PLUG THE HOLES IN MCI FIRST

The Cabinet approval of National Medical Commission Bill has generated an intense debate. As a health and human rights activist, I agree that Medical Council of India (MCI) itself is to blame for its downfall. But I am no fan of National Medical Commission, which proposes to regulate fees for up to 40% of seats in private medical colleges. It further decrees that medical institutions don’t need to take the regulator’s permission to add more seats or start a post-graduate course. I strongly feel that all these factors will give bureaucrats and private medical colleges a free hand to put additional burden on medical students. The policymakers should have tried to plug the loopholes in the functioning of MCI instead of setting up a new entity. How can you make medical profession ethical when a doctor is a product of unethical education?

Dr Vitull K Gupta, Bathinda prices, increasing crime rate, are neither the campaign issues nor do they decide the outcome. Instead, people were pitched against one another on the basis of caste, religion or region. Such is the loss of trust in the electoral system that people have even started pointing fingers at the electronic voting machines (EVMS).

Hira Sharma Secondly, all political parties must ask themselves if it is right to highlight caste or religionbased issues while ignoring development. Thirdly, the media must decide whether they would like to be a money-minting machine or the fourth pillar of democracy that can save the country. Lastly, we as a society must decide about the kind of leaders we want. We must decide to discard all parties or individuals dividing our country and setting a bad example for the future generation.

Kamal Arora, Panchkula number of adjournments is restricted to three. The case against the five Haryana MLAS under anti-defection law was decided by the Punjab and Haryana high court when the previous assembly had only 15 days left to complete its term, rendering the judgment meaningless. Vijay Mallya has been granted 400 adjournments in three years, thereby giving him sufficient time to siphon the loan amount.

KC Rana, Chandigarh the US, Thames in London and Rhine in Europe were all dead or dying due to sewerage and industrial effluent being dumped into them. Same is the case with the Ganges. Our Prime Minister, Union and state ministers and bureaucrats, who frequently visit these countries, should learn from them and revive this holy river.

Naresh Johar, Amritsar