MyVoice: Views of our readers 25th February 2024

PM must give up Maun Vrat on common man’s issues

Sub: Common man’s 'Man Ki Baat’ should be Modi ji’s 3.0 agenda. Bold Talk – V RamuSarma (Feb 24). We have been listening to the “Man Ki Baat”, the monthly interaction by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the past so many years that touches upon unknown personal and social aspects being apolitical at the same time. RamuSarma suggests this must incorporate the ‘wish list’ of the people of the country, so that no aspect is missed out in the developmental journey of the nation,. The worrying factors for the people are the increasing cost of living, unemployment and hassle-free law and order that the Opposition is attempting to capitalise in the upcoming elections in the country. The irrational Opposition claim on these aspects can be efficiently blunted when these aspects are incorporated in the monthly talk, engaging the people of the country by the Prime Minister, by going to the very root of issues that continue to be stumbling blocks despite the far reaching vision.

The present NDA government is already doing excellently in almost all welfare programmes that the Opposition could not even dream of before; by way of strengthening the ongoing projects of Viksit Bharat; but the expectations of the masses keep on expanding to the which the administration must always be aware of – at the same time putting a stop to the unethical and unwarranted handouts by way freebies by the Opposition attempting to make inroads, with a view to capturing power, with no clear cut plan or agenda for the country. Peoples’ trust is paramount for the ruling regime despite the Opposition continuing their acts to capture power, without any clear road map for the nation. The ‘Modi ki guarantee’ is the profound message to the people that is tangibly evident in almost all aspects of the daily life of the common man that are inevitably linked to the very survival and sustenance for the people of the country, in leading a dignified and contented life; and for the likeminded political parties to emulate and follow suit.

K R Parvathy, Mysuru

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Kudos to the learned writer for rightly and passionately making the common man the centre of focus in the forthcoming RamaRajya 2024-29. It is a universal truth that in the last decade of NDA rule, the trillion dollar economy has not transformed the lives of "AamAdmi".

Only rich got richer. Economic inequality, income disparities, joblessness, prices of ECs, fuel and LPG have abnormally increased, which resulted in emaciation of aamadmi. Hence, it is fondly hoped that at least in the next five years, irrespective of N.D.A or I.N.D.I.A government, the common man should be the focus for reducing the gap between rich and poor.

P H HemaSagar,

Secunderabad

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2024, being an election year, all the political parties are gearing up to start their campaign soon.The NDA is confident of a huge win and "Abki Ki Baar 400 Paar" looks very certain. One huge factor that will work in PM Modi's favour is the lack of a formidable Opposition. The I.N.D.I.A alliance has fallen like a pack of cards and it neither has any clear agenda or any direction. It has failed to stop the Modi Juggernaut and Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo NyayYatra does not seem to generate any anti-incumbency wave in the Country. PM Modi is likely to ride high on "Modi Ki Guarantee" and "Vikasit Bharat" planks.

So what are the challenges before Modi 3.0? The first one is the farmers' agitation. Though it looks politically motivated the movement may not take much time to gain a PAN INDIA Momentum. While the last 10 years of the Modi government have seen India rise as a global power, it still cannot be said that the Modi government has succeeded on all fronts. Price rise of essential commodities and inflation is a huge challenge for Modi 3.0.The common man is reeling under the stress of high fuel prices and LPG prices. Will Modi 3.0 be able to check inflation and price rise and make the nation corruption-free? The non-BJP ruled States will continue to remain a huge challenge for Modi 3.0.and the BJP is not expected to win big in the Southern States of India.

There is a feeling of alienation among the minorities and they feel that Modi 3.0 will be a dictatorship. These feelings of dissonance should be negated and Modi 3.0 should create a positive atmosphere in the country, where people of all faiths feel safe and their rights are protected.

– Parimala G Tadas, Hyderabad

Celebrities tight-lipped on issues in Parliament

The Parliamentis a place where people's representativesdiscuss issues pertaining to their respective constituencies atlength. But it is strange to note that a few parliamentarians are knownto observe stoic silence during Parliament sessions which amounts totheir presence in the House as merely ornamental without having anyproductive outcome worth the name.

There are few parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha who are reticent tothe core. These include the famous film celebrity Sunny Deol, electedfrom Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab on BJP ticket, and another filmpersonality Shatrughan Sinha, elected to Lok Sabha from West Bengal on Congress ticket in a byelection held in 2022.

These film celebritiesearnedpopularity among the people owing to their talent in acting andalso dialogue delivery showcased by them in the tinsel field. Theyplayed key roles in several Hindi films. But unfortunately they seldom talked about any single issue on the floor of theHouse during the 17th Lok Sabha. Also two more MPs who deserve to be mentioned for their reticence orspeechlessness in the Lok Sabha include Ramesh Chandrappa elected fromBijapur

constituency of Karnataka and Atul Roy of BSP who are known tobe averse to participate in discussions as

well as indulging in askingvolley of questions during the time when House proceedings are onlive.

It is reported that in the 17th Lok Sabha, there are as many as9 MPs who conserved their energy by avoiding to indulge indiscussions. They have merely remained ornamental to Lok Sabha andhave faced allegations. Further, the presence of LataMangeshkar inthe past and Sachin Tendulkarin the LokSabha of late too had not been an exception as they seemedto maintain stoic silence without speaking a single word duringparliament proceedings. It is necessary that the role of MPs in Parliament must be productiveand result oriented as it is an affair which involves expenditure of amajor chunk of government exchequer.

– BhInduSekhar, Hyderabad

BJP must stop return of YSRCP to power

The achievements of the Modi government, no doubt, are praiseworthy; toughest decisions are taken and implemented with iron will. It may be free from corruption unlike the UPA government that involved in mammoth corruption.The states ruled by regional parties are involving in corruption and religions discrimination as faced by Hindus in West Bengal.

As you have rightly observed the Telangana BRS partyis alleged tohave been involved in high corruption in irrigation projects taken up by Telangana government, but the Centre was unable to control the corrupt practices of Telanganagovernment. The situation was taken advantageof by the Congress, aided by an aggressivecampaign spearheaded by Revanth Reddy.

The Andhra government led by YSRCP ChiefMinister is given a free hand to runthe government at his whims and fancies. The Centre turned blind eye to the corrupt activities of the government. All the funds sectioned by the Centre for variousactivitiesinthe state are nonchalantly diverted to the unproductive so-called welfare schemes keepingthe development of state on the back burner.The middle class section is suffering a lot,all the prices of the essential commodities are increased, power bills are enhanced with meaningless additions to the actual charges, there are no roadslaid, no new projects, noinfrastructuredevelopment and only state in Bharat remained without capital for the past 10 years.TDP and Jana Senaare deliberately dragging feet just to allowenough time for YSRCP.

The step motherlytreatmentmeted out to Andhra by Modi governmentcannot be forgottenand forgiven by Andhraites. BJP may come back to power in elections and may consolidateitsposition at Centre and it may again neglect the already ruined and under developedAndhra,if by chance the YSRCP comes to power.

- Rama KrishnaM, Kakinada

There is no stopping corrupt babus, netas

"Is it the birth place of Gandhi? Is it the society desired by Nehru? Is it the time to happen socialism and the Ram Raj?" Erudite,poetand lyricistArudra expressed his anguish and angst in an ANR starrer movie(PavitraBandham) in the early 70s.

The situation is ANR sings this song after being rejected for a job by a corrupt officer because he doesn't give a"Utharam"(A recommendation letter) or ‘Dhakshana’ (bribe) for the officer!Even after more than 50 years since the release of the movie,corruption in our societal setup has not changed even a little bit.In fact, this cancerous thing has penetrated into almost all the vital organs of our democratic system!

Just two days ago an engineer in the Telangana tribal welfare department was trapped red-handed and arrested by the ACB sleuths when she was accepting a bribe of Rs 84,000 from a private contractor.During the investigation,police found that she has amassed assets worth about Rs15 crore in disproportionate to her known source of income!

The little we talk about the corrupt practices of former HMDC Director Shiva Bala Krishna,the better.Since he has been in the same post for years,it is saidthat he has assets worth about Rs1,000 crore in the names of his relatives,friends,and even in the names of some senior IAS officers!These two cases show just the tip of an iceberg called corruption.

A famous Indian PM once infamously said that"Corruption is a global phenomenon".Yes it is omnipresent and omnipotent.It has many forms. Casteism,regionalism,nepotism,red- tapism,bribery are some of them.Sometimes it appears in new forms like gifts,donations,freebies, giveaways,appointments and political nominations.In other words, corruption can be in cash or kind.

It needs no saying that though no government department is free from corruption and corrupt practices. Many reasons are attributed for the thriving of corruption both in developed countries and poor countries.Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,they say.Strong political will and wholehearted efforts are needed to stem the rot of corruption at all places.But it is definitely a big stumbling block in the path of India becoming a Developed country.

– M Somasekhar Prasad, Hyderabad

BJP stoops very low to capture mayoral seat

It is a pity that a national party like BJP stooped so low as to indulge in the meanest tricks to capture power in the Mayoral election of Chandigarh.The BJP is fast losing credibility even among the enlightened electorate and it is a while since the party lost its import in its catchy line of "a party with a difference". It is high time the party initiates a serious soul searching campaign to clean its stables.

– Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

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The Supreme Court took the correct decision. The Returning Officer concerned now becomes the sacrificial scapegoat for acting in haste and in favour of the BJP candidate for whatever reasons.

It is definitely a slap in the face of the BJP leadership in the Union Territory for trying to circumvent democratic principles, values and ethics. Fortunately, there was CCTV evidence that came in handy and exposed the "malpractice."

Otherwise, an undeserving person would still be sitting in the Mayoral chair of Chandigarh City. Kuldeep Kumar of AAP is fortunate enough to have found justice in the form of video footage and is now the Mayor of Chandigarh. Many victims of such political manoeuvres 'fail' to get justice in our country because of lack of evidence. Technology proved a point in this entire episode. People should demand the use of technology at every level in order to minimise malpractices of any kind.

– GovardhanaMyneedu, Vijayawada

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It is very shocking to learn that even for a Mayor post, the BJP subverted the process in Chandigarh. Even date of election for it was fixed by the apex court. Finally, the election for the Mayor was held on January 30. In the election, the presiding officer defaced 8 votes so as to help the BJP. Finally, he declared the BJP candidate as Mayor of Chandigarh. Out of 36 councilors who are elected to the Municipal Corporation, 20 are from AAP-Congress alliance. So, the shocked AAP moved the apex court. The court unprecedentedly resolved the issue in a short time. The party which wants bring Ram Raj in the country must not resort to this type wrong of process.

– Pratapa Reddy Y, Tiruvuru, AP

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People, by electing the party of their choice, delegate their power to the legislature that forms the executive, whose policies and programmes are subject to judicial review. This form of democracy, it seems, is being redefined in India.

The Constitution is made with such inbuilt checks and balances to ensure that none of the three –Legislature, Executive and Judiciary over stretches and dominates over the other as it may subvert the very basic character of the constitution and functioning of democracy.

This is well demonstrated by the recent happenings related to the Mayoral election of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. But for the timely intervention of the duty conscious Apex court, the people of this country would have gone desperate losing confidence in democracy and the administrative machinery.

The probing proceedings of the Apex court could bring out the facts and declare the result as per the voting. The court has also exposed the misdeeds of the Polling Officer and directed criminal proceedings against him.

The Election Commission has no provision to screen the polling officers for their sincerity and obedience to the constitutional responsibility rather than being loyal only to their political masters. In fact, this issue should have been dealt with by it and the record should have been set right instead of leaving the issue to the Apex Court. TNShshan could show to the entire world that even with the existing provisions, free and fair poll could be ensured. Only thing is it needs integrity, moral value and firm will.

The episode of Chandigarh Mayoral election further strengthens the apprehensions about the possibility of free and fair polling in the country. The Constitution says in its very Preamble that the responsibility of protecting the Constitution and its values rests primarily on the people.

– A G Rajmohan,Anantapur

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The Parliament on February 9 cleared the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, which aims to prevent use of “unfair means” in public examinations in order to bring "greater transparency, fairness and credibility”. The Bill mentions "leakage of question paper or answer key", "directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examination" and "tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system" as punishable offences done by a person, a group of persons or institution.

This applies to school exams, college entrance tests, or competitive exams for government jobs.

This Bill has provision only those who leaked exam papers or tampered with answer sheets by colluding with government officials will face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of `1 crore.

It's reported that this not the first law against cheating and copying as some three decades back the UP government headed by late Kalyan Singh also passed a law against cheating and copying. How far it was useful or used isn't available.

The purpose of recalling the bill was in context to what happened in Chandigarh Mayarol election. This apart, the present government headed by PM Modi is blatantly indulging in defections. Is it the same party whose PM sacrificed the first NDA government in just 13 days, didn't compromise on one vote by unfair means as compared to PVNR who was running minority government but survived no confidence through ufair means. Shibu Soren case is shining example.

I feel sad why BJP under Modi and Shah encourage formation of governments using unfair means. Unfair means has now got new title 'Chanakya.' The anti-detection law seems to remain on paper with various loopholes. Why the voters in India' aren't understanding. We have to stop electing defectors whether they are top leaders or otherwise, as those who can't without power won't stand for voters if they get power and position.

In the film '12th Fail,' when the panel member taunts him that he has filed in final exam twice and finally cleared with III division, he rightly says 3rd division is much more valuable than getting 1st by cheating. It is a very valuable tip even in politics for strong democracy.

– N Nagarajan, Hyderabad