Readers Pulse 19-Nov-22

The collapse of Morbi suspension bridge in Gujarat killed at least 135 people, many seriously injured, and many more said to be missing in the tragedy. Who is to be blamed? Arrest the main culprits and punish them as early as possible. And government officials should maintain safety measure and avoid such tragedies in the…

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Beware of Gujarat Model!

The collapse of Morbi suspension bridge in Gujarat killed at least 135 people, many seriously injured, and many more said to be missing in the tragedy. Who is to be blamed? Arrest the main culprits and punish them as early as possible. And government officials should maintain safety measure and avoid such tragedies in the future.

Chowdhry Nisar Ahmed

Noorullah pet, Ambur (T.N.)

‘God has Conveyed a Message!’

On March 31, 2016, an under-construction flyover on Vivekananda Road in Kolkata collapsed, killing 27 people, mostly construction workers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was appalled and shocked. He said in Hindi (translation here): “The bridge has fallen. This is not an act of God but an act of fraud. It is certainly an act of God to the extent that the people have come to know during the election about the kind of government you have been running. God has conveyed a message to the people that today this bridge has fallen and tomorrow she will finish off the whole state. God has sent this message to save this (state).”

A 143-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat, that had been closed for seven months for ‘repair and renovation’ was opened to the public on October 26, 2022. When it was re-opened on a day coinciding with the Diwali festival and the Gujarati New Year, it naturally attracted a large number of visitors. On October 30, the bridge collapsed. The death toll was at least 135, including 56 children.

Should we say ‘God has conveyed a message to the people’ as Modi said in 2016?

Shruti

Meerut, UP

It’s Unethical, Unconstitutional

The Bar Associations of Morbi and Rajkot have reportedly passed unanimous resolutions against representing the nine accused in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse case. This goes against the professional ethics of lawyers. For, every accused derives his right to representation from Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Article 22(1) of the Constitution says: “No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for which arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.”

Therefore, it is unethical as well as unconstitutional for lawyers to refuse to represent an accused.

Shaukat Ali

Himatnagar, Gujarat 

Kejriwal Betrayed His Scientific Grooming

According to news published in a section of the press entitled “Include photos of Ganesha, Lakshmi on currency notes: Kejriwal to Central Govt.”. He studied engineering at India’s premier institute, IIT Kharagpur before joining the coveted IRS after clearing the gruelling UPSC examination. It is surprising that such a brilliant person has failed to cultivate a scientific attitude and empirical rationale in spite of being groomed in science.

He has irrationally opined that photos of Ganesh and Lakshmi on one side of the currency note will make the country prosperous. How strange and funny, more so when it comes from a man of Kejriwal’s stature. He is seen to be as superstitious as an average Indian.

A country is made prosperous by the honest, sincere and hardworking efforts of its countless countrymen and women and by no other means. It is painful that Kejriwal has rejected the minimum scientific ethos expected of him and chosen to pander to people’s religious sentiments for the sake of politics.

The great English poet P.B. Shelley, the outstanding Indian scientist Prof. Meghnad Saha, the Nobel-laureate physicist Prof. Chandrasekhar, Stephen Hawking, Einstein et al were non-believers. Would Kejriwal deny their role in making humanity prosperous? Did they ever advocate Kejriwal’s strange idea of prosperity via currency note photos?

I really feel sad for Kejriwal. He has betrayed his scientific grooming over many years.

S. Sarkar

Berhampore

West Bengal