Basic problems

Sir — The editorial, “Back to basics” (Nov 24), rightly points out that the Left Front’s destructive politics will spoil its electoral chances. The present government in West Bengal has failed to draw constructive policies and deliver good governance. It is now making frantic efforts to restore its popularity. The week-long siege on the Metro channel in Calcutta — that continues to cause tremendous inconvenience to the people — is an example of this. The Left will hardly earn the people’s sympathies with such misdemeanours. Instead, it will end up alienating its vote bank further. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had made several attempts to rejuvenate West Bengal’s economy. But he failed to bring development to the state during his tenure. He, too, had fallen into the trap of subversive politics created by his own party.

The present lot of politicians in West Bengal seems to have forgotten the meaning of democracy. Democracy lies in the formation of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. But Bengal’s politicians tend to overestimate their own power. Once elected, they lose touch with the masses and begin to concentrate on their own political gains only.

A similar trait is visible in Lalu Prasad, who had assumed that he was invincible. Owing to this assumption, Prasad did not check the bad governance and rampant corruption that characterized his reign. This resulted in Prasad being defeated by Nitish Kumar in two consecutive elections. The recent polls in Bihar have proved that the electorate has become much more politically conscious today. Kumar was able to deliver on his promises. This is why he is back in power again. In the changing economic milieu, development is key to gaining the people’s trust. Strikes and street demonstrations have become obsolete and irrelevant at present. The masses can no longer be fooled by the clever rhetoric of politicians. They now refuse to remain illiterate or be exploited.

West Bengal has become synonymous with anarchy. Development seems like a distant dream for the state. But politicians in Bengal hardly care about the dire conditions that prevail here. Calcutta is perishing because of the garbage that is dumped on the streets. Several environmental and health hazards continue to plague the citizens. Months have passed since the civic polls, yet no perceivable progress has taken place. The only things that seem to flourish in Calcutta are street demonstrations and bandhs called by various political parties that remain busy blaming one another. How long will the people tolerate such nasty political games?

There must be a complete cleansing of the system. One doubts if this will happen with a change of guard at the Writers’ Buildings. Vicious and harmful politics still thrives among most political parties. For development to take place, both the government and the Opposition need to cooperate with each other. In West Bengal, this seems to be a really tough goal to achieve.

Yours faithfully,
Jayant Mukherjee, Calcutta

Objections raised

Sir — We, the members of the Child Welfare Committee, Calcutta, have been shocked and surprised by the article, “Hole that swallows babies” (Oct 31). We have been appalled by the unfortunate comments that ignore the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.

The CWC is a statutory body, and as per Chapter III, Section 31(1) of the JJ Act, the committee is the final authority for the welfare and care, protection, development and rehabilitation of neglected and abandoned children. Under Sections 2(d) and 39(3) of the Act, read along with 69 (1) of the West Bengal JJ rule, 2009, the CWC is empowered to place abandoned, surrendered or neglected children under the care of person/persons it deems fit temporarily. Only after the “legally free for adoption” certificate is issued — as per the provision, 41(5) — by the CWC can the courts of district judges facilitate the final adoption order.

The CWC usually receives newborn babies — many of these infants are left to die — that have been abandoned. Such babies need immediate care and love that no institution — be it a private or government-run home — can provide. The Calcutta committee hands over these babies to individuals whose homes are first examined by a probation officer and a child development project officer, but only after the recipients sign on bond paper — as prescribed by the said Act — stipulating that they will produce the baby every three months before the CWC. If the committee can trace the child’s biological parents, or if it finds that the child is not being taken care of, it has the right to take the baby back from the foster parents.

Therefore, the comment, “At its best, this is the do-gooder guiding spirit — without regard for law or system or the future well-being of the child — in giving babies away for adoption”, is not only unwarranted but also reflects the reporters’ ignorance about the appropriate provisions of the JJ Act.

Moreover, the allegation that no data is maintained by the committee is absolutely baseless. We regularly maintain and forward relevant facts and figures to the directorate of social welfare department, government of West Bengal. The journalists from The Telegraph had interviewed us on more than one occasion. Despite the clarifications, some errors seem to have crept into the report.

Yours faithfully,
Amita Sen, Namita Roy and Anindyakanti Sinha, Calcutta

The Telegraph replies — We had approached CWCs and the social welfare department for data repeatedly, but no organization provided us with relevant information.