People should celebrate CIC order
SIR, ~ The people have every reason to celebrate the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), specifically  that political parties will come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. The CIC has justified its decision on the ground that the parties are entitled to free air-time on Doordarshan and All India Radio during elections, discounted rents for party offices and substantial income-tax exemptions.
  Therefore, the functioning of political parties, especially their source of income and pattern of expenditure, need to be more transparent. But that ought not to mean that the parties will be obligated to answer hundreds of queries under the RTI Act. Many of these queries may even be frivolous. Legislation must be enacted to bring those parties, which contest elections, within the purview of this Act. Refusal on the part of the political class will only deepen suspicions about the role of black money during elections.
The reservations have been strong enough and even on the part of the Congress. Salman Khurshid, the external affairs minister, has said that the law could not be allowed to “run riot.” At another remove, the BJP has posed the question ~ “Is our accountability to the Election Commission or the CIC? This confusion isn’t good for democracy.” Other parties, including the CPI-M, have also opposed the CIC&’s order. One wonders whether selection of candidates for the elections and the distribution of tickets will also come under public scrutiny.
There should be no intrusion into such internal affairs of a party. The political class appears to have united against a move intended to enlighten the people.
yours, etc., bidyut kumar chatterjee, faridabad, 5 june.
Aruna Roy calls the bluff
SIR, ~ This is with reference to your editorial, “Beyond resignation” (2 June). The reason advanced by Aruna Roy, the RTI pioneer and social activist, to justify her decision to resign from the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) is not convincing enough.
  She wants to move on from an advisory role  and work on issues that affect the poor. Her decision reflects the growing disillusionment of civil society with the government, specifically the social welfare agenda of the  Congress. Such landmark measures as the Right to Information (RTI) Act have been undermined. There is no scope for transparency in its provisions.
On the fourth anniversary of UPA-II, the government presented what it called a “Report to the People” with considerable fanfare. It spoke of overall improvement under the UPA&’s leadership. Ms Roy&’s statement post-resignation counters this claim ~ “Both the government and Parliament have not taken social welfare measures seriously. There has been a clear lack of political will and disarray in Parliament, not only on the part of the government but also other political parties.” 
The present government&’s neo-liberal policies can benefit only the rich. In Rajasthan, the daily wage for working eight hours in the sun is Rs 147. If that guarantee under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS is denied, it marks a violation of the government&’s own commitment to its own laws. Sluggishness on the part of the government has held up the Food Security Bill.
The NAC has devoted considerable time and effort to advance its formulations. It has never interfered with the functioning of the cabinet.
Ms Roy is spot on when she claims that “the government is focusing on economic reforms and growth at the cost of the poor”. In effect she has exposed the style of functioning of the UPA government, indeed its shambolic model of neo-liberalism.
yours, etc., sayanti paul, chakdaha (nadia), 4 june.
100 years after
SIR, ~ The item, “Adi Ganga”, published in “100 years ago” on 20 May, is informative and relevant even today. It is in fact a letter written by an Englishman. Major Tolly, we are informed, had ‘permission to dig a canal along the old silted-up bed of the Ganges’. Tollygunge was named after him. And  “Tolly&’s Nullah” is still called “Adi Ganga” in 2013. The major difference must be that it is today a thoroughly polluted canal.
  Once upon a time, it was navigable; both men and material were ferried to Chetla and other areas. Plans by successive governments to dredge the nullah have never been executed.
  No reason has ever been advanced. If properly dredged and maintained, “Adi Ganga” has a tremendous potential in terms of navigability, pisciculture and other economic and commercial ventures.
  Because of inaction, it has been reduced to a part of the city&’s ugly landscape. This is the fact of the matter 100 years after the letter was published in your paper.
yours, etc., pranabananda sen, kolkata, 21 may.
Garbage vans
SIR, ~ Kolkata Municipal Corporation is using motorised vans to transport garbage. This is very shocking. These vans are not roadworthy and are a threat to pedestrians and motorists.
  Those who operate the garbage vans have no licence. Recklessness on their part can turn out to be fatal. I wonder why this has been allowed by the KMC, a government entity. These vehicles should immediately be withdrawn.
yours, etc., k p jhunjhunwala, kolkata, 31 may.
BJP in Howrah
SIR, ~ The Howrah Lok Sabha by-election has certain interesting features. The BJP withdrew its candidate despite being vocal against the Trinamul government. But was there a tacit understanding between the two parties? The BJP&’s state president advised its supporters  to vote for  a non-political candidate. He obviously meant the Trinamul candidate, who is basically a footballer. And this tilted the scale in Trinamul&’s favour. The organisational weakness of the Left also helped the ruling party.
Another reason for the Left&’s defeat is that a sizable segment of its loyalists decided not to vote in a parliamentary by-poll less than a year before the scheduled Lok Sabha elections. Above all, the CPI-M failed to exploit the urban disenchantment with the Trinamul Congress. And Howrah isn’t a rural constituency.
yours, etc., anil kumar choudhury, kalyani, 6 june.