MyVoice: Views of our readers 2nd January 2023

A simple, dedicated and inspiring life

Famous American essayist, philosopher, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson had said "Men are what their Mothers made them" and in the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi it is cent per cent true. Being brought up by a mother who truly epitomises sacrifices, resilience, hard work, simplicity, tolerance, purity and spirituality we find that the complete virtues of a simple but strong mother, Heeraben , are fully imbibed by her son who could shape himself into India's PM and as a strong popular global leader. The tenet 'work is worship ' also one that the PM learned from his mother.

M Pradyu, Kannur

II

"MAA TUJHE SALAAM" a bold talk by Ramu Sarma (Hans December 31) broadly brought out how Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reared up strenuously by his mother along with other children since their birth in a poor dwelling house exposed to rain and son. Heeraben was incinerated without much ado within hours of her demise though Modi is in a position to conduct the last rites on a grand scale. The episode is since related to personal matter of Head of the Government of India, a detailed note was narrated as a kind of homage by Hans. All appreciations to the paper. Such stories are umpteen. A mother is not an individual or a personality; motherhood is a quality, very aptly said.

N Ramalakshmi, Secunderabad

Rahul must learn to talk & act with clarity

Apropos 'Can Rahul Gandhi emerge as Opposition's face?' Congress is passing through a tricky phase politically in which no other party wants Congress to be its ally in the fight for the next general elections in 2024. Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is being seen by the general public as a sheer means of escapism while the party leaders are giving it several new names as Rama in vanvas, tapasvi, yogi et al. Senior leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh even presented Rahul Gandhi as new PM for the country, while contenders to the post are too many already. Rahul Gandhi must learn to talk and act with clarity as an inclusive Indian, rather than berating the Centre all the time.

K R Venkata Narasimhan, Madurai

Govt apathy saps public optimism

This refers to the editorial "Wishing us all a better year ahead" (Dec 31). We only wish for a happy new year. Do we really make it a happy one? Is it entirely in our hands? Correct questions placed in it. Crores of people in this country will not be happy due to penury and poverty. We bade farewell to Covid-19 at the entry of 2022 and say welcome to it at the exit of the same year. We are all again masking our noses and mouths and smearing sanitizers on hands as this virus is incarnating on different names but with the same terror. Further, the editorial has left nothing untouched all kinds of maladies, politicisation, selfish motives for personal pleasures at others cost. We expect every change of government would bring some smiles, but it is only our optimistic concern and in fact it is otherwise.

Dr NSR Murthy, Secunderabad

RVMs a boon to voters away from home

In an appreciable move, the Election Commission (EC) has proposed a remote electronic voting machine (EVM) that will enable domestic migrants to cast their votes at the place where they have settled. The move is presumably aimed at increasing voter participation, with nine states going to the polls in the coming year, followed by the General Elections in 2024. The facility of remote voting can boost the involvement of migrants in the electoral process, thereby, empower them. However, there are legal, administrative and technological challenges to be dealt with while introducing remote EVMs. The task of identifying the migrants and enumerating them is onerous. The implementation of the Model Code of Conduct at remote polling booths in other states won't be easy either.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

II

Remote Voting Machines (RVMs) enable the voters who are away from their home constituencies. These include migrant labourers, employees and students. Hitherto, these type voters are brought their respective polling stations by the political parties. As such, they vote the party which brings them to polling stations. Their participation is essential for a robust democracy. But, the ECI must thoroughly check the authentication of the voters who are supposed to vote through RVMs. Further, it should clear the cloud on RVMs at its proposed meeting on January 16.

Pratapa Reddy Yaramala, Tiruvuru (NTR Dt), AP