-The Times of India   Defending the Congress's stand of keeping the Prime Minister's Office out of the ambit of the Lokpal, PM Manmohan Singh on Sunday said the move was not considered advisable and a decision had been taken keeping all factors into account. This is the first time Singh has come out openly in favour of keeping the PMO out of the Lokpal's ambit. Incidentally, Singh had been overruled by...

-The Indian Express   Great expectations are pinned to the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, given the sheer volume of unfinished legislative business, and the amazing free fall of the past few months. The opposition’s passive-aggressive behaviour and the government’s reflexive obduracy over a JPC were the reason the winter session had to be written off, and that certainly contributed to the clear authority vacuum of recent months, even as agitations...

-India Against Corruption   85% people voted against Govt’s Lokpal Bill in Chandni Chowk The verdict is out. The so called representatives have failed to represent their people. The electorate of the HRD minister Kapil Sibal has come out strongly against the provisions of the Lokpal Bill approved by the Cabinet.  The referendum conducted by team Anna in the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency reveals that the elected representatives are not voicing their...

States are expected to take responsibility for this, but the Bill ignores the nutritional crisis altogether K V Thomas Minister for Food The inclusion of iron supplements, protein, dairy supplements and vegetables can be done gradually - this Bill is just the beginning The food security Bill will certainly ensure nutrition but it is the states that have to take steps for that. The draft Bill approved recently by the Group of Ministers is...

-The Indian Express   For the past year, land issues have been a spark for anger and political confrontation all over the country, and the Supreme Court’s recent intervention in Greater Noida land acquisition has underlined the urgency of discovering a political solution. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India said at the beginning of this year that investment would slide unless land issues were sorted out. And, sure enough, FDI numbers have...