April 28, 2010

Dear Sir/ Madam,

This is to share our concern over the steady erosion of constitutional values and rule of law. We are sharing our worries with you because as an elected representative of the people you represent both the people’s will and the authority of the state. This holds true whether you sit on the treasury or opposition benches, as the House itself symbolises the authority of the state.

We are witnessing a terrible disarray and directionlessness on the part of the state as the country is buffeted by an unprecedented storm of leaks and disclosures regarding the sheer greed, lawlessness and corruption in the IPL. From senior ministers to opposition leaders are involved in this sordid drama which has everything in it from black money to prostitution racket.

Action taken on this issue is mere eyewash. Even a Joint Parliamentary Committee (rejected by the government already) will not work as leaders of Congress, NCP, BJP and several smaller parties are involved and the people don’t expect any action from politicians against their own party people. JPC, in any case, takes years to come to a conclusion, which the government may not do much about.

The demand of a JPC on phone tapping is equally ridiculous as the political class has got active only after its phones have been tapped. They have never bothered to consider even for a moment the implications of entire Muslim localities in Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Hyderabad and other places subjected to permanent phone-tapping for years. No government leader has ever questioned this illegal, malicious and anti-Muslim practice.

The political class, which has the responsibility of looking after the well-being of citizens, is so engrossed in itself that it is hardly bothered by the fact that nearly a third of the country’s population is living without sufficient food and safe drinking water. This chronic hunger is destroying potentials of human resource and in some areas people are still dying of hunger.

The situation of the Executive can be described as paralysis of will, and the condition of the Legislature is no better. There are quite a few pieces of promised legislation hanging.

fire: Equal Opportunity Commission Bill, Women’s Reservation Bill,… The Women’s Reservation Bill was rushed through the process with indecent haste ignoring the interests of 70 percent of our people, but our Parliamentarians failed to address their apprehensions.

The worst sufferers of this situation are the weak, as usual. In Gujarat the killers of Muslims are walking free. The same offenders have driven Dalits out of their villages. In Haryana Dalits have been roasted alive by upper caste goons. Muslim youth are being picked up and tortured as routine affair and declared as terrorist without an iota of proof. Poor, innocent and hungry tribals are killed in the name of Naxals.

With this we hope that you as people’s representative will rise above your petty interests and do something to salvage the country from further decline.


With regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Dr. M. Manzoor Alam)
General Secretary, AIMC