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Journalism of Courage
8226; A question of vital importance arises about the role of the pro-tem speaker. Unlike the UK, where the speaker is appointed before members take oath, the Indian Constitution provides that in the absence of the speaker/deputy speaker, the duties of the office of speaker shall be performed by such member of the Parliament/assembly as the president/ governor may appoint for the purpose. The speaker pro-tem continues to hold office till the speaker is chosen. It is obvious that the speaker is appointed by election by the House. It is implicit that the House would be one which enjoys its confidence. In normal functioning of the Parliament/state legislatures, with no dispute about which party has majority, no difficulty arises. In view of past experience where there has been a fractured mandate, the governor requires the council of ministers to whom oath has been administered to seek a vote of confidence within a stipulated period. In the circumstances a pro-tem speaker does not only have the powers, nay an obligation to preside over the House for the purposes of putting the vote of confidence before the House and informing the governor about the resolution of the House.
8212; R.N. Trivedi Former additional solicitor general, New Delhi
Out of proportion
8226; Apropos of Arun Jaitley8217;s 8216;Governor, not House, under Challenge8217; March 16, with due regards to the sincerity and integrity of the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, he needs to realise that the apex court8217;s ruling on Jharkhand has been misread and blown out of all proportions. It was the court8217;s attempt to check any unconstitutional conduct of the governor and at no point of time has the court appeared to overstep its jurisdiction.
8212; Ved Guliani Hisar
Democracy8217;s future
8226; Recent developments in Jharkhand and Goa make Indians worry about future of democracy. Our polity has become so unconcerned about democratic values that the struggle for power has become the end of its existence. All democratic institutions have become so vulnerable that the collapse of whole structure is likely. The Supreme Court8217;s intervention in the Jharkhand matter set things right but the courts cannot take all the responsibility for protecting democracy on their shoulders and render other institutions redundant.
8212; Arvind Naik Pune
Not in TV studios
8226; Apropos of your editorial, 8216;Fellowship of the ring8217; IE, March 10, it makes the perfectly valid point that the site for debating and agreeing upon guidelines for procedures for votes of confidence must be Parliament, not TV studios. If Parliament does not perform its duty then perforce the Supreme Court has to do so. Parliament must therefore reclaim lost ground and re-emerge as the forum where constitutional issues are debated and decided.
8212; Vinod Chowdhury Delhi
Shakti episode
8226; I Agree with Bhawana Sommaya 8216;Stinging Shakti Kapoor for news8217;, IE, March 16. When a girl called someone so many times, behaves seductively, she can8217;t have expectations of spirituality. We all know about the casting couch phenomenon. But when someone from within the industry reveals what is going on, it does have a ring of credibility to it.
8212; Siva Ram Abu Dhabi
