Leaders of political parties met in Delhi on Sunday to evolve a consensus on Lokpal Bill amid a demand by civil society group led by Anna Hazare that the proposed law should have the prime minister and the higher judiciary within its ambit.
Lokayukta sources said much of the findings are already in the public domain as the report was leaked.
Bhushan's claim is based on the grounds that the heart is a plant and the expenditure has been incurred on current repairs.
Gandhian Anna Hazare on Sunday brushed aside Baba Ramdev's criticism on inclusion of father-son duo Shanti and Prashant Bhushan in Lokpal Bill drafting committee and virtually ruled out any change in the nominees, saying the focus is on having an effective anti-graft measure.
Justice Santosh Hegde, who was part of the drafting committee of the Jan Lokpal Bill, says that his biggest complaint with regard to the new government draft of the Bill was that no independent probing agency had been provided for the Lokpal.
"Was he some terrorist that he had to be picked up amid such high drama and urgency?" Justice Santhosh Hegde, member of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee, said about Baba Ramdev's arrest.
The bill was passed without discussion as the Opposition had staged a walkout over the alleged scam in the Teachers' Eligibility Test.
The Uttarakhand assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, which may serve as a template for other Bharatiya Janata Party-run states to enact similar legislation.
Former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has argued for replacing the existing collegium system for judicial appointments, asserting that public sentiment leans toward an alternative mechanism, potentially resembling the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). He believes that the government has the authority to propose a revised constitutional amendment for judicial appointments that would withstand judicial scrutiny. Kumar also urged the Supreme Court to establish a robust internal process to address concerns within the judiciary, including allegations against judges.
The notification, one of the key demands of the anti-corruption campaign launched by Gandhian Anna Hazare, has been signed by V K Bhasin, Secretary, Legislative Department of the law ministry.
The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) on Wednesday held an inter-ministerial meeting with various departments to discuss issues regarding revenue sharing between Big Tech companies and digital news publishers, according to sources. The meeting - chaired by I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju - invited senior officials from the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA), Competition Commission of India (CCI), ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) and departments of promotion of industry and internal trade, legal affairs and consumer affairs.
The joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill on Saturday had its first meeting when civil society representatives presented a new draft of the legislation to the government with both sides expressing hope that the new law will be brought in the monsoon session of Parliament.
A high-level panel on 'One Nation, One Election' studied election processes in seven countries including South Africa, Sweden and Belgium before recommending simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies in India. The other countries where simultaneous elections are conducted are Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Union Cabinet approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session.
The finance minister said the consensus between the Centre and states is required to amendment the constitution for implementing goods and services tax.
Accusing the United Progressive Alliance government of "playing tricks" with the people of the country, Anna Hazare on Thursday questioned the rationale behind sending two versions of the Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet for consideration.
Unable to comprehend the deliberations in English in the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has sought an interpreter for himself from the next meeting.
Backtracking on his Sunday's statement, Anna Hazare on Monday stuck to his August 15 deadline for passage of the Lokpal bill failing which he will resort to agitation.
Anna Hazare, fasting for the last five days for passage of Lokpal Bill, on Saturday said he was happy with the amended legislation presented in the Rajya Sabha and would call off his hunger strike the moment the law is enacted.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana is set to discuss the draft bill for the creation of Telangana on Saturday.
Following is the text of the statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha
The government on Thursday listed bills on personal data protection, to amend forest conservation laws and on the contentious ordinance on Delhi services for the monsoon session of Parliament beginning next week.
Union Minority Welfare Minister Salman Khursid, a key member of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill, on Monday defended the government's approach as 'sensitive and lenient' and said none could be above the existing parliamentary system.
Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and eminent historian K N Panikkar have raised questions on Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement, accusing him of adopting an "authoritarian" approach in selecting civil society members in the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill.
The meeting of the Joint Drafting Committee of the Lokpal Bill, scheduled to be held later on Tuesday, is expected to be a decisive one. But the representatives of civil society don't have any high hopes from this meeting.
Amid sharp differences between representatives of government and civil society, the two sides will meet on Monday in a last ditch attempt to resolve contentious issues and hammer out a consensus on Lokpal Bill.
A parliamentary committee has recommended delinking creation of Lokayuktas from the Lokpal Bill, a provision that was strongly opposed by cpolitical parties including those supporting the United Progressive Alliance.
After withdrawing the personal data protection bill, the government is hopeful of getting a new legislation passed by the next Budget session of Parliament, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. The government on Wednesday withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill from the Lok Sabha. The Joint Committee on Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, headed by BJP member P P Chaudhary, had tabled its report in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2021.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws by voice vote.
The report touches on variety of issues including consent, rights of children, data protection authority and right to recall data.
The bill to amend the IIM Act of 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha last Friday amid disruptions by opposition members over the Manipur violence issue.
The Centre, after the repeal of the farm Acts, may bring in another important piece of legislation concerning farmers in the form of the long-pending Seeds Bill. This will be in the ogoing winter session of Parliament. Sources said the draft Seeds Bill, in the way it was prepared in 2019, sought to overcome several of the shortcomings of the Seeds Bill of 2004, which was proposed to replace the Seeds Act of 1966. However, the 2004 Bill could not be cleared owing to deficiencies in it.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
After the first draft of the Bill was submitted under a committee chaired by Justice B N Srikrishna in 2018, there were objections raised by businesses, especially on the broad restrictions on cross-border data flow.
The government has now agreed to make public the audio recordings of proceedings of the joint drafting committee constituted to draft the Lokpal Bill.
He interrupted his speech to observe a minute's silence in the House along with other Opposition leaders, mainly the Congress, to pay tribute to farmers who had lost their lives during the two month agitation.
'It would be reasonable to assume that Modi 3.0 would be more focused on projects and schemes which do not require any legislative change or which have the support of its coalition partners,' asserts A K Bhattacharya.
'One nation, one election' is not possible under the present Constitution. It requires at least five constitutional amendments'
The Uniform Civil Code bill was passed by the state assembly and also received the presidential assent recently after which it has become a law.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
The Lok Sabha ethics committee has cited the threats India faces from State and non-State cyber actors to indict Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for sharing her log-in credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, noting that he has residency rights in Dubai and has close relatives who are foreign nationals.
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