Parliamentary Delegation of Indonesia Calls on Election Commission of India

A high level Parliamentary Delegation from the Republic of Indonesia led by H.E. Mr. H. Chairuman Harahap, Chairman of Commission II of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia called upon the Election Commission of India. The delegation consisted of 13 Members of Parliament and 2 Secretaries of the Commission II of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia. The Ambassador of Indonesia to India was also present during the visit to ECI. The delegation was addressed by the Chief Election Commissioner Dr. S.Y. Quraishi and Election Commissioners Mr. V.S. Sampath and Mr. H.S. Brahma of India and was briefed on the electoral processes in India and its experiences in meeting the various challenges in the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections and smooth transition of power. Dr. Quraishi briefed the delegation on ‘Managing World’s Largest Election.’ The delegation showed keen interest in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). A demonstration on the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machine was also made before the delegation.

FCRA Comes into Force W.E.F May 2011

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2010 has been notified and it has come into force with effect from 1/5/2011. FCR Rules 2011 have also come into force from 1/5/2011.

Lokpal Bill drafting Committee pledges to expedite finalisation of Bill by June 30

The government and the civil society activists, who are members of the drafting committee of a Lokpal Bill today pledged to expedite the process to finalise the bill by 30th of next month. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, who is the member of the Drafting Committee, told reporters after the meeting that the civil society members on the committee presented a document with respect to the objects of the Bill which enunciated the general principles underlining the bill. He said there was no difference of opinion during the meeting and talks were very good.

Court seeks probe status report in cash-for-votes scam

The Supreme Court on Monday, issued notice to the Delhi Police Commissioner, seeking a status report on the investigation conducted thus far in respect of the First Information Report filed in the cash-for-votes scam.A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha also issued notice to the Centre on a writ petition filed by the then former Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh, and 13 others, under the banner of India Rejuvenation Initiative, for a directive to set up a special investigation team to probe the scam as revealed in the article published, based on U.S. Embassy cables accessed through WikiLeaks. 

Eliminate terror havens: Krishna

For a change, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared to be in agreement while responding to questions on the killing of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil.The Congress said it underscored India's long-held position that terrorists had been finding protection on the soil of its western neighbour; the BJP stressed that Osama's death in Pakistan proved what India had said repeatedly: “Pakistan is the epicentre of global terrorism.”