With two rival versions of the Lokpal Bill already competing for public attention, the stage now seems to have been set for the emergence of a third alternative, courtesy the National Campaign for the People's Right to Information (NCPRI). On July 6, the NCPRI, whose working committee includes National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy, will present an “alternative approach” to the rival Lokpal Bills, drafted separately after talks broke down...

-The Telegraph   The Centre may just have achieved its objective in calling today’s all-party meeting on the Lokpal bill: a consensus among political parties over Parliament’s primacy in lawmaking. All the parties stressed that the government must follow parliamentary procedures, with some criticising it for engaging with Anna Hazare’s group. But though everyone agreed on the need for a strong Lokpal, the parties differed on its provisions, especially on whether the Prime...

Arvind Kejriwal, a member of the joint drafting committee for the Lokpal Bill, is disappointed at the way the government has treated the suggestions made by the civil society for the new Lokpal Bill. In an interview with Thufail PT, he talks about the future of the campaign, the charges of the right-wing bias in the campaign and why it is okay to take funds from corporates for such campaigns....

-The Hindu   Team Anna on Saturday concluded its programme of contacting political parties with a call on Congress president Sonia Gandhi ahead of Sunday's all-party meeting on the Lokpal Bill. Ms. Gandhi assured social activist Anna Hazare that she would convey his views to the government, according to Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, who was present at the meeting. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who headed the joint panel on the Lokpal...

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will meet Anna Hazare on Saturday, citing a “packed prior schedule” to turn down his request for an appointment today. The anti-graft activist has been parleying with leaders of major political parties in the capital for the past two days and met Bihar rivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad. Sources said despite the Congress Working Committee in its meeting last week coming down strongly on Hazare and his...