In the second and final part of his analysis of the draft Lokpal Bill, Union Minister Kapil Sibal lists out how the Lokpal could be detrimental to the functioning of the judiciary and the exucutive
Health insurance claims are often denied due to exclusions in policy terms. Buyers frequently overlook the fine print or misinterpret clauses.
The Centre has declined to divulge details of persons who have applied for the posts of chairperson and members of anti-corruption body Lokpal, saying these are "personal" in nature and cannot be disclosed.
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.
Former AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan said the Bill was completely different from the one envisaged originally.
A day after stating that the prime minister and Chief Justice of India should not be brought under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal Bill, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday did a volte-face saying he did not make such a statement.
Nandan Nilekani, the chairperson of Unique Identification Authority of India and former Infosys CEO, has said that activist Anna Hazare's protest was unjustified when the Lokpal Bill was before Parliament for consideration.
The much-delayed Lokpal Bill has finally been passed by both the Houses of Parliament. Following are some important features of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, passed by Parliament
The government has notified new Lokpal search committee rules, giving it more freedom to recommend names for chairperson and members of the anti-corruption body outside the list provided by the Department of Personnel and Training.
Delhi assembly on Friday passed the Janlokpal Bill, incorporating suggestions of Anna Hazare, which provides for an ombudsman with powers to act against any government functionary.
Welcoming the passage of Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, India Inc said that once enacted it will help weed out corruption, boost investor confidence and expedite the decision making process.
Anna Hazare fever gripped India and Lokpal became the buzzword. But after the 12-day rollercoaster, will the government keep its promises? Once implemented, will the Lokpal become just another anti-corruption law, asks Ganesh Nadar
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apparently to discuss the Lokpal issue.
The Delhi Cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants -- from chief minister to Group D employees -- and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.
Even Mohanlal could not save the film with his performance.
Urging the government not to enact a law against the interest of states, Communist Party of India - Marxist lawmaker Sitaram Yechury on Thursday accused the corporates of funding elections, and said that the graft cannot be tackled without including India Inc under the review of Lokpal.
The letters by Hazare and Gandhi were released by the All India Congress Committee on Tuesday, on a day the Bill was slated to come up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha.
A Parliamentary panel examining the Lokpal bill may recommend that the proposed anti-corruption watchdog be a single window stop for probing all corruption complaints against government functionaries by ending multiplicity of investigating agencies to investigate graft cases.
Eminent jurist and former Advocate General of India Soli Sorabjee on Sunday opposed demands to bring higher judiciary under the proposed Lokpal Bill, saying they could be "judged" only by an authoritative body of experts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to skip the all party meeting on Lokpal convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 3, a party source has said.
In his letter to the prime minister, Hazare said he would continue the campaign in the capital till the Lokayukta is not appointed and the Swaminathan Commission Report is not implemented.
The Department of Personnel and Training has expedited efforts to select seven members and chairperson of the Search Committee for Lokpal, official sources said.
The government and the opposition are heading for yet another faceoff over constitution of the selection panel for the maiden Lokpal, with the Bharatiya Janata Party opposing the prime minister's proposal to appoint senior lawyer P P Rao as its fifth member.
The search committee will forward the names to the selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, Lok Sabha Speaker, the leader of the largest opposition party and an eminent jurist.
Satyavrat Chaturvedi, chairman of the select committee on Lokpal, did not inform many of the Opposition parties about the meeting to be held on Monday
Replying to a a questionnaire consisting of 20 questions on key issues on Lokpal Bill sent to him by the NGO India Against Corruption, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has given his thumbs up for the draft version put forward by Anna Hazare and his team.
The Anna Hazare team on Wednesday met Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat in New Delhi to explain the civil society's position on the Lokpal Bill ahead of the all party meeting on the issue.
Demanding a strong Lokpal bill against corruption, nine non-National Democratic Alliance opposition parties including the Left, Telugu Desam Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal on Tuesday staged a protest at the main gate of Parliament.
The Congress on Monday supported Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's statements for a "reasoned debate" on the Lokpal Bill and that there is a "lot of scope for give and take" on the issue.
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.
According to former CBI director Joginder Singh, it would be meaningless to bring the agency under the ambit of the Lokpal, says Vicky Nanjappa
Seeking to give a big push to the Lokpal Bill, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to all political parties to support the legislation saying it is a "very very powerful instrument" in the fight against corruption.
Former Union law minister and civil activist Shanti Bhushan has urged the government to hold an open debate on the Lokpal Bill so that the people of India get to know the stance taken by the various members of the drafting committee.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, chairman of the Lokpal Bill Drafting committee, is yet to respond to Bhushan's demand.Bhushan, who is one of the five representatives of the civil society on the panel, said the government was backtracking.
The government is moving a proposal to amend the Lokpal Act and the law governing the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation to ensure there is no requirement of "quorum" in the respective selection panels for choosing the anti-corruption ombudsman or the CBI chief.
The Left parties on Monday announced a nationwide agitational programme to highlight issues relating to corruption and demand an effective Lokpal bill, with the Communist Party of India saying the Prime Minister and his office should be within the purview of the anti-corruption ombudsman.
Haryana Janhit Congress chief Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party, won the Hisar by-polls defeating Indian National Lok Dal 's Ajay Chautala. Congress' Jai Prakash was in the third position.
The leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha will be included in a panel to select the chairperson and members of Lokpal under the amended law, governing the functioning of the anti-corruption body, approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
'The CBI and its independence was discussed in great detail. We invited and sought the views of the CBI director as well as several government officials. But the ingenious solution to the problem came from within the committee. The effort was to somehow find a solution. It would not have been possible to draft this Bill if members had not been liberal in their views and if they had not been prepared to rid themselves of their political bias.' Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi, who headed the Parliamentary committee which proposed the recommendations for the Lokpal Bill, speaks to Anita Katyal in an exclusive interview.
The battle for Jan Lokpal and corruption-free India will commence from Patna in January, social activist Anna Hazare said on Wednesday.
Pushing for inclusion of Prime Minister in Lokpal's ambit "with adequate safeguards", the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday insisted that all public servants should fall within the ombudsman's purview.
