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Tackling electoral corruption
Apropos of V. Eshwar Anand’s article, “A threat to democracy” (Oped Elections, Aug 23), it is perhaps not a few criminal politicians that threaten the judicious functioning of our democracy but the whole political set-up seems inherently corrupt where politicians pay huge sums to get party tickets and then spend crores to buy votes and get elected. Naturally, such “elected leaders” do not interact with their voters nor do they represent the interests of the poor and the lowly. Their only concern is making money for their next election. Our electoral system is in a Catch-22 situation where the masses have already been bribed which neutralises whatever small number of middle class and intellectual voters comes to participate in the process. Naturally, our legislative bodies are deprived of the “men and women of calibre, integrity, probity and rectitude in public life”, which the writer has referred to in his article. Can we tackle the menace by framing more and more stringent rules and laws? The answer is an emphatic no. Our system lacks political will of the leadership. While our MPs and MLAs have been exposed through certain sting operations and some of them were even expelled and FIRs were lodged against others, what has been the outcome? Neither the masses have castigated such black sheep nor have political parties refused to give tickets to history sheeters and criminals. Every party wants the ‘winning’ candidates, no matter how do they win. One only wonders whether there is really an effective way out of this malady. VED
GULIANI,Hisar
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MPs’ pay hike The editorial “MPs deserve more: Need to fix greater accountability too” (Aug 18) brings to the fore an important question before the people of India. The editorial, in a nutshell, makes out a case for fixing greater accountability on the MPs along with a raise in their salaries, perks and allowances. The increase in pay will actually help those MPs who strive to make an honest living. Members of Parliament are expected to bring in drastic changes in their style of working and dealing with the people. They need to adopt those practices which give confidence to each individual, thereby cutting their interaction with groups of people for redressal of a few individuals’ grievances. The country is passing through a very difficult period. Therefore, the elected representatives need to observe austerity. They should not give an impression that they are bent on raising their salaries at the cost of the taxpayer. JAGVINDER SINGH BRAR, Patiala Nullify the wrong The manner in which the umpire had given out to three Indian batsmen in Sri Lanka is controversial. Though his decision is final, if it is proved that it is wrong, the batsman must be recalled promptly to continue his innings. In today’s technological age, it won’t take even a minute to correct a wrong decision by the umpire. The rule that “Umpire’s decision is final” has itself become infructuous today. With changing times, the human error can always be rectified. The best course for the umpire is to wait for some time and if the decision is proved to be wrong through action replay or any other credible method, it must be nullified forthwith. In the case of no ball, runs made from no ball should be counted in the batsman’s score to rest all controversies as it happened in Sehwag’s case against Sri Lanka. MAHESH KAPASI, New Delhi PM’s concern The description of PM’s human touch (Editorial, Aug 19) is a nice portrayal of the Prime Minister’s concern for the people of Leh and Ladakh in their hour of tragedy. By his humanitarian act, he has provided a soothing balm to the grief-stricken people at a time when they are homeless and have lost their near and dear ones. Dr Manmohan Singh’s assurance to the people of Leh and Ladakh that he will visit again after two months to see the newly built houses shall accelerate the process GURMIT SINGH SAINI, Mohali Accidents galore Not a day passes without fatal road accidents in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. This speaks volumes for the utter disregard people have for road discipline and road safety norms, the price of which is paid by those who are rather law abiding and respect traffic rules. As the vehicular population is multiplying on the roads day by day, the immediate need is to enforce strict road discipline. Those flouting traffic norms must be dealt with seriously. S.S.
ARORA, Mohali
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