Curbing rights

The article “Understanding Ramdev” ( Business Line , June 7) concludes rightly by placing the responsibility for what happened on the night of June 4 at New Delhi's Ramlila maidan on the Government. It is this aspect that needs to be highlighted rather than the pros and cons of a yogi entering the political arena. The way the government pounced on the sleeping satyagrahis and tear-gassed the closed pandal will go down in history as a black day.

Incidentally, June 4 is also the day when the Tiananmen massacre took place. Whether or not we are at par with the fast-developing China in other ways, it seems we are a close second in curbing peoples' rights. The fault lies in our power structure, with power in one place and responsibility in another.

If this has happened in a domestic matter, consider what would be the efficacy of the government when facing external danger. The moral of the story: Call for an early general elections and get the peoples' mandate afresh.

S. Subramanyan

Credibility at stake

The UPA seems confused and frustrated in dealing with corruption, though it may have its own ill-conceived reasons to justify its actions. With pressure mounting, the UPA Government is increasingly finding itself isolated on the issue and the Opposition parties are getting together to fight the issue for a common cause.

Even if the Lokpal Bill is eventually passed in Parliament, the UPA would still be under immense pressure to implement it as it is ikely that many heads would roll, causing major embarrassment to the party. In effect, the UPA has lost the entire credibility with the sinking image and, therefore, has no moral right to stay in power.

S. Umashankar

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