Stop poll gimmicks

Political parties' practice to dole out sops at the fag end of their term is most undesirable on their part. The lawmakers should enact such laws that forbid the governments from taking recourse to such poll gimmicks. The need of the hour is to ensure that the grants or favours should be evenly distributed in the entire term of the legislators. Such a mechanism should be evolved in which no political party makes such promises that are impossible to be given a practical shape.

Santosh K Jamwal, Hamirpur

Say no to outsiders

Most political parties have fielded candidates who do not belong to the parliamentary seat from where they are contesting elections. This practice to field "outsiders" is getting encouraged with each passing election. It's not in the interests of local constituents who cast their vote only to find their representative missing from the segment for the next five years. In the past, it has been observed that after winning the election, candidates neither visit their constituency nor do they bother to take up the problems of the electorate. This has led to loss of interest among voters, who at times do not even cast their vote.

Political parties should look into the issue seriously and give the  party ticket only to local candidates. The ticket should also be given on merit.

Ujagar Singh, Chandigarh

Politics at its worst

During the current Lok Sabha elections, most of the parties have been spending a majority of their time conspiring against each other. The real concept of elections in a democracy, it seems, has remained limited to school books. As soon as our leaders are elected, they forget the electorate and return to seek votes only when next elections approach. This is not how the democracy should function. Those elected must be accessible and eager to address the issues of the people who have elected them. It was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s team back in 1991 that brought about economic liberalisation. But the magic seems to have disappeared of late, which may be due to certain tainted leaders in his Cabinet.

Gopal Singh Karki, Kangra

Khushwant a true Sikh

Apropos rich tributes paid to Khushwant Singh by eminent journalists and writers from all over, I am dismayed to note that no Sikh body has thought to remember him. The prolific writer has done the community proud. It is shocking to note that Akali leaders have allowed the construction of a memorial to Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale in the Golden Temple Complex but have forgotten to pay tribute to Khushwant Singh, a veteran writer of the Sikh history.

Supinder Bedi, Dehradun

Missing write-ups

The sad demise of Khushwant Singh was a great shock to the readers of The Tribune. Khushwant Singh, a prolific writer of weekly columns "This above all", mesmerised his readers with his write-ups. The country has lost a great writer. He truly was one of the very few pioneers of Indian writing in English. "A History of the Sikhs" and his masterpiece "A Train to Pakistan" was the true account of the gory scenes of the Partition. We readers were always thrilled to read his articles. May his soul rest in peace.

TD Bhardwaj, Phagwara 

Need for balanced growth

The article in The Tribune, "Criminal neglect of children" published on April 4 has rightly highlighted the plight of poor children, who roam about in our cities and towns in thousands. Most of them reportedly indulge either in begging or small-time thievery, both of which are unlawful activities. What pains one the most is the sad fact that instead of doing something constructive our seemingly blind-folded politicians still are harping, to seek votes, on providing them with the Right to Education Bill.

Balvinder, Chandigarh