Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Fractured mandate

This refers to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s observation that fractured mandates have made it difficult for governments to do what is manifestly obvious (Oct. 24). Fractured mandates are the result of our multi-party system. A number of political parties have been formed by ambitious politicians interested in pursuing their personal agenda and refusing to work under a leader. The Prime Minister, the architect of economic reforms, should reform our political system so that fractured mandates can be avoided. This can be done in two ways — by amending the Constitution to establish a three-party democracy consisting of the right, the left and the centrist parties; or by providing for re-elections between the first and second largest parties in case of a fractured mandate.

Pradhan Narayan,

Politicians use anything and everything — issues of region, religion, language, borders, rivers — to divide people and create competitive political groups.

They ensure that no group gets a clear mandate and that splinter groups reap the maximum benefit. The remedy lies in making the system more cohesive to accommodate contradicting views, without succumbing to any one of them.

R.K. Divakara,

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