-The Times of India   BERHAMPUR: While there is a nation-wide debate on the Central government's proposal to exempt the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the state anti-corruption agency urged the government to keep it out of the purview of RTI too. "We have written to the government urging to exempt the vigilance department from the RTI Act," said the state director of vigilance Anup...

If the Lokpal Bill presented to Parliament is a dud, Anna Hazare and his team must accept their share of the blame. They took their eyes off citizens and concentrated almost exclusively on big people in important positions. What tempted them to take this stance? Is it because enemies in high places are better ego boosters than humble friends? For ordinary people it is of little consequence if the prime minister...

Nandkumar Naitam is relieved after a month of “torturous” anxiety. “I thought it over again and again,” the 20-year-old tribal youth says. “I thought that if I couldn’t get a rifle, I’d pick up my traditional weapon, the bow-and-arrow.” It was a desperation that Nandu, as he is fondly called, shared with his 5,000-odd fellow special police officers (SPOs), who till a month ago formed the Chhattisgarh government’s frontline against the Maoists...

-The Telegraph   Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today told the Lok Sabha that certain sections in Bengal were opposed to the blanket ban on acquisition of multi-crop irrigated plots in the draft land acquisition bill, but did not specify who they were. While answering questions, he underlined the complexities involved in preparing a bill that would be acceptable to all sections of society. He said the proposed ban on acquisition of multi-crop...

The Lokpal Bill is in danger of skidding off the rails. As it is introduced in Parliament, eminent activist Aruna Roy tells Shoma Chaudhury why we should not rush into it. THE LOKPAL BILL is now being debated in Parliament, almost 40 years after the idea was first mooted. Unfortunately, parented on one side by decades of wilful government inertia and, on the other, by the panicked hustle of ‘Team...