Letters to The Editor — December 13, 2025

In Parliament

The winter session of Parliament, so far, witnessed intense debate on the national song, Vande Mataram, and on electoral reforms, highlighting, once again, the value of parliamentary discourse. While the heated statements from members of the Bharatiya Janata Party made it clear that the discussion on the national song was driven largely by a symbolic political agenda, the debate on electoral reform turned out to be a missed opportunity. Important concerns regarding the transparency of election funding, the integrity of the electoral process, and the independence and verification mechanisms of the Election Commission of India were raised. However, these substantive issues did not receive the thoughtful and constructive deliberation that they deserved. It is essential that all political parties understand the importance of meaningful debate in Parliament rather than reducing such discussions to blame games or political grandstanding. Only then can reforms truly serve the public interest.

M. Jeyaram,

Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

It is a matter of significant public concern that parliamentary debates in India, in terms of number and quality, have been on the decline, a trend highlighted by data on the number of sitting days, the time spent on discussions on key issues, and the increasing frequency of disruptions. Rising political polarisation and a lack of bipartisanship have considerably reduced the scope for constructive dialogue and consensus-building. To put it candidly, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, religious nationalism continues to gain strength that often diverts public attention from the core issues confronting the country. While India’s economic performance, which is the essence of a growing democratic nation, remains lacklustre, despotic tactics, on the contrary, silence dissent. Parliamentary debates are the cornerstone of a truly vibrant democracy. It is through such tools that a democracy ensures parliamentary scrutiny of the executive’s decisions.

R. Sivakumar,

Chennai

Incorrect practice

It has become an almost routine act by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to insert advertisements in newspapers cautioning the public about the wrong practice by many cooperative societies of using the word ‘bank’ along with their names. The advertisements make it clear that it is illegal to add the word ‘bank’ with their names as they are not registered or covered under the Banking Regulation Act. As such wrongful projection is not a cognisable offence, unless there is a specific complaint about this, no agency will file a case against the societies for this.

The RBI or Registrar of Cooperative Societies in States must initiate suitable steps to penalise these societies for taking the public for a ride and for accepting deposits from the general public.

Unnikrishnan Nair B.C.,

Kuthiathode, Alappuzha, Kerala