Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

A national necessity

Sir, — Your editorial "For liberty's sake, POTA must go" ( Sept. 29 ) reminds me of the Latin maxim, abusus non tollit usum. Abuse is not a valid argument against proper use. Rajiv Gandhi's murder case would not have ended in conviction but for TADA. There are many instances where POTA can be used effectively.

V.K. Sathyavan Nair,

Kottayam, Kerala

* * *

Sir, — POTA is eminently a national necessity. The so-called misuse or abuse of the law can never be an argument for its repeal because any law anywhere in the world is likely to be misused or abused by someone.

M.N. Sundararaman,

Tiruchi, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — The report "POTA being misused in Godhra case" ( Oct. 2 ) should serve as a shocking eye-opener to the advocates of the draconian law. The Act has been grossly misused.

Syed Jeelan,

Anantapur, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — It is obvious that POTA is being misused in several States. Our Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, promised on the floor of Parliament that the Act would not be misused. But now, he says it is the prerogative of the States to use POTA. It is indeed a draconian Act and must go.

P.S. Premchand,

Udumalpet, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — Whether POTA must go or not is for the courts to decide and not for the media or parties like the DMK and the MDMK which take different stands at different times. If the parties are really serious about their request of withdrawing POTA, they should ask their Central Ministers to resign and start an agitation.

Ramasubramani,

Chennai

* * *

Sir, — Acts such as POTA, TADA and MISA are blessings for those who are not in power. Being charged under them provides a guarantee for an MLA or MP ticket in the next general elections. Like university degrees, they are qualifications for a successful political career.

R. Janakiraman,

Cheyyar, T.N.

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