I was shocked by the report, “Shout a little more, Rahul tells MPs-elect” (June 2), on the Congress president’s word of advice to his parliamentary party colleagues. Parliament is the most hallowed and dignified forum India has that decides the fate of the nation through fruitful and purposeful debates and has produced many a stalwart like Ashok Mehta, Piloo Mody, Minoo Masani, S.A. Dange, George Fernandes, Annadurai and Ram Manohar Lohia, to mention a few tall names. A forum for democratic values cannot be made a fish market. It is odd that CPP leader Sonia Gandhi did not criticise such advice.
S. Lakshminarasimhan,
Coimbatore
With the Treasury benches heavily outnumbering the Opposition, one wonders whether the voices of Congress MPs will be heard above the din. Aggression without substance, engagement in heated arguments and slanging matches will only lead to adjournments and damage the Opposition’s cause. The Congress needs to do extensive and foolproof homework to have the NDA government on the mat.
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru
When I was in high school, soon after Independence, we often had a mock Parliament where we debated an issue. We were encouraged to speak our mind on a wide variety of topics. The accent was on expressing our point of view and carrying the debate forcefully, but always with the utmost courtesy and decorum. The dictionary defines parliamentary language as “permissible in parliament; admissible in polite conversation; civil, courteous”. I am deeply disappointed that the leader of a major political party should exhort his followers to “shout a little more than usual” and to “be a little more aggressive”. Whether you like it or not, around half the people of India have elected members of the BJP-led NDA to represent them. This translates into a massive majority, given our first-past-the-post system. Not one of the other parties, including the Congress, has won the support of anywhere near this proportion. The fact is that in 2019, India has democratically elected Narendra Modi and the BJP to rule us for the next five years. Let us have civilised discussion in Parliament.
M.K. Mani,
Chennai
The article, “The politics of food” (Magazine, June 2) appears to be an attempt to create politics rather than solving it and discrediting the work done by an organisation, ISKON, for decades. It has also been proved quite adequately by various food control organisations that not having onion or garlic does not in any way take away from nutritional value. As an individual I visit middle and high school regularly promoting education and the environment in scientific terms. I have not found the food served to children to be unpalatable or children discarding what is served. At all times students preferred the food that is being served to be hot and tasty.
S.P. Venkatadasu,
Bengaluru