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Centre must throw out squatters

The editorial, “Imbecile government: Shameful indictment by the apex court” (Aug 7) quotes the Supreme Court judges of saying that “even God feels helpless in this country”. Justice B. N. Agarwal was constrained to observe that “the whole government machinery is corrupt, whether at the Centre or in the states…We are fed up with this government. There is no accountability and nobody bothers about laws or guidelines. Nobody in the government works and the whole government has become non-functional…” It depicts the situation in the right perspective which is shocking but true.

The ground reality is that all rules and regulations for allotment, retention and eviction from government houses are very much applicable to them. An ordinary Central Government employee on transfer from one city to another has to vacate his/her official quarter after getting some relaxation for a few months. The authorities at the next station simply don’t bother whether the employee has a quarter or not at the new place or a good school for his children’s education.

Such hapless employees are forced to take rental accommodation and incur huge financial losses for the sake of their children. The rules are circumvented in cases of the high and the mighty and their cronies of all shades. This underlines the anguish of the common law-abiding citizen.

T.S. SHERGILL, Chandigarh

II

The Supreme Court’s stricture on the government’s helplessness to amend the law with sharp teeth to throw out the illegal squatters from valuable public properties, which they intend to paste with their progeny, is ominous, rather prescient. The inaction reflects a collusion with the fraternity, to cement a wrong by subtle devices.

The founding fathers of the Constitution consciously wove an unitary coating within a federal Constitution, overseeing such like contingent situations, spelling doom in the past. The remark of Burke, an eminent British parliamentarian, that “those who do not learn from history are always destined to repeat it” sounds relevant, in such a context, a death-wish.

When wily politicians spell out ludicrous vote bank laced pronouncements and the national will is unexerting, the apex court ruling is a silver lining in the cloud and sheet-anchor of hope, to restore the derailed train on the right track. It has to remain omniscient so that the populace chant, ‘God save India’!

V.I.K. SHARMA, Jalandhar

III

The twin editorials, “Imbecile government” and “Hawala flourishes” (Aug 7) portray a vivid picture of the state of governance in the country. In just six words, “Shameful indictment by the apex court”, the editor has shown the real face of the government in the mirror on the wall. While the first editorial reveals the factual position of administrative imbecility, the second deals with financial mess.

The terrorist financing is just a mole in the hill and the government had never attempted to create a financial blockade to terrorists to cripple their activities. It has always looked for some scapegoats to make people believe that the government is working in spite of regular terrorist attacks.

Similarly, for hawala transanctions, the government’s record is no different. It has never given a serious thought to unearth the five trillion dollars laundered by politicians and bureaucrats to the Swiss banks. More money has been laundered to German and other small countries like St. Kitts. To get rid of the bad money, Germany has even offered to cooperate to unearth this huge amount. The GoI has simply ignored the proposal.

Dr TIRATH GARG, Ferozepur City