-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Money power seems to have emerged the winner again in this round of Haryana assembly elections with an overwhelming 83% of the winning candidates part of the crorepati club. About 75 of the 90 newly elected MLAs in Haryana are crorepatis with BJP leading the pack. Forty of its legislators boast of assets in excess of Rs 1 crore. Though the total number of criminal netas...

-The Hindu Corruption in India has undergone a qualitative shift from the days of licence Raj to the era of liberalisation. Opportunities for making money have come in handy for politicians, who were also dealing with a new political situation of fragmentation and instability. In the days leading to the 2008 Assembly election in Karnataka, slum-dwellers in Bangalore were startled to see small bundles flying in through their windows at night. The...

-Frontline   Political parties flush with funds provided by corporate houses are winning over journalists, and some news organisations are creating packages for election coverage, making the phenomenon of ‘paid news' all pervasive. THE credibility of journalism and journalists has been greatly undermined by the scourge of cash for coverage, a much-abhorred sickness in the profession worldwide. News space on television, radio and newsprint is compromised with impunity with blatant advertising parading...

-Association for Democratic Reforms Press Release   New Delhi: The amendment made in the RTI Act by the Parliament that proposed to keep political parties outside its ambit has been approved by the Parliamentary Committee, entrusted with the task of reviewing it despite much opposition from civil society organizations and citizens. In a landmark decision on June 3, 2013, the Central Information Commission (CIC) pronounced that the political parties (INC, BJP, CPM,...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: Campaigning for the December 4 assembly elections in Delhi ended on Monday with around 25 rallies and road shows being organised in the capital. The public engagement programmers included those by BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal. While the national capital was plastered with posters promising safety to women and the issue figures big in party...