-The Economic Times Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare on Sunday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him to replace the 'weak' lokpal bill with a "really stringent'' one. Similar letters, with a few variations, were sent to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, his Samajwadi Party counterpart Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati. These parties are the main contenders in the assembly polls in...
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No one bill will do by PP Rao
Corruption has become a serious problem, defying solutions. To curb it, several measures are needed apart from the lokpal bill, the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill and the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, otherwise known as the whistlblowers protection bill. The three bills, in their present form, do not appear capable of achieving the avowed objective. Like the Right to Information Act, these bills...
More »Team Anna crusade to roll on weekend
-The Telegraph Team Anna will start its campaign in the five poll-bound states from Saturday, almost two weeks ahead of the earlier plan it had announced. The group said it would not ask voters to back or oppose any particular party but make them aware of every party’s stand on the lokpal bill. Team Anna had earlier said it would start its campaign from February 3 in Uttar Pradesh. Its tour plan now...
More »Is Indian bureaucracy the worst?
-The Economic Times Bureaucracy bashing is India's favourite national vocation. And for good reason. Our bureaucracy has its good share of crooks, criminals and cheats who need to be put away - with or without a lokpal. The simple counter-question is, does the bureaucracy have a disproportionately larger share of crooks than in other professions in India, and the data clearly does not say a resounding yes. In fact, there is perhaps...
More »Decision on new BPL cap only after SECC, standing panel reports by K Balchand
The Union government and the Planning Commission will take a decision on the new Below Poverty Line (BPL) cap only after a report is submitted by the Parliamentary Committee on the Food Security Bill and the completion of the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC). As things stand, divergent views have already surfaced raising a question mark on the fate of the Food Security Bill. Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen said...
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