Canisters, chaos, questions
Persons jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber while the House is in session and releasing some unknown gas from canisters, creating panic and chaos, is no small security breach. The Speaker of the House seems to own the responsibility of the security of the House, exonerating the government. The Opposition’s demand that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister should reach the House and offer an explanation is visibly justifiable. The Opposition’s fervent chanting with its demands was not taken in its true spirit by the Speaker or the government. Instead, that was described as ‘disrupting the proceedings’ leading to many suspensions. This is most undemocratic and looks to evade the main question.
P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala
First pepper spray and now smoking canisters. The chinks in the armour of three-layered security for Parliament have been exposed. We Indians take everything for granted and are loath to learn from our failures. Be it train accidents, bridge collapses, tunnels caving in, stampedes. After the initial reactions, we become complacent till the next incident.
Prabhu Raj R.,
Bengaluru
The coloured narrative that is spun by some of our politicians against the Opposition, and, unfortunately, highlighted by sections of the media repeatedly, is reaching dangerous proportions. Just imagine what would have happened had the MP who had issued the pass to those who had violated Parliament been from the Opposition or the perpetrators from the minority community. A false narrative would have taken deep roots and many would have been targeted. Will the Speaker respond as quickly as he seemed to have in the case of Mahua Moitra?
It is time to call a halt to all politicians making vague allegations. They should concentrate on the main issues which affect people.
Hemachandra Basappa,
Bengaluru
This unfortunate incident should not cause hurdles for those citizens who truly intend to witness and learn about the Parliament business from the visitors’ gallery. The incident has also highlighted how not only a ‘password” but also a ‘pass’ can create unhappy scenarios if not dealt with appropriately.
Jiji Panicker K.,
Anjilimoodu, Chengannur, Kerala
Climate talk
The climate talks, which are annual affairs, seem to be only hyped up without anything substantial resulting from them. Progress at the COP28 in Dubai has been disappointing with only a fraction of what is required happening. There have only been lots of general exhortations and no clearly defined targets in sight. There seems to be ‘no chance’ of the world staying within the 1.5° C threshold. What is needed is that all of us should realise that we need a ‘whole-society transformation’.
Dr. Thomas Palocaren,
Vellore, Tamil Nadu
