Editor,
I strongly believe that, in India, no political party can claim to be virtuous in their approach. If one party is playing the Hindu card then the other is playing the Muslim card and yet another is busy establishing that it is the true messiah of Dalits. But the ground reality is significantly different from what the parties exhibit in public. Actually, almost all the political parties in India are pursuing their vested interests only. None has been able to establish, till date, that it is serious about delivering governance to the people and meeting their basic requirements. This is the reason why we are fighting among ourselves even after 72 years of Independence. Around 30% of our people are still considered to be very poor and cannot sustain a respectable living for themselves. The very identity of the middle class of the country is also under tremendous stress. For reasons unknown, almost every political party/government seems to be hell-bent in undermining the interests of that class! Hence as members of the public we should not resort to cat-fights among ourselves just to establish that someone is right in supporting one party and it’s ideologies or that another is extremely wrong in favouring another. Every person has the right to agree or disagree or to express his/her views in a democracy so long as it does not cross the limits of decency. My earnest appeal to the readers of The Shillong Times in particular, is that, they have tremendous opportunity to contribute their bit to the democratic process by making the poor/down-trodden/illiterate/uneducated people understand the power of their votes and also the importance of exercising their franchise in a rational manner.
Yours etc.,
PS Gupta,
Via email
Time to stop the rhetoric
Editor,
April 10, 2019 saw at 11 am the Rafael case come up for another hearing in the Supreme Court; in the evening the judgement on the Modi biopic and lastly the statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan wishing that Modi should return to power. All this has turned the tide in favour of the opposition. It would be proper if the rhetoric used for the last one month is not reciprocated. Real issues like parliamentary speeches on women’s empowerment, joblessness, farmer’s distress and many problems that the common citizens are facing should be discussed. Avoid talking on Rafael. Only legal experts are able to understand the details of the deal such as escrow accounts and letter of sovereignty. Even if aeronautical engineers are in the audience they may not be able to understand how pricing would reveal the secrets of a fighter jet.
Yours etc.,
- Khyriem,
Shillong- 14
Sycophantic allegations against ECI
Editor,
As reported by a section of the print media a Trinamul Congress delegation led by its leader in the Rajya Sabha visited the Election Commission of India (ECI), headquarters in New Delhi on April 10, seeking immediate intervention and action. The delegation accused the ECI of bias and alleged that the IPS officers appointed by the panel recently were having “secret parleys” with the BJP and might “endanger the life of” Mamata Banerjee. In a clear dichotomy the ruling party delegation did not point fingers at the new Cooch Behar district chief who has been replaced by the EC promptly after a complaint was lodged by the TMC party.
In a memorandum submitted to the Commission, Trinamul MPs alleged that the IPS officers appointed as replacements of the police commissioners of Calcutta and Bidhannagar, besides the district police chiefs of Diamond Harbour and Birbhum had been acting, “in tandem with the BJP leader.” The memorandum reads, “some of them are having secret parleys with and taking suggestions from a few provincial and central leaders of the BJP, which requires immediate inquiry and action.” It effectively leveled allegations against new police commissioners of Kolkata and Bidhannagar, Rajesh Kumar and N R Babu, respectively and Birbhum district police chief A Ravindranath and his Diamond Harbour counterpart Srihari Pandey. The memorandum also says that Trinamul MPs strongly felt the situation may not only affect the electorate’s right to vote but also endanger the life of the chief minister.
Such allegations should be dismissed as outlandish. Those officers have no bearing on the security of the chief minister and other high-profile protectees which is handled by the director (security) Vineet Goyal, who has not been replaced. The Trinamul leadership, rather the think-tank group, are unhappy over the controls and curbs imposed by the ECI for repetitive violations of the model code of conduct (MCC) by the Trinamul president of Birbhum district which would have ensured the right to vote in a large number of electorate fearlessly, in contrast to the ridiculous claim/allegation of TMC delegation to EC that transfer of the police chiefs would affect the right to vote of the electorate in most of the sensitive districts of West Bengal. The ruling dispensation is also uncomfortable and scared of the disruption caused by the ECI by effecting transfer of their pet police chiefs and exposure of their plans of rigging the polls in the entire state of West Bengal.
The contents of the Memorandum submitted by the group of MPs is a n obsequious display of sycophancy in order to gain favour from their inspirational Didi and be nominated to the Rajya Sabha or for grabbing lucrative political posts after the Parliamentary elections are over.
Yours etc.,
Samares Bandyopadhyay
Advocate, Kolkata High Court