Though Pratap Bahnu Mehta,in He said,she said (IE,December 15),may appear blunt,yet the questions he has raised must be answered not just by Sonia Gandhi,but also by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It is under their rule that the country is facing this unprecedented moral anarchy,institutional perfidy,economic complacency and political mismanagement. Ironically,the Congress president says we shouldnt attempt to denigrate the office of the PM and the CBI. One wonders whether Sonia Gandhi,who talked of moral courage and national well-being a few years ago,has become blind to the doings of her partys government. One wonders who she was addressing when she said so the opposition or the UPA?
Ved Guliani
Hisar
Name it right
This refers to Maya building urban zone 10 times size of Noida along Yamuna e-way (IE,December 15). In the name of urbanisation,governments are focused on the construction of luxury townships,professional colleges,super speciality hospitals and IT parks,which are meaningless for people deprived of even primary education,sustainable employment,basic health facilities,electricity and clean drinking water. Industries create employment for skilled people and attract workforce from urban and semi-urban areas,leaving locals engaged in agriculture. They indirectly encourage migration of labour too,as their land gets acquired by government for urbanisation. This process is not urbanisation of rural areas,rather marginalisation of rural folk. This trend is creating pressure on resources in old urban areas.
Piyush R. Sharma
Ghaziabad
Not their own
Home Minister P. Chidambarams comment,later withdrawn,on migrants being responsible for increasing crime in Delhi represents a mindset that the affluent have and the fact that they belong to India while the rest live in Bharat (PC links migrants to crime in Delhi,withdraws remark,IE,December 14). This isnt a one-off incident. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has been reported to constitute a committee to look into rising airfares. For affluent India,which flies,they form a committee; but not for hikes in train,bus and taxi fares which affect the aam aadmi. Doesnt every fare or tariff hike,as in water or electricity,deserve a committee to go into the basis for the increase?
S. Kamat
Goa
Fuelling corruption
The rise in the price of fuel is outrageous. It is the easiest way for the government to cover up losses instead of improving its planning and functioning. Had the countrys coffers not been depleted by scams,the government could have handled this better. It is indeed unfortunate that no action is taken against those responsible for such national loss. When found guilty,such people simply resign and are thus absolved of their sins.
S.P. Sharma
