MyVoice: Views of our readers 21st January 2022

AP govt badly needs a course correction

The government employees of Andhra Pradesh are genuinely hurt at the way their pay structure was altered after the new PRC recommendation and your editorial suggestion (20.1.22) one hopes will be taken up by CM Jagan. Any pay revision in any sector will see an increase in the pay for the employees and that was the norm even with Andhra Pradesh in the past.

Surprisingly this time the PRC implementation is causing the employees to lose the benefits. The reduction in HRA is surprising and more so the quote of lessened revenue to the government because of Covid19 spread as the reason. That Jagan government is not at all focusing on the administrative issues such as revenue collection, industrialisation but is bent on spending for political gains. Jagan, ever since he took over in June 2019 is designing the policies to retain power in 2024 at the cost of state development. Wasteful expenditure in the name of social welfare is turning out to be most unproductive. The recent scenes of Sankranti celebrations in the coastal areas reveal the richness of the people and it poorly reflects on the failure of the government to tax people in rational terms.

A friend of mine who is from Mumbai on seeing the videos of Sankranti celebrations commented that Andhra people seem super rich but the government of Andhra Pradesh is poor because the rulers are either ignorant of taxing ways or afraid of imposing taxes for political consideration. None can deny the suffering of the state of AP through unscientific bifurcation done in 2014 but that doesn't mean that there are no ways to recover. The real leadership quality lies in overcoming the plethora of problems through innovation and by taking people into confidence and both those aspects are missing in Jagan's stewardship.

All and sundry caste based corporations newly created, appointment of innumerable advisors, all done for political convenience are a drag on the resources of the state. When the priorities are made on a political basis the state is bound to suffer and people of Andhra Pradesh are now getting to know that. The absence of broad- minded leaders is the bane of this state and caste based politics is the curse of this area. Jagan should delink politics and administration. His obsession with Chandrababu Naidu and his party is eating away the time and energy of ministers, advisors and officers. A course correction is what people of Andhra are expecting and time is running short for Jagan.

Dr Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao, Vijayawada

Vaccination: Public interest or personal choice?

The Centre's statement in the Supreme Court that it does not want to implement forced vaccination without obtaining the consent of an individual has sparked off a debate over balancing between "public interest" and "personal choice". The government further said that although the Union Health Ministry urged everyone to take Covid vaccine, it never forced anyone to get "vaccinated against their wishes". Likewise, the Centre does not advise making a vaccine certificate mandatory for any purpose.

While the Centre's stand on vaccination is correct in terms of people's rights, it must be noted that many states have made vaccination more or less compulsory. Vaccination certificate is compulsory in several parts of the country where infection cases are on the rise. It must be understood that the government is forced to impose restrictions to maintain law and order and during other emergency situations such as transmission of diseases like Covid and other disasters. Such restrictions are accepted by people because they are imposed in public interest. Hence, people need to comply with vaccination rules as well. There is no denying the fact that people's freedom and rights must be preserved. On the other hand, reckless behaviour on flimsy pretext cannot be tolerated. While forcing people to get vaccinated without their consent is against personal liberty, being unvaccinated poses threat to public health. It must be understood that several countries have made vaccination compulsory.

Such an uncertain situation in the country brings into sharp focus the problems created by absence of public health law. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure public safety by making vaccination compulsory wherever necessary. Public interest and personal choice must be properly balanced. There must be exemptions wherever required. Public safety is more important than personal liberty when there is a health crisis.

Venu G S, Kollam

AIADMK needs to protect its turf

The AIADMK party in Tamil Nadu was formed in 1972 by late M G Ramachandran (MGR) a popular cinema star turned politician. The party was later led by Jayalalitha who had similar credentials. The political party has remained strong in the state and even after the death of Jayalalitha it has been able to corner good share of votes. In 2021election it lost power to DMK by a whisker mainly due to splitting of votes and it has a good chance of comeback if the vote bank does not deplete. Its traditional voters have been the supporters of MGR and Jayalalitha. But after coming to power in 2021 the DMK has taken a tactical move to woo these voters.

The DMK government not only decided to continue with Amma Canteens started by Jayalalitha and having her picture as their logo but also celebrated the birthday of late MGR on Jan 17, 2022 as a government event. A holiday was declared for that day though without specifying the reason. It is a smart move of DMK to usurp into the popularity of AIADMK brand icons and blunt the aversion of MGR and Jayalalitha fans towards it, which will be a major loss for AIADMK. In a democracy strong opposition is needed and AIADMK should wake up to the situation and take remedial steps.

M Raghuraman, Mumbai