New job at hand

Bad handling

Sir — The poll reverses for the Congress was expected (“Inflation turns scapegoat”, Feb 28). The aam aadmi is not concerned with either the soaring Sensex or the growth of India’s gross domestic product. With his very limited purchasing power, the main concern for him is the cost of food and other essential commodities. These, however, are the very prices that the Union government could not control. It is time the Congress took a practical view of matters and arrested the galloping price rise. Otherwise, the United Progressive Alliance will be routed in the forthcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa as well.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta,
Calcutta

Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have won in Punjab and Uttarakhand by very respectable margins. However, the Congress’s defeat was expected, if not by such wide margins. Its unexpected victory in the 2004 general elections had made the Congress complacent. Leaders neither felt the need to reform and reorganize the party machinery, nor worked towards ensuring unity among their ranks. The bickering between the followers of N.D. Tiwari and those of Harish Rawat in Uttarakhand is a case in point. Therefore, instead of blaming the high rate of inflation, the Congress ought to set its house in order, and accept that it had distanced itself from the daily worries of the people. The party did not focus adequately on development either. In Uttarakhand, Tiwari had persisted with the tradition of doling out privileges to colleagues and hangers-on, while the Amarinder Singh government in Punjab faced one scandal after another. The BJP and its allies would do well to be forewarned.

Yours faithfully,
Shailesh Kumar,
Bangalore

Sir — Whenever the Congress wins elections, it projects its victory as one for the secular forces. Whenever it loses, it blames a ‘split’ in the so-called secular votes. But party leaders should remember that, over the last year, its minority appeasement policies have reached new heights. It is time for them to admit that the defeat in the recent assembly elections is a mandate against its pseudo-secular ways. Uncontrolled inflation and the favours granted to the corporate sector, at the expense of small farmers and retailers, have largely caused the setback. But the BJP and its allies should also realize that while economic growth is desirable, the sustenance of small farmers and businessmen cannot be overlooked in a country with limited educational and earning opportunities.

Yours faithfully,
Udita Agrawal,
New Delhi

Sir — It seems that the purchase of independent members of legislative assemblies, through the offer of lucrative ministerial berths, has become the norm in Indian politics. The BJP is likely to take recourse to this means in Uttarakhand, where it has not managed a majority on its own. This ‘sale’ of MLAs should be checked by electing the chief minister through secret and compulsory ballots cast by the members of the legislative assemblies. In case of bi-cameral state legislatures, only the members of the lower house should vote. Nominations for the post must be signed by at least one-third of the total members of the assembly or the lower house. A chief minister thus elected may be removed by the same process, provided a successor is named in the same motion. Besides, only non-members, those not having contested elections for the last one year, should be appointed as ministers. This will stop MLAs from wasting their time lobbying for ministerial posts.

Yours faithfully,
Madhu Agrawal,
Dariba,Delhi

Hard drive

Sir — We have been finding it very difficult to send our kids to school due to the poor condition of the main road between Kharagpur College and Silver Jubilee Higher Secondary School at Kaushalya, within the Kharagpur municipality area. The entire stretch of the road is full of big potholes and cracks. Besides, shanties, shops, garages and offices of political parties encroach upon the road. A number of children have already met with serious, even fatal, accidents. But nobody has stepped forward to repair the road; nor has the police taken any action so far. Residents and commuters have made repeated appeals to the district magistrate and the local MLA, but to no effect.

Yours faithfully,
Archana Gupta,
Kharagpur

Sir — I would request the state government and the National Highway Authority of India to repair the O.T. Road in the Kharagpur municipal area from Chowrangee to Barabetia at Koushalya. This road was damaged in 2000 when the NHAI was constructing the NH6 bypass from Jakpur to Narayangarh. NHAI’s contractor used heavy vehicles, including payloaders and dumpers, to carry sand, chips, cement, iron rods and bars for the new bypass. This damaged the entire road. We had made several appeals to the then DM of Midna-pore, M.V. Rao. However, no action was taken. This road needs to be repaired immediately.

Yours faithfully,
Sonal Duttetre,
Kharagpur