The suspension of Question Hour is a step that fundamentally uproots democracy itself (Page 1, “Question Hour dropped in LS schedule of monsoon session”, September 3). Of course the pandemic exists in the background, but the government should have strived instead to streamline the Question Hour mechanism by allowing select issues or select and short times. Resorting to total suspension is unwarranted and is nothing but autocratic rule and a bull-dozing mechanism. The government of the day should not take the law into its hands just because it is in an absolute majority.

Bengaluru

The government of the day deserves to be congratulated on its brilliant strategy of disarming the Opposition by cancelling the dreaded Question Hour. Those who matter in the government should know this: “For the success of our parliamentary form of government and democracy and so that the will of the people shall prevail, it is necessary that people know what transpires in Parliament. This is not your House or my House. It is the House of the People. The People have a right to know what their chosen representatives say and do....” The ruling party appears to be celebrating the triumph of its victory over a truncated and helpless Opposition. Welcome to the ‘new normal’ in India’s parliamentary democracy.

Mysuru

The step is a blatant attempt not only to curb the voice of MPs but India’s too. This amounts to a massacre of the democratic rights of people and the people who represent them. Let us remember that this is not an emergency or ad hoc session, but a customary monsoon session. The cause and reason adduced, viz., the ongoing pandemic, is laughable. People want to know from the horse’s mouth what is being done about the pandemic, India’s border troubles and the economic crisis.

Hubballi, Karnataka

The term ‘pandemic’ has now become a convenient excuse to use it the moment the government faces anything unpalatable to deal with. In the monsoon session, the people want answers to: the migrants crisis; unemployment crisis; the economic slide to unprecedented negative levels; authentic information on the Chinese incursions and the GST compensation issue. It is strange that there is no ‘pandemic’ when it comes to laying the foundation for the Ayodhya temple, the Central Vista project or the Bullet train project. Even when it comes to the monthly monologue, ‘Mann ki Baat’. Why the contradictions?

Bengaluru

The resumption of metro rail services is fraught with risks during this period of heightened prevalence of COVID-19 (Page 1, September 3). Allowing entry for ‘asymptomatic ‘ people and ensuring social distancing norms seem rather dubious in the present context when a record number of cases is being registered consistently across the country. The argument that ‘resumption of economic activity is imperative’ is also weak because a spike in COVID-19 cases at this juncture can only end up crippling the economy even further.

Vellore, Tamil Nadu