-The Hindu The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill is a twin attack on accountability and the idea of federalism “Amendments” have haunted the Right to Information (RTI) community ever since the RTI Act came into effect almost 14 years ago. Rarely has a law been so stoutly defended by activists. It is not possible to pass a perfect law. But it was a popular opinion strongly held by most RTI activists that...

-The Hindu Daily wagers are taking part in rallies for Rs. 1,000 a day and a meal VIJAYAWADA (Andhra Pradesh): Farmers are running short of hands during the crucial rabi sowing season, with thousands of daily wagers opting to work in Election Campaigns instead. Politicians are paying the agricultural labourers ?1,000 per day for being part of an election rally, apart from a meal and snacks. The job entails being a part...

-The Economic Times The group said the threat posed by digital platforms to the integrity of the upcoming elections has assumed “alarming proportions”. A group of rights organisations and citizens — including Internet Freedom Foundation, Common Cause and former chief election commissioners N Gopalaswami and SY Quraishi — have “made an urgent appeal” to the Election Commission to rein in digital platforms to ensure integrity of the general elections. The group, which also...

-The Hindu Business Line With people too busy collecting it, attendance at poll meetings is thin It’s the schedule of water tankers, and not the time and availability of political bigwigs and national leaders, that is determining the timing of election meetings and rallies in Maharashtra’s drought-affected regions. With the drought intensifying and paucity of water rising, over 3,117 water tankers, as against just 391 in March 2018, are plying in 8,000 villages...

-The Indian Express Concealing the identity of donors in electoral bonds goes against a fundamental tenet of democracy — transparency Electoral bonds are attracting attention in the run-up to the general elections. These bonds were conceived in 2017 and the necessary legislative changes were made in the Finance Bill of 2017. For example, Section 31 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1924, was amended and a new Clause (3) was...