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Decks cleared for economic reforms

In his front-page editorial, “Parliament: The bold, the beautiful and the ugly” (July 24), H.K. Dua has given a sane advice: “The leaders, irrespective of their political affiliation, should also agree to enact a law that no criminal, serving a sentence in jail, will be allowed to enter Parliament and cast his or her vote”.

This suggestion, if implemented, would save and preserve the dignity of Parliament and check criminalisation of politics. It would also ensure that the ugly and abhorrent scenes enacted in Parliament on July 22 are not repeated.

The consistent espousal of the nuclear deal by The Tribune stands vindicated by the confidence motion won by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament.

Now that Dr Singh has won the vote of confidence, he should assert his authority and should not allow himself to be cowed down by the smaller parties who have supported him on the floor of the House just as he was blackmailed by the Left in the past.

LAJ PAT RAI GARG, Chandigarh

II

Mr Dua has rightly lamented the avoidable political crisis created by the Left
parties. The latter have been harping that they are the sole defenders of the country’s needs and rights. Others joined the Left bandwagon only to topple
the UPA government.

The colossal shortage of generation capacity from scarce sources at present is common knowledge. Our conventional sources are getting depleted day by day. Glaciers are melting due to global warming in which the fossil fuel is a major contributing factor.

Our nuclear reactors are lying idle for want of nuclear fuel. Apart from villages and towns, cities too are facing power cuts daily, making the life of the common people miserable. The Indo-US nuclear civilian deal should be operationalised faster.

Maj NARINDER SINGH JALLO (retd), Mohali

III

As The Tribune has consistently supported the nuclear deal, the Prime Minister rightfully deserved accolades for its unbiased approach to an issue that is of paramount national importance.

The Comrades led by their hotheaded and domineering Secretary General had been holding the UPA and the nation to ransom for far too long and the people must have heaved a sigh of collective relief at the outcome of Tuesday’s confidence vote in the Lok Sabha.

The Prime Minister should now press on the accelerator harder and ensure that the deal is cleared by the IAEA, the NSG and the US Congress before President Bush demits his office on January 19, 2009.

Dr M.K. BAJAJ, Zirakpur

IV

I appreciate Mr Dua’s front-page editorial in which he dealt with all aspects of the confidence vote. As Mr Dua puts it, democracy is based on consensus and mutual accommodation. It would have been better had the main political groupings like the UPA, the NDA and the Left evolved a national consensus on the nuclear deal.

The consensus would have shown the  maturity and statesmanship of our political parties. Alas, it was not to be!

I endorse Mr Dua’s suggestion to all political  parties to prevent the entry of hardened criminals in Parliament. He has also asked to check the use of the tainted money. But will our politicians do it?

AMAR JIT SINGH GORAYA, Griffith NSW (Australia)

V

It is a shame that the profound content of the spirited speech of the Prime Minister was not allowed to be read by raucous MPs in the Lok Sabha. Of course, the text is available on website. For long, India suffered nuclear isolation. We must examine its fall out on our indigenous programme of building a nuclear submarine. It is an open secret that our programme has suffered by 10 years and hopefully it will now get off so that the Navy will truly be an instrument to strengthen our foreign policy.

Commodore MUKUND B. KUNTE, New Delhi

VI

Heartiest congratulations to the UPA government for winning the trust vote with a convincing margin. But now it must get back to restore the trust of the armed forces. For the last few weeks, it was all forgotten.

The revised recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission are still awaited. There was a spoke by the Finance Ministry. The Defence Ministry must prevail and get the soldier his due. The demands of the ex-service men also need to be looked into sympathetically. The veterans, who have given the best of their lives to the country, can’t afford to be ignored. They are also part of the olive green, blue, and white family

Dr Manmohan Singh has won because of his principles, honesty and dedication to the national interest. Don’t the armed forces reflect exactly the same values and convictions? Then, why do we ignore them? If the nuclear deal is in the national interest, then the armed forces are the backbone and pride of the nation. Please restore their old dignity and prestige by justifiable pay hike.

Col R.D. SINGH, Leh (J&K)

Ban cell phones in schools Union Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chaudhary’s recent tirade against the use of mobile phones in schools is welcome. Mobile phones are a health hazard; these affect the physical and intellectual abilities of children. Legislation is needed to check the use of cell phones in schools. Stringent action against the parents is the need of the hour because they regard cell phones as a status symbol. Students need proper counselling. Then they can be reprimanded and if they don’t listen, action like imposition of fine, temporary suspension and expulsion from the institution will be in order. Erring institutions should be disaffiliated, if need be. I know how difficult it is to check the menace. All the members of my staff had to be on their toes to spot the wrongdoers. O. P. COUSHIK Principal (retd), Chandigarh