MyVoice: Views of our readers 3rd September 2020

Revival of economy should be 'act of government'

The GDP of India has reduced to a negative value of 23.9%. In the last 40 years, it was for the first time that the economy faced contraction and showed negative growth. The Finance Minister of India in the Council meeting stated that the current GDP is the result of "act of God". The predictions were already made about the worst GDP of all time, but India's GDP hit worst in the whole world. When compared to the UK (a country with a similar economy), the lockdown imposed by the government in India is 15% more stringent than that of the UK. The drastic contraction is and will affect the poor directly or indirectly. Now, the revival of economy should be the "act of government".

Prateek Gothwal, Visakhapatnam

Release of Kafeel Khan a victory of justice

UP doctor Kafeel Khan was released from Mathura jail in Uttar Pradesh around midnight after the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed his detention under the stringent National Security Act and ordered his immediate release, saying his speech at the AMU did not promote hatred or violence and gave a call for national integrity. The release of Khan is of course a victory of justice. Khan had always stood for humanitarian values as a doctor, maintained the high traditions of the medical profession and never indulged in divisive activities. Instead of incarcerating Khan, the government should have availed his services at a time when health amenities in the State "badly needed" cooperation from the medical fraternity. Kafeel had exercised his democratic right to protest, but had never taken resort to undemocratic means, and always championed the spirit of unity and communal harmony. Khan was in jail since January after he delivered an allegedly provocative speech at the AMU during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Humera Jahan, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad

Country undergoing bad times

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called a "versatile genius" by a Supreme Court judge, our country is drowning under the ignorant blows of demonetisation, GST etc. Unemployment is eating us away. The country is moving from poverty to hunger. The government can only run on the selling of public wealth to private companies. So a surgery has been done at the level of more or less all fundamental government institutions, including the judiciary, media, CBI, RBI etc to control the flare up of public ire.

Because of all this, the public interest today has been orphaned. Prashant Bhushan has dedicated his entire legal career to this orphaned public interest. After consigning the public interest to the garbage dump, the aim is now to repress its very voice. India's 'cow-faced-tiger' emergency seems to have used the judiciary to repress the voice of public interest by using Prashant Bhushan's tweets as an excuse. While writing all this, after overcoming anger, pain and regret, I thought that maybe – just maybe – Bharat Mata must be warming up for the birth of a leadership with the potential of a Gandhi-Ambedkar-JP, hence this allegation against Bhushan; hence the political imprisonment of this land's conscience with the arrest of Anand Teltumbde and others.

Ramesh VV, Hyderabad

Rift in Congress shows it is time to change

Whether it leads to a good beg­inning or not, the Congress rebel group's attempt to bring in organisational reforms began on a sour note with the release of the letter's contents to a media house a day before the CWC meeting. The leaders were well within their rights to raise concerns, but the leak took the focus away from the issues being raised. Instead, at the meeting, they had to face questions on the motive and timing of the letter. Some hinted at a conspiracy being hatched in collusion with the BJP. Even those who usually measure their words came down heavily on the "letter writers". Beyond the unpleasant exchanges, what this episode unravelled is the sharp divide that has emerged within the party over the past couple of years. At the centre of it is Rahul Gandhi. In fact, the letter bomb is being seen as a response to a new Congress executive team that had been planned more than two months ago, primarily with leaders who are "in sync with Rahul's vis­ion of the Congress". Party insiders claim that Rahul is unwilling to return to the Congress helm until a team of his choice is installed and the party is rid of "self-serving" leaders.

Ashok Kumar S, Hyderabad