Comprises Lokpal Bill, laws on poll reforms, public disclosures and accountability of judges The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is planning to introduce a slew of anti-graft laws in the winter session of Parliament: apart from the Lokpal Bill, which is with a Standing Committee of Parliament, in the works are laws on electoral reforms, public procurement, service delivery to citizens, public disclosures, and accountability of judges, among others. Union Ministers and...

Lokpal provisions under consideration of the parliamentary standing committee could actually lead to significant delays in punishing erring bureaucrats, rather than speeding up the process. This would be among the key arguments from stakeholders who are expected to interact with the standing committee in the coming days. The constitution of the particular standing committee has been significantly delayed, forcing the presentations by CBI chief and central vigilance commissioner for the third...

On August 27, Parliament should have passed a resolution on the Lokpal issue in the established manner. The so-called ‘Sense of the House' resolution was a perplexing move. After the failure of discussions between members of a committee comprising Union Ministers and the civil society team, Anna Hazare declared on July 29, 2011 that if the government did not act on the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by the team by August...

-The Hindu   They will weaken anti-corruption regime As campaign against corruption gathers momentum, the Central Bureau of Investigation will tell the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Law, Justice and Personnel that both the civil society's Jan Lokpal Bill and the government's Lokpal Bill appear “unworkable” and will weaken the anti-corruption regime. In a presentation scheduled for Thursday before the committee, CBI Director A.P. Singh will present the agency's views on the Bills. As for the...

Arvind Kejriwal is part of the brains trust behind the Anna Hazare movement, which has the potential to further undermine the Delhi order. The engineer-turned-civil servant-turned-RTI activist is now a mass campaigner for the Jan Lokpal bill and plans to expand the movement. He spoke to Saba Naqvi about his ideological convictions, faith in “the people”, dealings with the Aruna Roy-led National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) and...