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Pandemic management
The alarming rise in
COVID-19 cases, made
worse by the shortage of
essentials including
medical oxygen cylinders,
hospital beds and vaccines,
tells the grim tale of how
unprepared the Centre and
several States have been in
tackling the ongoing second
wave. The authorities either
choose to ignore it or be
callous about it. Health
protocols have been
observed in breach during
the campaigning for the
Assembly elections with the
Election Commission
having mostly remained a
mute spectator.
Restrictions that were
clamped during the first
wave have returned,
threatening to derail India’s
nascent economic recovery.
As the country cannot
afford another stringent
lockdown, whose horrid
memories are still fresh in
the minds of people,
impositions of local
restrictions even while
hastening the vaccination
drive and widening its
ambit should inform the
strategy to contain the
spread of the contagion.
M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
■ It is disquieting that the
Prime Minister of the largest
democracy is involved in the
micro-management of
activities such as the supply
of oxygen, medicines and so
forth. In the first place why
does the Chief Minister of a
State have to reach out to the
Prime Minister for oxygen
cylinders? Is the country
being run on the whims and
fancies of a few? There ought
to be a robust and
transparent mechanism in
place with minimal human
intervention for the supply of
requisite medical supplies to
needy States. Governments
ought to rise above petty
politics for the sake of
humanity and the Centre
should not slam States at the
drop of a hat. In this game of
one-upmanship it is India’s
own citizens who are
suffering.
Deepak Singhal,
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
ECI’s role
The Election Commission of
India (ECI), of late, tends to
assign itself with the task of
ensuring the overall
administration of States
going to the polls, which for
sure is not enshrined in the
Constitution. Article 324(1)
empowers the Commission
for the ‘superintendence,
direction and control of the
preparation of the electoral
rolls for, and the conduct of,
all elections to Parliament
and to the Legislature of
every State and of elections
to the offices of President
and Vice President held
under this Constitution shall
be vested in a Commission
(referred to in this
Constitution as the Election
Commission)’. The word to
note here is ‘conduct’. The
role of the ECI is more of a
facilitator and not an
‘administrator’. It is,
therefore, the responsibility
of the ECI to confirm that its
actions on the model code of
conduct do not go beyond
the purpose to encompass
the whole administrative
machinery in the guise of
ensuring a free and fair
election. In fact it would be
more appropriate if the ECI
urges the government to
initiate action to include
‘voting right’ in the
Constitution either as a
fundamental right (Part III)
or as a fundamental duty in
Part IVA. Constitutional
authorities may take steps to
strengthen democratic
practices rather than to
usurp more powers to
showcase their supremacy
over others (Editorial page,
“The ECI cannot be a super
government”, April 19).
Baskaran Krishnamurthy,
Chennai
■ No one in the country
wants the Election
Commission of India to be a
super government. But what
every voter expects the ECI
to do today is to exercise its
available powers judiciously
and fairly among the political
parties of India. A few
disturbing happenings in the
country in the phase of the
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Assembly elections have
given voters the feeling that
such occurrences would
never have happened had
T.N. Seshan been the Chief
Election Commissioner.
Allowing any one not
connected with the security
of the polling booth place
access to where the EVMs are
kept is objectionable as per
law. The ECI ought to have
dealt with such cases
amounting to a breach of
three-tier security with an
iron hand. One hopes that
the ECI continues to be free
and fair.
J. Eden Alexander,
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu