The Lokpal Bill is set to be put on the fast-track with the Parliamentary panel on Law taking it for examination from Friday by hearing views of Aruna Roy and Jaiprakash Narayan who have presented their own drafts.
As Parliamentary Standing Committee went back on some of its recommendations on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday night slammed it as an effort to make the ombdusman an "enquiry-pal" and said it confirms her remarks that politicians wear several masks.
Kejriwal spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt and was making his final position clear. Before the third round of agitation against corruption begins in the last week of December read the logic and passion behind it in this the first of a two-part series.
The Central Vigilance Commission on Saturday indicated it did not want to come under Lokpal but work closely with the proposed anti-corruption ombudsman.
Under attack for his comments on Anna Hazare, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari on Wednesday opted out of the Parliamentary Standing Committee going into the Lokpal issue even as Bharatiya Janata Party inducted two new members in the panel being reconstituted after its term ended today.
Government on Friday ruled out replacing its Lokpal Bill with another, saying it will be better to have amendments to the one already introduced.
Admitting that the government was in a "bind" from which it has to come out, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday night said that "practical and pragmatic" solutions have to be found to the Lokpal issue.
The all-party meeting convened by the government has seen some interesting position being adopted by political parities on the issue of the Jan Lokpal bill with nine parties asking the government to trash its bill, which is with the standing committee. However, there are no takers for Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal bill either.
Arguing that Anna Hazare should not deride democratic institutions, National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy on Saturday said the Gandhian was "ill-advised" as there was still scope for the civil society group to change the government's version of Lokpal Bill.
The parliamentary standing committee going into the Lokpal Bill will complete its work "soon", its chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Sunday.
The government should occasionally grant thousands of crores of rupees to Air India for its functioning as withdrawal of flights from profitable routes and unresolved issues relating to its merger do not augur well for the carrier, a parliamentary committee has said.
Former interior minister Rehman Malik has termed Pakistani-American terrorist's testimony in the 2008 Mumbai attack case as "a pack of lies".
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has not ruled out the possibility of an American ground offensive in North Waziristan, but told parliamentarians at a briefing that Washington will have to think many times before launching such an attack.
After civil society activists slammed the government's Lokpal Bill, the Centre on Friday said that people who are not satisfied with the Bill can approach the Standing Committee of Parliament and persuade it to make changes. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, who was part of the joint committee to draft the bill, said the government has already reconciled taking into account a number of provisions suggested by the civil society.
Shiv Sena nominee Hemangi Worlikar romped home as the deputy Mayor of BMC.
Corporate affairs minister Murli Deora has supported the recommendations of the Parliamentary standing committee to make spending under corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory under the proposed Companies Bill. Pending the Bill, the minister also announced a slew of measures to simplify procedures akin to the licence raj.
The pension reforms Bill is likely be passed with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deciding to support it in the parliamentary standing committee. The Bill has been pending since 2005. Its revised version was tabled in the Budget session of Parliament this year.
A recent report by the parliamentary standing committee on health and family planning pulled no punches on the abysmal state and poor functioning of the Medical Council of India.
Top officials of the environment ministry, Delhi Development Authority and municipal commissioners also stayed away from the deliberations.
Taking on Rahul Gandhi, Anna Hazare on Sunday said he aspires to be the prime minister but spending "one day" in a hut is just not enough. "I don't have any fight with Rahul Gandhi. He is also young man. He dreams of becoming the prime minister. But spending one day in a hut is not enough. He has to spend months doing it," Hazare said in his address during his one-day dharna protesting against the Parliamentary Standing Committee report on Lokpal Bill.
Taking on Rahul Gandhi, Anna Hazare on Sunday said he aspires to be the prime minister but spending "one day" in a hut is just not enough. "I don't have any fight with Rahul Gandhi. He is also young man. He dreams of becoming the prime minister. But spending one day in a hut is not enough. He has to spend months doing it," Hazare said in his address during his one-day dharna protesting against the Parliamentary Standing Committee report on Lokpal Bill.
Last week Sheela Bhatt spoke to Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal about the government's Lokpal bill in the first part of an interview. On Friday, as the parliamentary standing committee submitted its report to Parliament, we bring you the second part of the interview with Kejriwal.
The University Grants Commission on Sunday asked Delhi University to continue with the four-year B Tech programme only for the students admitted during the academic year 2013-14, putting an end to uncertainty following rollback of the controversial FYUP.
The terrorist attack on a key Pakistani naval airbase last month during which 10 security personnel were killed and two maritime surveillance aircraft destroyed was carried out with "inside support", senior Pakistani military officials told a Parliamentary panel.
Putting the government on notice on Lokpal issue, Anna Hazare on Tuesday threatened to go on an indefinite fast in Delhi from December 27 while terming that the draft report by Parliamentary Standing Committee as a "betrayal" of countrymen.
After a discussion which went on for over 90 minutes and amid opposition to some of the proposals by ministers, the Union Cabinet Monday evening passed the draft Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2011.
Industry's wait for new bank licences may get a bit longer as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) suggestions to amend the Banking Regulation Act will not be incorporated in the report of the Standing Committee on Finance in the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011.
With Team Anna stepping up the heat on the corruption issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the government was open to reasoned debate on the Lokpal Bill but made it clear that there was no single solution to tackle the problem.
Supporting death penalty for hijackers, a parliamentary committee has said capital punishment must be awarded to conspirators and abettors whose actions result in death of hostages or security personnel. At the same time, it raised questions as to whether opportunities for any negotiation or settlement to save lives would be foreclosed if the hijackers knew they would in any case get capital punishment for the offence.
The bill seeks to ensure health-care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness "in a manner that does not intrude on their rights and dignity."
The Companies Bill 2009, which seeks to replace a half-a-century-old Act, will be presented in Parliament in the ongoing Budget session, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.
If a public sector company willfully enters into an agreement with a foreign vendor and abdicates its right to recourse which otherwise provides for its benefit, it would not only be violating the provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act but also section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, notes Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley
However, BJP has not given any assurance of support and conveyed to the Finance Minister that the matter will be discussed within the party and take a call, sources said.
Negotiations near deadlock, as states oppose Constitution Amendment Bill.
The government draft on the Lokpal Bill, which is expected to be considered by the Cabinet this week, does not include the prime minister in the purview of the ombudsman but the final call on the ticklish issue will be taken by Parliament and its Standing Committee. Disclosing this, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the Bill will be introduced in Parliament in the monsoon session starting on August 1.
Praising the Indian community for their positive contribution to China's economic development, a top Chinese official has said the country looks forward to welcoming more IT professionals from India.
The Union Budget for 2017 is likely to be presented on February 1. An approval for merging the Railway Budget with the General Budget was accorded by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development has called top officials from the ministry to brief it on the role and performance of various agencies under it in implementing the Games-related projects.
Under fire over allegations of foreign exchange violations in IPL, BCCI's top officials o Wednesday blamed sacked Commissioner Lalit Modi for "mistakes" as they told a Parliamentary panel that they had given approvals at his behest in "good faith".
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.
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