Good riddance

Sir ? Those who applaud the summary expulsions of 11 members of parliament caught in the cash-for-questions scam must bear in mind that our parliament also has on its rolls members who have serious criminal cases pending against them (?Shame XI shown door?, Dec 24). It has at least two MPs who are cooling their heels in jail on charges of murder. We even have a Union minister who is out on bail and could yet be found guilty in the fodder scam. Then there are others who terrorize voters during the elections. If ?bringing disrepute to parliament? is the charge, there are several others who ought to be shown the door.

Yours faithfully,
J.S. Acharya, Hyderabad

Sir ? Now, since the MPs in the cash-for-query scam have been punished, it is time that action against MPs involved in more serious crimes is taken. It was in 1993 that corruption got institutionalized in India?s parliament. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bribery scandal involved ten corrupt MPs, who cast their votes to defeat a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha against the minority government of P.V. Narasimha Rao, in return of Rs 50 lakh each. The CBI filed criminal cases against them. Article 105(2) of the Constitution provides that no member of parliament can be made liable to any proceeding in any court in respect of any vote given in parliament. And for this reason alone the Supreme Court dismissed the cases against the bribe-taking MPs, hoping that parliament would penalize the offenders in some way. Nothing was done then. Will something be done now, including the amendment of the concerned Article?

Yours faithfully,
K.G. Acharya, Mumbai

Sir ? For the first time in recent memory, parliament, by expelling its tainted members, has restored its dignity and respect. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party?s stand was a disgrace. Instead of supporting the motion moved by the speaker of the Lok Sabha, the party chose to boycott the proceedings. As the leader of the BJP in parliament, L.K. Advani has reasons to feel ashamed. After all, what did he expect from the house? A simple warning or reprimand, for an offence for which an average Indian would be sent to jail?

While the Parliament has now punished the ?dirty 11? by expelling them for this term, the people of their constituencies should take action against their ?elected leaders?. Had this been medieval times, these MPs would surely have been paraded on donkeys, with their faces blackened and heads shaved. If these MPs are allowed to contest elections again, the electorate should make sure that they lose their deposit.

Yours faithfully,
S. Balakrishnan, Jamshedpur

Sir ? The parliament has adopted a rather hard line in expelling the elected Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, accepting the recommendation of the five-member ethics committee. The MPs should have been given a chance to defend themselves in an open televised session of parliament. While the role played by the media in exposing the corruption of public servants is praiseworthy, their audio-visual evidence does not rule out the need for an independent parliamentary probe. I hope the Election Commission will look into the matter before declaring the seats held by these MPs as vacant.

Yours faithfully,
K.R. Prem Kumar, Jamshedpur

Sir ? The Lok Sabha should be as firm in dealing with the MPs who have siphoned off a substantial portion of the funds allocated to them under the MP local area development scheme as it has been with those accused in the cash-for-questions scandal. Let there be allocated funds in a common pool under the finance ministry. All the development work that the MPs wish to get done in their constituencies can be decided upon and carried out under a division or department of the finance ministry created specially for this purpose. And, of course, there should be a mandatory audit every year by reliable agencies, to ensure that the funds were used for the purpose for which they were released.

Yours faithfully,
Mahesh Kapasi, New Delhi

Sir ? The hue and cry raised by the BJP over the expulsion of the 11 accused MPs from the parliament is most inappropriate. Wasn?t it the same party which had pressurized the government to remove Natwar Singh from the cabinet after the Volcker committee report came out? One hopes that the action taken against the MPs will remind all people?s representatives that they hold a non-profitable office and their primary duty is to serve the people loyally, honestly and with integrity.

Yours faithfully,
Khalid Pervez, Calcutta

Sir ? The Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Mayavati, by throwing out from the party the MPs who were accused in the cash-for-questions scam, has set an excellent example before our political parties. The BJP might learn a few things from her.

Yours faithfully,
Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Dariba, Delhi

Sir ? The parliament has taken the right step, but on the wrong people. Many feel that such exemplary punishment will go a long way in curbing corruption. But can punishment to the MPs alone eliminate corruption from the country? After all, a state is only what its citizens make it.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir ? The call by some MPs to ?rein in? the media, which ?exposed? some of their corrupt colleagues, is shameful. The argument that the 11 accused MPs should not have been expelled without being given a chance to present their case makes little sense in this case. When prima facie evidence is present, the accused are not necessarily presumed innocent. Most public servants either lose their jobs or remain suspended till they are proven innocent under similar circumstances. But make no mistake, the Congress would have done exactly what the BJP has, if the scam had involved MPs from the Congress, instead of the BJP.

Yours faithfully,
Kunal Saha, Columbus, US