MyVoice: Views of our readers 28th July 2024

Weed out the corrupt netas from public life

This has reference to the article "Jagan claims innocence after ruining AP economy" (July 27). The state's debt burden of Rs 9.74 lakh crore is the result of misrule of Jagan government as per the white paper presented in the assembly. This means that debt is Rs 1.44 lakh per head. Add to it the corruption charges against BRS in Telangana and Jagan in AP. Though the corruption is openly visible, it will take decades to finalise the case. The case will go in favour of the politicians for the prosecutor will fail to prove the case.

I fully agree with the views of the author that politician, for that matter, are not interested in discussion on budget proposals whether it is in parliament or state assemblies. No useful debate on people’s problems or the problems faced by the nation is held. Politicians go to the house to create ruckus, walk out and speak anything they like before media. It is the latest style of politics. No one wants to respect people’s verdict. Ego is something that they never want to give up. This is how our leaders want to protect the Constitution. Desh Bachao is the need of the hour. The meaning of democracy is defeated by today’s politicians.

Secondly, people have no right in law making. Their democratic rights ends as soon as one exercises his/her franchise. It is the politicians’ field day for another five years. Politicians do not have a code of conduct nor are they accountable. Though many scams involving politicians have taken place in our country in past 77 years of free rule, no single politician had been convicted so far. They enjoy immunity under law. The laws also bend for the rich. They are not equal for the rich and the poor. Changes in the RPA is needed. Right to recall corrupt representatives should be given to the people as well. But who will bell the cat?

– Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai

***

Winning elections, and coming to power through democratic process in the country for some political parties has given the licence to indulge in open and unbridled corruption in a variety of ways to bleed and destabilise the nation, about which the electorate seem to be helpless onlookers; and the offenders escaping the long arm of the law, with impunity, extreme ease and nonchalance. This open loot of the nation, by virtue of having some political background has become the fashion and family business for Congress and numerous other political entities in the country. The write up has candidly brought out the truth that greed and taking the trend it to a new high furthers the loot over the years to trivialise earlier scams to the status of mere peanuts in terms of volume and quantum.

Lalu Yadav’s shameless ‘fodder scam’ emboldened him to no end to cast his net wider in other variety of ways – ranging from recruitment scam for land during his tenure as Railways minister, who made his wife Rabari Devi as dummy chief minister, when Lalu was arrested and put behind the bars. Now, he has plans to make his son the CM, and is praying for the defeat of the BJP as it is standing in the way of his illegal empire. The Bofors scam that involved the Congress PM Rajiv Gandhi and other frauds by the Congress-ruled states are before us. The ‘stamp duty’ scam in Madhya Pradesh, under the Congress government, cannot be forgotten. The 2G scam was yet another feather in the cap of the Congress, denuding the nation of precious revenue to the tune of several lakh crore.

The YSRCP government under Jagan in AP was a classic example of corruption and mismanagement. The funny aspect is that he is yet to learn from the mistakes and refuses to attend the Assembly on the silly LoP issue. The TDP and BRS governments have great deal to look into by way of introspection that has resulted the nation several hundreds of crores by way of financial loss in the irrigation dam constructions – even though the TDP has come to power in AP, must face for its irresponsible acts that the nation has the right to know.

– S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

***

The adage "Power corrupts but absolute power corrupts everybody" aptly fit in the case of Jagan Mohan Reddy whose party YSRCP despite been routed completely in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls is sadly under the impression that Andhra Pradesh is his fiefdom and that none take his place at the helm. Not long ago in 2009, Jagan Mohan Reddy who was then in Congress staked a claim to be Chief Minister after the death of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy while in office as a matter of right but this was turned down and senior leader Rosaiah with vast political experience was chosen to head the government in the then combined AP. He not only moved away from congress and formed a new party YSRCP but spit venom against Congress leadership while been critical of Rosaiah at every stage. However, later as the Chief Minister of Andhra after division, his rule for five years was marked by corruption, bias, nepotism besides diversion of funds towards unproductive purpose thereby landing the state in a complete mess. As a consequence, Jagan Mohan Reddy was shown the door for bad governance by the voters. Instead of accepting the defeat humbly and mending his ways, Jagan Mohan Reddy's casual approach and criticising the ruling party is not only in bad taste but also goes against the basic principles of democracy where people’s will reign supreme. Further, legislature been a mother of democracy, Jagan Mohan Reddy should first respect the voters and the party in power in case he wanted to continue, otherwise there is no doubt that his political career may come to end sooner or later due to his own misgivings.

– K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

***

Jagan Reddy completely devoured the money meant for the state’s development and left the empty coffers. Even sky is not the Limit to his greed for money .Whatever he touched; it turned out to be a mega scam. He is not an ordinary economic offender and he can be described as the economic terrorist. His gigantic scam in Liquor policy crosses thousands of crores. His involvement in sand, mining, land grabbing s cannot be assessed as he used innovative techniques to loot the riches of state and turned it in to a beggar state. All the economic scams that took place in India pales away when compared to the mega scams of Jagan Reddy. The freedom given by centre for his support was misused and he and his patrons’ loot money left, right and centre. The central government’s selective booking of cases against the rival parties using the services of ED, CBI is well known. In Delhi liquor gate scam for misappropriation 100.crores all its leaders including chief minister is kept behind bars .Just compare the loot Jagan indulged in states liquor policy, Jagan Reddy minted thousands of crores . His blue eyed boy and Kakinada MLA was allowed to loot the rice meant for the consumption of poor and illegally exported the PDS rice to African countries and pocketed thousands of crores ,the unchecked loot was carried out for 5 long years . The least that Andhrait expect from the incumbent government is, let the economic offices be probed by ED and CBI and the offenders awarded fitting punishments, if honestly probed Jagan Reddy will remain in Jail for life time.

– Rama Krishna M, Kakinada

A tribute to eminent poet-critic Adigopula

Eminent writer Ravi Sastry called his poems ‘Wounds inflicted on a sensitive intellectual aghast at the heinous iniquity and injustice of an exploitative social set-up gone awry,” while the scholarly lyricist Arudra hailed them as justifying the literary axiom “Bhavam Rasaatmakam Kavyam.” Acharya Atreya commended them as showing “a way out” of the encircling social decay and decadence.

With a vast output of 28 creditable anthologies such as ‘Niluvettu Santakam, Kotta Gaali ,Viplavaaniki Puritigadhi, Mundati (Kannada),” Adigopula Venkata Ratnam ,an engineer at Nagarjuna University, carved out a niche for himself as a major poet and critic in the world of modern Telugu literature, advocating humanism as the central theme of literature. No wonder, his poems are rousing bugle calls of revolt, rebellion and revolution against the forces of sham, exploitation and tyranny. A glimpse of his poems!

In his poem‘’Erra Kaluva ‘’ (The Red Lotus), he pays homage to the martyrs whose blood has hallowed the soil and sowed the seeds of revolution. Employing the metaphor lotus adroitly, he says “The red flag Is not just--A piece of cloth--Of a half metre--It is the blood--Shed By many.”

To him, once the human mind is imbued with revolutionary fervour, none can repress it. In his ‘’ ‘’Udayenche Suryudu‘’ (The Rising Sun), he comments thus, “No one//Need wave//An Yellow flag//To//The rising sun ‘’

He mocks at the dichotomy between the precept and the practice of the self-styled revolutionary poets and pleads for their empathy with the poor and famished masses in “Aakali Manta” ( Flames of hunger ). In ‘’Kagitam Padava‘’ (Paper boat), he is sympathetic to all the ill-fated humanity sailing in the stormy sea of life. Eulogizing the towering achievements of scientists, he fears that the inventive genius of man may be exploited for nefariously destructive activities: ‘’The neutron bomb//Is a sign of man’s genius//And also a symptom//Of his dwarfing intellect‘’

He lambastes the present day political set-up which gags the voice of the intellectuals and snuffs out any dissidence and protest. In another poem ‘’Kulam‘’ (Caste), he conveys a social message through a philosophical observation. “When//The corpses of the white and the black//Are burnt in flames//Their ashes Are of the same colour.‘’

Adigopula’s poems blend in themselves the fire of a revolutionary and the fervour of a reformer.

– S M Kompella, Kakinada

Govt dole to corporates comes at a great cost

This year’s Union Budget has once again highlighted the growing disparity between the contributions of individual income taxpayers and corporates to the government’s coffers. This imbalance is the result of the corporate tax cut from 30 per cent to 22 per cent in 2019, a move aimed at stimulating private investment and job creation which didn't materilise either. But, this tax cut came at a significant cost: over five years, the total revenue foregone amounts to a staggering Rs 8.7 lakh crore. In the process, the corporate sector appears to have absorbed these savings, either retaining them or distributing them as dividends, contributing to a stock market surge that contrasts sharply with the economic realities faced by the broader population.

This shift indicates that the tax burden on individuals has increased significantly, with income taxes going up from Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11.8 lakh crore in this year's budget estimates. In contrast, corporate taxes have grown at a much slower pace, from Rs 4.28 lakh crore to Rs 10.2 lakh crore over the same period. The data also underscores a growing income inequality in India. This trend indicates a deliberate shift in the tax burden towards individuals, further straining the middle class and working population. The government must reconsider its fiscal policies and strive for a more equitable tax structure that ensures fair contributions from both individuals and corporations.

– N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

***

The proposal of incentivising employment has too many questions to be answered and too many practical issues to be cleared. From 2019 -23, only 4.47 million jobs are added. Now aiming at 20 lakhs jobs every year for five years as apprenticeship has least scope. This is supposed to happen in 500 corporate firms on a voluntary basis. Average workforce of big corporate firms remains at 3,000-4,000. Now feasibility of accommodating around 4,000 a year is not explained. If a firm has to take the number suggested by the government for the sake of availing the financial benefit that is offered as incentive, the probability of retrenching the existing trained workforce cannot be excluded. It is also time to review the experience of PLI. Out of around 15 prioritised fields, only the cell phones manufacturing or assembling field could get some desired results forcing us to conclude the scheme as a failure, This is confirmed further by the FM not touching these subjects in this budget. Consumption in rural and urban areas is already on the decline. The report of decreasing household expenditure and household savings make it a concern. The demand of increasing the number of workdays under the MGNREGA scheme and increasing the wage is growing strong but not considered by the government. In fact, even if all the three areas - consumption, investment and export - are on the rise, it would take a few years to provide a desired result in the area of employment. In the background of all the three areas not faring well, expecting a substantial increase in employment generation can only be a myth.

– A G Rajmohan, Anantapur

Hype and little substance

In order to recover their investment and increase box office collections, producers use all available resources to create hype (often through controversy), and the media plays along. Viewers fall for the hype and spend heavily on movies that often turn out to be duds. Two movies come to mind: "Kalki" and "Indian 2." Though I haven't seen "Kalki," it is loosely based on characters from the Mahabharata, with a modern look and weapons to destroy evil forces. News floated that the Kalkidham head had filed a case for hurting religious sentiments, seemingly to revive viewership. As for "Indian 2," which I did see, it turned out to be the worst with an incoherent storyline. It had only two messages: social media can create a good and bad image of a crusader, and corruption has increased.

However, some very good films are being made and viewed by a small section of viewers, but they don't get the support from the media or government. For political reasons, tax-free status and sponsorship are extended to films that paint a particular section in a bad light. Bollywood has become a stooge of the party in power. The UP government filed a counter in the SC on the display of names with a claim that it's for the maintenance of law and order.

This reminds me of the Tamil movie "Ayothi," where the actor helps a pilgrim family from the north take back the body of a deceased family member. Another Tamil film, "Maharaja," made on a small budget, showcases the relationship between a father and daughter. Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada cinemas have also been producing very good films which aren't getting their due from the national media. The media and government should understand that if we want to end hatred and division, we need more creative work to spread unity and love.

– N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

Sports extravaganza for next fortnight

For the next fortnight, we will be treated to superb displays of sporting feats by the world’s finest and prodigiously talented sportspersons. The breathtaking performances by 10,500 world class athletes from 206 countries - the best of our species – on track and field in the City of Light are sure to overwhelm us and fill us with awe and wonder. Watching visually sumptuous and exciting events will be an uplifting experience. The theme ‘Games Wide Open’ is apt as most of the events will be open-air shows accommodating a lot more audience. In a demonstration of gender equality, women will make up half of the total participants in the Paris Games. Transgender athletes are allowed to compete in certain events. The Eiffel Tower and the Seine River will add to the beauty of the setting.

Efforts made to reduce carbon footprint like avoidance of air-conditioning and make the Games green to the extent possible are commendable. The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius and Fortius in Latin, or Faster, Higher and Stronger in English. It encapsulates tireless human striving for excellence. ‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well,' an adage authored by Pierre de Coubertin, now springs to mind. However, those who stand on the victory podium sporting medals bring glory to themselves and their countries. 329 gold medals are up for grabs in the world’s largest multisport extravaganza. The Olympic rings attest to and affirm our common humanity. However, the genocidal war on Gaza and the Ukrainian war and the forcible evacuation of asylum seekers and other vulnerable people from the city cast a shadow on the Paris Games.

– G David Milton, Maruthancode, TN

***

The true spirit of sportsmanship among the athletes can be significantly identified from the craziness of people cheering on roads at Paris. The city of Paris turned into a colossal amphitheater, and the iconic river Seine served as a track for the athletes' parade as France showcased its cultural diversity, spirit of revolution, impeccable craftsmanship, and architectural heritage in a riveting opening ceremony for the 33rd Olympic Games on Friday. The spectacle started with a dreamy break from tradition as the 'Parade of Nations' kicked off the proceedings in which athletes from 205 countries and one refugee team sailed down the Seine on boats despite heavy rain, in the run-up to and during the ceremony, threatening to play spoilsport.

– Dimple, Kanpur Nagar

Centre should help boost state finances

The nine judge bench of Supreme Court has clarified that the states, rather than the centre, would have the right to royalty on mines and mineral development activities. The verdict would boost the financial freedom of those scores of states which have rich mineral resources. Till now the centre has been enjoying the royalty income from mining activities, restricting the states from levying any gains.

So the states like Odisha despite their mineral wealth are not getting their due and are in financial straits. The verdict boosted not only their financial rights, but also the spirit of federalism in general. The scheme of one nation, one tax has tightened the strings of purse to the states and has increased financial leverage to the country. Though the royalty may not be a tax in true sense, the centre should take the verdict as an eye opener on respecting the state-centre relations and give more financial freedom to the states to collect the taxes on resources right under nose.

– Dr DVG Sankara Rao, Vizianagaram