MyVoice: Views of our readers 17th Apr 2025
Paying lip service in unison
Politicians cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to Dr B R .Ambedkar on his 135th birth anniversary. It appears that there are only two occasions when all politicians, be they in parliament or state legislatures, show unity of purpose -- when lip service has to be paid to a Dalit icon or when it’s time to hike their own salaries.
Barring these two occasions, our netas lose no opportunity and leave no stone unturned to show their opponents as enemies of the people, enemies of the state and even enemies of the Constitution itself. “Your hypocrisy insults my intelligence.” - Toba Beta
Avinash Godboley, Dewas, MP
Ridiculous diversionary tactics of GOP
The Congress party’s street protests, questioning the Enforcement Directorate for naming the former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in charge sheet, is amusing and a mere tactics to divert the public attention from the alleged gross violations committed by the Gandhis and their close aides in the National Herald money laundering case.
The opposition parties, especially the Congress party always take the shelter behind the “political vendetta”, whenever the charges of graft and irregularities are alleged by the investigative agencies against its leaders.
This case is not a new one, investigation has been going on for more than a decade and the story of this newspaper goes back to 1938, when former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru founded it.
The case traces its origins to a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in 2012, which prompted a trial court to allow the Income Tax Department to investigate the financial affairs of the National Herald newspaper and the Gandhis, and later taken over by the ED. Both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are on bail in this case. Rather crying foul, the Congress should fight out the case in the court of justice and get cleared of the allegations made by the Enforcement Directorate.
N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru
HC observations and gender sensitivity
There is not much rationale in Supreme Court criticising the Allahabad High Court for its remarks against a college student who alleged rape that “she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same” – by virtue of being an educated individual the lady must have had the basic common sense after reading and seeing what is happening to others women in the society at the hands of irresponsible males – that too after getting inebriated and spending time up to 3 am, in a bar.
At the same the time, the Allahabad High Court verdict in anothr case, on an alleged assasult on a minor girl being groped and her pyjama strings being drawn “not sufficient” to hold the charges of rape or attempt to rape was atrocious.
S Lakshmi, Hyderabad
Choksi’s extradition long time away
It refers to “ A step closer to justice: Why Choksi’s arrest matters “. The arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi , wanted in the Rs 13.000 crore PNB fraud case is a significant development. However dual criminality tests and his health issues may be the biggest hurdles in his extradition to India. We should not forget that the process under Belgian law will be followed and only after their approval some ray of hope of extradition will be seen.
Meanwhile Choksi’s legal team will do their best to delay his extradition to India on his health’s grounds even if the Belgian court allows. It is another matter that Choksi has been on the move since the last 7-8 years, travelling from one country to another. So it could be a long road ahead in his extradition to India.
Bal Govind, Noida