Guna: Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh on Thursday expressed doubt as to whether giving autonomy to CBI would serve the purpose. "There is a question mark on the issue," he told reporters in Guna. "Giving autonomy to CBI...may be like giving autonomy to a police inspector," Singh said.
"Is the common man in favour of giving autonomy to an inspector?" he asked. The issue of CBI's autonomy has come to fore following the Supreme Court calling the agency "a caged parrot". Singh said he wondered whether courts would now start passing comments against the offices of President and Prime Minister, and added that it would impact the democracy's "balance". Judiciary, executive and legislature should work within their boundaries so that their dignity remains intact, he said. "If a court registers its objections in writing then it can be appealed, but where can one file an appeal against oral comment like 'caged parrot'," he said.
"I am more concerned for the future, especially if after any adverse comment by any court against Parliament, President and Prime Minister...the situation will take a turn for the worse as all these institutions were established by the Constitution," Singh said. The Congress General Secretary clarified that he respects the judiciary, but had an issue only with the 'caged parrot' comment....
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01:42 AM, May 17, 2013
Islamabad: Despite a bloody campaign marred by Taliban attacks, polling began in Pakistan on Saturday amidst threats of violence, pitting a former cricket star against a two-time prime minister once exiled by the army and an incumbent blamed for power blackouts and inflation. The vote marks the first time in Pakistan's 65-year history that a civilian government has completed its full term and handed over power in democratic elections. Previous...
07:24 AM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: Compulsory military training to all youths is against democratic ethos of the country and is highly undesirable as some of the trained men could join the ranks of radical forces, Defence Minister AK Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to the House, he also said the government is not in favour of making military training compulsory as under the democratic set up of...
12:03 PM, May 07, 2013
Kolkata: President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday praised public interest litigations (PIL) for helping in delivering justice, but urged the judiciary to "observe self discipline" to "maintain the balance with the executive and legislature". "I would like to compliment the Indian judiciary for one innovation: PIL. A man staying in the remotest part of the country can write a postcard to the chief justice of this largest functional democracy and can...
05:10 AM, May 06, 2013
Mumbai: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the UPA government of "degrading" constitutional institutions and endangering the federal structure of the country. "All our constitutional institutions are being degraded. If we don't give strength to our constitutional institutions, all systems will be finished," Modi said. "A democracy functions according to systems. It cannot be based on individuals. People may come and go, but the system of democracy is...
03:57 AM, May 03, 2013
New Delhi: There is need for synergy between the democratic process and education, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said on Thursday while noting that democracy has sustained in India despite economic disparities and multiple identities of its people. "There is a need for synergy between democratic process and education. Democracy has sustained in India despite economic disparities and multiple identities of its people, such as varied cultural affiliations and linguistic...
05:08 AM, Apr 26, 2013
Annu Kapoor, who was applauded for convincingly playing Dr. Chaddha in 'Vicky Donor' last year, describes himself as an "actor". "I am choosy because what will I do until there is a good script? I am not a star, I am an actor. If an actor does not get to show his acting, then what will he do in a film," the 57-year-old said here Friday at the 'muhurat' of...
10:24 AM, Mar 09, 2013
As Bangladesh reeled under a violent political stand-off between ruling Awami League and opposition BNP and its fundamentalist ally Jamaat-e-Islami, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday sent a strong message to the country's political parties to stick to democratic values and rule of law. ...
09:49 PM, Mar 04, 2013
Why is Hyderabad being targeted repeatedly over the last one decade? Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, President, Lok Satta Party joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. ...
05:03 PM, Feb 22, 2013
Hitting out at governments for allegedly stopping advertisements to publications over "critical" articles, Press Council chairperson Markandey Katju on Monday said it will not tolerate such behaviour and shall take suitable legal action. ...
08:40 PM, Feb 04, 2013
The 24-year-old only son of assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is due to launch his political career on December 27, the fifth anniversary of his mother's death. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is among hundreds of high-ranking Pakistani officials, including the current President, his father Asif Zardari, who gathered to commemorate Bhutto's killing in a gun and suicide attack during a 2007 political campaign rally. ...
06:49 PM, Dec 27, 2012
Kanpur: Debunking BJP's claim that government had suffered a moral defeat in Parliament on the FDI issue, Union minister Sripraksh Jaiswal on Saturday said that it is numbers that finally matter. "Opposition is saying that we have used number force instead of moral force in securing victory on the floor, who should tell them that Parliament runs only on numbers and not on moral grounds," the Union Coal minister said...
03:54 AM, Dec 09, 2012
Cast: Villagers of Malana Filmmaker: Amlan Datta At the first glance, BOM: One day ahead of democracy comes across as a systematic film that features the process of the evolution of a particular society along with the development of the makers conscience about a marginalised village, but very soon it turns into a debate about democracy and its existing forms. Bom means void (Shunya in Hindi), but Amlan Datta makes...
02:21 PM, Nov 24, 2012
Bangkok: On the eve of his landmark trip to Myanmar, President Barack Obama tried to assure critics that his visit was not a premature reward for a long-isolated nation still easing its way toward democracy. "This is not an endorsement of the government," Obama said Sunday in Thailand as he opened a three-county dash through Asia. "This is an acknowledgement that there is a process under way inside that country...
01:08 AM, Nov 19, 2012
Here is the full text of Aung San Suu Kyi's lecture at Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial: There can be few occasions in life more fulfilling than those on which debts of kindness and friendship can be repaid. These past few months have furnished me with many opportunities to thank peoples and organizations and governments for their staunch support for the democratic cause in Burma and for me personally. The sympathy and...
01:44 PM, Nov 15, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani on Sunday said clean politics is the touchstone by which people would judge the leaders in a democracy and his party would not compromise on this vital principle. "You must be able to provide clean politics when away from power and good governance while in power, by which the people will judge the people in public life," he said at a...
05:00 PM, Nov 11, 2012
Beijing: Chinese democracy is not really what people expect it to be, a state-run daily said on Saturday, days ahead of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). An article "China's path to democracy" in People's Daily said democracy was not only a system of government but a way of life which meets people's needs. "Admittedly, as public awareness of the right to know and participate...
01:19 PM, Nov 03, 2012
New Delhi: Slamming the "ugly display of temper" by Virbhadra Singh after he threatened to break cameras of mediapersons, Press Council chief Markandey Katju on Wednesday said such increasingly intolerant behaviour by politicians against journalists was unacceptable in democracy. "It is deeply regrettable that certain politicians are of late becoming increasingly intolerant towards the media, and are not behaving in a manner which is expected of them in a democracy,"...
12:04 AM, Oct 25, 2012
New Delhi: After the government faced criticism for so-called censorship of Internet, a key advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sam Pitroda, on Tuesday took to Twitter to answer queries on how information can be "democratised". "I firmly believe that information is the fourth pillar of democracy along with legislature, executive and judiciary," was Pitroda's opening remark during an online conference. Twitter and other social networks are gaining popularity as...
06:15 PM, Sep 25, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said the government and private educational institutions should provide qualitative education to children and the eligibility criteria for appointment of teachers must be strictly adhered to. A bench of justices BS Chauhan and FM Ibrahim Kalifulla said that life of democracy depends on a high standard of education which must be maintained at all costs. "It is a well-accepted fact that democracy cannot be...
10:06 AM, Sep 16, 2012
