-The Hindustan Times   Opposing the move to dilute the RTI Act, BJP leader LK Advani on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's talk of a relook at the Act could be due to "sharp" differences between some of his ministers giving the impression of a "civil war" within the government. "I see no reason for the talk of a critical relook at the RTI except for the fact that differences between (Union...

-The Hindu   The controversial decision earlier this month by the Academic Council of Delhi University to drop A.K. Ramanujan's celebrated essay on the Ramayana, Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translations from the B.A. History (Honours) course has evoked sharp protests from several historians and other scholars. Coming three years after the Hindutva student body, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), vandalised DU's History department to protest against the...

-The Times of India   With the Bombay high court making it clear that it would grant no further extension to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for passing the final order on Lavasa, Ajit Gulabchand, chief of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), now hopes of a green clearance. "We hope the MoEF will issue the order giving environment clearance by November 10," Gulabchand said on Tuesday. The additional solicitor general had informed the...

-The Hindustan Times   Team Anna member Kiran Bedi’s travel agent, also a trustee of her NGO, quit both posts on Tuesday, saying his reputation had been tarnished by the controversy over her inflated travel bills. This happened even as the government tried to play down its acrimony with the civil society group and Bedi’s colleague Arvind Kejriwal — accused of diverting the team’s funds to his NGO — dared the Centre...

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged instructions to his officials to allow Hindus to vent their anger after the Godhra attack may not amount to conspiracy to murder but could form the basis of prosecution under various Sections including 153 A, 153 B, 505 and 166 of the IPC.   These deal with statements promoting enmity between communities, imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration, statements conducing to public mischief, and public...