-The Times of India   The BJP-led Opposition on Wednesday launched its attack on the UPA government over the issue of price rise in Lok Sabha. Opening the debate, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said that the BJP did not want the growth of economy if poor were dying of hunger. "Price rise is the worst kind of taxation on poor. The government should take immediate measures to check price rise" Sinha said. Continuing the...

-The Hindustan Times   The government on Wednesday defended the allotment of land to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust in Haryana, saying it was done with the "full consent" of the village panchayat. "The land allotment had the full consent of the panchayat which had unanimously passed a resolution for leasing it for 33 years," I&B Minister Ambika Soni told reporters outside Parliament House. The land allotment to the trust in Gurgaon's...

The July 14 all-party meeting, like all of its predecessors, failed to arrive at any consensus on the passage of the women's reservation Bill. It's high time that the supporters of the Bill realised and accepted that the proposed legislation in its present form will never be passed by the Lok Sabha and devise alternate strategies. If they really care about increasing women's representation, they must be willing to negotiate....

The announcement last weekend by the prime minister that an independent National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Agency (NEAMA) would shortly be set up has been welcomed in the media. The PM indicates that it would be staffed by professionals, will set up a new process for environmental appraisal of projects, and monitor the observance of environmental management plans. It would be a recommendatory body, subject to final decision-making by the...

Taking on HRD minister Kapil Sibal, Team Anna on Monday released the interim results of its 'referendum' in the minister's constituency of Chandni Chowk which showed 85% of respondents were against the government-proposed Lokpal Bill. The civil society activists question whether Sibal still represented the "aspirations of his people" since the results contradicted whatever he had been saying in joint committee meetings held earlier to draft the anti-corruption Bill. Anna and his...