Probe appointments

Appointment of various Chief Election Commissioners (CECs) and Election Commissioners (ECs) by various governments in the absence of a law governing their appointments raises doubts. This unconstitutional practice adopted by various union governments, and their intention not to enact a law governing the appointment of CECs and ECs certainly calls for a probe by the apex court. Failure in doing so may endanger our democracy. The court’s opinion for inclusion of the CJI in the appointment process is essential for the independence of the Election Commission.

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Ravinder Singh, Jalandhar

Appoint with care

Apropos of ‘What was mechanism to pick EC Goel, produce appointment file: SC to Govt’ and ‘Poll officers’ appointments’; it is of vital importance that immediate remedial steps are taken so that the democratic setup is not undermined. Besides the judiciary, the civil society, intellectuals and the fourth pillar of democracy, the print and electronic media also have to be vigilant in this matter. But care should be taken against overzealousness. We should have faith in the wisdom of the founding fathers of the Constitution who, after thorough deliberations, had ensured flexibility in the framework of the sacrosanct document.

DV Sharma, Mukerian

EC needs reforms

The apex court has rightly said that Article 324 of the Constitution talks about the appointment of CECs and ECs, but does not provide for the procedure for such appointments and it left it to Parliament to enact a law for the purpose. The independence and integrity of the institution of Election Commission cannot be allowed to be eroded by any government. In the absence of constitutional provisions for selection of CECs/ECs, it has become the prerogative of the executive. But the selection of Election Commissioners must be done by a committee, which includes the Chief Justice of India and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Secondly, after retirement, the CECs/ECs should be barred from taking up any official position or nomination to become a member of Parliament or legislature.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Dubious drugs

Reference to ‘Pharma hub ailing’; the authorities must pull out all stops to end the menace of dubious drug making, which is a serious criminal act. In this regard, it is also important to find, through a high-level probe, for how long these fake medicines have been sold in the market and which agencies are the chief buyers of such drugs for profit that have been risking the lives of hundreds of gullible patients.

Balvinder, Chandigarh

Border dispute

Apropos of the news report ‘Assam forest office torched, cars burnt in Meghalaya’; Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 stretches of their 884-km shared border. The two states had signed a pact in March to resolve the dispute in six out of the 12 areas. In August, they decided to form regional committees. The second round of discussions for the remaining six phases was to commence by the end of this month. The pact was seen as a major achievement, as Assam’s border disputes with other states in the Northeast have remained unresolved despite multiple rounds of talks. But the recent incident will derail the upcoming talks.

Rohan Chandra, Zirakpur

Irresponsible remark

Refer to ‘Chd needn’t consult Punjab on Assembly land: Speaker’; it is shocking that the Speaker of the Haryana Assembly has said there is no obligation to consult Punjab for the allotment of land for a new Haryana Vidhan Sabha building. As Punjab’s claim regarding Chandigarh is in the political, social and public domain of the region, it is not right to make such irresponsible statements. Leaders must exercise restraint in making such thoughtless statements to maintain the hard-earned peace and brotherhood in the region.

Krishan Kant Sood, Nangal

Language barrier

Refer to the middle ‘Let language be no barrier’; national or cultural pride is incontrovertible, but linguistic chauvinism is regressive. Whether Tamil Nadu or Vietnam, one’s native tongue and international language, like English, can easily solve the problem of communication. The Punjab Government’s proposal to feature all signboards in the mother tongue for the sake of cultural pride is right. However, to facilitate people who are not familiar with Punjabi, the signboards must be written in English as well.

CS MANN, UNA

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