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SC's remarks on PM in 2G scam too close for comfort

Friday, October 14, 2011

SC's remarks on PM in 2G scam too close for comfort

SC's remarks on PM in 2G scam too close for comfort

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:50 AM PDT

On Thursday, the Supreme Court (SC) took the 2G trial to the next level by finally questioning how the head of government (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) and then finance minister (P Chidambaram) did nothing to prevent the scam despite favouring the auction route and despite detailed updates from jailed ex-telecom minister A Raja about his intended modus operandi, including to circumvent the auction prescription. The SC specifically discussed the November 2, 2007 letter exchanges between Raja..

An inclusive democracy for a truly equal society

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:58 AM PDT

The present focus in the country should be on reducing disparities and contain the social tension and anger in certain sections of society.  India is a democracy in the sense that we have elections every five years and voters turn out in large numbers in what is a generally free and fair election.  However the content of democracy is getting reduced day by day.  For instance once a government is elected there is hardly any interaction between the elected representative and the..

Flip flops

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 04:54 AM PDT

No sooner a film flops diverse opinions come floating. The common refrain used in such dissections is that the story was non-existent, the acting lack luster, the scenes disjointed and over all it lacked a single moment of belief. I'm often asked by non film fraternity friends whether a film maker realises midstream, in the process of making a film that it's all going to fall apart? 'Don't' you guys know that you are making a bad film?'  Are creative artists like painters, novelists and..

2G a thriller with twists, tales and intrigue

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 04:52 AM PDT

There was a time when getting a phone connection was extremely difficult and as MPs we had certain quota for recommending for a phone connection. Over the years we have seen the penetration of telephony and mobile telephony to the remotest areas and being used even by a daily wager. Telecom sector was privatized under Narsimhan Rao Government when Sukh Ram was the Telecom minister. Licenses were issued on the basis of an open bidding process. During NDA regime, the licensees approached the..

Knot justice - Part III

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:05 AM PDT

Part III of Knot Justice examines if it is possible to quantify crime and prescribe punishment, especially a death sentence. Is the prescription being uniformly applied? And, are the criteria prescribed for the award of a death sentence by our judiciary legally and constitutionally sound, or have they been contaminated by the virus of ‘jury’ with the law courts acting as the judge and the jury?   * The rarest of rare cases: The discourse on “the rarest of rare..

Cannot understand why Constitution Amendment on Lokpal can't go through…...

Posted: 13 Oct 2011 09:39 PM PDT

Instead of being overjoyed, Team Anna appears to believe that the Congress proposal to make the Lokpal into a Constitutional body is a ploy. They believe that the proposal will not muster the requisite majority in Parliament. I cannot understand why?   A Constitutional amendment needs only half the votes of the total house AND 2/3rds majority amongst the members present in Parliament to pass muster (My information earlier was wrong – when I said that 2/3rds of the total house..

One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter

Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:37 PM PDT

It may seem presumptuous, even blasé, to suggest that activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan invited the attack that took place in his Supreme Court chamber on Wednesday evening. But the attack raises a larger point. Is the Anna brigade, and civil society it purports to represent, clear about what they stand for?  To begin with, if they are honest with themselves, these activists should abandon the conveniently fuzzy definition they have about ‘civil society’. The term..