-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...

It’s been raining “rights” in Indian policy for the last few years — education, work, food, service, healthcare, and much else. This “Diet Coke” approach to poverty reduction — the sweetness without the calories — was always dangerous because of unknown side effects. Commenting in 1790 on the consequences of the French Revolution, Edmund Burke said: “They have found their punishment in their success. Laws overturned, tribunals subverted, industry without...

-The Times of India   The unveiling of the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill is better late than never. All over India, industrialisation and infrastructure are hobbled by land-related strife. Whether it's Singur in Bengal or anti-Posco protests in Orissa, such stirs are impeding development and spooking investors. Bringing in a set of predictable rules - any rules - is welcome in such a context. The Bill...

-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...

Jharkhand is viewing with serious concern Mamata Banerjee government’s peace initiatives with Maoists in neighbouring Bengal, the apprehensions centred around a prevalent lull in anti-rebel operations that could lead to repercussions in a state that the Union home minister described as the epicentre of left wing extremism. State DGP G.S. Rath believes the developments in Bengal, where peace moves have meant that anti-rebel operations have been reduced to routine patrolling by...