Letters to the editor

Rajasthan cauldron • GURJJARS in Rajasthan and in adjoining states have adopted violent means to get themselves included as Scheduled T...

Rajasthan cauldron

• GURJJARS in Rajasthan and in adjoining states have adopted violent means to get themselves included as Scheduled Tribes so that they can get benefit of reservation. On reservation I would say: “Muft ravdia batoge to danga to hogee (if you start giving free sweets, that will lead to riots).” Those resorting to such violence, destroying public property and killing innocent people are no different from criminals and must be punished.

There should not be any reservation whatsoever for minorities and others, either in educational institutions or anywhere else. Quotas are a politician’s tool, and help nobody but them. Already the Supreme Court has held that reservations at the cost of efficiency are not desirable and should not be permitted. It is high time our politicians stopped exploiting poor people by playing games like reservation for the ‘poor’ and ‘backward classes’. Ultimately it is they, and they alone, who are responsible for the loss of crores of rupees!

— M. Kumar, New Delhi

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• For the past one week north India has been in a turmoil. Buses and private vehicles are burnt, national highways blocked, trains cancelled, schools and colleges closed, movement of essential commodities has come to a standstill. The economy of the country is taking a massive beating. The police and army personnel are a laughing stock. They are like statues with guns in their hands — mute spectators to the massive, wanton destruction. On the other hand, when a minister moves around, we see scores of policemen surrounding him or her like a fortress, ferociously protecting him from any unruly elements. In other words, public property, lives of common people, country’s economy, etc, are totally unimportant, but the life of a minister is absolutely precious. In fact, it is exactly the other way round! The horrific situation in the country today is solely because of our short-sighted leaders who, for the sake of votes and power, promise the moon to the common man. And when the promises cannot be met, newspapers are filled with headlines such as: ‘Rajasthan Burns’. It should, instead, read: ‘Rajasthan Allowed To Burn’!

— Harischandra Parasuram, Mumbai

Goan lesson?

• The Goan electorate braved the rains and exercised their franchise in the assembly elections to ensure the defeat of the corrupt, casteist and communal Congress Party. It will be a clear vote against the current rule of rampant corruption. Goans seem determined to teach the ruling party a lesson for having, in the name of secularism, looted the state and destroyed its social and cultural identity.

— Aires Rodrigues; Ribandar, Goa

EXCLUSIVE: EC brings in feature to check misuse of identity to seek voter list deletions

Political Pulse2 hr ago

The Election Commission has launched a new 'e-sign' feature on its portal and app to prevent fraud. This comes after allegations of misuse of online voter deletion forms in Karnataka. The feature requires voters to verify their identity using their Aadhaar-linked phone numbers, reducing the possibility of fraud.

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