While shocking revelations in the coal block allocation scam kept the supreme court and parliament in headlines over the past few days, two developments have taken place in these institutions that escaped wider notice. And the effect of these two
Knock, knock. Who’s that? Ashwani. Ashwani who? Kumar, the law minister. What minister? Law, law (Music in background suddenly grows louder: “Merey to law lag gaye; ha ha samjhe..
A series of strict action against senior officers by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court of late has created a flutter in the state administration. The officers concerned are facing the heat for failure to comply with court ord
As the railway bribery scandal unfolds, an unintended consequence of the ongoing investigation would be revelation of enormous clout and power wielded by the office of personal secretary to ministers, and powerful political leaders.
The irony could not be missed. Karnataka voted against corruption and mis-governance, and brought the Congress to power. But isn’t it the Congress that, as the leading party of the UPA, has given us an unprecedented series of corruption case
YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to cool his heels in Hyderabad’s Chanchalguda jail for at least four more months after the supreme court rejected his bail application in a disproportionate assets case on Thursday.
Recently, at the BJP’s national council, LK Advani had cautioned the party leadership about the impending fiasco in Karnataka. In his inimitable style, linking a distant past with the present, the party patriarch recounted an incident to imp
For Congress, the Karnataka election results are just as enticing as food is to a man starving for long. Having been on a sticky wicket over the past few wickets — first on the debate over the joint parliamentary committee probing th
A part of the money collected by a realtor for a specific housing project will have to be parked with the proposed real estate regulator to ensure that buyers` money is not diverted into other projects leading to cost escalations. The draft real e
In efforts to check on the progress of JNNURM projects, 20 states formed district level review and monitoring committees. These committees, headed by members of parliament, will review projects for delivery deadlines and proper use of sanctioned f
Shorn of the letter, the spirit of the supreme court’s chastising of the CBI on Wednesday afternoon can have only one implication: the probe agency places a newspaper advert in the classifieds section and officially rechristens itself the cr
The weekend came a tad early for parliamentarians on Wednesday as the government adjourned both houses at noon as the opposition kept up the commotion over irregularities, demanding resignation of law minister Ashwani Kumar and railway minister Pa
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has flagged to key provisions of the four year degree programme (FYUP) recently adopted by the Delhi University (DU). UGC has objected to the renaming of the Bachelors degree (honours included) in all non-tec
With trends in all 223 assembly constituencies out as the clock gets set to strike midday hour, the 116 vs 37 vs 41 vs 12 story had a tale to tell. That’s the leads of the four main parties in fray to shape the state assembly post-po
In reflective mood in the twilight of his life, former prime minister VP Singh once told me that the post of India`s prime minister is endowed with immense and unique power. “Nothing, particularly corruption, escapes his attention," Sin
With that spatial-cultural phenomenon called ‘urban India’ growing exponentially — by one estimate, the urban Indian population is set to go up to 750 million Indians by 2050 — there is need for proper plan
Is the food security bill, which will purportedly reach food to “67 percent” of Indians, as information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari put it, more important than raising a din and trying to address, and end, the Congress part
In April 1994, when then finance minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated UTI Bank (now Axis Bank) in Ahmedabad, the country’s first private sector bank, many thought took it as a landmark day in Indian banking. It was thought that Indian private
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has criticised the opposition for disrupting parliament and acting as a hindrance in the passing of crucial bills. “If our legislators cannot meet for discussion on crucial bills, there is certainly somethi
Strange are the ways of the Bahujan Samaj Party. At a time when every party on the political firmament is seeking resignations of ministers lording over ministries allegedly indulging in irregularities, the BSP has come to the support of railway m
