Vicky Nanjappa speaks to Justice Santhosh Hegde, one of the members of the drafting panel of the Jan Lokpal Bill, who feels that it is unfortunate that Aam Admi party convener Arvind Kejriwal and his team are opposing the bill so much.
Kejriwal runs his party with the proverbial iron fist and has learnt to temper his aggression, say people close to him.
Watch all the action as it unfolds in the Upper House of Parliament, LIVE!
Watch all the action as it unfolds in the Upper House of Parliament, LIVE!
The 80-year-old anti-corruption crusader, whose previous agitation propelled many leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to the national limelight has decided that those who wish to associate with him now will have to swear in an affidavit that they will not join politics in future.
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Watch LIVE! Opposition targets government over Lokpal
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has said though the 'sense of the House' passed by Parliament on the three demands of Team Anna is not binding on the Standing Committee, it is unlikely to reject it.
Interestingly, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra was present in the Speaker's gallery to watch her brother speak on the issue of corruption and Hazare's agitation. Priyanka has just returned from New York where their mother Sonia Gandhi is recuperating after surgery.
The Delhi police has been asked to crackdown on hooligans who indulged in violence during the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare even as two persons were arrested for beating policemen on duty in the wee hours of Friday.
The whole approach of the civil society activists is legalistic, with an unbounded faith in laws as cure for all. In India we have a plethora of laws but very little law and order. It is essential that any solution for corruption must involve political scientists, management experts, administrators in order to work out laws and institutions that work, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd)
While his main attack was on eminent veteran lawyer Shanti Bhushan and his activist son Prashant Bhushan -- both of whom are members of the Lokpal Bill draft committee -- he also trained his guns on Karnataka Lokayukta and former Supreme Court Judge Santosh Hegde and Magsaysay awardee Arvind Kejriwal.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday met eminent social activist Anna Hazare and other activists who are spearheading the initiative 'India Against Corruption'.The activists told the PM that the country expected meaningful reforms to tackle corruption in public life. "I appreciate and share your concerns on corruption," the PM assured the group, which also comprised Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh.Dr Singh requested Hazare not to carry out his threat of going on a fast.
"Our party is stronger than the Congress in the state. While the Congress won 40 seats in panchayat polls, we scored a victory in 83 panchayats. AAP got over 40 lakh votes in these polls, where 1600 party candidates contested," Singh, AAP's UP in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said.
Hardening his stand on the passage of two key bills, Arvind Kejriwal on Monday renewed his threat to quit, saying he was ready to sacrifice the chief minister's post a "thousand times" to ensure "swaraj" and give power to the common people.
Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government is locked in a power struggle with the Centre and the Lt Governor. Kavita Chowdhury reports
Arvind Kejriwal, engineer, civil servant and Delhi's man with a development agenda, is the David who slayed the government's Goliath.
The reason why corruption charges are designed to do reputation damage more than anything else is that such charges are rarely brought to closure, points out T N Ninan
'Kejriwal's way of working is 'my way or the highway'. If you don't say Kejriwal zindabad then you will be thrown out of the party.' 'I feel Kejriwal is a very darpook (frightened) man. When he lost in the Lok Sabha elections his strength disappeared and he started compromising.' Aam Aadmi Party rebel Pankaj Pushkar speaks out.
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.
Stepping up the attack on the ruling AAP over the 2015 Delhi Janlokpal Bill, ousted party leader Prashant Bhushan on Sunday said that the proposed legislation is "completely" different from its previous 2014 version.
Accusing the government of going back on its assurances to give a strong Lokpal Bill, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Friday threatened to start another country-wide agitation to achieve his demand of a pro-people Jan Lokpal. Slamming the government Lokpal draft, Hazare took on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and accused them of not fulfilling the promises made to him.
Union Minister of Water Resources and Minority Affairs Salman Khursheed, who is one of the major interlocutors from the government side in the Lokpal deliberations, answers readers' queries on Rediff Chat
"It is the job of Parliament to legislate. We (government) had several rounds of discussion with him (Anna Hazare) and his team. We know their viewpoints. About nine rounds of meetings have already been held with them. Thereafter also, through interlocutors some discussions also took place with them," Mukherjee told media persons at his south Kolkata residence.
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.
Eight years after publishing a toothless handbook and compendium on citizens' charters in May 2003, the government on Wednesday took the first step of declaring its intent to bring a law for redress of grievances, but only half-heartedly. The draft unveiled is silent on the quantum of punishment to the erring public servants.
AICTE has directed technical institutes and universities to appoint ombudsmen to address student grievances faster. Is this a good move?
Many claim they fear witch hunts for disagreeing with those in power.
Gandhi questioned why it was keeping the posts of RTI commissioner, Lokpal and chief vigilance commissioner vacant.
Democracies also need to be wary. They are not immune to public ire. Elected governments cannot remain complacent with the nominal trappings of a democracy or seek refuge in constitutional jargon but must conform to the spirit of the concept if they do not wish to be swept aside by the rising tide of public fury, says Vivek Gumaste.
Rediff.com is republishing this column (June 7, 2011) which is relevant even today, by Shehla Masood, the Bhopal-based Right to Information activist who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday.
We must keep our counsel and let the drafting committee do its best; keep faith in the civil society nominees till they prove otherwise, Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Even as the media continued to dig the dirt on members of Team Anna (with a little help from politicians and political parties) Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in her reply to Anna Hazare has assured him that she does not 'support or encourage the politics of smear campaigns.'
The war against corruption needs to be a three pronged attack: one that addresses personal frailties, rectifies systemic defects and roots out faulty leadership, says Vivek Gumaste.
The Election Commission and the Law Ministry have joined hands to draw up a list of electoral reforms that seek to bar corrupt and criminal leaders from contesting polls, says Sheela Bhatt
Differences between Team Anna and Aam Aadmi Party came to the fore on Friday when its leader Gopal Rai tried to interrupt General V K Singh's speech at the venue and was rebuffed by Anna Hazare who has been on indefinite hunger strike for passage in Parliament of Jan Lokpal Bill.
Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal will go to Ralegan Siddhi on Thursday to extend support to Anna Hazare, who is on indefinite hunger strike for passage of Jan Lokpal Bill in the Parliament.
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.
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