-The Telegraph   The CPM and the BJP closed ranks today, with Sitaram Yechury heading to Sushma Swaraj’s chamber in Parliament to plot strategy on the government crackdown on Anna Hazare. General secretary Prakash Karat’s stringent anti-Congress line prevailed in the CPM, which has so far consciously avoided being seen with the “communal” BJP, and a reluctant Yechury followed party colleague Ramchandra Dome to Sushma’s room after the politburo issued a second statement...

-The Hindustan Times   Unidentified assailants killed a woman Right to Information (RTI) activist in front of her residence here around 11am on Tuesday. She was scheduled to attend a signature campaign in support of Anna Hazare's agitation a couple of hours later. Shehla Masood, 39, was shot in the neck point blank as she was getting into her car parked in front of her house in the upscale Koh-e-Fiza locality in...

-The Business Standard   The controversy surrounding the arrest of Anna Hazare and his team has generated more heat than light about the issues at stake. Mr Hazare and his supporters not only insisted that their views be taken on board in drafting a Lok Pal Bill, but also demanded that only their version of the Bill be accepted and, in fact, placed in Parliament by the government. No government can accept such...

Scotching the urge to self-censor, the press must report ‘bad news’—to guard the guards, empower the citizen, and usher in change When you open a newspaper, or switch on the television, and there’s nothing but good news, it’s time to start worrying about what they’re not telling you. Nobody likes bad news, but the world is full of it. Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise: they want your vote...

The government plans to focus its flagship rural jobs guarantee plan on the poorest districts of the country as there is a growing recognition within the administration that the scheme's nation-wide rollout has adversely impacted its performance. Launched in 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme promises at least 100 days of unskilled manual work in a year to each household in rural India. The scheme was initially...