New Delhi: Marked by distrust and, on the government

PUNE: Activist Anna Hazare catapulted into national stardom following his relentless pursuit of the Lokpal Bill, but the unassuming dhoti-clad social worker has been a star in his state, and village, for a long time now.

Fifty-year-old Maruti Auti recalls the days when villagers in Ahmednagar's Ralegan Siddhi, 80 km from Pune, lived in abject poverty over three decades ago.

Sparring Points

Besides Lokpal Bill, politicians have sparred with civil society on four key pieces of legislation

A day after it engaged in a heated exchange of words with civil society representatives, the government today acknowledged that discussions with Team Anna in the joint committee had ensured in vastly improving the provisions of the Lokpal Bill that it had originally drafted.

At the same time, it suggested that the role of the civil society would end once the draft Bill has been finalised.

Centre Vows To Prepare Draft By Jun 30
New Delhi: After seven frequently confrontational meetings in two months, Team Hazare

Civil society, government continue to disagree on the shape of transparency bill
The talks between the government and civil society activists broke down on Wednesday evening without any agreement on the shape of the Lokpal Bill.

Lokpal bill drafting committee to meet today; We don

On May 30, as the joint drafting committee of the Lokpal Bill met for the fifth time in the conference room of the ministry of finance in North Block, trouble was already brewing.

A demagogue is able to make New Delhi panic and shoot itself in the foot. (Editorial)

 

The negotiations on a draft Lokpal Bill today gained momentum with the government and civil society members agreeing on a number of basic principles of the proposed law and deciding to meet more often.

Emerging from a three-hour meeting, Union Minister Kapil Sibal expressed confidence draft Lokpal Bill would be ready by June 30, as announced in a government notification, in time for introductio

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