Opinion Hot coals

This disruption of parliamentary proceedings has angered the aam aadmi.

The Indian Express

August 30, 2012 02:32 AM IST First published on: Aug 30, 2012 at 02:32 AM IST

Hot coals

Over the last few days,the BJP has stalled Parliament,attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress for making mota maal from coal allocation (Back at you,IE,August 29). This disruption of parliamentary proceedings has angered the aam aadmi. Each MP must be held accountable for this. It is increasingly clear that the BJP is in a hurry to capture power. The Congresss Manish Tewari was not far wrong when he said the the BJP was impatient with being out of power. It is possible that the process of allotting the coal blocks was not transparent. However,the CAGs computation of losses may also be held in question. It is inexplicable why the BJP is shying away from a debate with the Congress and chooses obstructionist parliamentary tactics instead. It must realise that this only harms its political interests.

Bidyut K. Chatterjee,Faridabad

Democracy in distress

APROPOS Sonia raises pitch,tells Cong MPs to fight BJP blackmail (IE,August 29),in no other democracy does the head of the ruling party ask its members to wage war on the opposition,neither does the head of government castigate the national auditor for fulfilling its constitutional obligations. It is true that in a democracy,public perception matters the most. However,it is not the oppositions fault if the general view is that the government is trying to dodge accountability.

M.C. Joshi

Lucknow

Talk business

INSTEAD of blaming the BJP for disrupting Parliament,the Congress would do well to hold talks with the opposition and ensure that this entire session is not a washout,with no fruitful business being conducted (Low bill power,IE,August 29). There are many bills that await approval.

G. Ramachandran

Chennai

Left out

IN HIS article The quicksand of caste (IE,August 28),Pratap Bhanu Mehta made some accurate observations about the impact of the policy of reservation. Reservation might have been much more effective if a policy of real inclusive growth had been in place.

Satwant Kalkat

Ludhiana

The long arm

THE Chief Justice of India,S.H. Kapadia,was right to advocate restraint for the courts (Weighing words,IE,August 27). In recent times,the courts have delivered pathbreaking judgments that have been welcomed by the people. However,it is important that the judiciary acknowledges its role as the interpreter and protector of law and respects the separation of powers among the three organs of the state. The courts should effectively interpret and enforce laws already in place and not tread on the legislatures territory.

Jasleen Kaur

Chandigarh