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Lokpal Bill in choppy waters
Team Anna boycotts panel meet; Sibal says draft to be finalised by June 30
New Delhi, June 6
Amidst a nationwide clamour for corruption-free India, the government today made it clear that it would finalise the structure of the much-awaited Jan Lokpal Bill by June 30, as promised earlier, with or without the participation of Anna Hazare-led people’s group on the joint drafting committee. By the end of the day, the split between the civil society and the government camp of the committee was wide open, clouding the possibility of consensus on the crucial law

A Tribune exclusive
Meet Ramdev, the landlord
How Uttarakhand Govt gave Baba 644 acres at throwaway prices
New Delhi/Dehradun, June 6
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev currently hitting headlines for his crusade against corruption and billions of dollars Indian black money stashed in Swiss and tax heaven banks is a “big landlord”. The 47-year-old “Bal Brahmchari” Ramdev, who was born as Ramkrishna Yadav in Alipur village, district Mahendragarh (Haryana), ‘owns’ huge tracts of land, that includes 261.468 hectares (644 acres)

Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogapeeth in Haridwar.

Congress goes all out against Ramdev
Blames yoga guru, BJP for trying to destabilise govt
New Delhi, June 6
A combative Congress today promised to deal sternly with ‘communal forces and those wanting to destabilise the government’. The party also accused yoga guru Ramdev, whose fast against corruption and black money was forcibly ended after Saturday midnight, of being a ‘mask for the rightwing RSS’.

There was no option: PM
Nation page: Ramdev justifies fleeing in woman’s attire
Nation page:SC issues notice to govt on Ramdev’s eviction
Nation page: NDA delegation meets President, seeks special Parliament session

Decks clear for biggest Indo-US defence deal
India to buy 10 US C-17 aircraft for $4.1 bn
New Delhi, June 6
In a move that will mollify the US, the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today cleared the purchase of ten heavy-lift military aircraft, the C 17 Globemaster III, for $4.1 billion (approximately Rs 18,000 crore). This is the biggest defence deal between the two countries. “The CCS meeting cleared the proposal for purchase of the planes from the US through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route,” Defence Ministry officials said in New Delhi today.

SGPC to make Bluestar Memorial blueprint soon
Amritsar, June 6
The SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar, announced today that a five-member committee would prepare the blueprint of Operation Bluestar Memorial in consultation with experts and submit a report within two months.The decision on raising the memorial was taken by the SGPC nine years back. Reading out his message to the community after ardas at the Golden Temple on the occasion of the anniversary of Operation Bluestar

No tax return for salary, interest income up to 5 lakh
New Delhi, June 6
As many as 85 lakh salaried tax payers whose taxable income, including salary and interest income, is up to Rs 5 lakh, are not required to file income-tax (I-T) return from now. “No income-tax returns is required for salaried persons whose annual taxable income including salary and interest is up to Rs 5 lakh. We would shortly notify this,” a Central Board of Direct Taxes official said. — PTI