'We want to pressure the government and assert our rights as citizens.' Arvind Kejriwal received the Magsaysay award in the Emergent leadership category in 2006. A mere five years later, he has far surpassed that milestone, winning acclaim and notice for the way he conceived and crafted Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement. He talks to Vidya Subrahmaniam about the Jan Lokpal campaign, what it accomplished and why it often became controversial. The scale...
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Left holds Anna flag aloft
-The Telegraph Anna Hazare has returned to his village in Maharashtra but the Left seems to be taking his struggle forward. Four Left parties will tomorrow march to Parliament Street to press for measures to tackle graft. The issues they plan to raise are similar to what Hazare had voiced when he broke his fast at Ramlila Maidan. The five issues on which the comrades will march are: an effective Lokpal, separate mechanism...
More »Only 15 of 28 states have named rural jobs scheme ombudsman by Ruhi Tewari
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are among the Indian states that have failed to name an ombudsman to handle grievances and prevent graft related to the central government’s flagship rural jobs programme, even two years after they were directed to do so. Only 15 of the nation’s 28 states have appointed the ombudsmen, according to the ministry of rural development. Assam, Haryana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu also haven’t appointed the watchdog. Setting up...
More »Uneasy truce between Indian government and anti-corruption campaigner by Sarath Kumara
Under pressure from big business to end the political stalemate, India’s self-proclaimed anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare yesterday broke his 12-day fast at the Ramlila Maiden, a public ground in New Delhi. On Saturday, the Indian parliament passed an “in principle” resolution agreeing to include three of Hazare’s demands in proposed Lokpal or ombudsman legislation. Though tensions have eased, nothing has been settled. Hazare, who headed large anti-corruption protests, has backed away...
More »Anna wave coincides with vow to purge electoral ills by Manash Pratim Gohain
Around the time Anna Hazare ended his fast at Ramlila Maidan and declared "electoral reforms" as his next agenda, 15 different organizations under the aegis of "Forum For Good Governance" kicked off a daylong deliberation on the same issue. Eminent members of the judiciary, political class, civil society and bureaucracy participated in the national conference on the 'urgency of electoral and Political Party reforms'. The success of Anna Hazare's anti-graft movement...
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