MyVoice: Views of our readers 1st February 2023

Adani under a cloud

The accusations levelled by Hindenburg have put Adani's business empire under a shadow. They are of a very serious nature and cannot be swept under the carpet or obfuscated by invoking nationalism. Stock market manipulation, accounting fraud and tax evasion involving humongous sums of money are no ordinary economic offences for the government to look the other way. It cannot be assumed that the findings by a "foreign entity" - Hindenburg is a New York-based short seller - ipso facto make them false.

Perhaps taking a cue from the party it supports - the BJP -, the Adani Group equates itself with the country and describes the Hindenburg Research report as a "calculated attack on India". It must be called out for that. It is a fallacy to say that the corporate behemoth's investments in ports, roads, rail, airports, cement and power make it synonymous with India.

The 'friendship' between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani is widely known. Adani's proximity to Narendra Modi is often believed to facilitate acquisition of more wealth by the businessman from Gujarat. The phenomenal growth of Adani has been coincident with the phenomenal growth of the BJP.Obviously any proof of wrongdoing by Adani will affect the way people perceive Narendra Modi. That the company should get immunity because of its investment in the country's infrastructural development and its close ties with the Prime Minister and the ruling party is a flawed and puerile argument.

Looking at the big picture, the plot seems to be unravelling. The means adopted by Adani to grow wealthier and wealthier could even blow up on the Modi government's face, given the connections between them. Politically, the issue has become a slam dunk for the Opposition. People have a right to know if shady means were indeed used by the Adani Group for the accumulation of wealth. In this context, one is also inclined to ask if the accumulation of so much wealth by one individual when many of his compatriots live in dehumanizing penury isn't immoral. In a decent society economic inequalities shouldn't be as staggeringly wide as found in India.

G David Milton, Tamil Nadu

Honours, rewards should mean nothing to monks

The monks are those who renounce everything and follow the spiritual path. Honours and rewards should mean nothing to them. However, the present monks are different and they are n8t above the worldly things. This refers to the conferring of Padma award on chinna Jiar swamy. Though he claims that it came on its own, it doesn't happen that way. There is a process involved and someone has to apply for the award giving the bio data and list of accomplishments. There is nothing wrong in accepting the award, but it doesn't in any way enhance his stature as a saint or spiritual guru. I am not speaking about others like Ravi Shankar and Vasudev who received the awards earlier as they are in a different zone of Godmen and are not Monks. The government or the monks should not set bad precedents. Former should not lure them and the latter should not be lured.

Vinay Bhushan Bhagwaty, Hyderabad

Budget 2023 must focus on overall economy, not elections

India's economy has consistently been regarded as one of the most resilient economies when compared to other nations; this is mostly because the Indian government has implemented effective economic policies. Due to its robust MSME sector, which is less vulnerable to global trade flows than other economies, India is somewhat insulated from global spillovers. Prudent regulatory measures and policy reforms have played a crucial role in developing resilience in the economy. From the Union budget 2023, we expect the government to announce a better implementation plan of policies, which shall aid India in navigating the current Macro Economic crisis. Budget 2023 can provide a huge fillip to create the kind of healthcare ecosystem that will propel India to achieve global leadership. Further incentivizing health-seeking behaviour by tweaking the tax slabs, reconsidering GST terms, promoting health infrastructure & exponential investments in research and development will immensely help in addressing concerns of both affordability and accessibility.

C.K. Subramaniam, Navi Mumbai

II

As the editorial has articulated its views in a candid manner based on moods of the voters, it is imperative that that BJP state units in Karnataka, Rajasthan and other states going to polls in 2023 and the entire nation in 2024 for Lok Sabha first need to take an overall review in these states and then work out to iron out differences between groups before coming to a broad consensus. As overconfidence and taking people for granted on issues concerning the coming man would have adverse affect on its prospects, still it is not the end of the road for the party as it has the ability to bounce back. There is no iota of doubt that anger against BJP is building up in certain states due to shoddy governance, the opposition working overtime behind the scene to evolve a joint strategy to take on BJP can neither be undermined nor taken for granted. At the same time, Congress is confident after the Yatra by attributing the change in the moods of voters in favour of Rahul Gandhi and against BJP may not be fully agreeable but still cannot be by taken lightly. All said and done, it is not only a wake-up call to BJP to shed overconfidence and improve its governance but also the greatest challenge would be to put concerted efforts to give a tough fight to the combined opposition including Congress, who appear upbeat after the Yatra.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad