Comitted to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW Vol. 4 Num 69 Mon. August 04, 2003       Letters to Editor Responsibilities and ministers A citizen, On e-mail In parliamentary democracies ministers are responsible to the parliament and to the nation for all the deeds of their ministry -- good or bad. When a train accident happens or a plane is crashed the minister resigns taking full responsibilities. The prime minister either accepts or rejects the resignation. These traditions are almost synonymous to parliamentary courtesies. Examples are plenty in almost all the countries where parliamentary form exists. Even in presidential form when the administrations fails keep up with the popular aspirations, cases of resignation taking responsibilities are not rare. But in our country perhaps we are making a tradition of irresponsibility. Home Ministers do not take responsibility of failure of maintaining law and order, Shipping Minister fails to respond in worst maritime disaster, Food Minister shakes of responsibilities of famine and so on. Failures of the government are ignored as inevitable. Parliament sans opposition has become the norm of the day. This is really not the true functioning of democracy in any meaning of the term.