Constitutional experts were on Friday divided on who should be blamed for the fiasco over the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, holding both the government and the Opposition responsible for leaving the historic legislation in limbo.Describing the high drama in the Upper House as unprecedented in the history of Parliament, former chief justice of India V N Khare said that the interest of the nation is taking a backseat.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress on Thursday night termed the developments in the Rajya Sabha while debating the Lokpal Bill as "orchestrated chaos" and a "black day" for democracy.
The debate on Lokpal Bill was tonight disrupted when several members in the Rajya Sabha, particularly Left parties, created uproar, wanting to know whether the proceedings would continue after midnight as the extension of the Winter Session was till only December 29.
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.
With uncertainty looming over the fate of the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha, the United Progressive Alliance government on Thursday hoped that all allies will come around and help in its passage so that possibility of convening a Joint Session of Parliament does not arise.
Team Anna yet to plan campaign against Congress in five poll-bound states. Toral Varia Deshpande reports.
Gandhi said the BJP had actually committed itself to supporting Constitutional status to Lokpal in the Standing Committee deliberations.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a PIL seeking action against Anna Hazare and his team members for allegedly showing disrespect to the national flag during his agitation for the Lokpal bill last year.
Concern over Anna Hazare's health weighing on their minds, villagers of Ralegan Siddhi will arrive here tomorrow, the second day of his fast for a strong Lokpal Bill, after observing a bandh on Tuesday.
The Karnataka high court on Tuesday rejected a petition challenging the fast undertaken by Anna Hazare in connection with the Lokpal Bill. A division bench comprising Justices Ram Mohan Reddy and Venugopal Gowda stated that there is no violation in undertaking such a protest.
Hazare, who reached Mumbai on Monday night from his village Ralegan Siddhi, paid respects at Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Juhu before proceeding to the fast venue, MMRDA ground, in suburban Bandra in a rally.
Prominent Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal admitted to a group of journalists on Wednesday that they too have made many mistakes during the course of Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement.
The security at the ground of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority in suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex will comprise 2,000 constables, 200 sub-inspectors of police, six platoons of state reserve police force, three teams of Quick Response Team and two Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads.
There are alternatives that are preferable to the octopus like Jan Lokpal being proposed. Extremism, whether the Gandhian excess of non-violence or obsession with environment at cost of everything else is dangerous in the long run, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
Team Anna has now launched an online campaign for their 'jail bharo' agitation from December 30 against the government's Lokpal Bill wherein people can register themselves for the protest.
Coming down heavily on Team Anna's agitation, the Bombay high court on Friday said it can't allow "parallel canvassing" when Parliament is seized with debate on Lokpal Bill and questioned its decision to seek exemption from charges to use MMRDA grounds for Anna Hazare's proposed fast.
Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday said Arvind Kejriwal had no option but to resign after losing majority on the floor of the assembly.
In a veiled attack on Arvind Kejriwal, activist Kiran Bedi said erstwhile Team Anna has become "suspect" in its programme after a few chose the political route and suggested that Anna Hazare step in to provide direction.
Taking potshots at Team Anna, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Tuesday accused it of acting "dictatorial" and said it would find an excuse to oppose the Lokpal Bill no matter what the government does.
A group of senior ministers On Monday "cleaned up" the draft of the changes in the Lokpal Bill, which Law Minister Salman Khurshid says will be introduced in Parliament during the current session.
Activist Anna Hazare claims that 85 per cent people in Telecom and Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal's constituency in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, support the draft Lokpal Bill drawn up by 'civil society' activists.
Stepping up pressure, Anna Hazare on Thursday announced a new agitation of filling up jails (jail bharo) from January 1 if Parliament does not pass a strong Lokpal law, amid indications that it is unlikely to be done before the scheduled conclusion of the current winter session.
As an all-party meeting failed to reach a consensus on Lokpal Bill with parties voicing divergent views, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Wednesday night said no one can take any commitment seriously hereafter.
The heads of Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss various issues related to the proposed Lokpal bill. CVC Pradeep Kumar and CBI Director A P Singh are understood to have raised concerns over the present form of the proposed anti-corruption bill and sought its redressal
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has had a change of heart as far as Anna Hazare's campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill is concerned. Singing the same tune as the anti-corruption crusader, Mayawati said on Tuesday that the prime minister, the Central Bureau of Investigation and all section of government employees should be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal.
Anna Hazare came in for scathing attack from Congress leaders who dubbed him a RSS spokesperson for his charge against Rahul Gandhi over the Lokpal issue.
With the threat of Anna Hazare's agitation looming large, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called an all-party meeting next week to evolve a broad consensus on the Lokpal Bill and ensure its passage during the current session of Parliament that ends on December 22. Before the all-party meeting, the United Progressive Alliance allies will hold confabulations among themselves on December 13 to devise a common strategy and speak in one voice in Parliament.
Two days ahead of Anna Hazare's fast for a strong Lokpal Bill, his team today stepped up attack on government questioning the "credibility" of the Standing Committee report on the issue saying it has only the support of 12 members.
We had asked our readers for their opinion about the government's attempts to censor online content. An overwhelming number of readers condemned such a move and suggested that Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and his colleagues should focus on more important issues instead:
Rejecting the recommendations of the parliamentary panel on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Wednesday claimed that they will not have any impact on corruption and will instead dismantle the existing anti-graft mechanism.
Seeking to galvanise public opinion in favour of its version of Lokpal Bill, the Anna Hazare team on Thursday initiated a "referendum" on the law in Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency represented by Human Resources and Development Minister Kapil Sibal.
The Parliamentary committee examining the Lokpal Bill has sought one more week to submit its report on the subject.
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.
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare has questioned the government's intention to draft an effective Lokpal Bill. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Pune on Friday, Hazare expressed apprehensions over the commitment of political leaders to build a corruption-free India.
Coming out in strong support of Kiran Bedi, Team Anna today said a case of misappropriation of funds has been lodged against the activist not for fraud and cheating but for fighting for a strong Lokpal Bill.
Confusion prevailed over Anna Hazare's protest plans on Monday with a prominent Municipal Corporation of Delhi functionary saying that the civic body has not given permission for the agitation at Ramlila Maidan even as Team Anna insisted that they have got the nod.
Team Anna on Thursday blinked in the battle of attrition with the government by announcing plans to end the indefinite fast on Friday evening as it pitched for an alternative to the current political system.
Yoga guru Ramdev on Wednesday threatened to launch a nationwide agitation against the United Progressive Alliance, starting from five poll-bound states, if it did not take "decisive" steps to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill and repatriate black money stashed abroad in the winter session of Parliament.
Warning that a "wave of protest" is building up, Anna Hazare on Monday asked the government to bring a strong Lokpal Bill or quit while his team softened its stand on yoga guru Ramdev whom they attacked on Sunday for sharing dais with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
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