POTA matters

8226; I am surprised that The Indian Express has favoured a continuation of POTA 8216;In the name of Muslims...

8226; I am surprised that The Indian Express has favoured a continuation of POTA 8216;In the name of Muslims8217; safety, UPA plays into Sangh8217;s hands8217;, IE, May 28. You are noted for your defence of human rights, and have repeatedly spoken on the misuse of POTA. I find a disturbing about-turn in your policy on the issue.

What is more frightening is that you should invoke the fear of Togadia getting an issue on his hands? Should Muslims be the sacrificial lamb to appease Togadia? The preventive detention laws have been widely misused, both politically and as a blackmail tactic, in spite of repeated promises by home ministers and prime ministers. The sufferings of the mostly poor and illiterate victims and their families is tremendous. Interestingly, every government misusing preventive detention laws invariably loses elections.

For Jaylalithaa, the consummate politician, POTA was a means to wipe out the opposition. In Jharkhand it was meant to crush the poor tribals demanding a greater say in their own state. In the communal frenzy of Gujarat it was used only on Muslims suspected of involvement in the Godhra case. But Narendra Modi conveniently did not use it in the much larger and more shocking post-Godhra cases. The result: out of 240 arrested under POTA, only one was a non-Muslim, and that too a Sikh.

In its earlier form of TADA, the law was massively misused by both Amarsinh Chaudhary and Chimanbhai Patel. As the Abu Ghraib prison scandal shows, even the champions of democracy and human rights tortured prisoners under their control. In short, it is dangerous to give unlimited power to any human being. It brings out the worst in him or her.

8212; J.S. Bandukwala Vadodra

Gujarat verdict

8226; I guess the question here is not who started the violence or who planned it but who was supposed to bring security and peace to the state 8216;Modi, time to pack up8217;, IE, May 29. I don8217;t care what Modi8217;s religion is, or to which political party he is affiliated, as a chief minister he should have taken timely steps, which he failed to do.

Since state machinery failed, the Central ministry should have taken steps to dismiss the government or change the chief minister which they also failed to do.

8212; Aji George

8226; In Gujarat the BJP got more than 50 per cent of the seats in these Lok Sabha elections. So by your own logic Modi has the support of more than 50 per cent of the electorate.

8212; V. Srinivasan

No second chances

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8226; This refers to Rajeev Shukla8217;s plea to 8216;8216;give Laloo a chance8217;8217; 8216;Front foot8217;, IE, May 28. When Laloo Prasad Yadav could not become chief minister of Bihar because of the fodder scam, how can he become a Union minister now?

8212; Nikhil Gupta

Reform the reforms

8226; Bibek Debroy hits the bull8217;s eye when he says that governments have abdicated their social responsibility by not investing in sectors like infrastructure and health 8216;Reform, make it farm fresh8217;, IE, May 27. It8217;s also true that governments, media and markets have virtually equated reforms with selling off a few companies, sometimes even when they aren8217;t a burden on the exchequer.
There are virtually no infrastructure projects in power, water, no funds for improving health services and primary education for the poor. So, why is it that it comes as a surprise to everyone when governments get booted out?