MyVoice: Views of our readers 30th November 2025

Winter session will be full of heat in Parliament

TheWinter Session of Parliament is set to open on December 1, beginning a three-week stretch expected to be dominated by debates on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and many other issues which will be raised by members of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It appears the fate of the Session will not be different from the previous ones which means bills will be passed without discussion which is totally against the spirit of democracy . Once seen as a platform for high-minded debate and policy formulation, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are increasingly seen more as satire amid a ring of chaos. Or it is more visible as proceedings are directly telecast live. On television screens, many at times it is seen that lawmakers, elected to legislate, seem more intent on showcasing political brinkmanship than addressing the nation’s pressing concerns.

The government has planned to dedicate the first full day of the session to the national song, marking 150 years of its composition. This discussion comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks that key stanzas of “Vande Mataram” were omitted in 1937, an act he believes contributed to social divisions that ultimately led to the partition.

Both the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chair are expected to urge all political parties to participate, underlining that “Vande Mataram” remains a shared symbol of national identity—already sung at the conclusion of every Parliamentary sitting.

Alongside this symbolic discussion, the government is preparing to introduce around ten major bills, ranging from reforms in nuclear energy and higher education to changes in corporate and market regulation

Even before the session begins, confrontations between the government and opposition have taken shape, particularly over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision drive in nine states and several Union Territories. The Trinamool Congress has been one of the most vocal critics of the exercise. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly argued that the revision is an attempt to manipulate voter lists, a process she dramatically referred to as “votebandi.

With political tensions rising ahead of the session, the opposition is also preparing to raise concerns about unemployment, deteriorating air quality in the Delhi-NCR region, and what it sees as the government’s reluctance to acknowledge economic distress. These issues are expected to fuel heated exchanges on the floor of both Houses.

The opposition, however, sees the session as an opportunity to challenge the government on procedural, constitutional, and governance fronts. With both sides sharpening their positions, the Winter Session appears all but certain to unfold amid intense debate, heightened scrutiny, and a renewed contest over the narrative of democracy and national identity.

Yash Pal Ralhan,Jalandhar

Indian economy touches a new high

India’s8.2% GDP growth in the July–September quarter has surpassed all expectations, reaffirming its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. This surge is rooted in a strong revival of manufacturing, which expanded by about 9.2%, supported by improved utilities and defence activity. Three key forces powered this momentum.

First, rural demand rebounded sharply, reflected in rising tractor and two-wheeler sales, signalling healthier farm incomes and broader consumption. Second, industrial output remained robust, driven by rapid manufacturing and improved supply-side efficiencies following GST rate rationalisation. Third, government spending rose by nearly 31% in the second quarter, accelerating infrastructure creation and stimulating associated sectors.

To sustain this trajectory, India must keep public investment steady, continue nurturing rural demand through agriculture and welfare support, and maintain policy stability that encourages private manufacturing and long-term industrial growth.

RS Narula ,Patiala

II

It is astonishing to hear that Indian economy grew at 8.2% in July- September 2025, inspite of stiff tariffs imposed by the U. S. Administration. Donald Trump, President of USA furiously declared that India's Economy is totally a ' dead economy ' and the Leader of the Opposition in India, Rahul Gandhi also screamed that India's economy is dead and squarely blamed NDA Govt led by Narendra Modi for it.

Meanwhile, the Lowy Institute has categorized India as a Major power in the Asia Power Index-2025 rising it to 3rd place globally behind the USA and China, particularly after India's Military action against Pakistan during Operation- Sindoor.

The impressive growth in India's GDP is the direct result of the hardwork and enterprise exibited by the people of India. India's growth is truly reflected, when the Sensex breached 85000 points, a couple of days back.

R J Janardhana Rao,Hyderabad

Congress should realise baseless attacks alone don’t win votes

Apropos, "Its time for Congress to introspect, rebuild itself from ground up", (THI, Nov 29). The Congress party must first abandon the negative politics that repeatedly harms the nation’s image and its own credibility. Rahul Gandhi, who is practically the party’s final authority, spreads negativity about India even on foreign soil. His routine attacks on the country and his personal assaults on Prime Minister Narendra Modi have backfired for years.

The party fails to grasp a basic political truth: every personal attack on Modi only weakens the Congress further, as seen in its series of humiliating electoral defeats. Any sensible party would have realised this by now, especially after slogans like “suit-boot ki sarkar,” “chowkidar chor,” and many others yielded nothing but rejection.

Rahul Gandhi even echoed Donald Trump’s jibe that India had a “dead economy,” a claim completely dismantled by India’s spectacular 8.2% GDP growth—currently the world’s strongest. The Congress’s “Narendra Surrender” remark is equally shameful, especially when the Modi government refused Trump’s coercive trade deal that would have hurt Indian farmers and the dairy sector.

The Congress must understand that attacks alone don’t win votes. It needs to build credibility, present constructive ideas, and adopt genuinely pro-India policies if it wishes to regain relevance.

N Sadhasiva Reddy,Bengaluru

II

TheCongress party, dominated by the family, is yet to learn its lessons despite repeated and shameful political defeats and not-so-good future that the party cadres predict for future. The irresponsible narratives by the Congress – like ‘democracy is danger’ 'vote chori' and ‘India’s economy is dead’ are unable to cut ice among the electorate, with a single-minded outlook to come to power, whatever it takes in achieving it.

But, the million dollar question is whether the Congress is able to deliver meaningfully in the states, it is in power. The Karnataka’s rotational chief ministership issue between the incumbent Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar is yet to be resolved, even as the high command is in two views as Sonia Gandhi prefers DKS for the CM’s post, while Rahul Gandhi is adamant about Siddaramaiah continuing in the post for the rest of the term.

Lone voices are emerging from senior Congress leaders like Veerappa Moily who tried to put sanity into the minds of the contenders to care for peoples’ welfare and development, rather than fighting for CM seat. His unmissable advice was to prepare for the next election due in 2028-29.

The development of the state took a severe beating on account of unprecedented freebies, the state having become bankrupt - the metro work is pending - roads are in a pathetic condition as people dieing regularly in mishaps; and ministers have no time for the urgent concerns of the people. The LoP - BJP is attempting to bring a no confidence motion in the next Assembly session, expecting turncoats to change camps.

The Congress to remain stuck in the present political frame of mind will prove a cakewalk for BJP in the upcoming elections in several states; even as the Congress had complained of the role of the CIA and Mussed for the party's defeat in 2014.

It is surprising that UPA was unable to know that Congress had been routed in 2014 on account of gross mismanagement, absolute inefficiency and rampant corruption. Nothing much has been done by the Congress since to correct the situation. The party is ending up as a pariah in the eyes of the INDI Alliance, more of a liability than of use having lost the bargaining power for seats to contest – miserably failing to retain seats won.

K R Parvathy,Mysuru

III

Apropos of ‘it’s time for Cong to introspect, rebuild itself from ground up’ (Hans India; November 29, 2025). Since the electoral drubbing in 2014, the ‘grand old party’ hasn’t been able regain old glory. Standing at the crossroads of political irrelevance, the possibility of the Congress losing the ‘national party’ status is real. The dismal situation is multi-factorial. Dearth of selfless political friends has jeopardized the cohesion within the opposition INDI Alliance it heads. The current so-called ‘high command’ are reluctant politicians. Tired and tried politicians refuse to make way to young blood in the states, resulting in capable leaders like Jyothiraditya Scindia desert the party. ‘Leaders’ like Rahul Gandhi continue to trumpet on unsubstantiated charges of ‘EVM misuse’ and ‘vote chori’. Summing up, the Congress merits a strong and imaginative leadership in Delhi and states, capable of instilling confidence among grassroots workers and voters.

Dr. George Jacob, Kochi

Delayed data updates costing India

TheIMF’s decision to assign India a ‘C’ grade for its national accounts should trigger serious introspection. For a country that prides itself on a fairly sophisticated statistical ecosystem, such a low rating signals gaps that directly hinder economic surveillance. National accounts form the backbone of policymaking covering GDP, sectoral performance, investment flows, consumption trends, and export dynamics. When these indicators are based on outdated or incomplete data, the quality of policy decisions inevitably suffers. Being bracketed with China on data reliability is not where India aims to be.

The IMF’s long-standing concern is well known: India’s dependence on a 2011-12 base year has outlived its utility. This is not just a GDP issue. The CPI and IIP still anchor themselves to the same outdated period, distorting inflation measurement and compromising monetary policy calibration. As a result, the RBI often works with indicators that fail to capture today’s economic reality especially in an era of volatile food prices and shifting consumption patterns.

The ongoing effort to revamp the base years and methodologies across national accounts, CPI, and IIP with updated series expected in 2026 is overdue but encouraging. Yet the deeper structural challenge remains India’s difficulty in adequately measuring the informal sector. This is a segment that eludes traditional enumeration but shapes livelihoods for the majority of the workforce. More precise estimation would not only reshape the understanding of India’s true growth trajectory but also illuminate how ordinary households are faring. To its credit, India has modernised parts of its statistical system the shift to the MCA-21 corporate database in 2011-12 was a major step forward, and the forthcoming integration of GST data will further strengthen GDP measurement. But the IMF’s grading serves as a reminder: delayed data updates and methodological inertia carry real costs. For an economy aspiring to global leadership, credible, timely, and modernized statistics are not optional, they are foundational.

Amarjeet Kumar,Hazaribagh

EC should watch out for unanimous elections in local bodies

Eachtime local body polls are held, the drama of unanimous election of sarpanch takes centre stage in villages, while the political leaders of the ruling party get busy in negotiating "unanimity"!

In fact there is nothing unanimous, all that is for general public consumption, but what actually transpires is "auction", wherein the highest bidder gets the nod of the MLA and MP concerned who swallow a large cut of the auctioned amount! The SEC offering sops to GPs for electing sarpanches unanimously also does not seem to have worked miracles in such villages, barring a minuscule of GPs. This is India and our politics is skewed at all levels, that is top to bottom.

Really it is turning out to be a political farce these days. As per records, during 2019 local body polls in TG, as many as 1,935 gram Panchayats were elected unanimously. It is anybody's guess that a good majority of these gram panchayats still remain under developed because of corruption and nepotism, even as the unanimously elected sarpanch and his cronies start swindling funds to recover their "initial" investment.

It is ridiculous if the SEC claims to be maintaining a close watch on the 'unanimous' GPs. There is nothing like close watch or catching someone red-handed for adopting dubious means to get elected unanimously. Everything works out as per the game plan of the MLA and MP concerned, nothing more than that.

Govardhana Myneedu,Vijayawada

Future belongs to merit

Providing bed rolls to non-AC passengers laudable

TheChennai division of the Southern Railway's decision to supply bed rolls on payment to non-AC sleeper class travellers on a trial basis in at least 10 express trains from January 1, 2026, is welcome. The Railways have announced that passengers will need to pay Rs.30 for a pillow with cover, and Rs.20 for bed sheets. This initiative will offer comfort to the non-AC sleeper class passengers who hitherto lacked this amenity. It will be especially useful during the winter season. Moreover, this facility is not compulsory, as in AC coaches, where the fee for bed sheets, pillow, and blankets is included in the fare.

S Sankaranarayanan,Chennai

India to host 2030 CWG

Indiais once again going to become the cynosure for the whole world as it is going to host the upcoming 2030 Commonwealth Games edition in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This will be the second time, India will be hosting the Commonwealth Games in India, after 2010 based New Delhi hosting. The gap of 20 years is finally filled, with the awarding of recent hosting.

The official award of Commonwealth Games to India, will assist India to favorably clinch the bid for 2036 Olympics Games. It is peculiar to highlight the very fact that in 2030, Commonwealth Games is going to complete its century (100th years) of completion since its inception of the event in Hamilton in Canada. The Ahmedabad commonwealth games 2030 edition is an opportunity for India to not only welcome the sports fraternity and athletic community, but also laid the stellar foundation for sport spirit celebration back in India. We hope that India will effectively utilise this very opportunity and welcome the sporting champions with full heart, curated history and cherish the sportsmanship in true sense.

Kirti Wadhawan, Kanpur

JusticeSurya Kant deserves appreciation for his resolve to put in extra time and efforts to clear pendency in the apex court to help poor litigants. This policy statement of him surely inspires judiciary from lowest court to Supreme Court. The judges who pass judgements on the legality of decision makers of governments , Institutions etc., need to introspect to identify the reasons for huge pendency in our courts. Prolonged litigation has literally deprived justice to the poorer sections of society . In turn , seeking justice through our courts became a luxury affordable only for rich . The leadership of the CJI should result in clearance of huge pendency in various courts across the country.

Having laws which are unenforced by corrupt officials coupled with abnormal delays in the courts only nurtures lawlessness . Let us hope our CJI would be able to lead our judiciary to discharge its responsibilities at a faster pace.

M V Nagavender Rao,Hyderabad

Topnames of Bollywood that disappeared from Planet Earth in 2025 are: Dharmendra (on 24 Nov) Kamini Kaushal (on 14 Nov Childrens Day), Sulakshana Pandit (on 06 Nov), Satish Shah (25 Oct), Asrani (on 20 Oct) and Manoj Kumar (4 April). This is an immense loss to the film industry. However they will be evergreen in the hearts of Indians through their works of excellence.

PVP Madhu Nivriti,Secunderabad

Theeditorial on IT hiring cautiously returning masks a stark reality. What was often termed “AI-induced layoffs” was, in fact, regular downsizing dressed as technological disruption.

Many skilled IT professionals now find themselves driving cabs or seeking work outside their expertise—a wake-up call that the era of the mediocre Indian software professional is ending.

The shake-up is most pronounced in middle management, which is taking a body blow as repetitive, routine roles vanish under automation and restructuring. While hiring is picking up, it is increasingly selective, favouring high-value skills in AI, cloud, and specialized technology domains. Those unable or unwilling to upskill risk permanent marginalization.

As Yuval Noah Harari often emphasizes, history rewards those who can adapt to rapid technological shifts. This is not merely a technological adjustment; it signals a profound transformation in India’s IT workforce. Companies, professionals, and educational institutions must acknowledge that complacency is no longer an option. The future belongs to merit, adaptability, and continual learning.

Harsh Pawaria,Rohtak, Haryana