Protest against government attempts to suppress democratic resistance by villagers Police avoid confrontation; no work on construction of boundary wall As Orissa on Wednesday made failed attempts to acquire land for the Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district, five political parties announced that they would begin an indefinite dharna opposing the Naveen Patnaik government's attempts to suppress democratic resistance by villagers who oppose establishment of the project in their locality. The dharna would...

Armed policemen accompanying officials return to their makeshift camps Congress legislators to raise issue during Assembly session Chief Secretary: administration trying to carry out peaceful land acquisition As the agitation continued to intensify over the Posco steel project, the Jagatsinghpur district administration on Tuesday did not acquire any land for the venture but continued the construction of a boundary wall on the land acquired earlier. While senior leaders belonging to the Opposition Congress and the...

Anna Hazare on Tuesday said PM Manmohan Singh has kept mum on the issue of including the PM in the Lokpal ambit because "there is a remote control on him". Speaking to reporters, Hazare said, "Personally, I don't think Manmohan Singh is scared to come in the Lokpal ambit. But then, there is a remote control on him. I recently wrote a letter to him asking him why he did not...

The officials were released by Balisahi residents with a warning that they should not return to acquire land In a dramatic turn of events, senior administration and police officials of Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district had a bitter experience on Monday when they went to carry out land acquisition for the proposed mega steel project of Posco. Women took the lead in expressing their anger when they threw their broomsticks at the Additional District...

When the National Rural Employment Guarantees Scheme (NREGS) was announced, the idea of having ombudsmen to oversee the rollout of the scheme to prevent corruption was also mooted. Now, when India is in the grip of a furious debate on the appointment of a Lok Pal and his jurisdiction, the concept of a Lok Pal for NREGS appears to have been forgotten. The ombudsmen were to be selected by a committee of...