MyVoice: Views of our readers 25th July 2022

Dr Tamilisai's inspiring act

That Governor Dr Tamilisai transformed herself into a doctor role to save the life of a passenger in flight is wonderful and inspiring news. Her coming to the rescue of a sick person at such an unearthly hour and providing new lease of life to the co-passenger is a worth highlighting news which The Hans India rightly covered on the front page with bold caption.

Rama Krishna M, Kakinada

New global health emergency

With cases being reported from across the world, monkeypox has caught everyone's attention. The present outbreak has a toll of over 1000 confirmed cases spread across 70 countries. U.K., Spain, and Portugal are leading the pack with the highest number of confirmed cases but no deaths reported till date. While sporadic outbreaks have occurred in Africa and outside in regions that had been recorded, in India it all started from Kerala. In short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little. Its spread has made WHO to declare it as a global emergency.

CK Subramaniam, Mumbai

Incentivise growing trees

Growing urbanisation poses a serious threat to the environment since it is causing green spaces to disappear. In almost all states, there is a decrease in the density of trees. According to Forest Survey of India, every state tree cover has decreased by minimum of 40 sq km in the past ten years. To improve tree cover each and every state has to come up with attractive offers to people. Every state in the nation should offer 5 to 6 units of free electricity in exchange for planting and maintaining a tree on a specific campus, similar to what the state of Jharkhand state government is doing now.

Vijaykumar H K, Raichur

Media crossing 'Lakshman Rekha'

It is an open secret that our corrupt politicians and their political parties have acquired hundreds of TV channels and newspapers to propagate their private agendas and to further their political ambitions. As long as this cancerous practice by our leaders perpetuates, the electronic media remains a big threat to our democracy and I am afraid that murkier days are in store for us in the days to come. The anguish and concern of our CJI for the future of our democracy is sincere and understandable. An American President famously said that he preferred a Press without a Government to a Government without a Press. That is the sacrosanct role of the media in a governing system. So it is time we made some stringent laws to discourage our media from habitually crossing the 'Lakhman Rekha'.

M Somasekhar Prasad, Hyderabad

II

The contention addressed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana that agenda-driven debates and kangaroo courts being run by the media are detrimental to the health of the democracy and that justice delivery is being affected as a result, is something quite difficult to digest by the common citizen in the country. It is irrational to blame the electronic media for conducting an elaborate discussion and debate by different political parties on vital and important social and political issues faced by the country so that the general public will be able to know the diverse views by these entities to juxtapose with their own in choosing what is best. Biased views are not being discussed in the debate that are sub-judice; and the participants tend to avoid comments on the issue citing this reason. The views by CJI that such debates are overstepping by breaching the social and democratic order is dismaying.

S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

III

CJI N V Ramana deserves applause for his remarks against 'kangaroo courts' being run by media. Any debates on TV, in particular, regarding criminal cases tantamount to direct interference in administration of justice. It is the duty of only a court of law to deal with all matters sub judice and to decide if any particular thing or happening can be accepted as a conclusive piece of evidence or not. What role or right or eligibility or competence do the debaters, most of whom are unaware of and in no way related to laws of the land, have to sit before cameras and speak into microphones on sensitive issues? And that too, in such a way as to misguide crores of viewers. Even an Apex Court Bench led by Justice U U Lalit has in a judgement ruled against TV channels telecasting such debates and passing strictures against them, it is pitiful that its observations and directives are being pooh-poohed.

E Sethuramalingam, Kollam