NGOs differ on Jan Lokpal, pick on Team Anna’s shortcomings Conflict Amongst NGOs?     * Great response to Anna seen as success of civil society     * NGOs agree on wiping off corruption in government, not on solutions     * They celebrate the middle class finding voice; but mourn lack of reach among villagers     * Divergence in views seen as healthy for debate; onus on govt to take final call *** First the good news:...

-The Times of India   Students, teachers and educationists unanimously demanded that the state frame rules under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act to make schools free of corporal punishments and mental harassment to children. People raised the demand at a public hearing organized by Mathews Philip, representative appointed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for Karnataka to monitor the implementation of RTE Act, at...

Over the last few days, as a desperate government tried to tide over the Lokpal Bill crisis, it received over half-a-dozen variants of the draft legislation. On Saturday, both Houses of Parliament took up the subject and though the debate was mostly confined to the Jan Lokpal Bill, it made the political point that while an effective law should be devised to tackle corruption, Parliament’s supremacy must be maintained. The...

-The Times of India   A day after Parliament accepted in principle the demands of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare, some voices of dissent over the movement have surfaced. Leading civil rights organization, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has raised apprehensions on the ability of the Lokpal bill to tackle corruption. In a public discussion in Jaipur on Sunday, PUCL activists including its former national head Rajendra Sachar and noted activist Binayak...

Social activist and National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy has welcomed the government's move to build a “national consensus” through Parliament for a strong anti-corruption and grievance redress mechanism. But she blamed the government of mishandling Anna Hazare's campaign. “Setting up arbitrary conditions, such as limited number of days and protesters before letting Hazare to proceed, and subsequently arresting him when he refused to comply, were anti-democratic actions by the...