Opinion No good cop
This refers to Atal Modi vs Rajiv Rahul by Shekhar Gupta
No good cop
This refers to Atal Modi vs Rajiv Rahul by Shekhar Gupta (National Interest,IE,March 9). Neither Narendra Modi nor anyone else in the present lot can aspire to be Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was a statesman who rose above the party,and he was what he was despite being identified with overtly rightwing politics. The good cop/ bad cop tactics employed by the BJP proved to be a great formula. Theres not much hope in sight now. Meanwhile,we have the infantile flailing of Kejriwal and his AAP as a prelude to the main performance.
Ratna Viswanathan,Delhi
Yamuna surge
APROPOS Clean Yamuna march reaches Capital ( IE,March12 ),it appears to have become normal practice for the government to act only once the people have taken to the streets on matters of public importance. It took the Anna Hazare mobilisation for the government to wake up on corruption,then there were the protests after the gangrape and now,on cleaning the Yamuna. The Supreme Court has given several directives on this in the past and the government is said to have provided funds for the purpose. Obviously,there is something wrong with the system of governance.
S. K. Kapoor
Delhi
Raising the bars
THIS refers to Death of a prisoner (IE,March 12). The death of Ram Singh reflects negligence on the part of authorities. It is a failure of the whole system. Jails are overcrowded primarily because trials of the accused are slow or have not even started. Moreover,the number of jails cannot keep pace with the increase in crime rates. This state of affairs is compounded by the insensitivity of the jail authorities and the police. We still have the phenomenon of VIP prisoners. The conditions in jails often result in incidents like Ram Singhs death. The reformatory approach to crime seems far away. An overhaul of the whole justice delivery system is the need of the hour. Infrastructural constraints need to be removed and the approach to the handling of prisoners must be changed. Tihar under Kiran Bedi was thought to be reformist,humane and disciplined. It should remain so.
Anchit Mathur
Delhi
The CBI files
THE editorial No governing principle (IE,March 11) rightly observes that the appointment of former CBI chief Ashwani Kumar as governor of Nagaland sends out the wrong signals for both Congress and the investigating agency. The CBI has done some stellar work and can do more if it is allowed to function independently. It should not be seen to be working in tandem with the government,which makes it vulnerable to criticism from opposition parties. Like the judiciary,the Election Commission and the CAG,it should remain outside government control.
Dilbag Rai
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