Morally Sound Appeal
Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mohsin Raza’s appeal to Muslims to give up the Haj subsidy if they can afford the pilgrimage through their own means is both morally and economically sound. The Government spends more than rupees 650 crore a year on providing subsidy to the Haj pilgrims. Since a number of beneficiaries come from a sound economic background they can spend money from their own pocket. This in turn would benefit a large section of those who cannot afford the Haj and do not get a slice of the subsidy cake. Raza’s request must not fall on deaf years, because he has only reiterated the underlying spirit of the pilgrimage —which is to extend a helping hand to the needy and be compassionate by nature.It would indeed be a wonderful gesture if those who can go on Haj through their resources and leave the subsidy to be availed of by the truly needy and deserving. It remains to be seen how the Muslim community in the State, and elsewhere in the country reacts to his remarks. One can only hope that the critics of the newly installed Adityanath Yogi Government in Uttar Pradesh do not imagine a communal agenda in Raza’s appeal.
M C SHARMA, Kanpur
Simple Request by the PM
This refers to the 30th edition of Mann ki Baat, where the Prime Minister Shri Modi has appealed to the people not to waste food. He has rightly said that before wasting food we must thing of thousands of people who go to bed without food. We must also accept his suggestion to save petrol and diesel as a result of which air pollution will be reduced to a great extent. On the other hand we must maximise the planting and conserving saplings and trees. This will inspire all our neighbouring countries and perhaps the world.
Bibhu, Odisha
Difficult Agenda
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s invocation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Sabka saath sabka vikas (assistance of all, development of all) motto is welcome, as it comes across as a bid to ameliorate his pre-poll public persona which was dented by a couple of beyond the pale statements. However it is said that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Therefore, Adityanathji will have to walk the talk in terms of holistic development of Uttar Pradesh and deliver the goods of no discrimination on the basis of caste and creed, religion or gender. There should be zero tolerance towards corruption and the aim should be to provide riot-free governance. All of this squarely hinges upon how the new Chief Minister conducts himself. The plight of farmers should be kept on the forefront.
AZHAR A KHAN, Rampur
Winds of Change
(Time to Stand by Reformists, April 16); The illustrative note of Editor of Organiser titled ‘Time to Stand by Reformists’ regarding the support of the Muslim leaders for ban on cow-slaughter and some internal reforms of their religion preceded by Dr Ambedkar”s quotation is a worth noting one for all the Indians. It is regrettable besides being true that ever since Modiji became Prime Minister, all the Opposition parties in India have been making all-out but abortive efforts to destabilise the BJP Government at the Centre through creation of impediments along the path of progress. Narendra Modi’s image has stood the test of time through people’s clear mandate in favour of the BJP spanning almost from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. His measures for corruption free and clean administration have been cleared by the entire nation. Despite these facts the Opposition parties have been spoil sports through provocation of Muslim fundamentalists for capture of their vote bank. We being the true Indians should feel ashamed of having the political parties that fish in troubled waters. Shri Adityanath is an able administration and thus should be an eye-opener for all the anti-Hindu and anti-development forces.
KASTURI SIVA PRASAD, Andhra Pradesh
Is Government Aware !
I hope the Government is aware that its decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for filing Income Tax returns and for retaining the Permanent Account Number (PAN) has left many with an identity crisis. Many are finding it difficult to link their PAN to Aadhaar as their names do not match with the Aadhaar database. That is because the Aadhaar database, unlike PAN, does not recognise special characters. For instance, someone with a D’Silva surname will not get recognised by the Aadhaar database despite the PAN card carrying that name. Similarly, someone with a name like B. S. Krishna on his PAN card will not get identified by the Aadhaar database as the dots are not recognised by the system. In a scenario like this, people have no option but to get their names changed on other documents, a task which is time-consuming and painful. Considering the amount of time it takes to get a document changed, it is a challenge for people to meet the July 31 deadline set by the Government to get PAN linked to Aadhaar. The inability to do so will prevent a person from filing his or her Income Tax return on time, and in turn, be labelled as a tax defaulter.
RAVINDER, Punjab
Why Delay?(Ramajanmabhoomi Ayodhya Facts, April 23); Apropos to the frontpage story of Organiser titled, ‘Ramajanmabhoomi Ayodhya Facts’ by K K Mohammed. Despite of the fact that the archaeological evidence collected by Prof Lal and his team confirmed the destruction of pre-existent structure on the disputed sight, it is very unfortunate that the Supreme Court has put the Ayodhya temple-disputed structure dispute on the back burner. The confrontation has been simmering and at times exploding in unwanted ways for decades, and all hopes rested on the apex court to resolve it. But the recent refusal of the court to give an early hearing to the case, claiming that it did not have a slot for such hearing have really spoiled the momentum of the case. The Court dismissed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s plea on the ground that he was not an interested party in the case. That the court does not believe Swamy has a locus standi in the case in which the Babri Masjid Action Committee, Ram Lalla and Nirmohi Amhara are the litigants, is one matter. But I feel that at least the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar should have on its own decided on an early hearing—and that too at a stretch—to settle the dispute. After all, only days ago, the Chief Justice had set up various Benches to hear certain cases during Court’s summer vacation period. It need not have done the same for the Ayodhya matter, but at least it ought to have given an early date and indicated its resolve to get the work done in a time bound frame. |
A Welcome Step
We must welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to ban the sale of spirits from all vends, bars and hotels situated within 500 meters of a National Highway. The argument that the Government would lose a good sum of tax revenues does not hold water as the Government expenditure, to deal with alcohol infused accidents and highway centric crimes, far outweighs the excise on liquor duties. Judicial overreach is one thing. And to criticise a judgement as whimsical and impractical is quite the other. We must not mix it up.
SUJIT DE, Kolkata
Lama’s Visit was Totally Spiritual
(Journey Within, April 16); This refers to the front page story of Organiser titled ‘Journey Within’ by Shri N J Thakuria. It looks, China is like the proverbial cat on the hot tin roof as far as the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh is concerned. The furore raised by it over the Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh is unwarranted and amounts to meddling in the internal affairs of India. The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s veiled threat that the visit will cause serious damage to Indo-China ties, is an attempt to put pressure on India. The Dalai Lama is an honoured guest in India and his presence enriches the social, cultural, civilisational and the spiritual ethos of the country. China’s baiting of the Lama, whom it calls a dangerous separatist does not befit its global stature. It was good that the Minister of the State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh clarified India’s position on the visit and said that there was no political angle to the visit and that it was completely religious in nature.
MEGHNA A, New South Wales
Self-centred Vijayan
(Where Stalinism Stifles Democracy, April 23); This refers to the story from Kerala titled ‘Where Stalinism Stifles Democracy’ in Organiser by Arun Lakshman. Though a number of heinous crimes and massive agitations took place in Kerala ever since the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came to power last year, the Government could not solve even the sensational cases or appease the affected people by adopting a justified role. The ruthless act of the police against Mahija, the mother of the deceased engineering student, has drawn flak from every quarter. The main cause for the turmoil is the unfair and arrogant attitude of Vijayan , despite a differing stance of many senior leaders in his own party. It seems that Vijayan is just concerned about his position and authority. The BJP is right in asking him to give up the Home portfolio.
T T SAKARIA, Delhi
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