-The Hindustan Times Kolkata: President Pranab Mukherjee will meet shortly two groups of people who will give him the lowdown on the deteriorating law and order situation in West Bengal, the state he represented for more than 40 years in Parliament. The All India Democratic Women's Association, the women's wing of the opposition CPI(M), is planning to approach him on the rising incidents of crime and violence against women and the alleged...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: It was an unusually quiet protest. Around 500 people gathered at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday evening, held a candle light vigil, while communicating to each other their thoughts on the disability rights Bill. There were people in wheelchairs, people who cannot hear and those who cannot speak. But that did not lead to an unenthusiastic protest. Excited hand gestures and facial expressions could be seen in...

-The Hindu The Congress has steered clear of any debate on the AFSPA, leaving a politically untenable choice for the next government: repeal the Act or leave it untouched With its recent decision to extend the implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Manipur by another year, the United Progressive Alliance's opportunistic posturing on the legislation has come full circle. The UPA's rendezvous with the AFSPA began months after it...

-The Indian Express Food inflation owes largely to agricultural markets being regulated by outdated laws. The RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan, has a difficult task this week. He has to decide whether to keep interest rates constant or raise them - bearing in mind the possible taper of the US Fed's bond buying programme, a decline in industrial production and a rise in inflation. The sharp increase in consumer price-based inflation, to more...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Days after the December 16 gangrape incident, hundreds of rape cases were sent to special fast track courts for a speedy trial. In fact, in January this year, six newly created special fast track courts for sexual offences received over 500 cases within three weeks of their creation. A year later, the trial in the December 16 case is complete. The case is midway through appeal...