons for this, including the corruption charges raised against Chairman, K.G. Balakrishnan, former Chief Justice of India. Other reasons that are expected to go against...
More »Shanti Bhushan expresses concern at slow Lokpal Bill drafting by Gargi Parsai
Terming the process of drafting the Lokpal Bill “slow,” joint drafting committee co-chairman Shanti Bhushan has expressed doubts about its completion by June 30, the deadline set by the government. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for Monday. In a letter written on Thursday to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the committee, Mr. Bhushan said: “The deadline for drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill is June 30. The progress...
More »You will be on BPL list if your annual income is Rs.27,000 a year by K Balchand & P Sunderarajan
The income limit for households for qualifying as a beneficiary under the BPL (below poverty line) list has been pegged at about Rs. 27,000 per annum, according to the methodology approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. A household with an annual earning of more than Rs. 27,000 will stand excluded from the BPL list. This is what the automatic exclusion and automatic inclusion criteria and the seven deprivation indicators are...
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