Mike Fennell’s flip-flops can damage India’s reputation

The editorial Will we? Won’t we? (The Pundit, December 22) rightly points out that improper planning, petty arguments, delays in taking decisions and the officials’ habit of throwing mud at each other have jeopardised the preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

Mike Fennell’s flip-flops can damage India’s reputation
The editorial Will we? Won’t we? (The Pundit, December 22) rightly points out that improper planning, petty arguments, delays in taking decisions and the officials’ habit of throwing mud at each other have jeopardised the preparations for the Commonwealth Games. One day, President of the Games Federation Mike Fennell expresses his displeasure over the slow pace of preparations. Within 24 hours he backtracks and tells the media that things are under control. Such flip-flops only add to the confusion. Fennell should realise that India’s reputation is at stake and even a small error in organising the event will invite severe criticism.
Kiran Sabharwal, via email

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Western disturbances
The UN summit in Copenhagen failed to serve its purpose. The developed countries managed to create an illusion that the developing nations are equally responsible for accentuating the problem of climate change to its present level (The BASIC principle, Our Take, December 22). The West is playing the blame game to cover up its inability to resolve the climate change problem. While it is the responsibility of every country to contribute towards resolving the crisis, the developed nations have no right to pass their responsibilities on to the developing countries.
K. Venkataraman, Delhi

II
The agreement that US President Barack Obama signed with the BASIC countries in Copenhagen was only a face-saver. The developed nations’ reluctance to act towards bringing down global temperatures is harming everyone. They are forgetting that there’s hardly any time left to play the blame game. Neither group can fight the problem alone. Bringing about a meaningful change with respect to climate change calls for a responsible leadership, which Obama seems unable to deliver.
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow

Delhi bus commuters are unsafe
With reference to the report Low-floor plot gets smokier (December 22), the Delhi government justified the recent hike in bus fares in the name of providing world-class facilities like low-floor buses. But considering the spurt in the number of accidents in these buses, one wonders if the Sheila Dikshit government is serious about commuter safety. Rather than finding the root cause of the problem and correcting it, both the government and the bus manufacturers are busy blaming each other.
Jasmin Jose, Delhi

Justice fails to deliver justice
Madhu Trehan, as she states in Saw this, Liberhan? (December 21), had authentic evidence about the demolition of Babri masjid, which she shared with Justice M.S. Liberhan. Even then it took 17 years for Justice Liberhan to present his report. This speaks a lot about his inefficiency and the sad state of our judicial system, which allows people like him to exploit its weaknesses. Trehan is right in asserting that the politicians who gave the committee over 25 extensions over the past 17 years deserve severe punishment.
P.L. Nawalkha, Jaipur

Mandatory voting is impractical
The Narendra Modi government’s proposal to pass the mandatory voting bill might seem attractive but it is impractical, and difficult to enforce (Gujarat nod to mandatory voting bill, December 20). Every adult in our democracy has a right to cast his/her vote. But s/he cannot be forced to do it. Today’s voter is disenchanted with politicians, who are corrupt and some even have criminal records. The government cannot punish an individual who doesn’t want to vote or is unable to do so for some reason.
Suriender Shah, Delhi