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

Politicians must behave decorously

Some political leaders do not mind their Ps and Qs while talking about their rivals. Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's casteist epithet “Gangu Teli” about Narendra Modi was in poor taste (Legend has it that Gangu was a very poor oilman. Bhoj, the Raja of Malwa and Gujarat, married his daughter to his son and, thus, the saying “Kahaan Raja Bhoj Kahaan Gangu Teli” came into being).

The BJP has demanded an apology from Azad (news report ‘Be aggressive yet politically correct, BJP leaders tell party members’, August 18). However, the BJP members remain mum when Modi makes unpleasant remarks against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Recently, Modi described Manmohan Singh as a “night chowkidar”. Has Dr Singh ever used any sarcastic phrase for any BJP leader? He always exercises self-restraint. In fact, Modi has the irritating habit of making biting statements against his opponents. Instead of sympathising with the riot-hit Muslims in his state, he brazenly performed a “gaurav yatra” and made derogatory remarks against them. Small wonder, if his detractors make slighting remarks against him. Poet Zauq said: “Bad na boley zer-e-gardum gar koi meri suney/Hai ye gunbad kee sada jaisee kahey vaisee suney (If somebody listens to my advice he should not talk trash under the sky. There will be an echo and what he says will reflect back to him).

BHAGWAN SINGH, Qadian

Curative petitions

Apropos of Ashwani Dutta's letter (August 17), the apex court reprimands the lower courts for writing non-speaking orders while 80 per cent of its own orders are one-liners. My own experience is that the judges write non-speaking orders when they have no ground(s) to deny relief. As the curative petitions, it is the height of obduracy that such a petition was not accepted even in the Bhopal gas tragedy case. Indeed, what we are witnessing is not the rule of law but the 'rule of judges'. Will the Law Minister, himself a leading jurist, please intervene?

TARA CHAND AGGARWAL, Panchkula

II

Apart from the erudition of the judges on the Constitution Bench, legal acumen of leading jurists like Soli J Sorabjee, Shanti Bhushan, KK Venugopal and Dr Rajeev Dhawan went into the devising of curative petition. Sentiments of self-abnegation and confession expressed by their lordships headed by CJI SP Bharucha in the following words can never be forgotten by a conscientious judge:

“Almighty alone is the dispenser of absolute justice - a concept which is not disputed but by a few. We are of the view that though judges of the highest court do their best, subject, of course, to the limitation of human fallibility, yet situations may arise… which would require reconsideration of the final judgment to set right miscarriage of justice complained of".

But woefully, how curative petitions have been 'disposed of' (not 'decided') certainly calls for introspection at the highest level.

S P CAPOOR, Chandigarh

Financial crisis

Financial bungling seems to have plagued Himachal Pradesh with increasing fury over the years. Competitive populist policies by successive state governments have aggravated the problem. As the taxation potential of the state is extremely limited, the powers-that-be, as an easy way out, have been resorting to reckless “borrowing” to meet public expectation vis-à-vis the tempo of development.

The fund-starved state should be given a one-time substantial package to tide over the financial crisis. The state should also be allowed to impose a reasonable cess on electricity generated by the hydro-electric projects located in its territory. Short of closing the loss-making public sector undertakings, stringent steps should be taken to tone up their functioning. Strict fiscal discipline and administrative efficiency seem to have become imperative.

TARA CHAND, Ambota (Una)

Women's hockey

I extend my heartiest congratulations to Junior Hockey World Cup skipper Rani Ramphal and other players for clinching the first-ever bronze for the country at the Junior Girls Hockey World Cup. Much of the credit of this success goes to Dronacharya awardee coach Baldev Singh, who trained five girls of Shahbad (Haryana) and they played very well in the tournament. This is a great achievement for the country, especially when the men's senior hockey team finished at the bottom in the last Olympics. It was 38 years ago when the Indian Hockey team won the prestigious World Cup under the captaincy of Ajit Pal Singh in 1975.

PRITPAL SINGH, Patiala

Act swiftly

The gang rape of a medical student in Delhi on December 16, 2012, followed a storm of protest across the country. What is shocking is that even that tsunami of protests has failed to check the shameful incidents of rape. Moreover, we could not punish the culprits even after eight-nine months of that incident. What is the so-called fast track court doing? Why has it failed to give verdict on the case in time? They say justice delayed is justice denied. And this delay has emboldened many others to perpetrate rapes and destroy other girls' lives. So, the government and the judiciary need to wake up and act fast.

S K MITTAL, Panchkula