Letter of the Week Award
To encourage quality reader intervention The Indian Express offers the Letter of the Week Award. The letter adjudged the best for the week is published every Saturday. Letters may be e-mailed to editpage @expressindia.com or sent to The Indian Express, 9&10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi -110002.
Letter writers should mention their postal address and phone number.
The winner receives books worth Rs 1,000.
Letters to the editor
No excuses now
THIS refers to the editorial ‘Brute forces’ (IE, July 24). The unruly behaviour of our MPs both inside and outside Parliament brings shame on our democracy and cannot be accepted. The Shiv Sena MP pleaded that he did not know the IRCTC employee he force fed was a Muslim fasting for Ramzan. Did he mean it would have been fine to behave that way if the employee had not been Muslim? Physical force is criminal, whatever the provocation. The BJP must take a strong view of this incident and allow no concessions to NDA allies.
— M.C. Joshi
Lucknow
THE behaviour of Shiv Sena MPs who force fed a catering supervisor fasting for Ramzan is despicable. The outrageous incident deserves unequivocal condemnation from all right-minded persons in the country. During the Lok Sabha election campaign, the current opposition had whipped up the fear that Hindu fundamentalist groups known for their anti-minority stand would gain the upper hand in a BJP-led NDA government. It now appears that those fears were not unfounded. Fringe groups bent on spreading hatred and stoking communal animosities need to be dealt with sternly by the law of the land. The BJP and its allies won a huge mandate so that they could fulfil their promise of corruption-free governance and inclusive development, not so they could allow the politics of hatred to flourish.
— M. Jeyaram
Sholavandan
The scheme of things
APROPOS of the article ‘Call them destitution lines’ by Gautam Bhan (IE, July 23), the Centre as well as state governments should make sure that welfare schemes announced for the poor reach the intended beneficiaries. More often than not, large-scale corruption has scuppered implementation. Further, in the wake of a disappointing monsoon, special efforts should be made to create alternate sources of employment for farmers. Many, unable to take the burden of crop failure and mounting debt, are driven to taking their own lives.
— Ketan R. Meher
Thane
Hit the road
THE 17-point action plan for ministries, if completed, will be the best thing to happen to Indians (‘Reach anywhere in India in 24 hours by road and rail; long distance calls to cost same as local calls, says Modi’, IE July 22). The plan reflects the prime minister’s vision. It envisages metro and BRT systems in towns and cities to enable the urban citizen to travel from one point to another in less than an hour at a reasonable price. The idea of having coastal expressways connecting the east and west through latitudinal routes is a novel one. These steps are going to transform the country and our everyday lives.
— Yash P. Verma
Pune
