Equal before the law

I endorse the views on corruption by the author in “Lokpal Bill is no magic wand” ( Business Line , August 23) but not the comments on Anna Hazare. I support Anna Hazare for rekindling Indians to fight corruption. This is the first time that the public is demanding a Bill to fight the menace of corruption and the government is not listening. The government Bill doesn't have the punch and the government's intentions are explicit to the extent of its unwillingness to fight corruption effectively.

Well, I acknowledge that the Parliament is supreme and laws should be made in Parliament — this even Anna Ji acknowledges — but there is a trust deficit, due the government's behaviour. The spokespersons always undermine everyone else besides those in power. Why? Everyone is equal before the law; hence all must fall within the preview of the Bill. Why categorise? Aren't MPs corrupt? The Government must exhibit sincerity in its intent and a solution can be found. Unfortunately it is the ego of our MPs which is blocking the way out.

Veerinder Singh Gulia, e-mail

Impartiality guaranteed?

With reference to “Lokpal Bill is no magic wand” ( Business Line , August 23), I sincerely believe that some parts of the Lokpal Bill are required for eradicating corruption. However, the Bill is not entirely correct. The Bill suggests to set up a Lokpal Advisory Body which will decide on the corruption charges against the PM and MPs.

I doubt the impartiality of such a body. I think it will create another judiciary body which will complicate the system and there would be a need for synchronisation among different authorities like police, CID, CBI, Vigilance and Lokpal.

Anirban Sanyal, e-mail

Undermining democracy

As the author points out in “The rise of middle India” ( Business Line , August 23), the young, urban, middle class see corruption as a roadblock in the fulfilment of their cherished dreams. In Anna and his team they have found a tool to voice their anger and despair. But the problem is that, while uniting under the banner of ‘Team Anna', they have reposed faith in the Jan Lokpal Bill, whose many features are unconstitutional, the enactment of which ‘Team Anna' wants.

Lokpal Act is not going to remove the malaise of corruption. Corruption has been a part of human society for as long as we can remember and its removal is a Utopian concept. Each one of us has to take a pledge that he / she is neither going to encourage corruption nor indulge in it himself / herself.

Supporting “Team Anna” for their version of the Bill will be undermining our democracy and will be an insult to the democratic values which we proclaim.

Abhishek Gupta, e-mail

Right to protest

This is with reference to “Govt should bow to people's will” ( Business Line , August 23). Some people are quoting the number of protesters to question the authenticity of this protest. Why do they fail to count the number of people living below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day?

Why do they fail to count the children who are working as bonded labourers? Why do they fail to count the Dalits and the oppressed sections of society? Why do they fail to count the farmers who are cheated by the government?

These people constitute nearly 41 per cent of the Indian population. They do not even have the basic necessities to sustain their life, let alone the facilities like education for their children or medical facilities. Then, to top it all, they are facing corruption and an indifferent attitude from the government.

Praveen, e-mail

Good suggestion

The author's suggestion in “Right time for RBI to sell gold” ( Business Line , August 24) is a great idea. I remember during year 1999-2001, many central banks were selling gold.

The price of gold went down from around $400/ounce to $300/ounce between 1994 and 2001.

I don't think the price will hold in the $1700-$1800 level for many years, as gold production is expected to go up. Plus, black market gold will flood the market in the next 3-5 years at current high price levels.

Murthy, e-mail

Clean-up act

With reference to Anna and middle-class angst, ( Business Line , August 23), I would like to use an analogy. The corruption issue in India is similar to the Buckingham Canal or the Cooum in Chennai. The canal seems to have been in use during the British days, a clean river with free-flowing fresh water, as a means of transportation.

The cleansing would require much discipline from the citizens of Chennai, to not pollute it any further. Our corruption is deep-rooted and requires a strong will from the givers and the takers too. The imbalance in the income levels has been the main cause of corruption. Price rise is an issue which can be tackled easily if there is a will.

Sudhir Anand, e-mail

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