As per hallowed newsroom traditions, the bad news first. 1. We have a government and a ruling party that have displayed tactical, strategic, policy and moral incapacities. 2. We have a main Opposition party that, despite witnessing such government and ruling party incapacity, has displayed its own incapacity to do anything intelligent or meaningful. 3. We have a core group of agitationists led by Anna Hazare which has displayed, at best,...
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Casteist forces behind Jan Lokpal, win polls, bring your Bill: Mayawati
-Express News Service Chief Minister Mayawati today put her weight behind fears that casteist and communal forces were trying to subvert the Constitution in the garb of the Jan Lokpal Bill, and asked the Centre to ensure that the legislation was created “within the framework of the Constitution”, and gave proper representation to SCs, STs, OBCs and religious minorities at all important levels. Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister added: “The...
More »Hand on heart, PM flags all-bill option by Sankarshan Thakur
Anna Hazare’s Ramlila brinkmanship flamed deep into another night despite the UPA’s many accommodations and in defiance of mounting civil society and intelligentsia opinion that the government had committed to enough on the Lokpal legislation for him to break his fast. Hazare and his core team of Arvind Kejriwal. Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi remained unmoved by public and bipartisan commitment from the highest quarters that key features of their Jan...
More »BJP roots for Jan Lokpal in U-turn by Radhika Ramaseshan
The BJP today rooted for Anna Hazare’s version of the Lokpal bill, two days after it distanced itself from the draft, the somersault coming in a letter the party’s president wrote to the fasting activist. “We have always been and are for a strong Lokpal,” Nitin Gadkari said in his letter. “For that to happen, (the) BJP accepts your Jan Lokpal bill to be the basis for a strong and effective...
More »Anna should show respect to House, end fast: Agnivesh by Saubhadra Chatterji
Anna Hazare’s insistence on going ahead with his fast despite an emotional appeal from the Prime Minister and other top leaders in the Parliament hasn’t gone down well with a section of the civil society. Swami Agnivesh, who has often associated himself with Hazare’s movement on the Lokpal Bill, said the veteran social activist should have called off his fast after these appeals. “What is the fun in prolonging the fast...
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