Opinion Doublespeak

discretionary powers to denotify plots to his sons,daughters-in-law,etc should surprise nobody. But this revelation could not have come at a worse time for the BJP,which is now jumping at the very mention of the 2G spectrum scam and accusing the prime minister of protecting A. Raja. But what takes the cake is that the state unit of the BJP in Karnataka does not intend to “react further”,as BJP President Nitin Gadkari is presumably “satisfied” with the CM’s defence against bestowing favours on his kin. By extension,why is not the BJP satisfied with DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi saying that Raja has not done any wrong?

—Tarsem Singh

New Delhi

JPC sham

This refers to your editorial ‘Spectrum spectre’ (IE,

November 18). Not only real estate and mining but almost all sectors needs depoliticisation. The editorial rightly says JPCs have become a muffling mechanism and their reports are recommendatory and rarely actionable. Should the apex court directly supervise the CBI and take action? Transparency,accountability and punishment for the guilty are essential to restore public trust. We need better

ideologies and clean leaders to create a better future.

—Shishir Sindekar

Nasik

Drag in the court

Obviously a JPC has no hope of yielding positive results in view of the track record. And holding proceedings of Parliament to ransom insisting on a JPC probe is an exercise in futility. The only workable option appears to be the Supreme Court which retains credibility and can ask the CBI to conduct an investigation it could monitor. Perhaps it can also set up a committee of individuals with impeccable credentials for assisting the court. It must be understood though that there’s no substitute for the CBI to conduct an investigation effectively.

—H.R.B. Satyanarayana Anand

CBI redux

The CBI is indeed capable of investigating cases of corruption committed by the high and mighty (‘Alphabet soup’,IE,November 16). However,going by past performance,it’ll need to revamp its organisational structure and investigative procedures to punish and deter. As our experience with the working of the CVC shows,the government has many ways of tinkering with institutional autonomy. So the CBI needs to be an independent body not reporting to the executive. Besides,its efforts would have to be reinforced by a fast judicial process. Also,the liberal grant of bail can dilute the impact of a good inquiry. Without such major reforms,no amount of media exposure will change the present

culture.

—Y.G. Chouksey

Pune