Long election period
This refers to `An election without end’ (IE, 17/4/2014) by Jawid Laiq. I agree with him. Election Commission should have held voting for all 543 constituencies on a single day. At the most it could have been on two days with no more than three days gap between them. CECs and other ECs are consumed by megalomania and they stretch out election process. After voting is over in many constituencies filing of nomination papers begins in other constituencies. Citizens should protest at Jantar Mantar against such a long period.
Death penalty
This refers to Andhyarujina’s article about IPC 376E in Shakti Mills case (IE 21/7/2014). Death penalty for a repeat rape is a just punishment. Other countries should follow India’s example. We should not allow European countries dictate our laws. If every criminal who had committed rape and murder had been hanged after Dhananjoy Chatterjee Delhi gang rape would not have taken place. Many European countries punish people who deny holocaust. We should have a law to punish people who oppose death penalty. Death penalty should be obligatory in every case of repeat rape, murder and such crimes. Supreme Court was wrong to restrict death penalty to rarest of rare cases. It encroached on the power of Parliament. Amartya Sen is not a Nobel laureate. There is no Nobel Prize for Economics. He won Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Dear Vincent, On your first point, I guess having a staged election has many benefits from security and free- fare election, though not yet 100% achieved.
I totally agree to your letter regarding death penalty for rape cases. I agree that it is wrong to restrict death penalty to rarest of rare cases. If rape followed by murder become common as they are during these days, should the accused be spared of death penalty, because they are not rare? If the accused is hanged within one month from committing the crime, others would think twice before committing such crimes.