-IANS Both Houses of Parliament were disrupted on Monday as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members noisily demanded that black money stashed abroad be brought back to the country. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu raised the issue when zero hour began. Criticising the government, he said: "Even the CBI director has raised the issue, which shows the seriousness of the issue. With that money we can solve several problems...

-Tehelka Activists say that the agricultural land should not be acquired for non-agricultural purposes A group of activists on Tuesday 7 August raised concerns about the land acquisition bill in its new form. The activists have demanded a white paper stating the extent of land acquired by the government. The new bill, called the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement and Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, is at odds with the recommendations...

-The Telegraph Jhargram: A farmer who had accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of making false promises to Jungle Mahal’s poor at her Wednesday rally was picked up a second time on Friday night and slapped with non-bailable charges. Forty-something Shiladitya Chowdhury, who owns a one-bigha plot, has been charged with assaulting and injuring government officials three days after the police apparently let him go because they could find no evidence that he...

-The Economic Times The government has made key changes to the proposed legislation for land acquisition, making it more attractive for industry by easing some of the stringent conditions, a person privy to the draft told ET. The rural development ministry has proposed to not implement the legislation with retrospective effect, besides relaxing the requirements of consent from landowners, and tightening the definition of market value. The amended Bill has been rechristened 'The...

-The Hindustan Times With the pressure off on the government for setting up the lokpal, the law ministry has joined its various counterparts and departments in opposing many key provisions of the anti-graft bill, rendering its future uncertain. Interestingly, the ministry had drafted and given legal clearance to the bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on December 27, 2011. It has conveyed its views to the Rajya Sabha select committee, which is examining the...