Sir,

BJP and CPI(M) has desired that country’s Prime Minister should be only from Lok Sabha, evidently with an eye on Congress’s Prime Ministerial candidate Manmohansingh who is member of Rajya Sabha.

It will be most appropriate in present self-centred politics that Prime Minister/Chief Ministers and other Ministers should be non-members having contested no election in past say one year.

This will make MPs and MLAs king-makers to serve as real watchdog on performance of such appointed Ministers (and PM/CMs) rather than lobbying for themselves to occupy lucrative power-filled ministerial chairs.

Persons desirous of ministerial posts need not contest elections at all. System will make elected representatives easily approachable to people. Present security considerations of Ministers are hindrance in their easy interaction with their voters.

Such a system will induce experts rather than professional politicians to serve as ministers for much-much better governance, apart from sharp reduction in expenses needed to employ experts as advisors. It will also be easy to restrict ministerial strength to ten-percent strength of lower House.

Madhu Agrawal
Dariba, Delhi

CBI & UPA

Sir,

It is amusing to note that the CBI had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to remove the name of Italian Businessman Ottaravo Quottorochi, the family friend of Sonia Gandhi from at a time when the new government is to be installed in a fortnight.

This is not the first occasion the UPA government had shown a partisan attitude. In fact, the UPA government had failed to appeal against the Court decision not to extradite the Rs 64 crore Bofors scam accused in Malaysia in 2007 and allowed to him to go to Milan, Italy from Argentina.  

This shows that the government, in order to please Sonia’s political clout, is flouting every rule of law of the land in her favour to buttress the election prospects of the UPA.

S Gopalan,
Maraimalainagar

Impose Prez rule

Sir,

It has been widely published both in the print and visual media that the UPA government at the Centre and its allies in various States have been violating EC norms, by announcing benefits to the general public during the elections.

The EC has been assuring all necessary steps against the erring government.  But, at the end, the announcements could not be taken back.  To stop such practice by the government, President’s rule at the Centre and Governor’s rule at the States may be imposed till the general Elections are over in all the States.  Whether the EC will think so?

M V Mukundhan,
Nanganallur

Needed some change

Sir,

BJP leader L  K Advani after casting his vote in a discussion with the press opined for fixed terms for legislatures and preferred elections in February month. Some time back he suggested simultaneous polls to Parliament and State Assemblies. He feels the poor voter turnout is due to hot weather which is one of the reasons.

Every year there are elections in one or more States that affects the development activities partly or wholly due to ‘model code of conduct’ in addition to expenditure on conductance of elections, roll revisions etc.

N Ramamurthy,
T Nagar