The old GAARd

Some senior finance ministry officials closely associated with controversial General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and retrospective amendments still maintain their links with former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who resigned on June 26 after being nominated the presidential candidate of the United Progressive Alliance. Reporters and editors were intrigued by their presence at a small do at Mukherjee's residence last week on a day when news of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh constituting a new panel for drafting GAAR guidelines hogged the front pages.