Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday moved a motion in the Lok Sabha for the appointment of a 30-member Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the 2G spectrum issue. The 20 members from the Lower House who would be in the JPC were named. The names of the remaining 10 who would represent the Upper House would be announced on March 1, when the House officially joins the JPC. The JPC...
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Govt blinks again, to set up 30-member JPC
The government will announce a 30-member joint parliamentary panel with terms of reference expected to cover the period of the execution of the first-come, first-served policy for telecom licences including the opposition NDA's term in office. The committee is expected to submit a report in six months but sources were doubtful if this might be sufficient. The announcement on the JPC, its membership and terms is to be made on Thursday...
More »Activist Sandeep Pandey returns NREGS award in protest
Magsaysay award winner and activist Sandeep Pandey has decided to return the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) achievement award along with the cash award of Rs. 44,000 that was presented to him in February 2009. &nBSP; In a letter to Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, he said that he is returning the award as no action has been taken yet in a 2009 incident in which dalit workers were beaten...
More »Mayawati to unveil RTI spinoff on her birthday
Inspired by the RTI Act, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is all set to bring in a new legislation aimed at making government officials "accountable to the common man". The Janhit Guarantee Bill, to be unveiled by the BSP supremo on her 55th birthday tomorrow, promises timely delivery of information and documents like birth and death certificates and revenue records to the people, an official said. It also empowers the people to...
More »Startling growth in “businessmen MPs” by Vidya Subrahmaniam
A potential for conflict of interest, says study by National Social Watch As many as 128 members of the Lok Sabha, forming nearly a fourth of the strength of the lower House, fall in the categories of “industrialist/trader/businessperson/ builder.” In the Rajya Sabha, MPs from these groups (25 out of 245) account for a more modest 10 per cent. However, in a potential conflict of interest, many of the MPs are...
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