Debate, debated

8226; I Followed the no-confidence motion brought against the Vajpayee government in some detail. It was a disappointing spectacle. I was m...

8226; I Followed the no-confidence motion brought against the Vajpayee government in some detail. It was a disappointing spectacle. I was most disappointed with the way the government skirted the questions raised by the Opposition. While the PM talks like the grand old man of Indian politics and of Parliamentary propriety, he betrayed it the most by just lecturing us on how the language in a debate should be treated.

The following points struck me. First, the government and the public have attached euphoric overtones to the Kargil war. Yet, as Mani Shankar Aiyar argued, the intelligence failure was not undisputed. If a committee set up by the government found that there were lapses, why did the PM choose to stay silent on the issue? Isn8217;t this a defiance of the spirit of Parliamentary democracy, Mr Vajpayee?

Then what about creating employment for the educated youth that Vajpayee had promised? Is the rate of unemployment rising or going down? What is the quality of employment available to most people? What is the government doing about it? No answers were forthcoming. Next, our forces remained on the border for months. What was gained from this? What about the Gujarat riots? What about the intimidation of the victims and witnesses?

Rather than say something substantial on these issues, the PM chose to castigate the leader of the opposition on the words that she chose to use against the government. Why is he so defensive if in the process of debating a no-confidence motion the leader of the opposition brings out well-formulated points and uses the expression 8220;We charge you8221;?
8212; Himanshu Tyagi, On e-mail

Wrong stance

8226; The PM, in his reply to Somnath Chatterjee, during the discussions on the no-trust motion, stated that it is the prime minister8217;s prerogative to appoint George Fernandes as minister. The question asked was why was George Fernandes re-appointed when the latter had resigned taking moral responsibility for the Tehelka episode. Even the BJP had been forced to get its president to resign after he was caught redhanded by Tehelka for taking money-for-favours. Such an important issue cannot be overruled by primeministerial prerogative.
8212; Pradeep Narayanan, On e-mail

Waste of time

8226; Since the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, precious national time is being squandered on trivial matters while basic issues continue to be ignored. Take the no-confidence motion that the Opposition brought against the NDA government. Prime Minister Vajpayee left no stone unturned in rebutting it. But this war of words left citizens dismayed over how their representatives could indulge in so much indiscipline that even the speaker and deputy speaker could hardly manage to get them to behave. The nation spends lakhs every day when Parliament is in session and parliamentary time must be utilised for the benefit of all. Parliament is not the place to conduct rehearsals for the coming elections.
8212; K.L. Batra, Yamunanagar