-The Economic Times   Union minister Jairam Ramesh has proposed a new bill that will address cases of corruption at the lowest level of the administration, hoping it will satisfy those opposed to the Lok Pal Bill introduced by the government. Touting it as a Public Services Grievance Redressal Bill, Ramesh said that the bill would be directed to ensure legal right of beneficiaries to all government services and entitlements. "It's a standalone...

The substitution of one man for the people, and the reduction of the people's role merely to being supporters and cheerleaders for one man's actions, is antithetical to democracy. The Central government's flip-flops on Anna Hazare are obvious: it went from abusing him (through the Congress spokesperson) for sheltering corruption, to extolling him for his idealism; from arresting him, without any justification, and getting him remanded to judicial custody for a...

Ardent admirers of the Supreme Court will credit it with starting three revolutions in the past three decades. In the 1980s the public interest litigation (PIL) movement opened the doors of the court to every citizen, especially those who could not reach it due to poverty, illiteracy or backwardness. Around the same time, the court sowed the seeds of citizens’ right to know in a few judgments, asserting that sunlight is...

A group of people, with placards showing Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, staged a demonstration in Delhi a few days ago against Anna Hazare's proposals on the Lokpal and the methods used by his team. More often than not, Dalits look with suspicion on any attempt to tamper with the Constitution. Team Anna has, however, suggested that its Lokpal bill would benefit Dalits more than anyone else. This led me to look...

-The Times of India   A day after TOI front-paged an 'appeal' to both sides to seek common ground for the sake of the nation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Anna Hazare, who has been on fast for eight days, saying the government would request the Lok Sabha Speaker to "formally refer the Jan Lokpal Bill to the standing committee". This panel would consider all versions, including the government's, Team Anna's...