Mockery of democracy

Apropos of the news report ‘Murder of democracy: SC on ‘tampering’ in UT mayoral poll’; it was clearly an attempt by the BJP to turn defeat into victory, and it has rightly invited criticism from all quarters. By declaring eight Opposition votes invalid, the presiding officer played a partisan role by ensuring that his party registered a win. Such dishonest officers cannot be trusted with carrying out important responsibilities. The Supreme Court has taken a serious view of the incident. Rather than using its power to influence elections, the BJP should set a good example of democracy. The election machinery should play its role effectively so as to instil confidence in the public for the growth of our democracy.

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Karnail Singh, Kharar

Misuse of power

The Supreme Court’s observation on the conduct of the presiding officer, Anil Masih, during the Chandigarh mayoral elections is on point. The alleged defacing of ballot papers, which was caught on camera, is a brazen mockery of democracy. A member of one of the parties in the fray should not be picked as the presiding officer. Further, the earlier postponement of polls on flimsy grounds also set a bad example. It seems like the Chandigarh administration has been taking decisions under the influence of the party in power at the Centre.

Bhupinder Kochhar, Panchkula

Keep your guard up

Refer to the editorial ‘Sextortion racket’; with technology advancing at a rapid pace, the common man has become more vulnerable to cybercrimes being carried out by tech-savvy fraudsters, who always seem to be a few steps ahead of authorities. From phishing to sextortion, cybercriminals have been coming up with new tricks to defraud gullible people. It is clear that our cyber experts have a lot of catching up to do to handle this menace of cybercrime. The recent incidents are a wake-up call for us to stay vigilant, especially when we engage with someone through the Internet.

Bal Govind, Noida

Down with affirmative action

This refers to the report ‘50% quota cap will go if voted to power: Rahul’; such a move, coupled with a caste census, will lead to an unnecessary rise in reservation in education, employment, Parliament, Assembly, defence and sports. Undeserving candidates or aspirants will end up as doctors, engineers and scientists and get to occupy key positions. This could adversely affect the pace of development in the country. Further, the country is already reeling from conflicts between people of different religions. Removing the limitation on quotas will only lead to more discord in society.

O Prasada Rao, Hyderabad

Redress students’ grievances

Apropos of the report ‘Redress grievances of students: UGC chief to universities’; it is an appropriate intervention by the higher education body. Recent reports of students dying by suicide are a matter of grave concern and call for steps to ensure the well-being of students. It is academic stress or peer pressure that generally drives youngsters to take such drastic measures. Such committees must help the students deal with such problems and also fix issues like the non-refund of fees and issues with supervisors. Further, it is not uncommon for universities to work with skeletal staff without even prescribing text books to students. Such issues should also be looked into.

Raj Kumar Kapoor, Ropar

Grammy glory for India

The fusion band of Indian musicians Zakir Hussain and Shankar Mahadevan, Shakti, brought laurels to our country by bagging a Grammy Award for the ‘Best Global Music Album’ for their album, This Moment. Besides, Hussain also clinched the ‘Best Global Music Performance’ Grammy for his contribution to Pashto. It is a matter of pride for India that so many decades after Pandit Ravi Shankar brought home our first Grammy Award in 1968, Indian artistes continue to make a mark in the international music industry. From the Oscar Award for RRR to the Grammy win for Shakti’s album, it is clear that the diverse Indian music now has a steadily growing global audience.

Kirti Wadhawan, Kanpur

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