There was wide criticism of the perceived attack on federalism Members of Parliament across the political spectrum are apprehensive of what the establishment of a supreme Lokpal — answerable to none — may hold for the future of the parliamentary system of governance as India has known and for the entire political establishment. Even as the process for the historic legislation for establishing a Lokpal began on Thursday with the introduction of...

-The Hindu   ‘Had market-using reforms been used in auctioning spectrum, the scam would not have arisen” Batting for removal of licence regime to tackle corruption, noted economist Jagdish N. Bhagwati on Thursday said the auction of 2G spectrum in 2008 would have averted the telecom scam. He lauded the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for bringing out anti-corruption legislation and asked the civil society to make suggestions and not impose solutions. “High-level...

The goals of the Right to Education (RTE) Act are unrealistic and unachievable in its entirety education experts and policymakers said at a conference here today, and endorsed the need for more dialogues with civil society, government agencies and educational service providers to bring the landmark legislation to fruition.              There is an imperative need to look afresh into the RTE Act, iron out its ambiguities and...

-The Times of India   Strongly reacting to the newspaper reports highlighting how many schools, despite a blanket ban, are conducting interviews for admission, a city-based social activist Komal Srivastava, working for the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 has decided to come-up with a helpline for admission-related complaints. They are also planning to come up with a helpline service for the parents. "This is the only Act which can...

Nikhil Dey, co-convenor of the National CAMPAign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), has said that Team Anna’s opposition to the Grievance Redressal Bill is outdated as it seems to be based on the older version of the Bill which is available on the Internet.   The din over the Lokpal — which is at best a “huge police agency that will send people to jail” — he says, has drowned the...