Why committees?

Krishna Bose’s ‘Stand up and deliver’ (IE, August 18), does not inform us about the nature of the contribution ...

Krishna Bose’s ‘Stand up and deliver’ (IE, August 18), does not inform us about the nature of the contribution that standing committees make to the functioning of democracy. The only impression I get is that members of Parliament ‘‘get valuable insights’’ and ‘‘learn a lot’’ on various subjects as Bose herself claims to have learnt on the ‘‘human resource potential of our country’’! I have heard the government spends a lot of money on the visits of these committees to various places within India and abroad. Do we really need such committees?

— Himadri Moharana New Delhi

Do your job

• India being one of the ten most industrialised countries of the world has the maximum number of holidays. Not included are the days when a bandh takes place or some group holds a financial metropolis to ransom. Since the UPA came, hardly any work has been done in parliament. The honourable MPs have found one reason or the other to abandon work. Many escaped to Athens. The common man must wonder that while he toils, the MPs display no sense of responsibility. Now the MPs want the right to strike. Would they please pledge to the nation that they will do the job for which they are being paid.

— Ramesh Lahoti Navi Mumbai

Thanks to army

• As an army colonel’s son, I am particularly delighted at the singular achievement of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. He has done not only India proud by fetching the first ever individual silver medal in the Olympics but has also brought laurels to his most noble profession — the army. I hope Rathore’s outstanding achievement will motivate young boys and girls who want to take up sports as a career to join the army. What better organisation than the army to lead a dignified life, and also excel in sports? May Major Rathore win a gold in the next Olympics. May the sporting spirit of over one billion people be rekindled!

— Aniket Singh Army School Ambala cantt

Gujarat to Delhi

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• I appreciate the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Gujarat riots. It is a new beginning for India. I hope that justice will also be done to the Sikhs who were butchered in more numbers and equally ruthlessly in 1984. The same procedure for justice that is being followed for Gujarat and Modi must surely be followed for Delhi.

— Chavi Sharma Jaipur

A warning

• The lynching of Akku Yadav in Nagpur is a signal to our political class. They should end their squabbling, stop protecting criminals and immediately frame a judicial system which provides for the speedy trial of criminals.

—R.C. Dikshit Vadodara

• Yesterday’s editorial page of the Delhi edition of The Indian Express was marred by a transmission error. As a result, the last lines of the pieces carried were missing. The error is deeply regretted.

—Editor

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

Unprecedented rain submerges Kolkata amidst Durga Puja preparations; train services hit

Cities40 min ago

At least two people were killed as Kolkata woke up to an inundated city on Tuesday morning after heavy overnight rainfall flooded streets, railway tracks, and Metro tracks. The downpour, which began late Monday night and continued past midnight, led to severe waterlogging across major arterial roads and residential areas, paralysing normal life.

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