MyVoice: Views of our readers 7th October 2022

A futile exercise by Election Commission

The EC proposal that the contesting parties should be made to come with route maps and likely impacts of their election promises beforehand to that body is seemingly an absurd idea. How such meaningless excercise is going to help to cleanse the system is anybody's guess. What can be achieved by gathering loads of proposals from parties, when even manifestos are getting redundant or irrelevant after the polls? If some party comes with its idea of crowd-funding for a major policy or idea of borrowing liberally from a foreign country, What would or could ECI do? More doubts, no answers. Instead, ECI should take affidavits from the political parties not to give loan waivers to the elite defaulters, which will be of some use.

Dr DVG Sankararao, Vizianagaram

Will name change be a game changer for TRS?

This refers to re-christening of Telangana Rashtra Samithi as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on the Vijayadashami day with a view to making the new party Pan India. But this hurried move came as a surprise for people of Telangana; and gave an impression if CM KCR forgot his commitment to Telangana, in his unbridled ambition to join the bandwagon of other national parties with a view to establishing themselves in the Hindi belt. One wonders TRS should not have opted for this move that is reminiscent of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, when he became overly ambitious to proclaim himself an eligible candidate for PM's chair, and the rest is history.

K R Parvathy, Mysuru

II

Yet another new political party emerged on the national horizon with the birth of BRS (Bharata Rashtra Samithi) as KCR's brainchild TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) has come of age at 21. The new party is yet to draft its political manifesto but it seems it is formed on a single point agenda of defeating the BJP and the other right wing parties. Going by the current political trends, it is but clear that all the other stalwarts on the main Opposition bandwagon are mulling over to consolidate varied political parties and capture the lead to fight against their common enemy of BJP at the Centre. It remains, however, a Herculean task for KCR to get over to pan-India, with just two political parties now supporting him.

Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

III

KCR would like to excel in national politics by banking on the schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu etc. But he should know every state has its own priority of schemes. Further his financial prudence is questioned especially in expensive renovation of the Yadadri temple, building new secretariat, making official residence bullet-proof, constructing the Kaleswaram lift irrigation project at an exorbitant cost etc. In fact, the regional parties have witnessed bitter experience when they contested out of their home states. TMC failed to gain in Goa and Tripura Assembly elections, AAP was also defeated in Goa and Uttarakhand but forayed into Punjab as its people already experienced the governments of the BJP, the Congress and Akalidals. Similarly, the JD(U) MLAs defected in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Indeed the so-called leaders like Mamata, Nitish Kumar, Kejriwal, Stalin etc., were conspicuously absent for KCR's BRS launching ceremony. Thus filling of opposition vacuum is not so easy without the support of the Congress.

Pratapa Reddy Yaramala, Tiruvuru, AP

IV

With the launch of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) with much fanfare on Dasara day by KCR getting added to the surfeit of parties, there is no iota of doubt that more than heralding a change may only end up dividing the votes of the opposition already fractured due to existence of incorrigible differences among leaders belonging to different parties. Notwithstanding, BRS party promises to focus on farmers, Dalits and tribals to bring a qualitative change in politics and thinking to ensure inclusive growth of India. There were mixed responses with BJP and Congress going all out to attack him that he cannot fool people of the country in the new avatar after taking the people for a ride in the last eight years with no perceptible change in mitigating the sufferings of the vast majority of the poor in the state, except announcing freebies and subsidies to safeguard its votebanks on the eve of polls. By and large, as KCR merging TRS with BRS only smacks of opportunism and arrogance with power and self been overriding considerations, time will only tell whether BRS will stay afloat to fulfil its promises or pass or into oblivion.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

Vintage vehicles on display to encourage wildlife conservation

Bengaluru: To raise awareness among the public about the value of protecting wildlife for the sake of ecological balance, Wildlife Week is observed from October 2 until October 8. The Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) has invited owners of vintage cars and motorcycles to participate in a rally and display their automobiles in Bengaluru this year to promote the idea of preserving historical objects.

At the Vidhana Soudha, the car owners displayed some of their vintage cars, some of which were open to the public on Wednesday. Willys Jeep, Mahindra Classic, Ambassador in four-wheelers, Yamaha Rajdooth, Royal Enfield Bullet, and Jawa were a few of the uncommon two- and four-wheelers that caught the interest of antique vehicle enthusiasts. Over a thousand automobile and bike owners from Bengaluru gathered at the Vidhana Sodha on Gandhi Jayanti to participate in a rally that stretched from Cubbon Park to Lal Bagh.

Lawyers have no right to park in court premises: HC

Bengaluru: The High Court ordered that Section 30 of the Advocates Act gives the right to practice law and not any right to park a vehicle in the court premises. A division bench headed by Acting CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice SS Vishwajit Shetty passed a public interest petition filed by advocate NS Vijayanth Babu challenging the Bangalore Bar Association's new parking stickers for its members.

Dismissing the application, the bench said that even though the Bengaluru Bar Association has issued a sticker for parking, it does not give the lawyer the right to park in the court premises. There is no public interest involved in the application and no information is given as to which lawyers from outside visit the courts. Therefore, the petition cannot be granted, the court said in the order.