New factors in polity

APROPOS of Mr Hari Jaisingh’s article “New factors in polity: lengthening shadow of bad politics” (May 28), one does not know what India’s political crop is up to? It is as if our “netas” are competing in who can wreck the polity first.

The Congress this time has to face a tougher fight from the BJP, which has a charismatic leader in Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the rebel trio, which has its hold in Maharashtra, the North-East and Bihar. Mrs Sonia Gandhi thundered at the AICC meeting, but thundering clouds seldom rain.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin is very much a live issue and would figure in the elections. Her “loyalists” are only power-hungry day-dreamers whose only dharma is self and pelf. The widow of Rajiv Gandhi, who reads out written speeches at public functions, would prove a liability for the Congress.

What India needs today is not free-wheeling politics in which the skill of manipulation and manoeuvring counts, but sincerity, honesty, commitment to national cause and a spirit of service. We don’t need sycophancy and coterie politics which have gripped the Congress, but transparency and clean politics.

I share Mr Jaisingh’s agony: “The choice right now is not between ‘politics’ and ‘no politics’ but between ‘good politics’ and ‘bad politics’. As it is, political life is vitiated because our public spirit is weak.

S.S. JAIN
Chandigarh

POLITICS WITH SACRIFICE: In a democratic set-up dissent should not be throttled. Language spoken to the discomfiture of the Chair is treated as the language of rebellion and the person concerned is punished with expulsion. This is certainly bad politics, detrimental to the health of the policy as a whole.

Adopting an appeasement policy towards those who have a great nuisance value also falls in the ambit of bad politics.

Free-wheeling operations simply to remain in power and make money are some of the classic examples of bad politics.

Politics devoid of service, suffering and sacrifice and with an eye on pelf, power and prestige is not only bad but also worst.

Double talk, double standards and sycophancy certainly make a politician incredible.

Let us improve our image in the eyes of the public.

SHYAM SUNDER AIRI
Kapurthala

Mineral water

During the past few years there has been a sharp rise in the consumption of bottled mineral water across the country. More and more people have become aware of water-borne diseases, especially Hepatitis-B. Tourist flow to India has increased, and Indians themselves are more on the move within the country than ever.

Sensing the increase in the demand for mineral water, a number of such companies have come up as are bottling just untreated water, and playing with the health of the people. Many popular brands are not complying with the laid Indian standards.

It is time to make it compulsory for every brand to put the ISI mark on the mineral water bottles. Why this is not being done when clearly defined Indian specifications for potable mineral water are already in existence, is not understood. The area to be controlled on priority is the railway platform where the consumption of such water is the maximum.

Moreover, the sealing of bottles also needs to be controlled. The seal being put on the bottles these days can easily be taken off along with the cap. There are reports of local vendors seen filling the bottles from the taps and recapping them along with the undamaged seals. As the train stoppages at intermediate stations are small passengers are in a hurry to buy a bottle and board the train again. The only thing they examine is whether the bottled water is chilled and sealed or not.

To curb these tendencies, the seals being put on the bottles should be improved so that it may not be re-used.

JAGVIR GOYAL
Bathinda

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Era of regional parties

With reference to the editorial “Era of regional parties (May 28), it is really worrisome that the coalition governments (barring the one led by Morarji Desai) have been dominated by regional parties. A coalition between parties having a national base and minimum agreement on ideology and policy might have been a positive proposition, but coalitions dependent on regional parties rooted in their respective ethno-linguistic and cultural identities cannot contribute any cohesion to the processes of governance.

The compulsions of electoral politics and acquisition of power are the reasons for the decline in the quality of Indian politics. One has no quarrel with the view that Indian unity can be preserved only if the Republic safeguards its capacity to respect regional aspirations while knitting them together for a national purpose. Nor does one have any differences of opinion about expanding the federal nature of the Indian polity, decentralising power and recognising the viability of regional political parties representing and fulfilling the needs of the constituent states. But if regional parties with their focus on regional and sub-regional interests play an expanding role in the national power structure, it is bound to cause confusion in policies on vital issues of governance.

The manner in which the Cauvery dispute was handled, the continuing dilemma which the Central government faced in consequence of demands for greater representation in the Cabinets and the Councils of the government by such parties, and insistence that policy decisions on national issues should be subjected at times to demands of regional parties manifests patterns of crises and irrational constraints from which the Central government and national policies are likely to suffer.

What we witness today is the assertion of sub-regional identities with claims for the creation of separate states. The current trend, besides being a drag on economic development and a cause for political disorder and instability, may make the people, those of southern states in particular, consider the option of separating from the Republic. This is a profoundly dangerous threat to the unity of India which has not come into the open but exists in an embryonic form.

K.M. VASHISHT
Mansa

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Stabbing in the back

In February, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Delhi-Lahore bus diplomacy was described by the media as a major step in the direction of establishing cordial relations with Pakistan. Over dinner when Mr Vajpayee said, “Bus miaji, bahut kha liya”, his host Mr Nawaz Sharif, retorted, “No still you have to take sweet dish, ‘gajar ka halwa’, specially prepared by Lahore cooks, as there is no touch of sweetness in talks without a sweet dish.”

What a style, Mr Nawaz Sharif. On the one hand you offer a sweet dish and on the other you spread poison on the borders !

BILAS KUMAR
Chandigarh