L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Inquiry panels a drain on the exchequer

The Liberhan Commission has at last submitted its report on the demolition of the Babri Masjid to the Prime Minister after 17 years. Why do governments order administrative or judicial inquiries and spend millions of rupees of taxpayers’ money on the Presiding Officers and their staff? They prolong the inquiries only to render them infructuous later. The Centre has spent nearly Rs 8 crore on the Liberhan Commission.

Moreover, why don’t these commissions make reports public? Consider the Pradhan Committee report on the Mumbai terror attacks. Fresh clauses should be inserted in the Commission of Inquiry Act making it mandatory for the presiding officers to submit reports within a year.

The Act should stipulate that all inquiry reports submitted would be made public unless, of course, reasons for not doing so are announced. Clearly an inquiry commission without a time-bound programme and transparency is tantamount to throwing dust in the eyes of the people.

R.J.KHURANA, Bhopal

PM’s stature

People throughout the country have lauded Dr Manmohan Singh’s appointment as Prime Minister for a second term. Undoubtedly, he is a man of integrity, efficiency and political wisdom. However, it would have been better had he contested the Lok Sabha elections, especially because India is the world’s largest democracy and the Prime Minister is generally the leader of the Lok Sabha.

True, there is no constitutional bar on the Prime Minister being the member of the Rajya Sabha. But if Dr Manmohan Singh gets elected to the Lok Sabha sooner or later, it will add tremendously to his moral stature.

M.R. BALI, Ludhiana

Defying the UN

North Korea’s nuclear test has created furore worldwide because it was in defiance of the UN Security Council Resolution. It was a stunning riposte to the condescension, contempt and derision heaped on it by the world leaders, especially the US, the European Union and Japan for its endeavour to deliver the weapons of mass destruction. North Korea has defied the world and the UN Security Council has singled it out for censure.

MOHAMMED YAHYA ANSARI, Meerut City

Stop at Dasuya

Dasuya in Hoshiarpur district falls between Jalandhar and Pathankot. The people of this historic town as also the Army personnel of the Unchi Bassi Cantonment appeal to the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, to use her good offices in extending the 2780 DN Vascodogama- Nizamuddin Express up to Pathankot and introduce a stop for this train at Dasuya station.

B.S. NAGRA, Dasuya, Hoshiarpur

B.Ed degree will lose its charm The Haryana government’s decision to do away with the entrance test for the B.Ed course will erode the charm of the degree, an essential qualification for the post of a school teacher. This irrational decision might have been taken to ensure filling of seats in all private education colleges that have mushroomed in the state. Only last year, the government made qualifying in the School Level Eligibility Test (STET) mandatory for the selection of teachers in government schools. Haryana is the only state which holds such a test. After making the STET norm mandatory, there was no need to retain B.Ed or even JBT/ETT in Haryana. Every aspiring teacher, after getting a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, ought to prepare for STET rather than wasting a year in pursuing B.Ed. Even after qualifying STET, the candidates would have to appear in and pass the written test / interview conducted by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission for appointment. HEMANT KUMAR, Ambala City