-Express News Service   Taking over the investigations into the Gopalgarh riots, the CBI on Wednesday registered five FIRs in the case. The investigating agency has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an SP for an expeditious probe into the case.   A CBI spokesperson said the agency took over the investigations following a request from the Rajasthan Government. A CBI team, accompanied by forensics experts, visited Bharatpur last week and collected...

-The Times of India   With the Bhilwara pattern social audit of schemes under the MGNREGA shelved in the state, the alternative method is also coming under political pressure. A recent application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed letters from a minister and an MLA urging the social audit directorate not to conduct audit of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) schemes in villages falling in their constituencies....

“This trip should translate into strong, political action” Amid the continuing blame game over the recent violence in Gopalgarh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi made a surprise visit to the eastern Rajasthan town on Sunday and met the riot-affected people as well as the families of some of the deceased. Unexpected visit Union Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh accompanied Mr. Gandhi during the visit that lasted barely two hours. Mr. Gandhi saw...

India’s transparency watchdog the Central Information Commission has decided to take upon itself the task of safeguard interests of the Right To Information (RTI) applicants who face harassment for seeking information. In 2010, 28 RTI activists were allegedly attacked after filing their applications and this year two activists Manglaram of Rajasthan and Amarnath. India's transparency watchdog the Central Information Commission has decided to take upon itself the task of safeguard interests of...

After firefighting the controversy over poverty line cut-off, the Congress-led UPA government may find itself in trouble on the matter of NREGS wages. In a judgment late last month, the Karnataka High Court ruled that wages under the UPA’s flagship rural job guarantee scheme “shall not be” less than the minimum wages fixed by state governments under the Minimum Wages (MW) Act. The decision will re-open the tussle between Sonia Gandhi-led National...