-The Hindu   A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her government had issued an ordinance to reclaim the land at Singur that had been acquired for the since-relocated Tata Motors small car project, a delegation of Left Front legislators met Governor M. K. Narayanan here on Friday to point out that according to the Constitution an ordinance could not be promulgated when the Assembly was in...

-The Telegraph   Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today said the state government had “taken back” through an ordinance the 997.11 acres lying with the Tatas and vendors in Singur to fulfil the promise of returning plots to disgruntled farmers. The dramatic announcement evoked studied silence from the Tatas, sounded the death knell for the agreement the business group signed with the erstwhile Left government and triggered hair-splitting that raised questions about the...

-The Indian Express   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s direction to his ministers to update details of their business interests, assets and liabilities has yielded an interesting profile of his cabinet. The financial status of the powerful — how much wealth they have and how they invest it — always draws curiosity. Dr Singh sticks to fixed deposits, keeping his investment beyond controversy. A.K. Antony’s loan funds a second-hand car. And Kamal...

-The Hindu   Polit Bureau discusses reports of West Bengal, Kerala State Committees on Assembly elections The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday reiterated its commitment to inclusion of the Prime Minister in the purview of the proposed institution of Lokpal. Addressing journalists after the Polit Bureau meeting, MP Sitaram Yechury recalled that a law on Lokpal was something that the party was pursuing for 30 years since the Bofors issue...

-The Hindu   The Central Public Information Officer of the Supreme Court has informed RTI activist Subash Chandra Agrawal that Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia was yet to pass appropriate orders for the setting up of a Constitution Bench to hear cases relating to declaration of assets by judges and other connected issues. The CPIO, in her letter, said the matter was placed before the CJI on December 8, 2010. The...