MyVoice: Views of our readers 10th August 2022

Sanctity of parliament at stake

Parliament session has been adjourned sine die. It has been washed away due to the pandemonium in both houses of parliament. The last season also met the same fate due to ruckus in parliament and it appears it will be the case till March 2024 when the general parliament elections will be declared. The Modi government is in no mood to accommodate the views of Opposition. When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called the joint parliament Session to discuss the Hindu Code Bill and when one of members asked Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru why he was calling a joint session when there was no opposition to the bill. He replied that in parliament democracy public opinion/will was must otherwise the democracy would have no meanings. Hope the government and the Opposition members recall his message and maintain the sanctity of the parliament.

Yash Pal Ralhan, Jalandhar

Opposition unity not anytime soon

The growing disunity of the Opposition in the country is becoming evident in the run-up to the next general elections, forming a third front to give a tough fight to the NDA at the Centre. The Presidential and the Vice-Presidential elections have more than proved how gossamer thin is the opposition unity, in which no unanimity was evident. That the Vice President election polled more votes is indicative of the fact that the writ of the BJP-led NDA is progressing as per the proposed agenda. The two political parties, TMC and TRS that took lead and initiative to forge opposition unity, by needlessly antagonising the Centre, are nowhere in the political picture; and the TMC is being looked upon by others as a spoiler. The third front, however, has a duty to tell the electorate on its plans to improve things that will be better than the present regime's.

K R Parvathy, Mysuru

Shah puts spin on Oppn protests

The Union Home Minister and the second in command to the PM, Amit Shah, cast new light on why he is often hailed as the Chanakya of contemporary Indian politics. Characteristically, he spinned the Congress party's nationwide protest against price rise, GST on daily essentials and unemployment as a protest against the construction of the Ram temple and presented it as part of the GOP's 'appeasement politics.' The Congress denied the allegation and termed it as 'bogus' 'malicious twist' and 'buffoonery,' but Shah insisted that it was the case. Clearly, the wily politician and past master at pulling the wool over people's eyes that he is, Shah linked the 'black shirt' protest to the second anniversary of the inauguration of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the hope that it would cause some political mischief to the Congress and divert people's attention from the grim economic situation (of the government's making) which the principal Opposition party tried to highlight through its August 5 protests.

G David Milton, Maruthancode (TN)

RBI battles to rein in inflation

By increasing the repo rate again, the Reserve Bank of India signalled that at present controlling unbridled inflation is its top priority. It has raised the repo rate twice earlier in this financial year, citing inflation. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das clearly said that in the current situation of the economy, a soft stance should not be expected from the central bank. With the increase so far, the interest rate of banks is going to reach 8 per cent. This will affect the people who have taken loans as well as those who are in the line of borrowers. Despite raising the repo rate by 1.4% in the last two and a half months, inflation remains at a worrying level. Reducing demand in the market by raising the repo rate cannot be a long-term solution. A reasonable balance between demand and supply is essential for the health of the market.

Divyansha Sharma, Ujjain

Crack down on quacks

Ayurveda and yoga have their own niche in health maintenance and Baba Ramdev is entitled to make claims of their efficacy. But surely nobody can expect it to cure anything and everything. His claims that 80% of the people use traditional medicines is highly exaggerated. Many such claims of Ayurveda and yoga curing cancer and homosexuality are doing more harm than good to the cause of traditional medicines like Ayurveda. Some concoctions in Ayurveda are said to contain toxic heavy metals which will have adverse effects on humans. Ayurveda and yoga must be able to stand on their own strengths without being propped up by political power.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai