Opinion (Un)civil egos
The efforts of civil society representatives for ushering in an effective Lokpal bill are laudable.
(Un)civil egos
* The efforts of civil society representatives for ushering in an effective Lokpal bill are laudable. However,their adamant stand on the inclusion of the prime minister and the higher judiciary gives one the feeling that they have forgotten their original mission and got stuck on their egos. They should understand that negotiation is not a one-way street. In any case,the drafts are not the final legislation.
Jacob Mankidy,Pune
100 solutions
* Sanjeev Grewal is right that the declaration of cut-offs by Delhi University colleges has been marked by caution,in view of the rider that every eligible candidate must be admitted (The 100 per cent alarm,IE,June 24). Grewals prescription of determining eligibility on a mix of Class 12 marks and subject-specific tests makes sense and is already being tried in CATE. However,the influx of students from boards of other states,with varying standards and schedules,makes the admission process at DU erratic.
J.M. Manchanda,New Delhi
MF,aka Last Mughal
* S.M. Krishna and Nirupama Rao,on their recent trip to Myanmar,visited the tomb of the last Mughal emperor,Bahadur Shah Zafar,who is reported to have penned a couplet regretting that at the time of his death he could not get even two yards of land in India.
The same had happened to the great Indian artist,M.F. Husain,who straddled the Indian art scene no less than an emperor,but at the time of his death,could not get even two yards of land in India for his burial.
S. Kamat,Bardez
Jokepal?
* Anna Hazares suspended agitation will restart after Independence Day (It will be Team Anna vs Parliament now,IE,June 22). Hazare was vehement in saying he would carry on with the agitation as long as he lives. This gives an indication of how things will move,and the Lokpal bill is becoming Jokepal. However,an all-party meeting is to discuss the two drafts on July 3. Hazare is right to demand the Lokpals jurisdiction over the corporate sector. This suggestion is new and its a reaction to the governments move to include NGOs in the Lokpals purview. The writing is on the wall.
The two sides will never come to a consensus,and the issue will be a serious matter for debate when Parliament commences for the monsoon session.
C.K. Ramani,Navi Mumbai
Worse than bad
* If the devotees of Sathya Sai Baba turn out to be untrustworthy,it may be just a temporary disaster. The floated alternative that the government should take over the trust worth crores of rupees that is,politicians in reality will be a total disaster.
S. Rajagopalan,Chennai
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