Faith in politics
While our country proudly holds the title of the world’s largest democracy, the reality is that our democratic and institutional processes fall short of their ideal standards. For instance, a viable solution to deal with unaccounted-for funds, amounting to crores, spent or confiscated during each election, still eludes us. Institutions tend to shy away from taking stringent actions. Of even greater concern is the immature behaviour by many of our politicians and their inclination to justify irrational and absurd actions. Despite their words or deeds, the media often glorifies them, possibly misconstruing it as political strategy! Meaningful reforms within our institutions and democratic mechanisms can only materialise if our leaders prioritise honesty, transparency and citizens’ welfare above all else.
V. Nagarajan,
Chennai
‘Still to decide’
The million-dollar question before the grand old party and other Opposition parties is whether they should attend the Ram Temple inauguration or not (Inside pages, January 7). While openly opposing it may disappoint a section, supporting it may alienate a core voter base. This is a catch-22 situation for a normal political party, but not for the Congress, whose ideology is based on the ideals within the Constitution. The Congress is advised to emulate Nehru, who, in 1951, did not attend the consecration of the Somnath temple, demonstrating his commitment to secularism and the idea of keeping religion away from state affairs.
P.H. Hema Sagar,
Secunderabad
Quality control
The notification for revised rules to ensure robust quality control of pharma and biopharmaceutical products by the Health ministry is timely (Inside pages, January 7). Reports of cough syrup deaths in Cameroon and Uzbekistan, which were flagged by the World Health Organization, did put the Indian pharma industry under the scanner. The revised Schedule M prescribing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) will bring Indian GMP recommendations on a par with global standards.
Dr. Thomas Palocaren,
Vellore, Tamil Nadu
The lacuna lies in not monitoring the process well, ensuring that at any point in time, the GMP is overlooked, unintentionally or deliberately. As a corollary, it will call for a big contingent of field staff to conduct regular inspections.
P.M. Gopalan,
Mumbai
