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Unfortunate

That a senior parliamentarian such as Somnath Chatterjee has been made to lament openly over the bedlam in Parliament is very unfortunate. Here is a piece of advice to the Speaker — take it in your stride and laugh it off. Such things have happened in the past and will continue to happen as long as our honourable members want to impress on the nation the constructive role they play. In any case, Mr. Chatterjee is not a stranger to gheraos and dharnas, which are now being extended to the House.

J.V. Reddy,
Nellore, A.P.

Mr. Chatterjee's remark that he is ashamed to be the Speaker is a matter of great concern. There is no doubt that the BJP is making a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the infighting in the party.

If the past is any guide, the party president and Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, may express regret for obstructing Parliament years later.

P.V.N. Nambiar,
Kannur, Kerala

It is highly disturbing to see precious time being wasted in Parliament on some pretext. The Opposition seems to have a single-point agenda of opposing the Government blindly. The media should play a proactive role in putting this practice to rest.

Sriram Ravichandran,
Madurai, T.N.

The BJP, in its newfound euphoria, is exceeding all limits of reason and commonsense in demanding the resignation of Sonia Gandhi as NAC chairperson.

Seshagiri Row Karry,
Hyderabad

It is rather shocking that in spite of Mr. Singh's resignation, the BJP is insistent on stalling the proceedings. Its leaders should realise that ultimately they are playing with the taxpayers' money and that they will achieve nothing significant for the country by making Ms. Gandhi resign as NAC chairperson.

K.S. Sridharan,
Chennai

With Mr. Singh's resignation, the Opposition has tasted partial success in its campaign that has culminated in pandemonium in Parliament.

But its determination to go for the jugular's vein will only lead to chaotic distraction and digression from the genuine agenda of welfare and development.

D.K. Singh,
Visakhapatnam, A.P.

Since boycotts and walkouts have become routine affairs, a minimum number of working days should be fixed to ensure the conduct of business in both Houses.

If for some reason, Parliament does not work for the minimum number of days the session should be extended.

M. Kumar,
New Delhi

The BJP's main objective behind creating such uproarious scenes in Parliament is to divert the people's attention from the internal disputes plaguing the party.

H. Narayanan,
Bangalore

Even school children behave better in the absence of the teacher. During every session of Parliament, proceedings are stalled for days wasting crores of taxpayers' money. I suggest that for the number of working days lost, the cost should be recovered from the MPs.

Captain (retd.) K. Vasudevan,
Coimbatore

The policy of disrupting Parliament was invented by the Congress and developed by all the political parties. Storming the well of the House, hurling abuse and throwing mikes and chairs are skills our elected representatives possess in abundance.

R.P. Mehrotra,
New Delhi

The least a citizen expects from his elected representatives is decent behaviour. But the scene in Parliament is appalling. If such behaviour is tolerated and becomes acceptable over time, what message will the younger generation get from such leaders?

Stalling Parliament even for a day results in the loss of huge money, which a developing nation can ill afford.

N. Hariharan,
Mumbai

The salary of those MPs who walk out should be cut on a daily basis. An employee in any sector would have been fired for such repeated failure and irresponsible behaviour.

S. Srinivas,
Visakhapatnam, A.P.

Why such a hue and cry over Jagat Singh's visit to Iraq years ago? When the Prime Minister justifies the accommodation of even charge sheeted Ministers in the Cabinet citing coalition compulsions, is taking along one's son on a foreign trip a big issue? As for stalling Parliament, what would the MPs have achieved had it functioned? They would have criticised court decisions as interference in legislative powers, and reduced the interest rates on bank deposits.

They would have raised electricity and water tariff, and talked of privatising profit-making, semi-government organisations, and widening the reservation net.

V.N. Gaur,
New Delhi

A lot of noise is being made over the alleged involvement of Mr. Singh in the food-for-oil scam. Has any politician ever been convicted of corruption so far?

After days of disrupting Parliament, spending huge money in inquiry commissions and other investigations, nothing will happen. Why not come to terms with the inevitable and let business continue?

Udita Agrawal,
New Delhi

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