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Journalism of Courage
8226;Your editorial 8216;Speak up, Speaker8217; is commendable for its support to Somnath Chatterjee in his efforts to keep his post above any party politics. However, in this debate over his stand, are we forgetting 8220;Somnath, the MP8221;? As an elected representative, he has repeatedly expressed his conscientious objections to voting with the BJP, and he is depending on his constitutional office to allow him to not do so. There may be more representatives who differ on the stand taken by their respective parties and wish to vote as per the party8217;s whip either for conscientious reasons or because they feel that their constituency wishes them to. How can we refer to our MPs as 8220;representatives of the people8221; when in reality they represent only their party bosses?
8212; Satish Dayal
New Delhi
8226;Unlike his fellow comrades, Somnath Chatterjee has never displayed his ideological affinities in the discharge of his duties. If the Left forces him to resign and vote against the UPA in a no-confidence motion, irreparable damage will be done to the speaker8217;s chair. Such an undemocratic precedent may even mar Chatterjee8217;s exemplary and impartial conduct over the last four years. The choice now lies with him.
8212; Ved Guliani Hisar
Engage Iran
8226; While images of missiles blasting into the sky might boost Iranian national pride, these are used by hawks in the West to increase public support for an attack against Iran. To ensure that Iran doesn8217;t implement a nuclear weapons programme, it must be allowed to negotiate without preconditions.
8212; Stefan Simanowitz
Hampstead, US
Too much, too soon
8226; This refers to 8216;Raj8217;s ultimatum to English-medium schools8230;8217;. Raj Thackeray has demanded that Marathi be taught to English-medium students from as early as 6 years of age. Notwithstanding the demand on an average child to learn two languages simultaneously, does Raj realise that many parents want their children educated under Central boards, where English is necessary? In English-medium schools, it would be ideal to teach Marathi only from Class 3 onwards.
8212; Deepak Chikramane
Rapid evaporation
8226;This refers to the editorial 8216;Maya8217;s verdicts8217;. Be it politicians, film stars or businessmen, they all express their faith in the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary only in the hope of getting a verdict in their favour. But once the verdict goes against them, this faith evaporates immediately. This attitude is nothing if not downright hypocritical. Nonetheless, the CBI has itself to blame for people doubting its impartiality and efficiency.
8212; Satwant Kaur
Mahilpur, Punjab
