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Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

The campaigning

With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, our politicians have started indulging in mud-slinging against their opponents to fool the common man once again. Carried away by their rhetoric, people will yet again vote for them and repent later.

Divyesh Kothari,

New Delhi

* * *

Leaders are vying with one another to accuse their opponents. ‘Sovereignty,’ ‘American spy,’ ‘religious fundamentalism’ — these are some of the terms often heard in their speeches. Unfortunately, they are beyond the comprehension of the common man. Social issues such as poverty, water scarcity, and unemployment are rarely mentioned. Another factor is the lack of crowd in election meetings. Gone are the days when people, irrespective of the party to which the leaders belonged, thronged to their rallies. One heartening aspect is that all parties have included youngsters as candidates.

P.R. Krishnan,

Cheruthuruthy

* * *

When will our politicians go beyond rhetoric and speak of national development instead of lambasting other parties and raising divisive and communal issues? The aim of every campaigner is to make unearthly promises or criticise other parties. To regulate all this, the Election Commission should be bestowed with more powers.

T. Vijay Kanth,

Visakhapatnam

* * *

All parties contesting the election have released their manifestos. But once they are in power, they cannot be questioned if they do not implement the promises. The electorate has the right to expect its representatives to adhere to at least a few principles — attendance during parliamentary sessions and active participation; non-disruption of the proceedings; no unnecessary walkouts; abiding by the rules of the House; cooperating with the Speaker; and being accessible to the people who voted them to power. The voters should identify the candidates who have followed these basic rules in the past and vote for them, irrespective of the party they belong to.

N. Krishnamurthy,

Chennai

* * *

Parties promise freebies like television sets, gas connections, cycles, etc., in their manifestos because they know they can distribute them using the taxpayers’ money if elected to power. I suggest that we put forth a condition that the manifestos should contain reference to development work alone. Promises of consumable goods should be met by spending party funds or by individual leaders. If such a condition is imposed, political parties will not go on adding more promises in their manifestos.

N.S. Krishna Murthy,

Bangalore

* * *

A voter has three possible reasons to vote for a party — ideological, past performance and the candidate for prime minister. But in India, the “numbers” play an important role in deciding the outcome of elections. Parties form alliances after the results based on numbers. The government that is formed is mostly a last-minute arrangement.

Let us start a movement to change the rules of the game. Alliances should be formed before the election. This way, parties will be forced to consider reasons other than arithmetic to come together.

Dev Krishnan,

Chennai

* * *

Of late, these columns have been flooded with letters targeting our politicians. It is true that the run-up to the 2009 election has been marked by personal attacks, mud-slinging and provocative speeches by leaders cutting across party lines. It ought to be remembered that in a democracy, politicians are from among the common people. The onus of electing responsible leaders is on the common man. Isn’t it a bitter truth that we have miserably failed to do this?

B. Suresh Kumar,

Coimbatore

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