The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Letters to the Editor

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

LETTERS

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

Govt must ensure independence of CBI

This refers to the article, ‘Chance for CBI independence’ by Kuldip Nayar (Opinion, May 11). The author has highlighted the predicament of the CBI, the country’s premier investigating agency, which remains a puppet in the hands of political bosses. Many chief justices of the Supreme Court of India (SC) have come and gone, many CBI heads have come and gone, but no one, either from the judiciary or the CBI, had the guts to ask the CBI as to why it does not function independently.

It is for the first time in the history of independent India that we see the Supreme Court taking the Union Law Minister to task and questioning his authority to interfere in the working of the CBI. Surely, the SC deserves to be commended for taking the CBI head on by describing it as "the caged parrot" that speaks the language of the government at the Centre. The time has come to free the CBI from the clutches of the government and make it an independent organisation. The SC has rightly asked the government to immediately make a law in this regard.

But, I doubt the politicians will ever make the CBI an independent authority, because by doing so, their shady character will become public. Surely, they will find some other way to keep the CBI under their control. A new law will be enacted to keep the CBI under the control of the government. The CBI will remain the "Caged Bird of India" and will never fly independently. Unless one-third of the tainted MPs are shunted out and replaced with honest and capable persons to effectively govern the nation, nothing is going to change.

R K KAPOOR, Chandigarh

Rightful sacking

At last, the two tainted senior Congress leaders, Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal, resigned on Friday. Ashwani Kumar was under fire from the Opposition after the Supreme Court came down heavily on the CBI for allowing the law ministry to vet the draft of the CBI probe report on Coalgate. The apex court had questioned the credibility of the CBI probe into the coal block allocations scam and expressed resentment towards the government's interference in the Coalgate probe report. Bansal's woes mounted when the CBI questioned his private secretary Rahul Bhandari, a 1997-batch IAS officer from Punjab cadre, in connection with the alleged Rs 10 crore bribery scandal. Bansal had denied any role in the wrongdoing by claiming that he had no business links with Singla.

With the Assembly polls due to take place in some states in the coming months as well as the 2014 general elections slated for February, the Congress high command’s decision to sack both leaders will send the message across to the public that the party is against corruption.

RAKESH SINGLA, Dhakoli (Zirakpur)

Vote against corruption

The people of Karnataka neither voted in favour of Rahul Gandhi nor against Narendra Modi . Rather they voted against a corrupt regime and the state government’s misgovernance. So there is a strong message for the UPA government from the Karnataka's election results. The UPA-2 and the Congress should learn their lessons from the BJP's downfall in Karnataka. The UPA government should put an end to scams and corruption and expel tainted leaders, otherwise the Congress and the UPA government will have to face a debacle in the 2014 general elections.

SANDEEP ARYA, Fazilka

Work mustn’t suffer

This refers to the news items ‘Bansal’s resignation a blow to city’ and ‘Major projects in cold storage’ (Chandigarh Tribune, May 11). It is quiet disheartening that the development projects sanctioned or started by Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal may lapse into cold storage with his dismissal. It is not a healthy pointer in a democracy and is contrary to constitutional expectations of citizens of a particular area.

It is imperative for the railway ministry to continue with the projects initiated by the minister. Why should the people of a particular city or area be deprived of their legitimate share of developments? The government should ensure that all projects sanctioned by the railway minister are completed in time.

MS TANDAN, Ambala

Health schemes’ health
This refers to the editorial ‘Mission urban health: Poverty is the key problem’ (May 9). So many schemes have been introduced by the government to remove poverty and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) is yet another addition to them. What is the use of introducing scheme after scheme if they fail to serve their purposes. As for the NHUM, what is the guarantee that the benefits of the scheme, meant for urban poor living in slums, will reach them.
In an NRHM scam in Uttar Pradesh, a massive sum of Rs 10,000 is alleged to have been siphoned off by politicians and bureaucrats. Such irregularities should not creep into the NUHM. So a foolproof system must be in place to monitor and supervise the flow of expenditure. If the scheme is implemented honestly and with a great sense of responsibility, the urban poor will benefit a lot.
S C VAID, Greater Noida