Letters to the editor: 50 years late

* This refers to ‘Gauhati HC quashes 1963 resolution that set up CBI’ (IE,November 8). The uproar over the Gauhati High Court’s ruling,which questions the legal grounds for the country’s premier investigation agency functioning as a police force,was avoidable. One fails to understand why,till date,the CBI continues to be governed by a pre-Independence,pre-Constitution statute — the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act,1946. It is unbelievable that successive governments at the Centre have not acted to grant the CBI the statutory sanctity it deserves. Particularly when it is so frequently used in politically sensitive cases. Even the group of ministers that was set up in the wake of the SC’s directions to insulate the working of the CBI from political influence only proposed piecemeal amendments to the DSPE Act. The current year,the CBI’s 50th,will hopefully see the enactment of an act of Parliament that clarifies the CBI’s position and powers.

— Hemant Kumar

Ambala

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Blind spots

* This refers to ‘Silence speaks more’ by Christophe Jaffrelot (IE,November 7). The writer enthusiastically recycled trivial bits of information about Narendra Modi — such as his declining to accept a skullcap and a keffiyeh from Muslim supporters — as evidence of his alleged antipathy towards the minority community. Perhaps Modi’s refusal to accept them tells us more about his position on hollow symbolism than anything else. The fact that a sizeable proportion of Muslims voted for him and that he is a three-time chief minister says a lot more about Modi. The writer seems unable to see anything positive in Modi’s governance or development agenda.

— M. Ratan

New Delhi

*The distribution of skullcaps and burqas to Muslims during Narendra Modi’s rallies cannot heal the wounds of Gujarat 2002. The skullcaps cannot put a roof over the heads of people who lost their homes because they were torched by mobs. Modi should remember that it will not be so easy to cleanse history.

— Priyanka Singh

New Delhi

Give it a shot

* Apropos ‘We hear you’ (IE,November 8),asking the public what it wants is a sign of inclusive governance. It is presumptuous to rubbish it without giving it a try and sampling the results. The fact that three major political parties have adopted this approach to manifesto writing is because the Indian people want to play a more active role in governance,something that has not been seen for decades and should be celebrated.

— Gaurav Gupta

New Delhi