Letters To The Editor

House that?8226; PARLIAMENT is meant to be a place for din and bustle BJP8217;s Nat-War8217;, IE, August 9. But parliamentary debate h...

House that?

8226; PARLIAMENT is meant to be a place for din and bustle BJP8217;s Nat-War8217;, IE, August 9. But parliamentary debate has of late degenerated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Innumerable issues of national interest, deserving debate and discussion, are treated as insignificant, while those oriented to narrow power politics dominate proceedings. Opposition MPs, instead of ensuring that the government concentrates on pressing concerns, absent themselves from Parliament on some plea or the other. As a result , we have very few days when Parliament actually works, and there are far too many adjournments. This causes citizens to wonder whether Parliament serves a useful purpose or whether it is a waste of public money. The ruling party cannot shrug off all responsibility for this. It is not transparent and is only too eager to push through resolutions and pass bills without discussion.

8212; C.R. Bhattacharjee, Kolkata

Grace under fire

8226; YOUR report, Suspended Natwar kicks and screams8217; IE, August 9 caused much anguish. Would it not have been much better for Natwar Singh if he had accepted the Pathak Commission censure with grace, instead of bad-mouthing the prime minister as he is doing? Today he associates with the likes of Amar Singh and George Fernandes, whose only agenda is to embarrass the Congress. What a fall, indeed, of a man of learning!

8212;Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Psyche of rape

8226; SOMA WADHWA8217;S article, Rape is about women 8212;and men8217; IE, August 9 was a wonderfully analytical statement. Perhaps it could have been titled, Rape is about men 8212; and women8217;, since the prime focus should be on the perpetrator. The victim is the object8217; of social concern, but by the principle of causality, I thought she takes the second place. You need to set right the first, to correct the problem. Especially if the preposterous act is used as a tool to make a social statement. That historical pronouncement in the Bhanwari case takes the cake: 8220;the alleged rapists here are middle-aged and, therefore, respectable citizens. Since the offenders were upper-caste men, the rape could not have taken place because Bhanwari was from a lower caste.8221; The Indian psyche should get rid of its caste shackles before humanitarian justice can be delivered.

8212; N. Lakshminarayan, Chennai

What about water?

8226; This refers to the report of the Centre for Science and Environment CSE about the threat colas pose to people because of their high pesticide content. What I would like to ask is whether the same CSE would consider surveying the germs and contaminants in the water millions of Indians drink everyday. Colas are consumed only by a chosen few but there are millions who drink contaminated water and fall prey to numerous diseases. A case of being penny wise and pound foolish? Incidentally, when scientist J.B.S. Haldane was asked whether it was true that microbes do not survive in the Ganges, he replied, 8220;Yes, it is true because they the microbes too have some self respect!8221;

8212;Hemant Hemmady, Mumbai