M A I L B A G

No place for gentlemen in politics

I appreciate H.K. Dua’s penetrating observation that “in most ministers’ offices, Gandhi’s portrait provides the backdrop” in his front-page editorial, “Parliament: Haven for criminals” (Feb 3). When a poor man enters a government office and finds Gandhiji smiling in the framed portrait, he expects justice. But Mahatma’s dream of reaching out to “unto-the-last” has been shattered due to our collective failure to implement his lofty ideals.

The gentlemen have been eased out of Indian politics because the wily money-lenders, smart businessmen and the mafia dons have come to control the levers of polity. During Gandhi’s times, most politicians were selfless patriots whereas now politics has become a lucrative business.

Criminals are mushrooming everywhere, in and out of Parliament. Minting money has become the most glorious creed of the modern age and hawkish individuals like Gurgaon’s kidney racket kingpin Amit Kumar are its unquestionable prophets. Such individuals remain beyond the “long arm of the law” because some sitting MPs also come to their rescue.

RAJ BAHADUR YADAV, Fatehabad

II

I admire the pains of a honest patriotic Indian. The state of affairs is really pathetic. The morals and values of society are going for a toss. It will be appropriate if the media terms all the people’s representatives as politicians and not as national leaders for obvious reasons.  The sensible among the lot should do their utmost to prevent the system from collapsing. 

The multiple tax regime, the growing debt burden and the freebies are all a result of human greed which needs to be tamed at the earliest if we are to remain a sovereign democratic republic.  This was Mahatma’s thought. Self-control must be practised and followed by all, if India has to survive.

Dr A. R. CHAUDHRI, Geology Dept., Kurukshetra University

III

The writer examined the sad state of Parliament. His advice that persons with criminal records should not be given tickets by the political parties for contesting either the Lok Sabha or the Assembly elections is sound and should be followed.

Mr Dua is genuinely concerned about the presence of a large number of people facing criminal charges in Parliament and state assemblies. It is a major issue deserving the serious attention of the supremos of all political parties, particularly the Congress and the BJP.

SANJEEV GAUR, Amritsar

IV

In India, it is common knowledge that the criminals enjoy the patronage of the politicians. They have not only consigned Mahatma Gandhi to the dustbin but also everything that is good for the nation.

They are responsible for all the ills facing the country. They have neither the will nor the courage to solve them. Just as a diamond cuts another diamond, it is only politicians who can expose the misdeeds of the others. But they are the chips of the same block.

On their pat, people cannot take the lead because there is no selfless, sacrificing, able and honest leader to lead them. Hence they are bound to bear this — at least for now.

C.R. JINDAL, Chandigarh

V

Mr Dua’s apt and striking comment while describing the politicians’ priority was: “Power now, reforms later”. To speak of Dr Amit Kumar involved in the Gurgaon kidney transplant racket, he also had political connections. According to a report, a Haryana politician had come to his rescue when the income-tax sleuths raided his house.

My heart cries out in despair reading such reports. Have we Indians lost our honesty and truthfulness to such an extent?

RANJANA BHARADWAJ, Panchkula

VI

Most politicians, before entering the portals of Parliament and state assemblies, are not as corrupt as they become afterwards. They learn the tricks to amass wealth enough for their generations in just one tenure of Parliament.

At the entrance to my humble school was the following message, ‘Come to learn, go to serve’. Shouldn’t we write, “Come to earn, don’t bother to serve” at the entrance to Parliament and the state assemblies?

Wg-Cdr C.L. SEHGAL (retd), Jalandhar

Welcome initiative I am happy that preventive steps are being taken to check pollution in and around the Golden Temple. (News-item, “Pollution control team visits Golden Temple”, Jan 22). But the common man is not aware that about 500 tonnes of pet coal, a petroleum byproduct with a very high sulphur content, is being used in the factories around Amritsar. This is increasing the sulphur dioxide content in the air. The underground water being used by the factories is more than the water used by the entire population of Amritsar. The effluents being discharged in drains like the Tung Dhab drain are causing skin diseases in human beings and animals. Ultimately, this will affect their genes. The Tribune had carried this ghastly story in the past. It is time stringent measures were taken to locate the factories at distant places to save the holy city, its monuments and the people. ANSHUMAN KHANNA, Amritsar