• With reference to P. Chidambaram’s column, ‘‘Raising the curtain on Jaswant’s sop opera’’, I would like to point out that political leaders like him take sanctuary in the print media when not in power and suddenly start finding serious issues of economic mismanagement. What about his own performance while he was Union Finance Minister? How about writing something on your performance, the political and bureaucratic corruption under your government. Lakshmi Iyengar • The mini budget is clearly an election budget, bringing good news for a section of the salaried taxpayers and senior citizens. It is aimed at the middle-class votebank. But despite the sops, there is still a long way to go in achieving India 2020 vision. Much relief is required in the healthcare sector, sales tax on medicines should be abolished. Wealth tax, property tax on residences, stamp duty on family transactions should all be abolished. There should be a side-by-side infrastructure development as well: regular water and electricity supply for all households, better roads, cheaper and more efficient transport system, efficient and friendly staff in government and public sector banks. Mahesh Kapasi • With reference to Tavleen Singh’s column, ‘‘Educating our Education Minister’’, the trend of political interference in our institutes of learning must be changed. Our politicians must be educated, not just manipulative. As their interaction with global leaders increases, it will be more necessary for them to understand issues. Murli Manohar Joshi should keep off something which he has no knowledge of. Neil Razdan • How does lowering the fees at IIMs and IITs bring down their standard when they are funded by the government and have funds in their endowments to maintain them. In fact, their fees should be lower. All those who get admission deserve free education. The alumni should be encouraged to contribute to the fund. Guna Govind • It hurts to see politicians like M.M. Joshi interfering with something that has brought India fame all over the world. The only reason IITs and IIMs are still world renowned is because they are out of the grasp of ignorant politicians. As an ex-IITian, I hope Joshi leaves the IITs, IIMs and all other top educational institutions alone. Chand Parvathaneni • I fully agree that the government should not interfere in institutions of excellence like the IITs and IIMs. At the same time, these institutes should be asked to contribute to other institutes instead in return for the aid they received from the government in the initial years. Ashok Singhal • This is with reference to your report on the CISF, ‘‘CISF at airports is Courteous, Intelligent Security Force’’. I have personally seen the professionalism and courtesy that these fine men and women of the CISF display. They certainly contribute to making air travel in India a pleasant experience. Samit Pandya Write to yourvoice@expressindia.com
