-The Business Standard Channel to represent people intersted in public issues Anti-corruption activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan,  are planning to launch a television channel, which they say, will be non-profit and will focus on public issues. “We are starting a channel which will focus on public issues,” Bhushan told Business Standard. He indicated that the channel would not just be confined to people from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but would be a...

-Outlook A new land acquisition bill readies for budget session. How will it fare? Bill Of Blights     Defines “public purpose” too broadly, allows govt to acquire land for PPPs     Less landowner consent required for PPPs than private-only projects     The bill’s compensation norms likely to face strict challenges in the courts     States have been given R&R powers but could lead to arbitrary outcomes     Doesn’t consider govt projects where compensation, R&R are neglected *** The...

-The Times of India Aam Aadmi Party may be demanding a strong lokpal but its own "internal lokpal" has been a bit of a non-starter. Four months after the group announced its internal ombudsman, there has been little headway in the matter. In October last year, the activists had announced that a three-member panel of retired judges headed by Justice AP Shah would investigate charges of impropriety against its members including...

-The Times of India Aam Aadmi Party has Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit in its crosshairs again, promising to expose on Friday how the Delhi government consistently "favoured" private power distribution companies at the expense of the public. Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan announced on Thursday that they would expose "connivance" between Dikshit and the electricity companies. The offensive against Delhi government is not new and, in fact, marks the end of a...

-The Indian Express Our reactions to the current protests triggered by the gangrape in the capital reveal a paradoxical state of mind. We welcome the spontaneous nature of these protests, underline the fact that most of the ordinary women and men who joined these protests were not mobilised by any organisation and caution against the entry of “political elements”. At the same time, we criticise the protesters for the lack of...