Central Vista project
All right-thinking persons will agree that the Central Vista project is ill-timed. The vanity of the government in going ahead with this exorbitant project speaks volumes about its attitude and the hollowness of its concern for the poor. The government needs a good reason to justify what genuine public interest is going to be served by this project. At the moment it is obvious self-aggrandisement.
S.N. Shukla,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Will mere structural changes to the temple of democracy change the way real democracy is functioning? What is really needed is revamping the way MPs function in Parliament. A minimum mandatory days of sitting and necessary discussion on topics are what a majority of Indians desire from our MPs. The Central Vista project runs the risk of cost overruns if timely clearances do not come by. Substantive democracy is needed more through a respect for democratic principles than the planning of physical structures.
Harsahib Singh,
Ludhiana, Punjab
Unable to vote
Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena could not vote in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation polls, having missed his name in the voters’ list. He said his name was there in the old list and so thought he would be able to cast his vote. Last year he had voted in the Lok Sabha election. There was a report that said ‘missing voter names resulted in low turnout in the recently conducted GHMC elections in Hyderabad’. At least in Kerala, the voters’ list used was one prepared for the 2015 LSGI polls, despite requests made by many, including the Opposition to use the list used for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Who wanted the old list used is not clear. Anyway, the question was explained away by attributing it to ‘practical difficulties’. Preventing the right to vote, for none of a voter’s fault, is fundamentally undemocratic. The responsibility should squarely rest with the Election Commission. Here is the relevance of a “single voters’ list” for all elections — Lok Sabha, Assembly and LSGIs — would prevent chances of ruling parties making their own choices from the available lists to suit narrow political interests. Updating the list shall be a routine procedure until the date of an election is declared. That sufficient information is not reaching voters is evident from the CEO’s own words.
P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala
