-PTI The Parliamentary Standing Committee going into the Lokpal bill has recommended keeping out judiciary and MPs' conduct in House out of its purview and rejected the demand for hiving off the prosecution wing of CBI to come under its jurisdiction. Members have unanimously recommended conferring constitutional status on the Lokpal and setting up of Lokpal and Lokayuktas in states under one legislation. The draft report on the Bill, which has been...
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Lokpal likely to be a constitutional body
-The Economic Times The standing committee vetting the Lokpal Bill has reached a consensus on making the proposed anti-graft ombudsman a constitutional body. The suggestion to upgrade the status of Lokpal to a constitutional body had first come from Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha MP from Amethi Rahul Gandhi. At its meeting on Thursday, all members of the standing committee, headed by Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, were unanimous that Lokpal...
More »Why India needs democracy by Markandey Katju
What is our national aim? To my mind, our national aim must be to make India a highly prosperous country for its citizens, and for that it is necessary to have a high degree of industrialization. Even setting up and running a single primary school requires a lot of money, e.g. for buying land, erecting the school building and providing for the recurrent expenditure for salaries of teachers, staff, etc. We...
More »Anti-corruption campaigners in India risk their lives by Rupa Jha
Bhukan Singh is a small, shy figure, with a nervous smile - he does not look like a hero. But standing in a field near his home, he recalls the day last March when his fight for transparency and justice in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand nearly resulted in his death. "In today's India speaking the truth is not easy," Mr Singh, 44, says wistfully, remembering how, on that March day...
More »Anna team meets BJP
-The Telegraph Team Anna members today lobbied BJP leaders over their Jan Lokpal Bill but failed to get a commitment. Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley told the team that their party wasn’t opposed to the government introducing separate bills to tackle corruption in the lower bureaucracy and judiciary. The team wants these brought under the ombudsman. Hazare’s associates were also told that the BJP favoured a strong Lokpal but not a draconian one,...
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