Surely, Parliament has been witness to unusual scenes of chaos in the past as well, but never before has such en masse action been taken against the members in the recent past. Legislations such as the women’s reservation Bill have seen more dramatic protests but the members have not been suspended.But then, the Congress MPs had it coming this time. They had held the Lok Sabha to ransom from the day it opened for the monsoon session. Their suspension, therefore, was belated but most welcome and absolutely necessary.

Jayatheertha SA

Hyderabad

Reverse swing

The Modi sarkar has been accustomed to making u-turns on policy issues. But now comes the biggest policy defeat so far for the government. After struggling for months to get Parliamentary approval for its land acquisition Bill, re-issued more than once as an ordinance, the government has now agreed to withdraw all the contentious clauses in it, including those related to consent and social impact assessment.

It is worth recalling that all amendments proposed by the NDA had been opposed by a bulk of individuals and organisations that gave evidence in front of the select committee. Even representatives from the Sangh Parivar-linked organisations were in favour of going back to the Congress Bill of 2013 that was passed unanimously by all parties including the BJP.

Now, it will be up to individual states to pass their own laws for business-friendly land reforms, a Plan B mooted earlier by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

J Akshobhya

Mysuru

It’s hypocrisy

The move to ban internet pornography has aroused fierce opposition. The government acted preposterously in asking internet providers to disable 857 websites with adult content. It plays moral police when it puts curbs on cyber content ‘on grounds of decency and morality’.

Internet users cannot be prevented from ingeniously circumventing the blocking. Obscenity is in the eye of the beholder and the state cannot decide what to watch and what not to watch by individuals in the privacy of their own rooms.

In a land which gifted the erotic classic Kama Sutra , ban on online pornography seems incongruous. Watching porn is neither a cardinal virtue nor a deadly sin. The problem with us is, our attitude to sex is determined by hypocrisy and respectability. The ban on pornographic sites has the potential to tempt more people and send the trade underground and render ‘internet cafes’ empty.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Kanyakumari

Whither safety?

The doctor couple, Mrs and Mr Anand Rai, who unearthed the ‘Vyapam’ case in Madhya Pradesh are being harassed allegedly for exposing the scandal.

They were mentally tortured and Mrs Rai denied child care leave. It is ridiculous to harass the whistle blowers instead of protecting them as per the law.

Now that the CBI has started the investigation with the supervision of Supreme Court, it becomes their primary duty to protect the whistle blowers and release them from the clutches of the health department officials. All whistle blowers are feeling unsafe.

TSN Rao

Bhimavaram, AP

Unfortunate lessons

It is with great anguish that we went through the news report that Asaram, the self-styled Godman who is in jail for alleged rape, has been featured as a saint in a Class III textbook in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, sharing space with Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Ramakrishna Paramhans and Shankaracharya (‘Rapist Asaram a saint in Rajathan text book’, August 3).

Though we cannot expect anything better than this from the saffron clan which has even gone to the extent of pronouncing Nathuram Godse a martyr and are bent on erecting his statues, it is shameful that innocent children are made to revere a rape accused as a saint. Though they might now come forward to delete his name from the book due to public outrage, this act exposes the rulers’ mindset.

Tharcius S Fernando

Chennai

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

Related Topics