A more informed electorate, rather than the Lokpal, can fight corruption better, argues Neeta Kolhatkar.
Government has so far not carried out a full assessment of the personnel that will be required to staff the proposed institution of Lokpal, a Parliamentary panel has been informed.
Communist Party of India - Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury on Friday blamed the Congress-ed government and its allies for the chaos in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday night, which led to the adjournment of the House sine die without the passage of the Lokpal Bill. He lashed out at the Congress and its ally Trinamool congress for "engineering" a situation which made it impossible to transact any business.
With the bill giving constitutional status to the Lokpal defeated in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Wednesday took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party and Team Anna, asking Anna Hazare whether his colleagues would stage a dharna in front of LK Advani's residence pleading with the BJP not to oppose it in the Rajya Sabha
A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Naveen Sinha, while referring to an earlier judgment of the apex court, said, "We are holding that it is a workable piece of legislation and it is not justifiable to keep this pending."
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reacted sharply to Team Anna's remarks on state government's draft bill on Lokayukta, describing it a "copy" of the Centre's Lokpal draft, by saying that he did not require a certificate from any one.
"We propose to cover organisations like ISRO and arms deals under the purview of Jan Lokpal as they are important from internal security angle, besides the Prime Minister above all who will come under its jurisdiction," Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, part of the 10-member Joint Drafting Committee on Lokpal Bill, told media persons in Bengaluru.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Thursday said he was reconsidering his decision to be on the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, apparently upset over the vilification campaign against the anti-graft panel.
The way appears to have been cleared for Anna Hazare to end his fast possibly on Friday when Parliament will discuss the Jan Lokpal Bill along with other civil society drafts on the subject after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the ice-breaking offer.
Team Anna member and former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday appealed to Anna Hazare to end his eight-day fast, saying everyone is "honestly" concerned about his health.
Justice Santosh Hegde has become a very popular face at the protests against corruption at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
Justice Santosh Hegde has become a very popular face at the protests against corruption at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
Law Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday launched a scathing attack on Bharatiya Janata Party saying the party which indulges in "doublespeak" on corruption cannot question the prime minister on the issue as the UPA has taken graft head on and its ministers have resigned on "mere" allegations.
Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge known for his vigorous campaign against corruption, had on Friday said that former Chief Justice of India J S Verma, would be the most ideal person for the post.
A wasted exercise, a total flop show and not to mention a total failure: This is how Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde, member of the Lokpal Bill drafting panel, described the final outcome following the last meeting of the committee with the government.
It would be good if all political parties understood the advantages, he said.
Kharge said that a special invitee invitation is a "concerted effort" to exclude the voice of the opposition in Lokpal selection.
Kharge shoots off another letter to the prime minister.
Leader of the Opposition in Gujarat assembly and senior Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela on Monday termed the transfer of Governor Kamla Beniwal as a "vindictive" step.
The monsoon session of parliament is all set to begin on July 21, but it will be a truncated three-week affair.
Anna Hazare on Monday declined to comment on Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP's decision to form the new government in Delhi, but added he would express his views when his former protege acts on the Lokayukta issue.
Bhushan questioned the appointment and removal processes of the Lokpal laid out in the bill, which was recently cleared by the Aam Aadmi Party cabinet, saying they would put the ombudsman at the mercy of the city government.
Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government is locked in a power struggle with the Centre and the Lt Governor. Kavita Chowdhury reports
Though there is a full-throated clamour in the Congress that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi be formally named as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Nehru-Gandhi scion is personally not convinced that his projection will yield electoral dividends.
The session will have 20 working days for now.
Hazare began his fast on January 30 at his native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, demanding appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs at the Centre and in Maharashtra and resolution of farmers' issues.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of chief ministers of party-ruled states to chalk out the party's strategy in the run-up to the general election. The leaders would focus on setting up of Lokayuktas in a time-bound manner in states and curbing food inflation.
Bringing corruption into the heinous crime category, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved official amendments to an anti-graft legislation enhancing the penalty under it to a maximum of seven years imprisonment from the present five years.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Narendra Modi, slamming him for his roots in the Rashtriya Syawamsevak Sangh "whose ideology killed Mahatma Gandhi" and debunking his claims of development in Gujarat.
Many claim they fear witch hunts for disagreeing with those in power.
While the Centre said that the amendment bill is pending in Parliament to include the leader of largest opposition party, a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said that Parliament, by not amending the law, cannot frustrate the mandate for appointment of Lokpal.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has accused BJP of practicing "politics of blood" by pitting one religion against another and one caste against another to come to power at any cost, escalating the Congress attack against the opposition party.
After embarrassing his own government by publicly thrashing its ordinance on convicted legislators in public, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday trained his guns at the Maharashtra government for rejecting the Adarsh Inquiry Commission report.
The Lokpal can't be appointed in the current scenario as amendments regarding the definition of the Leader of Opposition in the Lokpal Act was pending in Parliament, AG said.
Consensus building is likely to be the biggest casualty.
Citing overlapping of functions, a parliamentary committee on Monday recommended integrating Central Vigilance Commission and anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation to work directly under the command and control of Lokpal to deal with corruption cases.
The Congress on Monday put the ball in Aam Aadmi Party's court over government formation in Delhi saying that 16 of its 18 demands need just administrative decisions and have nothing to do with Parliament or assembly.
Actor-director Shashank Udapurkar's biopic Anna, a linear sketch of the man, who once brought the Delhi Establishment on its knees, fails to inspire, feels Prasanna D Zore.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday declared that he did not agree with the decision of the Congress government in Maharashtra to reject a judicial commission's report on the Adarsh scam and said it should be reconsidered.
Yediyurappa said he would decide on members to be inducted into the ministry after consulting party president Amit Shah.
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