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Olympian shame: Kick out the corrupt

The editorial 'Kick corruption out' (September 7) gives a clarion call to the Indians to grab the God-send chance to cleanse the Indian sports, polluted by the unholy nexus between self-serving politicians, bureaucrats and business tycoons, which has brought the Indians sports to the lowest level. We have ample sporting talent and this fact has been proved a number of times in the past.

The management of sports should be entrusted to experienced sports personalities, who can do full justice to the sports and bring back the glory. It is really shameful that the world's largest democracy has been kicked out of the Olympics because of a handful of corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and business tycoons. Let us kick them out so that we can get the IOC nod to participate in the Olympic Games and salvage our pride.

A K SHARMA, Chandigarh

The time has come for the IOA (Indian Olympic Association) to come up to the standards of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to weed out tainted officials from the IOA. The IOC’s guidelines are applicable to all the officials the world over and India cannot be an exception. Since the issue has come in the public domain, every right-thinking citizen of India will stand by the good governance concept of the IOC. The country should not allow IOA officials to downgrade Indian dignity and reputation by their actions.

R S BRAR, Ludhiana

Golden Forest

Undoubtedly, it pinches the justice-seeker when he gets justice too late. In the case of Golden Forest, the investors are perturbed and anguished over the inordinate delay in the disposal of investment cases by the committee set up by the Supreme Court way back in 2003-04. The progress report of the committee has never appeared in any newspaper for the last 10 years. Do they need another decade to auction the properties of the company and distribute the amount among the investors?

A number of investors have passed away, waiting for the return of their money and others are helpless and cursing the sluggish committee members. Why is the case moving at a snail's pace? I remember that it was The Tribune that exposed the fraudulent ways of the Golden Forest in the year 2000.

BALWINDER KAUR, Jalandhar

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: Letters@tribuneindia.com

— Editor-in-Chief

Pension problems

The one rank, one pension scheme has been sanctioned and implemented by the MoD, but those soldiers who had not completed the seven-year qualifying service are not covered. The PCDA, Allahabad, is rejecting the cases of such soldiers and sending them back to different pension-disbursing authorities.

Why is this injustice being meted out to those soldiers who could not complete the prescribed qualifying service because of being injured in the 1965 Indo-Pak war? Owing to this indiscrimination, such persons have been forced to go to the Armed Forces Tribunals to get their dues and benefits.

JAGDISH CHANDER SHARMA, Chandigarh

Cleansing politics

Apropos the news item 'Why those facing trial should contest polls' (August 20), the Supreme Court deserves to be applauded for asking the Centre to reply within six weeks to a PIL seeking a ban on persons facing trial from contesting election to Parliament, the state assemblies and other democratically elected bodies.

There is a dire need to check the increasing criminalisation of politics. Lawbreakers cannot become lawmakers. Is it not appalling that the proposals of the EC and the SC have been rejected by the standing committee of Parliament? Certainly, politicians have ganged up to prevent any law aimed at cleansing politics from being enacted. It was evident from the government's failure to respond to the SC notice on the PIL in 2011.

CAPT S K DATTA (RETD), Abohar

Malicious campaign

The media’s malicious campaign against Bapu Asaram is disgusting. How could anyone be declared a criminal just on the basis of an FIR? We have courts of law and criminal procedures. Now he has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The selective presentation, misinterpretation and media trial is against all ethical principles laid down for the media. The media seems to be just vying for sensationalism that may raise their TRPs. In fact, they are doing a great disservice to the country.

DR JAI PRAKASH GUPTA, Ambala Cantt

Sukhbir’s interference
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s interference in the working of the SGPC is unwarranted because it is an independent religious body and is not run with government money. He has asked the SGPC to close down educational institutions and focus on religious preaching. The second Guru of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Angad Dev, opened a “pathshala” and started teaching Punjabi by introducing the Gurmukhi script. The opening of educational institutions is a good cause, which even Christian missionaries also adopted. Such missionaries opened schools, colleges and hospitals where the government failed to do so and it resulted in the expansion of Christianity.

In India, the people of states like Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Goa and Kerala have become Christians. To focus only on religious teachings will not do any good. Avtar Singh, president, SGPC, said recently that the educational institutions run by the SGPC are far better than government-run schools and colleges. He later amended his statement only to save his chair.
SURJIT SINGH SARPAL, Patiala