Who’s afraid of clean men?

APROPOS of Mr Hari Jaisingh’s “Who is afraid of clean men?” (Sept, 3), unverified allegations and abusive comments on the private life of other candidates in a slanderous campaign for the Lok Sabha elections have not only trivialised the sanctity of elections, but they have also underscored the bankruptcy of our leadership with regard to ideology & democratic grooming. The manner in which even senior leaders have stooped low and made wild charges and counter charges indicate once again that in our system of democracy elections do not ensure success for an honest, gentle and intelligent person, but it is a highly manipulative process with no bars. As if criminalised polity was not enough, this time political discourse has been bereft of even human courtesy and decency.

Could it be that, since these elections have no major issue at stake, every contestant is out to smear his opponents black? Both major parties — the Congress and the BJP — do not disagree on the major issues of economy, liberalisation and the foreign policy vis-a-vis Pakistan and the USA. Since ideology is not an option, the leadership in a semi-literate democracy like India, could find no better means of fighting elections than mud-slinging with the EC playing a helpless spectator.

Ironically, no leader or political party has placed before the electorate the issues of competence and governance with accountability and transparency. Nor have they tried to initiate any purposeful and enlightened exchange of opinion and views in a democratic way.

Who will believe that Indian democracy has grown and flourished over the last 50 years of its life?

VED GULIANI
Hisar

II

Mr Hari Jaisingh has magnified the decencies and integrity of Dr Manmohan Singh and other clean men. He has rightly brought out “Dr Manmohan Singh has the reputation of being a king among clean men of India”. Dr Manmohan Singh had been an efficient and honest bureaucrat. I think he joined the politics reluctantly. In politics too he has been constantly held in high esteem. He got international fame for his magnificent economic reforms. As Finance Minister he got economic policies formulated which were very favourable for our country. India’s economic position remained unshattered, whereas nations like Russia, Indonesia and Japan are in deep economic crisis.

The BJP did not make any drastic change in the economic policies formulated under the guidelines of Dr Manmohan Singh during the Congress regime.

In May, 1996, when the BJP came to power for a few days, I had sent my views to The Tribune, which were published in The Editor’s Mail (May 22, 1996) I had requested Mr Vajpayee to show broadmindedness by inviting Dr Manmohan Singh to join his ministry as Finance Minister. Clean and honest men and women do not belong to any party. They belong to the nation.

MOHAN SINGH
Bathinda Cantt

Medical Council

The Punjab Medical Council was constituted in 1916 under Section 5 of the Punjab Medical Registration Act, 1916, with the main object of regulating the practice of western medicine and to look after the standard of teaching in the various medical colleges/institutions situated in the State of Punjab. Under Section 5 of the above said Act the Council is constituted consisting of 11 members; out of which a president and four members are nominated by the Punjab Government and six members are elected by the doctors registered with the council from amongst themselves.

The Council has never been constituted U/S 5 of the Punjab Medical Registration Act 1916 since independence of the country. But in 1980 the Punjab Government made an amendment to the Act (Punjab Act 3 of 1980) and incorporated Section 5-A which gave powers to the Punjab Government to nominate all the 11 members of the Council including its president and one vice-president for the period of two years or till the council is duly constituted U/S 5 of the Act, whichever is earlier.

Now the Punjab Medical Council is non-existent for the last about 17 years and its day-to-day working is looked after by the Director, Medical Education and Research, Punjab, Chandigarh. The Council at present is doing the work of registration of the doctors of modern scientific medicine only and no other business is done; which is not possible in the absence of the duly constituted council.

So, I approach the Punjab Government through these columns to constitute the Punjab Medical Council immediately, in the interest of medical fraternity and public at large, U/S 5 of the Punjab Medical Registration Act, 1916 so that it can regulate the working of all hospitals/nursing homes/clinics/diagnostic centres dealing with the modern scientific medicine. In case the necessary amendments are made in the already existing Act by the Punjab Government then there is no need to enact a new Act called the Punjab Nursing Home Registration Act. In case the Punjab Medical Council comes into existence it can check quackery effectively in the state of Punjab and can take action against qualified medical practitioners indulging in unethical practices.

Dr RAMAN K. AGGARWAL
Phagwara

* * * *

AIDS spectre

Journalists are torchbearers of society and have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. But I am distressed by seeing the story, “AIDS deaths jolt students” and similar stories in past as well. I do not understand why you and your correspondents can’t understand that testing and that too compulsory testing is not the answer to prevent or eradicate any disease. AIDS requires understanding how it spreads.

RAKESH BHARTI
Amritsar