Problems of democracy

Sir, - Your Editorial ``The problem of Shahabuddin'' (March 22): Mohammed Shahabuddin is as much an elected leader of the people as say Ms. Sonia Gandhi. If he were not approved by the people, he could not have become their representative. That such approval might be the result of intimidation and coercion does not make it any less constitutional.

If Ms. Gandhi's getting elected from backward Bellary or Amethi can be hailed as the people's mandate for her Prime Ministership of the country, the electoral verdict in Mr. Shahabuddin's favour is no less a mandate. Your describing the MP as a `problem' is therefore unfair and uncharitable towards his electorate, who are as much citizens of this country as you and I are.

As for the incident in question, the likelihood of police brutality sparking it off cannot be ruled out. However intensely one may feel against the hoodlums of Bihar politics, it has to be admitted that the Bihar police consist of worse specimens of humanity.

Till such time as all voters can afford equal integrity and courage of conviction, the Shahabuddins and the Papu Yadavs will continue to get elected in our system of universal franchise.

That differentiation of individual vote-values on the basis of voter-quality is the only answer to the problem, so long as social, financial and ideally intellectual parity of the electorate cannot be ensured, is evident. But such assertion might be untenable in a popular democracy.

R. Sajan,

Alwaye, Kerala

Sir, - Your Editorial is not correctly titled. Mr. Shahabuddin does not have any problem as long as his patron, Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav, wields power in Bihar.

Your concluding words, ``the imperative for the Rabri Devi dispensation is to ensure that Mr. Shahabuddin is apprehended without further delay'' reminds me of the old adage, ``it is not possible to wake up people who pretend to be asleep.''

It is a travesty of democracy in India that people like Shahabuddin and Phoolan Devi get elected to Parliament and then claim that ``the people's court'' has given them a clean chit.

The Representation of the People Act should be suitably amended to see that the Shahabuddins and the Phoolan Devis do not get elected to legislatures.

C. V. K. Moorthy,

Sandur, Bellary, A.P.

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