Justice Santosh Hegde on Saturday indicated that he may not resign from the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement that the government was looking forward to enacting a strong anti-corruption legislation.
"If Sonia Gandhi admits in public that she does not like a vilification campaign then I would like to ask her why she hesitates to pull up her own colleagues who engage in such campaigns," said Justice Santosh Hegde, a member of the drafting committee of the Lokpal bill. Hedge threatened to quit on Thursday following statements from Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who had said that he (Hegde) had failed to control corruption in Karnataka.
Social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday virtually dismissed allegations against Shanti Bhushan, the co-chair of the Lokpal Bill joint drafting committee, in a CD controversy and backed his presence on the panel.
The situation in Manipur and the Delhi services ordinance are set to dominate the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Thursday with the Opposition gearing up to raise these issues to corner the government.
The standing committee on water resources, tabled in Lok Sabha, said only Manipur, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir had enacted legislation, though delineation and demarcation of flood plains are yet to be undertaken.
An all party meeting to seek views across the political spectrum on the issue of inclusion of the prime minister under the Lokpal Bill is likely to be held in the first week of next month.
Reflecting a rift within Team Anna Hazare, Justice Santosh Hegde has disapproved of the anti-Congress campaign by activist Arvind Kejriwal during the Hisar bypolls, saying it was not the right thing to do and "we jumped the gun".
The opposition would push for the passage of the two bills -- the farmers' freedom from indebtedness bill and the farmers' right to guaranteed remunerative minimum support prices for agriculture commodities bill -- in the Rajya Sabha
After decades of delay and inaction, the Hindu minority community in Pakistan will soon have a marriage law as a parliamentary panel has unanimously approved the Hindu Marriage Bill.
Member of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill, N Santosh Hegde, on Friday strongly disapproved of Anna Hazare's insistence on "having his way" in Parliament and sought to make out a case for ending his fast even while continuing the anti-corruption fight.
Member of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill, N Santosh Hegde, on Friday strongly disapproved of Anna Hazare's insistence on "having his way" in Parliament and sought to make out a case for ending his fast even while continuing the anti-corruption fight.
An FAQ on the controversial anti-corruption bill
Civil society led by Anna Hazare on Monday hit back at the government over the charge that it was undermining Parliament and Constitution and asked why an "honest" man like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is "scared" of being investigated by the Lokpal.
Member of Lokpal Bill Joint Drafting Committee Prasant Bhusan on Saturday said he was 'unhappy' at the presence of Sangh Parivar leader Sadhvi Ritambhara on the dais, where Baba Ramdev is on a hunger strike against black money, saying the platform should not be used by 'communal' forces."I am unhappy with the presence of Sadhvi Ritambhara. You cannot prevent anyone from supporting a cause but the platform should not be allowed to be used by communal forces," said Bhusan.
Justice N Santosh Hegde, a representative of the civil society in the joint drafting committee for the Lokpal Bill, on Saturday said that there is nothing wrong in the presence of Sangh Parivar leader Sadhvi Ritambhara on the dais where Baba Ramdev is on a hunger strike against black money. When informed that Ramdev had assured Anna Hazare on Friday that no communal element will be allowed to join his satyagraha, Hegde said, "Suppose the Muslim League comes out on Sunday?"
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is a member of the newly constituted 10 member draft committee of the Lokpal Bill along with his father Shanti Bhushan, has decided to move a criminal contempt petition in the Supreme Court on Monday."I am moving a criminal contempt petition in the Supreme Court against those who have brought out a controversial CD against my father Shanti Bhushan with the intention of maligning his name," Prashant Bushan said.
Will the new Congress government implement the five 'guarantees' that helped it in part to wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party in toto or will they now add a "conditions apply" clause?
'The message is not clear whether we are wanted.' 'All this could adversely impact our strategy in India and also investments.'
Noted constitutional expert Fali Nariman has advised Gandhian Anna Hazare to refrain from sitting on fast again to press for his demands pertaining to the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Talks between the government and Anna Hazare-led civil society failed to make any headway on Wednesday and the two sides have agreed to meet again on June 20 and 21 to bridge "strong divergence" of opinion.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, a member of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill, on Monday said that he would not like to continue in his chair after the expiry of his five-year term in August.
"I have been assured by the Delhi Police that there would be free, fair and thorough probe. The CD will be examined in at least two different labs for separate reports," Chidambaram told media persons in New Delhi.
Blaming opponents of the anti-superstition bill for the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has said organisations behind such acts should be isolated and their activities stopped.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India could be again set on collision course with the Sports Ministry as a contentious clause in the Draft National Sports Development Bill states that only those federations who come under the Right to Information Act (RTI) ambit will have the right to use 'India' as the team's name.
Discussion on the draft Bill for the formation of separate Telangana, could not be taken up in Andhra Pradesh Assembly today as MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema opposed to the move and did not allow the proceedings, due to which the House was adjourned for the day.
A united Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Thursday pitched for referring the triple talaq bill to a 'joint select committee' of Parliament, claiming its provisions were unconstitutional.
Action has been initiated on making the Communal Violence Bill a law to protect minorities from targeted attacks, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday said, but was not sure if it will be tabled in the Winter Session of Parliament.
The Jan Lokpal Bill is likely to be approved by the Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday as its draft has almost been finalised by a panel headed by chief secretary.
The Bill - to centrally regulate microfinance institutions (MFIs) - may also cap the rates charged by these institutions or limit margins, that is, the difference between the rate charged from the borrower and the lender's cost of funds.
The Delhi government on Wednesday cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill, paving the way towards creating the post of an anti-graft ombudsman, which it claimed was similar to the one proposed during the Anna Hazare movement, and will table it in the Assembly soon.
The draft Companies Bill 2008 has identified the three key managerial positions as chief executive officer, chief finance officer and company secretary. By recognising these three key managerial positions, the Bill is fixing responsibility to bring out a system which is more accountable, transparent and workable, according to an official at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
As a Parliamentary panel races to submit its report on the nuclear liability bill, Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have dug its heels asking the government to clarify whether the draft legislation was India-specific or being enacted to fulfil requirements of international treaties.
In a sharp reaction to Rahul Gandhi's comments on the Lokpal Bill, the Bhyaratiya Janata Party on Saturday alleged Congress and its allies are blocking the passage of the legislation and it is ready to support the measure even amid the din and without a discussion.
Its passage in the Lok Sabha is all but certain due to the massive majority the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have, and the Union government is confident of its passage in the Rajya Sabha as well with the support of several non-aligned regional parties which have often joined the treasury benches in the past.
On the eve of the maiden meeting of the 10-member joint committee on Saturday to draft the Lokpal bill, government on Friday said it has an open mind on the issue.
With the ongoing Parliament session -- the last for this Lok Sabha, witnessing continued turmoil, there are indications that the legislation would be tabled in the Rajya Sabha so as to keep it alive for the new House to take it up.
The Bankruptcy Bill seeks to ensure predictability of outcome for creditors.
The Lokpal Bill is likely to be introduced in Rajya Sabha on November 29, according to a highly-placed source. The Congress Party's confident manner towards the approaching winter session indicates the party's decision to use the bill as a political weapon to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party refrains from disrupting Parliament sessions.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to go into a batch of Public Interest Litigations challenging constitutional validity of the notification on composition of a committee to draft the Jan Lokpal bill, saying the petitions were "premature".
The proposed bill seeks to raise FDI cap in the sector to 49% from the present 26.5%