It seems the people's representatives are oblivious to the fact that making phone calls costs money and they have to pay bills like the man on the street. Altogether 405 present and former members of Parliament owe Rs 7.30 crore to public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd for bills not paid for years. Every MP is entitled to two fixed line telephone connections – one in Delhi and other in his...

-The Economic Times   Jairam Ramesh may have stirred up a hornet's nest when he, as environment minister, complained of MPs indulging in conflict of interest by lobbying for environmental projects, but a look at the Register of Interest of Rajya Sabha members proves how MPs have managed to find a place in many House panels despite having business interests in the sectors concerned. According to the register of interest, made public...

In this Idea Exchange moderated by Senior Editor Archna Shukla, I&B minister Ambika Soni speaks about self-regulation by the media, empowering the Press Council of India and the Congress party’s stand on corruption Archna Shukla: There is a growing perception that the government is unhappy with media criticism. The editor of a leading English daily publicly claimed that government advertisements have been stopped to his publication. Is the government being vindictive? I have...

It has to be but a means to development, not an end in itself Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? Depending on whom you speak to, you could pick up either of those answers with some frequency. One story, very popular among a minority but a large enough group—of Indians who are doing very well (and among the media that cater largely to them)—runs something like...

-The Telegraph   The Supreme Court today described as “disturbing” a claim that 162 of the 543 Lok Sabha members face criminal cases, and issued notices to the central and state governments on a petition seeking to have these cases fast-tracked. The public interest litigation wants speedy trials of all accused lawmakers — MPs and state legislators — so that they “can clear their name (or) face the consequences of past criminal acts”. “Your...