Anna Hazare today appeared to betray an ambition to become the next Jaya Prakash Narayan if not a Mahatma Gandhi II, asking the Opposition to join his agitation if the UPA defeated the efforts to enact a strong Lokpal. He asked the Opposition to hit the streets and fill the jails, sounding a little like JP who had brought the Right and the Left together in his 1970s campaign against the...

One hopes that the hotly contested Lokpal Bill will reach its final denouement during the winter session of Parliament. In fact, the debate on corruption in Parliament and media has focused on the single demand for the establishment of an omnipotent institution of the lokpal with its powers of enforcing the citizen’s charter, establishing state-level lokayuktas and encompassing the bureaucracy from a peon to head of the department. It has...

Justice B H Marlapalle, one of the most outspoken and distinguished judges of the Bombay high court, has set a new benchmark not only for members of the Judiciary but even for high-ranking bureaucrats. A day after retirement, he vacated his official quarters and surrendered his vehicle too.  As per the norms, a judge can retain his official accommodation and vehicle for three months after retirement. During his career spanning over...

-BBC   A report on a controversial bill to set up an anti-corruption watchdog has been submitted in India's parliament. The bill was tabled in parliament in August but was sent to a panel of MPs after protests from anti-corruption activists who said it was too weak. Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare has rejected the new draft too, saying it does not go far enough as it does not include lower-level bureaucracy. He has announced plans...

Reluctant to reveal the names of top 100 bank loan defaulter businessmen of the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, seeking a stay on the orders passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC). On November 15, CIC, while deciding a petition filed by local RTI activist P P Kapoor, had directed the RBI to provide him the names of defaulters by...