M A I L B A G

PM should drop Lalu Yadav

I agree with Justice Rajinder Sachar’s views in his article “Drop tainted ministers” (May 7). I too strongly feel that tainted Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav should be shown the door. The government’s defence that “he has only been charge-sheeted, not convicted” is like a one-leg hen scratching the ground! Charge-sheet is like half conviction!

The basic question is one of character and reputation. Character is what you are, reputation is what others think of you. Mr Lalu Prasad’s reputation is already dirt. He should quit or be sacked as he has become a laughing stock. The “invisible” Prime Minister has a chance to prove his “visibility”.

Prof I. M. SONI, Chandigarh

II

The article is an eye-opener. Even a layman would agree that the most elementary qualification for a minister has to be honesty and incorruptibility. But of late we find that after taking oath as MP or MLA, the person thinks he has become a king. Do we understand that history has started repeating itself? Are we heading towards anarchy?

Col J.S. CHANDEL (retd), Kalol (HP)

III

There is no logic in retaining a tainted minister after charges of corruption are framed against him by a court of law. The greed to govern the country by hook or by crook does not permit the government to do so as action is taken against all the employees from top to bottom for lapses.

Moreover, government employees retire after completing 60 years. The lawmakers too should retire at 60 years. They are not super human beings.

KISHAN SINGH, Bathinda

IV

The alchemy of true democracy is that tainted ministers like Lalu Prasad Yadav should be dropped from the Union Council of Ministers and our democracy given a new orientation. The sooner it is done, the better.

HANS RAJ JAIN, Moga

V

The political deadlock culminating in the Opposition boycott of Parliament in an insult to the voters, criminal waste of the taxpayers’ money and decline of the democratic system of governance. This is sad because India is the world’s largest democracy and even Pakistan speaks high of it and enviously tries to emulate it despite her otherwise hostile attitude towards us. Hopefully, the voters in the next general elections would act wiser.

B.M. SINGH, Amritsar

Jangli Chiri is Indian bird I have been watching Jangli Chiri (yellow-throated sparrow or petronia xanthocollis) for over three decades on the outskirts of Ropar city. Dr Salim Ali’s “The book of Indian Birds” (Tenth Edition, 1977, p.258) describes about this bird spread all over India from about 4,000 ft in the Himalayas to Kanyakumari and from Sind to Bengal. The bird is also seen in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and parts of Burma. Jangli Chiri’s density of population may be in Sind province of this sub-continent, but the bird is very much in other parts of India. This bird is fairly common in this region, but it in no way invades or extends its territory. It is very much our bird. JASPREET SINGH, Ropar

Moral turpitude

The news-item “Sainik welfare officer arrested” (April 28) saddened me. It is a clear picture of how money changes hands in the name of welfare. Government welfare money is divided as per percentages at the official level and the needy are left with the residual amount. This is common everywhere.

There are very few people like Mr Ahuja who can muster courage and take such risk. What about those who could not manage to resist? I am proud of our media, performing its duty, helping in checking and exposing corruption.

KARANBIR SHAH, Qadian (Gurdaspur)

II

It is disgraceful that Lt-Col S.P. Singh (retd) did not spare even the parents of a hero who laid down his life for the country. He is a blot on the entire community of ex-servicemen, known for their integrity, loyalty and moral conduct.

I have a suggestion to offer. The records of all the retired officers presently employed on jobs like Lt-Col Singh must be scrutinised by the Army Headquarters or the Ministry of Defence. Only then, they should be recruited. I am sure, Singh was not having a clean record before his retirement.

NAHAR SINGH CHAHAL, Ludhiana

III

It is unfair to blame the entire defence community for just one person’s moral turpitude. Moreover, the armed forces personnel are no super human beings or saints. It is natural to have some black sheep in any organisation.

Our defence personnel are known for their very high integrity and courage. They are second to none in any field. Let us not underestimate our brave soldiers. I appreciate the courage of Mr Sudesh Kumar Sood for very right opinion in the letters.

KOMAL SANDHU, Ludhiana

National pride

In the Discovery channel’s telecast, ‘Egypt Week’, the act of the Head of the Egyptian Museums, arranging the return of the mummy of Pharoah Ramesis I, from Atlanta to Egypt, was commendable. Further, the state reception and the spontaneous salute of the natives to the same depicts the national pride of Egypt at its best.

The mortal remains of Maharaja Prithvi Raj Chauhan, the last Rajput ruler of Delhi-Ajmer, betrayed by his kinsmen, resultantly defeated and imprisoned in 1192 AD by Mohd. Ghori should be brought to his motherland from Afghanistan. With a friendly regime in Kabul, India should not waver in the retrieval of his remains and a salute to him at his last seat of power.

V.I.K. SHARMA, Jalandhar City

No free power

Reference the editorial “Power can’t be free” (May 13). The farmers should pay actual power consumption charges. The government should increase the support price of food grains suitably to cover average power consumption. This will compensate the growers as also result in judicious use of electricity.

In addition, suitable measures should be evolved to give remunerative price of produce to farmers, streamlining the marketing of farm products by restricting the share of middlemen who pocket hefty profits much more than the actual growers. Noose should also be tightened around government procurement agencies to reduce handling charges for farm products to minimum per tonne.

S.S. JUNEJA, Engineer-in-Chief (retd), Shimla

Welcome change

It is heartening to note that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the appraisal of an IAS officer though Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) in place of the Annual Confidential Report (ACR). The new system will be a tool for career planning and training to achieve targets.

For the evaluation of senior officers, there will be an Eminent Persons Group (EPG) which will seek inputs from peers, juniors and clients on a confidential basis and assess an officer’s reputation in terms of integrity, competence, attitude and personality traits, once in every five years.

The new system, if implemented fairly, will work wonders. Evaluation should be a continuous process to enhance an officer’s performance.

SUDESH KUMAR SHARMA, Kapurthala