More indictment of government is due

More indictment of government is due
‘SC does what UPA should have’ (February 3) makes interesting reading but it portrays the already battered Congress party in poor light. The bench of Justice AK Ganguly and Justice GS Singhvi quashed 122 licences awarded arbitrarily by A Raja in January 2008. They also fined three companies — Unitech Wireless, Swan Telecom and Tata Teleservices Rs5 crore each. It is painful to note that UPA’s Kapil Sibal still has the cheek to say that “there is no indictment of the PM or the then finance minister in this judgment. If there is any indictment, it is of the 2003 policy of NDA govt and we only followed it”. Rajya Sabha opposition leader Arun Jaitley’s statement seems to be to the point. He said: “The decision has smashed the PM’s theory that past practices were followed and it also smashes Kapil Sibal’s theory that there was zero loss in 2G allocation”. Whatever Sibal or spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on the TV clearly proves that they are taking cover under technicalities of the judgment and not reading between the lines. The judgment of the CBI court is awaited tomorrow when more indictment of this government is due.
—Yash P Verma

II
The Supreme Court has exonerated the prime minister, first, on the issue of giving permission to prosecute A Raja, and later, on the issue of illegality of 2G Spectrum allocation. The unethical practices indulged in by A Raja in the spectrum allocation were brought to the PM’s notice by various departments in his own government. He had told them to keep his office ‘at arm’s length’ in this matter thereby clearly indicating that his hands were tied. He had also revealed in his press meet that he had to ‘toe’ Raja’s lines because of the compulsions of coalition politics. In spite of several attempts by the opposition to raise the issue of 2G
Spectrum licensing scam for more than a year, both inside and outside parliament, the prime minister vehemently defended Raja and misled the parliament by declaring that there was no irregularity in the 2G Spectrum allocation. In the light of all this, the apex court’s indulgence of the PM is indeed intriguing.
—VS Kaushik

Politicians not worried
This has reference to ‘Now, Netas get a taste of inflation’ (February 3). Politicians are not facing any problem of inflation. They are spending huge amounts of money for their election campaigns. The party workers on the other hand are a happy lot as they know that this is the time when they can bask in the lure of the unaccounted money.
—Fatema Kanchwala

We are all responsible
I was deeply saddened after reading ‘I feel responsible for Manda’s death’ (February 3). Manda Manje died in Sion hospital because her relatives could not afford to pay Rs500 for her injection. Isn’t it surprising that even after dean Sandhya Kamat’s intervention the relatives were hounded by the staff to pay up? I have had several years of experience in both private and government hospitals, not as a patient but as someone accompanying the patient. Most of these hospitals and nursing homes are nothing more than extortion dens which run their business under the garb of offering medical services. The details of treatment, medicines, charges levied etc. are rarely shared with the patients or their relatives. Worse, if the patient dies, arbitrary figures are added to your final bill. And you would not get possession of the body unless you pay up. In fact, we are all responsible for Manda’s death. We need to create a helpline where such poor patients can seek help, so that no Manda dies for want of just Rs500. We also need to urge the government to set up an appellate body where any person can appeal regarding the bills raised and charges levied.
—R Prasad

II
I was touched by the article on the plight of Manda Manje and her family. I am deeply saddened by what the young mother-to-be would have gone through before her death. I wonder if Manda, her family and people like her hold their heads up in pride when they sing, Saare jahan se acchha. Or do they ever even bother to sing it?
—Salonie Muralidhara

Teleservices clarifies
This has reference to the PTI graphic on page 9 (February 3). The graphic mentions Tata Teleservices Limited and the circles impacted by Thursday’s Supreme Court verdict. While the number of affected circles listed in the graphic is correct (three), there are four states mentioned next to it, which are wrong. The circles incorrectly mentioned are Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra. The actual circles affected by the SC judgment are Assam, North-East and Jammu & Kashmir. We have checked on the source of this graphic and it appears PTI Graphics issued an erroneous one on Thursday.
—Suroor Hussain, Tata Teleservices Limited

Customers of paid sex
Although it is only for the customers that the flesh trade runs, they are never apprehended. It is disgusting to see how prostitution is prevalent in our society and these sick men roam freely. Now that Vasant Dhoble has brought to notice that those who buy sex are liable to be punished, the law will become more effective in curbing prostitution. Dhoble has already done some exemplary work against prostitution and carried out a number of raids against dance bars. It is about time that even clients of prostitutes fear the law. The two men caught in the Khar hotel case must be severely punished and the PITA needs to be enforced and monitored properly. Such action against criminals would work towards limiting and eventually abolishing prostitution in India.
—Nirvika Talreja