Running Parliament
The fact that the government does not want to have an immediate debate in Parliament on the Delhi violence shows how seriously the Constitution, upon which ruling party members too have taken oath, has been subjected to political assault. The strength of a government does not lie merely in its numbers, but in its responsibility and commitment to protect and preserve constitutional morality and through which constitutional culture has to be nurtured. The role of the Opposition, according to the codes prescribed, is to hold the government accountable to the people through a democratically managed process. Constructive criticism and placing restrictions on arbitrariness of the ruling party are important to preserve the values of democracy and uphold national interest in all ways possible. It is so sad to see how both the Opposition and those in power have resorted to political tactics to divert the attention of the nation (Editorial, “House matters”, March 9).
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S.A. Thameemul Ansari,
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Kayalpatnam, Tamil Nadu
Beyond the bailout
The State Bank of India’s decision to bail out the beleaguered Yes Bank — otherwise a name with a positive connotation — by means of capital infusion could help hapless depositors. Knots of depositors queued up before branches in the aftermath of the bank’s collapse have again showed up the fragility of the financial sector. Meanwhile, urgent action should be taken to recover dues from borrowers who dodge paying their loans. The flip side is that there is a link between private commercial banks and crony capitalism. It has become a practice for companies and dummy companies to borrow loans and then plead ‘stress’ or ‘bankruptcy’ to explain defaults on repayment and force the government to step in ‘to rescue and reconstruct’ the ‘looted’ banks. The government is left with no option but to save the private commercial banks ‘from falling off the cliff’ for the sake of the customers. The rightness of using public resources to bail out failed private banks and thereby placing an additional burden on the tax payer is debatable.
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G. David Milton,
The swift arrest of Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor was most unexpected despite the wide-held perception that a bank would not financially run into trouble unless there is total mismanagement including financial embezzlement (Page 1, “After 15 hours of questioning, Rana Kapoor arrested by ED”, March 9).
There are numerous ways for top brass to make money unethically: the most common is to lend mind-boggling amounts to floundering or unestablished business enterprises out of which a substantial percentage is returned to the favouring officer by way of illegal gratification. Rana Kapoor’s case is not the first of its kind. The case has damaged the banking sector, which could hurt the country’s economy.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
Adivasis as co-citizens
The denial of a rightful place to Adivasi culture, social capital, community-centric governance systems and ecological sensitiveness is nothing but a case of democratic decline (Editorial page, “Having an ear to Adivasi ground”, March 9). Mainstream society’s perception of Adivasis as being “uncivilised” or “underdeveloped” is a grave mistake and renders injustice to these communities.
SC/ST Commissioner B.D. Sharma once said that we need to empower the traditional governance systems of Adivasis rather than teaching democracy to them. C.U. Wills, a British Indian civil servant who served in the Central Provinces historically observed that there are “embryonic origins of constitutionalism” in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. It is high time we understand Adivasis communities in the right perspective and spirit in order to enrich our democracy. A strong political will and bureaucratic efficiency are the need of the hour.
Nayakara Veeresha,
Bengaluru
The match Down Under
There are some lessons to be learnt from the Indian women cricket team’s humiliating defeat to Australia (‘Sport’ page, “Australia runs away with cup as India crumbles on the big stage”, March 9. The Indian team’s dropped catches facilitated the Aussie openers, Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney, to build a partnership. India’s wayward bowling also aided Australia. India must learn that “catches win matches”.
S.S. Paul,
Chakdaha, Nadia, West Bengal