Sahim Salim writes an eyewitness account from Jantar Mantar square, the spot which activist Anna Hazare has chosen for his hunger strike, demanding changes in the Loik Pal bill.
He said they will need to strive for excellence while personally upholding high ethical standards and values.
The announced plans of social activist Anna Hazare to go on a fast unto death from August 16 in support of the demand of the anti-corruption movement headed by him for a stronger Jan Lok Pal Bill than the one introduced by the government in Parliament poses an executive and moral dilemma to the government of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, says B Raman.
Government decision-making may soon become a casualty
The Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday came out in support of social activist Anna Hazare, on the second day of his indefinite fast in Delhi, demanding implementation of Jan Lokpal Bill
One fallout of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification will be reflected in the Opposition's role in Parliament and related institutions.
The meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill took an ugly turn as the Trinamool Congress MP smashed a glass water bottle and threw it towards panel chairman Jagdambika Pal of the Bharatiya Janata Party during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta high court judge.
The Pal-led committee is currently on a tour of five states to speak to various stakeholders though opposition members have boycotted it.
Satyamev Jayate 2 has a dated, circa 1990s script which won't find acceptance with today's generations, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'When voting clause by clause on Waqf came up in the JPC, the TDP and JD-U supported the BJP on each and every clause.'
Following is the text of the statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha
The deportation of Indians from the United States, deaths in the Maha Kumbh stampede and the joint Parliamentary committee report on the Waqf bill were among the issues that led to heated exchanges and some disruptions in an otherwise smooth first part of the Budget session that ended on Thursday.
The parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf bill is set to propose that existing 'Waqf by user' properties will remain so if not in dispute or are government facilities but they must be registered before the new law takes effect, providing little relief to Waqf bodies in their unverified title claims.
Another bill related to the farm sector, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, was passed on Tuesday.
Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday to protest its chairperson Jagdambika Pal's alleged 'unilateral' decisions and attempts to 'bulldoze' proceedings, indicating that they may disassociate themselves from the panel.
This is the first bill passed by the Lower House of Parliament in the Winter session, which began on Monday.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
They stated that when a soldier fights for the nation, he does so not as a Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion, but as a patriot.
The development comes a day after a government resolution (GR) was issued, in which the state administration ordered disbursal of Rs 10 crore funds for strengthening the state Waqf Board.
The two sections were not retained in the new bills as the government thought they will go against the judgments of the Supreme Court.
Congress senior leaders concede that UPA could be safe in terms of numbers but that does not solve problem totally
The Delhi assembly lacks the powers to make laws relating to police, public order and land
India needs to revisit governance if it wishes to reduce corruption.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told media persons at a press conference that the draft Lok Pal would be ready by January 15 on Thursday. Delhi's chief secretary would head the committee.
Reflecting the unease in party over praise of Aam Aadmi Party by its leaders, a Congress leader on Friday likened it to early days of Lalu Prasad's rule in Bihar in the nineties while another slammed Union minister Jairam Ramesh for praising Arvind Kejriwal's party.
"I have a given a notice for discussion on Lokpal in the Rajya Sabha. The Business Advisory Committee will decide on the date for discussion," Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy told PTI.
'Why should the accused in scams visit the CBI chief so frequently?'
The Congress may get chairmanship of the prestigious Public Accounts of Committee but still there is no guarantee whether it will get the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Devegowda, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Najma Heptullah and Ram Vilas Paswan are among over 300 MPs who are on the utility bill defaulters list of the New Delhi Municipal Council.
It is "absolutely clear" that the new laws will finish government mandis (wholesale markets) and private mandis where big corporates will sell and buy will have monopoly, he claimed.
Dikshit cites lack of party support for delhi debacle; Pawar prescribes introspection; No party ready to form govt in Delhi
The government sources said the bill incorporates various electoral reforms which have been discussed for a long time.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait exhorted farmers to be ready for a massive nationwide agitation over their demands as a 75-hour sit-in by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha in Lakhimpur Kheri seeking the removal of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra and a law on minimum support price (MSP) entered the second day on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday came under attack in Lok Sabha from the Opposition which accused the ruling party of fuelling communalism, resulting in uproar in the House during a debate on communal violence.
Politicians have continued taking people for granted and managed to stay above the law, says T N Ninan
'Though the RSS honours Sardar Patel, who actually banned it, the real hero in the story of its rise is Jayaprakash Narayan,' says Vir Sanghvi.
The session, which was earlier scheduled to conclude on April 3, is now likely to be adjourned sine die on March 23, sources said.
Over 100,000 members have joined the party's state unit, says Praveen Bose
Yogendra Yadav, expelled co-founder of the Aam Aadmi Party, on the party's performance in the last one year.
'You have a chance to use this massive mandate to push through life changing reforms, transform India into a superpower because our nation's biggest strength are its people, and we the people are the most hardworking industrious and entrepreneurial the world has ever seen.' 'Arm us with a society which lives without fear, a governance where business can be conducted smoothly without greasing palms, instill in this great nation a sense of pride once again. Let this nation be bigger than you and the party.' Suparn Verma's impassioned appeal to Narendra Modi.
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