Sonia Gandhi’s ambitious plan to institutionalise political monitoring of the government’s flagship programmes in states has taken off in a tentative and haphazard manner. Although she has appointed a separate Congress general secretary, Vilas Muttemwar, to oversee the monitoring system and asked all state party units to set up committees to study the implementation of the schemes, little has been achieved in the past 10 months. Many state units are yet...

-The Hindu   A non-profit organisation here has accused Team Anna member Kiran Bedi of claiming travel expenses far in excess of what she actually incurred to attend a programme organised by them in 2009. George Abraham, general secretary of the Aviation Industry Employees Guild, said his organisation had invited Ms. Bedi to be chief guest for an International Women's Day function in Mumbai in March 2009 and that she had accepted the...

-The Hindustan Times   Team Anna member Kiran Bedi’s travel agent, also a trustee of her NGO, quit both posts on Tuesday, saying his reputation had been tarnished by the controversy over her inflated travel bills. This happened even as the government tried to play down its acrimony with the civil society group and Bedi’s colleague Arvind Kejriwal — accused of diverting the team’s funds to his NGO — dared the Centre...

Four days after The Indian Express reported how, in at least 12 instances, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi raised inflated air fare invoices to overcharge her host NGOs and institutions, Bedi announced today that the “balance amounts” were being returned “forthwith”. “Foundation trustees have passed resolution directing me (to) travel strictly as per invite. This leaves no room for discretion...Trustees have instructed travel agent to return the balance amounts forthwith,” she...

-PTI   Under fire for overcharging organisers using inflated bills, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Sunday night said that she has been directed by the trustees of her NGO India Vision Foundation to travel strictly as per the conditions put by the host and not use any discretion. "Foundation trustees have passed resolution directing me to travel strictly as per invite. This leaves NO room for discretion," she wrote on the micro-blogging...