What is the reason of hidding comments and links in node.tpl.php?
You don't need to remove them from your node.tpl.php -- but that is always an option.

I recommend a better solution, however.

First, you can check out this resource to read more about how to deal with fields when they are being displayed on a node.

A really good solution (and one I always recommend) is using modules like Display Suite to customize the fields on your content type. You can customize the create/edit form as well as you can control which fields you want to be visible when visitors are looking at nodes.