Readers’ comments: How does the timing of the raids on Lalu Yadav matter?

Democracy corrupted

Is there any such thing as the right time to conduct raids on an allegedly corrupt politician (“Opinion: Why the raids on Lalu Yadav should worry us about India’s democracy”)?

Corruption has hurt our democracy, economy and daily lives in many ways. So why should we worry about the impact on democracy when corrupt politicians face legal action?

I agree with you that our polity and more importantly, the vengeful nature of our political class has made it commonplace for the party in power to target the Opposition. But to cleanse our system, why don’t governments in Bengal, Karnataka, Punjab and Kerala also target corrupt BJP politicians and take action against them? I want the system to be clean and if the BJP politicians are corrupt, I personally want them to be jailed before anyone else, as the standard should be higher for the ruling party. – Venkat Iyer

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The question is not the timing of the raids but where the funds came from for a massive mall and three big farmhouses in Delhi, apart from other properties. Bihar is a poor state and these assets are disproportionate to the Yadavs’ known sources of income. So stop fearing for democracy, corrupt people should be brought to justice.
– Ram Malhotra

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Why does the timing of the raids matter? If he’s guilty, then this is already much-delayed action. His children have received all the privileges and are also following in his footsteps. – Narendra Zaveri

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Our country is known the world over for being corrupt. Lalu Yadav, Mayawati, Mulayam Yadav and their families have all faced corruption allegations, creating a bad name for India. All corrupt netas deserve to be in jail as the they have looted our country. A majority of our politicians are corrupt and the pack is led by the Congress. Fortunately, our courts are doing a good job of catching and punishing these politicians. – BS Mukhi

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The author should first ask himself how is it that Lalu Yadav and his family have amassed assets worth thousand crores. Lalu Yadav is a politician. None of his family members are businessmen. He has nine children. Even his salary as a chief minister or central minister would not be sufficient to support his family. Yet, his children have lived like royalty. One can tell even without an inquiry that he is likely to be corrupt. Don’t protect the corrupt. – Bhim Sen Singh

Hush-hush meeting

As usual, the Congress henchmen will defend everything Rahul and Sonia Gandhi do (“Rahul Gandhi meets Chinese envoy: Congress manages one more public relations disaster for itself”). What is Rahul Gandhi’s standing? He has been installed as the vice-president of a party that has 40-odd seats in the Lok Sabha, which does not even qualify him to be hold the Leader of Opposition title. So in what capacity did he meet the Chinese ambassador?

If he is genuinely concerned about the stand-off with Chinese troops at the Sikkim border, should he not have contacted our national security advisor or Army Chief for information? – R Sivasankaran

Beef politics

No one has any right to dictate what others should eat (“‘They are forcing us to become Hindu’: How beef is being used to target Adivasis in Jharkhand”). Voices of dissent are now being raised against the bullies. Especially in a state like Jharkand, where there are many beef eaters, it should not be too difficult for people to organise and show their disapproval by voting out those who fail to represent their interests. – Ashley Pereira

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Shoaib Daniyal should know that Hinduism does not believe in proselyting or conversion. People like Daniyal always try to weaken Hindus by instigating Dalits and Adivasis against caste Hindus. These people, with active help from the Left, never highlight the misery and plight of more than five lakh Hindus who were driven out from their ancestral homes in Kashmir. After having suffered great injustice at the hands of the corrupt Congress for over 70 years, Hindus have awakened and seen through the Muslim appeasement policy and shameless vote bank politics of these parties. They will never fall prey to the machinations of the anti -national elements. – Ishwar Singh

Fitness check

These IPS officers must know that Central Armed Police Forces are commanded by them at the apex level and CISF and CRPF have considerable number of women officers (“‘New IPS rules use Bollywood as a benchmark’: Letter opposes bid to link promotions to fitness test”). So, how come the criterion of fitness has never been a problem in these forces? IPS officers must refrain from putting forth such illogical ideas. When the nature of their duty demands the highest level of fitness, no exemption can be granted to anyone.

The government must go ahead with the fitness-for-promotions proposal and implement it stringently. An independent board of highly skilled doctors should be set up to conduct the tests to ensure impartiality and objectivity. – BM Singh

Education heritage

I sincerely believe in the prosperous future of our young and talented students and there’s no question of relocating the premier educational institute (“‘Don’t even think about it’: Alumni of one of Kashmir’s oldest schools criticise call for relocation”). It would be better to relocate the businesses. These institutes are a part of our educational heritage and the pride of the Valley. – Wani Hilal

Communal colour

Former DGP TP Senkumar should have cited statistics to back his claim about the rise of the Muslim population in Kerala (“A rise in birthrate among Muslims will change Kerala’s demography, says former state police chief”). It’s true that the population growth of Muslims in the state is high when compared to Hindus and Christians, but it has reduced over the years. Over time, the community is moving towards the two-child or one-child norm. Senkumar’s statement seems to be tinged with communal bias. – Rajeev Muringayil

Cow country

So much time, money and effort is put into protecting the holy cow (“Maharashtra Police to start using meat detection kits from August: Reports”). I wish similar efforts were taken to restore law and order, catch rapists, murders and goons and keep citizens safe. – Platima Fernandes

Judicial review

Thank you for this engrossing article that gave so much information to me, a commoner, about in-house procedures and the Supreme Court’s deviation of its own norms (“The Supreme Court’s detailed order on Justice Karnan reveals a lack of faith in its own procedures”). However, many of these observations shook my confidence in the system.

Even a thorough reading of 70-odd pages of the judgment does not give one the slightest inkling of what happened to the allegations that prompted the suo motu proceedings.

As a commoner, I have heard a basic principle of jurisprudence: nobody can be judge in his own cause. But, we increasingly see that judges don’t hesitate in giving administrative or judicial orders hurriedly in their own cause or without due notice to parties, on the slightest provocation.

With the erosion of various wings in running of the nation, judiciary became a last hope in restoring orderliness in our system through judicial activism. But, the lack of corrective procedures or laws to handle situations like that posed by Justice Karnan and the judiciary’s own refusal to acknowledge the need for reforms hints at only one thing: that the Indian judiciary is as fallible as any other wing of administration and governance. So, it needs its checks and balances, as any other entity. – SS Mishra

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This article is exceptionally brilliant. I have said right from the beginning that it is the opaque collegium system that is more to blame than justice Karnan. – Mahesh Nayak