Civil society activists led by social activist Anna Hazare on Monday boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill saying government's intentions raised serious doubts about having a strong anti-corruption watchdog and protesting against the police crackdown on Ramdev.
According to an expert, if the government seriously pursues the matter then it should take about a year to bring back the black money stashed abroad.
The new rural development minister wants to use technology to force states to make payments. Critics suggest that he should fix existing problems first.
The controversial Government affidavit on Below Poverty Line cap was condemned by Opposition today as an "insult and betrayal" of the poor and also slammed by a key United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party.
While the United Progressive Alliance ties itself up in knots, two out of every three Indians say the prime minister and the higher judiciary should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal, an issue that has seen the UPA government differing with civil society representatives.
Advocate Nandita Rao speaks to rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore about why she wants Baba Ramdev to come clean on how he built a Rs 1,100 crore empire, how he got huge plots of land in some Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states and why he is claiming to be apolitical when he is openly seeking support from the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The Congress on Monday dismissed as a 'sham' Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's fast and accused him of running away from facts which have confronted him over the years. The party also made a veiled attack on the Anna Hazare-led civil society, saying while the Congress-led government at the Centre had shown "full commitment" to curb corruption "some people for their own vested interests have been trying to build up a climate against Congress".
Worried over Baba Ramdev's indefinite fast from Saturday, the government on Wednesday took an extraordinary step to woo him by deputing Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and three other senior ministers to the airport for talks but he appeared not to relent on his plans.
He is likely to speak on economic issues, particularly the impact of GST and demonetisation.
Talks on the Lokpal Bill are not progressing as expected and if the attitude of the government does not change it may spell disaster soon, said Prashant Bhushan, one of the five members of the Anna Hazare-led civil society group, who is on the drafting panel of the Bill.
Unless there is a solution that improves the present system of appointment of judges, it's best to not tinker with it, says Jayant Tripathi.
We celebrate Dassera and regard it as an auspicious day as a day of victory of good over evil! So was 16 December! It is time we regard this day as auspicious as Dassera in future, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The negotiations on a draft Lokpal Bill on Monday gained momentum with government and civil society members agreeing on a number of basic principles of the proposed law and deciding to meet more often.
Asking the government to give up its "vindictive" attitude, the Gandhian said it "must try to create trust and bridge the gap in the hearts after the nation-wide agitation for Jan Lokpal Bill instead of sending out a wrong messege."
Taking on a section of political class that questioned the need for civil society to contribute in law making, Team Anna member N Santosh Hegde on Friday sought annual auditing of Parliamentarians to assess their performance.
After successfully mobilising public opinion to favour the release of senior leaders of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom to facilitate talks with the government, the Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan, a forum of leading citizens and civil society organisations, has now started preparing the charter of demands that the outfit can present ahead of the peace talks.
Aggrieved by being referred as "tainted" and being listed in the category of "men who shamed India" by the media, former Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas has approached the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged distortion in the reporting of his case.
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.
Rediff.com's Toral Varia, who has been covering Anna Hazare's fast at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, spoke to prominent civil society member Swami Agnivesh on the way ahead for the team Anna.
Probably for the first time in the history of independent India, a struggle has been given respect due to a peaceful protest by the people, says Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey
India is the birthplace of four major world religions -- Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is home to the world's third largest Muslim population, a diverse community of sects that includes Sufis, Shia, and Bohra. Roughly three per cent of India's citizens are Christian, and notably, Christians are the religious majority in three of India's 29 states, she said.
Anna Hazare on Sunday warned of "unprecedented revolution" in the country if Lokpal Bill is not passed by August 30 and said the government will have to "either get the bill passed or go."
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.
We love a leader who oozes authority and firmness, notes Virendra Kapoor.
These include Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam.
"What was even more shocking that even someone like Anna Hazare, who was spearheading the movement against rising corruption in the country, did not care to ensure inclusion of a Dalit on the committee. After all he hails from Maharastra which gave birth to the greatest Dalit icon Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, who led several movements for the upliftment of the downtrodden dalits," Mayawati said.
Devinder Sharma, distinguished food security expert who has been with the NGO India Against Corruption since its inception, gives excusive insights into the making of the Jantar Mantar hunger strike and the people's outbursts that followed.
In this interview with rediff.com's Sahim Salim, Advocate M L Sharma says that he is not against an effective Lokpal bill, but that he is against the inclusion of five members, who by "no stretch of imagination represent the public."
Rights activist Binayak Sen, released on bail while serving a life sentence for sedition and links with Maoists, on Monday night asserted he is not a 'traitor' and said the Supreme Court observation in his case will have 'deep political implication.'
Slamming Team Anna for burning copies of the Lokpal Bill, government on Thursday said actions of the civil society members was an insult to Parliament and posed a danger to democracy.
The first meeting of the newly-constituted joint committee comprising ministers and civil society activists to draft the Lokpal Bill will be held on Saturday.
Social activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday cautioned people against those trying to create "schisms" and "discord" in the movement against corruption and appealed for their unity in the wake of the controversy over his endorsing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and some allegations.
Rediff.com's Onkar Singh caught up with Swami Agnivesh as he recounted talks with the government on the drafting of the much-talked about anti-corruption bill.
What one saw Anna Hazare breaking his fast unto death after the government accepted his demands relating to the enactment of legislation to set up an independent institutional mechanism to deal with corruption, was the end of the initial tactical phase of this confrontation, and the beginning of the strategic phase, feels B Raman.
Civil society members on Thursday came down heavily on the government's decision to present only their version of the Lokpal Bill.
Gandhian Anna Hazare on Friday announced a 'jail bharo' movement across the country on April 13 after the government rejected his demands of chairmanship of the joint drafting committee being given to a civil society member and for a formal notification.
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