ERA SEZHIYAN-Frontline

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Guwahati: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh files his nomination papers for Rajya Sabha elections at Assam Legislative Assembly in Guwahati on Wednesday. Assam Congress President Bhubneswar Kalita and Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Ranee Narah are also seen in the picture. PTI Photo (PTI5_15_2013_000076B)

No, Prime Minister

The highest traditions of parliamentary democracy require that the Prime Minister be a person elected to the Lok Sabha. It was also a solemn declarat

New Delhi,27/12/2012: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha during the 57th National Development Council Meeting at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on December 27, 2012. Photo:R_V_Moorthy

Direct democracy?

IN contrast to the popular notion regarding Jawaharlal Nehru’s role in planning, it may be noted that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as Congress president

Given to errors'

The key to collective responsibility' is the Prime Minister's right to choose and dismiss his Ministers, which Manmohan Singh did not have.

Painful credit

A CREDIT card, named after the small plastic card issued by a bank or a non-banking financial company (NBFC), enables its holder to buy goods and serv

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.-RAMESH SHARMA

Half ministers

Political sovereignty of a developing country like India has become subservient to a globalised economy.

A view of Parliament House with Mahatma Gandhis statue in the foreground.-ATUL YADAV/PTI

Defeat of morality

The UPA governments victory in the trust vote shows that bribery and criminality are becoming part of the countrys political system.

Defeat of morality

The UPA governments victory in the trust vote shows that bribery and criminality are becoming part of the countrys political system.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram entering Parliament House to present the Union Budget.-KAMAL NARANG

Loans and limits

Parliament should have effective control over the borrowings of the government and scrutinise how the loan funds are utilised.

Taxing prices

It is high time Parliament took serious note of the sordid story of the unwarranted hike in the prices of petroleum products.

July 21, 1954: President Rajendra Prasad laying the foundation stone of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in New Delhi.-THE HINDU PHOTO ARCHIVES

Checks and balances

The Comptroller and Auditor Generals office has become another public sector enterprise to accommodate superannuating government officials.

Rajib Bhawan, the Congress office in Dergaon constituency in Jorhat district of Assam, which was sealed by the Election Commission after it found that the MLA's local area development fund was diverted to build it.-RITU RAJ KONWAR

A scheme under fire

The Administrative Reforms Commission recommends that for good governance constituency development funds must be scrapped.

Filing tax returns at the Income Tax Office in Chennai. In respect of non-corporate assessees, 92 per cent of the gross collections was made at the pre-assessment stage.-S. THANTHONI

Poor man's burden

With a more responsible and active tax administration, the government could have avoided increasing the prices of diesel and cooking gas.