Opinion Missing monitors
The hooch tragedy that has struck Ahmedabad is an extremely crude reminder of the noxious liquor routinely consumed by millions in Gujarat..
• The hooch tragedy that has struck Ahmedabad is an extremely crude reminder of the noxious liquor routinely consumed by millions in Gujarat and other states. Although such deaths are not routine these killer drinks consistently debilitate and degenerate their consumers. Sold in every nook and corner in polythene packets,hooch is the staple drink of millions of labourers in Gujarat. The policy of prohibition prevents official monitoring and regulation of the quality of country liquor. The Gujarat government should abolish prohibition and institute monitoring mechanisms for liquor. Both the state and organisations like NGOs have a responsibility to educate the poor about hooch.
Jagrut Gadit
Vadodara
Total disclosure
• The importance of judicial accountability is essential to a democratic polity. It will help preserve the judiciarys honour and popular respect for it. However,the draft law on judges assets allows for the disclosure of such assets to only the chief justice and the government,and to the general public. In my opinion,that condition would militate against the very notion of judicial independence,since Supreme Court and high court judges are accountable to neither the government of the day or to the chief justice. They derive their authority from the Constitution and are responsible only to that self-same general public in whose interest they work,who will be kept out of the loop by the draft law. Now,the question may arise as to how to guard against unscrupulous or dissatisfied litigants trying to malign a judge if such transparency is legislated. I believe there will be no problem if that transparency is limited by law to only the official tenure of every judge.
T.U. Mehta
Former Chief Justice (Retd)
High Court of Himachal Pradesh
Bold attempt
• The most usual reaction to the Union Budget is that it has erred on the side of populism. This,when the UPA is politically very stable and could have reverted to a predominantly reformist agenda,promoting growth. Perhaps the governments compulsions were the following: the global economic downturn is not over yet and hence ambitious reforms right now might have been out of sync,especially when large doses of reform put the immediate burden on the lowest socio-economic rungs; secondly,the going rate of GDP growth at 6 to 7 per cent is far better than those of most frontline nations,thus,our industry and services can bear the brunt a while longer; thirdly,a number of important state assembly elections are due over the next couple of years,where the UPA might make a breakthrough. Prudence thus dictated that the less privileged electorate continue to be nurtured,more so given the poor prospects of monsoon this year. Major reform can be undertaken once a clearer roadmap emerges. Given all this,the Budget is a bold attempt.
R. Narayanan
Ghaziabad
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