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

Modi’s choice a vexatious issue

This refers to the editorial ‘Advani strikes back: BJP crisis over Modi deepens’ (June 11). No party can grow without promoting its young cadres who happen to be promising and hardworking, yet the senior-most leaders must get the due respect within the party hierarchy everywhere. The BJP patriarch, LK Advani, has every right to raise his voice against the growing breed of time-serving leaders in his party. His forceful argument that today's leaders keep their personal interests above the national interests is fully justified.

Our countrymen are by temperament against religious bigotry and fanaticism. We must not forget that if Atal Bihari Vajpayee was able to rule over this country as Prime Minister, it could be possible because of his own liberal and democratic attitude towards different castes, ethnic groups and religions in the country. He always tried to sound moderate and people liked to hear his speeches with enthusiasm in public. Modi's rigid posturing on different issues of national and international importance may not win many allies for the BJP in the post-election scenario of 2014.

If Modi's acceptance within the BJP is limited, why will common people endorse him as their PM? Not only Advani, but many other senior BJP leaders did not congratulate Modi on his elevation. If electoral success is any yardstick, Shivraj Chauhan, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, is not far behind the Gujarat Chief Minister. Modi's meteoric rise in the BJP has caused a lot of heartburn among his seniors and this is not misplaced also because a national-level leader must pass through the ordeal of the natural process of becoming people's popular leader. And Modi has been only a state-level player so far.

DR RAJ BAHADUR YADAV, Fatehabad

SHASHI KANT GUGLANI, Chandigarh

Raise quality education

This refers to the news item 'RTE norms, shortage of faculty lead to poor show' (June 7). The results of Haryana Board of School Education Class 10, in which only 45 per cent students have cleared the exams, highlight the poor quality education being provided in government schools. No doubt, government schools charge comparatively less fee from students, but it is not enough.

To get good results, the government should also provide basic infrastructure and the required number of faculty to schools. Moreover, teachers should be asked to teach students in an enthusiastic way and exhort students to work hard to achieve high marks. The RTE Act, 2009, which provides that no student could be failed from Classes 1 to 8, is also responsible for the poor performance. There is a need to make some amendments to the Act.

KAMALPREET SINGH, Barnala

Quack menace

The number of quacks is rising by the day in many rural and urban areas of Himachal Pradesh. Sad to say, the government is making no efforts to stop this menace.

In the absence of government health services in these areas, a number of unauthorised or quacks’ clinics have mushroomed. Moreover, government health centres mostly face shortage of medicines as well as staff. This makes helpless people to resort to the services of quacks and jeopardise their lives.

Even homoeopathic and ayurvedic doctors do not hesitate to take on the mantle of an allopathic doctor and give medicines to patients. The government must improve its healthcare services in the state and check the phenomenal rise of such clinics as are playing with the health of people.

ROOP SINGH NEGI, Kinnaur