Running away

• Sir - The Bangalore bench of the debt recovery tribunal temporarily restrained the British multinational alcoholic beverages company, Diageo Plc, from paying $75 million to Vijay Mallya ("Mallya suffers a setback", March 8). It has now been reported that Diageo has already paid a part of this sum. Mallya, who owes huge debts to various Indian banks, should have been barred from leaving the country. What is unclear is why the banks failed to take the necessary steps at the appropriate time to ensure that he was held accountable for his actions. If proper disciplinary steps had been taken against Mallya, he would have been arrested before he left India. This would have served as a warning to individuals who, like Mallya, have taken huge loans from banks and are intentionally failing to repay them.

Yours faithfully,
K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha, Kerala
 

• Sir - The news of Vijay Mallya fleeing the country was shocking. One must remember that Mallya is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament. Members of parliament are considered to be the moral guardians of society. However, Kingfisher Airlines, which was founded by Mallya, has failed to pay the salaries of employees and has defaulted on bank loans.

One wonders how the parliamentarian is able to roam about freely on foreign shores even though he is in heavy debt. It is painful to see that a man who is indifferent to the plight of his former employees is part of the legislature of the country.

Yours faithfully,
Tejesh Vyas, Howrah
 

• Sir - Now that Vijay Mallya has managed to escape from the country, the Union finance minister, Arun Jaitley, should resign immediately. A learned and competent individual like Arun Shourie must replace him. Even ordinary citizens could tell that there was every likelihood that Mallya would try to flee the country. It is hard to believe that the finance minister did not foresee it.

Apart from exploring every legal avenue to bring Mallya back to the country, the bank officers who sanctioned Mallya's loans in spite of being aware that he may fail to repay them should also be taken to task. The process to extradite Mallya and bring him back should be undertaken seriously if he fails to assist the investigating agencies conducting the probe, or if he does not turn up when notices are served.

Yours faithfully,
N.K. Das Gupta, Calcutta
 

• Sir - Instead of focusing on the legal cases that have been filed against Vijay Mallya, one should consider the factors that helped him take loans worth thousands of crores of rupees without, allegedly, pledging adequate collateral security. The banks have finally woken up. But Mallya has already fled the country and has peacefully settled in London. Proper action should have been taken against the former chairman of the United Breweries group when he had first defaulted on repaying the loans.

If a farmer fails to repay a loan of Rs 7,000, he is taken to task. Under financial pressure, farmers across the country are committing suicide. Rather than debating who allowed Mallya to escape, the discussion should revolve around how to get the money back from absconders.

Yours faithfully,
Utsav Basu, New Delhi
 

• Sir - Morals and principles among India's political leaders are on the decline. Otherwise, an erudite leader like Arun Jaitley would not have drawn a parallel between the flight of Vijay Mallya from India and that of Ottavio Quattrocchi, who was believed to be one of the major players in the Bofors scam. Jaitley made the statement on Quattrocchi when the ruling dispensation was pulled up by the Opposition for having allowed Mallya to travel abroad.

There is no doubt that Quattrocchi's escape was as shameful as Mallya's. But if each political party attempts to deflect attention from its actions by pointing out the wrongdoings of others, then criminals will feel emboldened to flee justice no matter which political party is in power. The Union government should have ensured that Mallya did not leave India until proper investigations were conducted. He has been accused of financial misappropriation - this should have been enough to impound his passport, which was not done. Our law enforcement agencies should act more decisively and not wait for instructions from their political masters.

Yours faithfully,
S. Kamat, Goa
 

FROM BIHAR

Foul mouth

• Sir - The use of abusive language by Shambhu Nath Yadav, a member of the legislative assembly from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, during assembly proceedings on March 16 has not only brought down the image of his party but has also put the entire political class to shame ("Hon'ble MLA speaks: maar denge... chamri chhil denge", March 17).

Politicians are usually not held in high esteem because of their involvement in one scandal or another. They, it seems, need to be taught how to maintain decorum inside the House, just like school children who need lessons in moral conduct. Political parties should take stringent action against such leaders who indulge in verbal abuse during election campaigns and legislative proceedings. Punishing such leaders is a responsibility of not just the Election Commission but also of the party chiefs who should stop justifying such acts. Recent instances of lawmakers being charged with criminal activities such as rape, murder and abduction are indeed worrisome. Political parties should refrain from giving electoral tickets to such errant politicians. People, too, should be more careful while electing their representatives.

Yours faithfully,
Anamika Srivastava, Kankerbagh, Patna
 

Faith restored

• Sir - Kripashankar Pandey, jail superintendent of Kishanganj district, was suspended and arrested for sexually harassing a minor girl inmate within the jail premises ("Nitish order enforces law", March 18). However, even after being arrested, he was found enjoying 'VIP treatment' at a police station.

The episode reminds one of the days of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi as chief ministers, when convicted leaders of their party enjoyed luxurious life in prison due to patronage of district police and jail administrative staff. They used to have all types of facilities such as having separate rooms with TVs, refrigerators, sofas and even prison inmates for their service, round-the-clock. Such politicians give a bad name to the state.

Fortunately this time, after a footage of Pandey enjoying 'VIP treatment' went viral, the state government seems to have woken up from slumber. The chief minister of the state, Nitish Kumar, has ordered his officials to shift Pandey to the Bhagalpur jail, which happens to be a place for hardened criminals. Prisoners at the Bhagalpur jail have to live in small cells and endure hardship. By suspending and shifting Pandey to the Bhagalpur jail, Kumar has once again reposed the faith of people in the rule of law.

Yours faithfully,
Mohan Singh Kushwaha, Patel Nagar, Patna

FROM ODISHA

Poor state

• Sir - The results of the survey conducted by the Public Affairs Centre that ranked Odisha 15th among 17 large states of the country in terms of governance are horrifying ("Big on talk, low on rank", March 16). Odisha's performance is shocking - Odisha ranks even below Bihar on the issue of providing power. The crime situation in Bihar has been a matter of concern for long. But the government and security forces there have efficiently tackled the situation over the decades. The Odisha government has mostly failed to reign in the criminal elements in the state. The effects of this inability can be seen in the increasing cases of alleged terrorists being arrested in Odisha. The state seems to have become the rest house of dreaded terrorists. The state's security forces have failed to see what has been happening right under their noses. The administration should take the survey results seriously and act on them before it gets too late.

Yours faithfully,
Amlan Rout, Bhubaneswar
 

• Sir - The government led by the Biju Janata Dal has been claiming that its effective policies have brought about good governance in Odisha. In this situation, the survey by the Bangalore-based think-tank, PAC, must have come as a reality check for the state government. That the survey has placed Odisha at the 16th position in the transparency index demolishes all the tall claims made by the government about the success of its measures in checking corruption. A Lokayukta should be appointed in the state as soon as possible. Since the assembly session is in progress now, the matter should be raised by the Opposition. It is high time that the government set its records straight on the government websites.

Yours faithfully,
Bibhukishore Swain, Berhampur
 

• Sir - Standing 13th on the economic front in the survey conducted by the Bangalore-based non-governmental organization is not really too bad for Odisha, which has usually been branded as an economically backward state. However, the state government has not been able to tap the benefits of big investments in the natural resources sector. The delayed projects have not helped the cause of economic growth. Sectors such as tourism, handicrafts and handloom are yet to be taken seriously. The industries minister has claimed that a number of steps has been taken on the economic front that are sure to show results in the near future. We hope this is true.

Yours faithfully,
Sarita Agrawal, Rourkela
 

• Sir - There are sectors in which Odisha has not fared that well in a recently-conducted survey. The silver lining to this dismal piece of news is that the state fares much better than other states in the field of support to human development. Health and education are two parameters that have been used to judge the states. Both are significant for Odisha's future growth. Health had been in a poor condition in the state even a few decades ago. Now there has been improvement in the infant mortality rate. Immunization programmes run by the government have also been successful. Odisha is the education hub of the country. Growth in education can lead to the development of other related sectors.

Yours faithfully,
Md Irfan Virani, Cuttack