-The Hindu Political parties have acted as judge, jury, supplicant and advocate in their move to amend the RTI Act and remove themselves from its purview. Their rhetoric on transparency sounds more hollow now than ever. The RTI Act provides a regime of consummate transparency of "public authorities". Instead of specifying information to be disclosed, the Act mandates 100 per cent transparency subject only to a tightly defined list of exclusions under...
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Govt tightening reins on paid news -Himanshi Dhawan
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is tightening the rules to stop any incidence of "paid news" in the election season. Media organizations found guilty of publishing "news'' for a consideration will risk losing their registration according to amendments to the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) act proposed by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry. Similar provisions are also likely to be brought in for electronic media. With assembly...
More »All-Party Meet to Discuss RTI Act, SC Order on MPs, MLAs
-Outlook New Delhi: With political parties agitated over plans to bring them under the ambit of RTI Act and the recent Supreme Court judgement on disqualification of lawmakers, government has called an all-party meeting tomorrow to firm up a view on the contentious issues. The meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath is also to facilitate early passage of the Food Security Bill. The Bill is currently under consideration of the Lok...
More »Schools for scandal -Anil Sadgopal
-Frontline The midday meal scheme is a grand idea in a flawed school system. "THEY played here, studied here and got buried here!" (Yahin khela, yahin padha aur yahin ho gaya dafan). With these emphatic words, grieving parents buried the bodies of two children within the compound of the Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School of Masharakh block in Saran district of Bihar. This sentiment was expressed with great dignity even in the...
More »EC moves to operationalize Supreme Court order on convicted MPs and MLAs -Bharti Jain
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Even as the government plans to seek a review of the Supreme Court order disqualifying MPs/MLAs immediately upon their conviction, the Election Commission has moved to operationalize the judgment by asking all the states and Union territories to track and promptly report conviction of MPs/MLAs to Speaker or chairman of the concerned House and to the poll panel. The EC, in a communication sent to chief...
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