WEDNESDAY, MAY 08, 2024
Vote for a change, vote for bright future
A certain prominent citizen claims to be working 18 hours a day for the welfare of the country, his followers say that he works 22 hours while his devotees claim that he doesn't sleep at all, so committed is he to taking the country forward.
Day in day out, we see him screaming lies and untruths from various forums, they are in turn amplified by a pliant media to influence gullible voters to vote for a certain party. All democratic processes and institutions have been undermined by him, the last remaining bastion of democracy, the judiciary is also wilting under the onslaught of his utterances and double speak. India is amongst the lowest placed countries in all human development indices, free speech indices, infant malnutrition indices, happiness indices etc.
Why, in many cases Bharat stands lower than even our favourite punching bag Pakistan and Bangladesh. We are mentioned for the wrong reasons in foreign print and electronic media for oppression of the minorities, religious extremism, abject poverty, human rights violations, extra judicial killings, imprisoning journalists, internet shutdowns, choking funding of international NGOs, and booting out foreign news organisations not toeing the party line. Of course, the Sanghis in the MEA routinely dismiss all this as deep seated bias, meddling in our internal affairs and a poor understanding of India. As Abraham Lincoln said, you can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all the time but you cannot fool all the people all the time. India is at a tipping point and we, the aam admi will no longer be fooled by lies, deceit and propaganda any longer. Vote for change, vote for a brighter future, vote for India.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Poll fever grips Goa
In a few days’ time i.e. on May 7, Goans will be voting to elect the two leaders who will represent the State in parliament. The MLAs of the respective party are working overtime in order to see that their party candidate gets the maximum number of votes in their respective constituencies.
In a way, how the party candidate for the parliamentary elections fares in the particular constituency will ascertain how the elected representative has fared in keeping his/her voters together and whether the MLA has been able to garner more support during the past two-and-half-years of the present assembly.
It could also be a pointer to how the MLAs will fare in the 2027 assembly elections. The parliament election results to be announced on June 4 will also, in a way, give a broad perspective on how the respective party will fare in the next assembly elections. But what will be very interesting to note is how the electorate will react to the eight Congress MLAs who switched sides in order to join the ruling dispensation.
Whether these eight MLAs will be forgiven by the voters for the change in the party loyalty and vote for the candidate they support remains to be seen. All-in-all the parliament elections could in a way be a referendum for the 2047 assembly elections even though the elections are two-and-half years away.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Elections are a festival of democracy
The word ‘election’ comes from the Latin word ‘eligere’, meaning ‘to choose', 'to select' or 'to pick’. 'To elect' or 'to vote', means 'to select' or 'to make a choice'.
The word 'voting' is derived from the Latin word ‘votum’ meaning, ‘to wish for’. Voting refers to the process of choosing or electing a candidate to run the government’s affairs, usually through a ballot.
In democratic India, general elections take place every five years. All those who are eighteen years of age and above have the right to vote. A number of candidates go around campaigning during elections. They move from door to door and hold public meetings and explain the programmes of their parties to the common man so that we may vote for them. If the party gets a majority of votes, they win; but if they do not, they lose. An election, therefore, is like a battle. But this battle is fought in a peaceful way. It is a battle of ballots, not a battle of bullets.
Going by the true spirit, elections are a celebration of freedom, the regime of democracy, the joy of activities, and the zest of competitions.
Hence, let us remember: Elections are not wars, and therefore we should not fight.
Elections are a festival of democracy; it is a hallmark of our freedom and self-determination. So, let us celebrate and enjoy elections as festivals.
Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai
English has taken many roots
The growth of English, spoken by over 1.5 billion people world wide and the official language of 67 sovereign and 27 non sovereign countries, has been viewed with guarded interest because it is a work in progress. Link--language status of English is there to see and people cannot twiddle their thumbs when others go the whole hog speaking flawless English.
The language pundits will declare that English is nobody's property, it is the property of the language itself. However, cynics are bound to decry the so--called 'funny' side of the language cannot be ignored----they say" English can be understood though through tough thorough thought", it's as simple as that.
Simple, effective, comprehensible and assimilable sentences are all that the language demands. As mankind has evolved, English is no longer a language of the English. It has taken many roots, and people and communities all around have deciphered the luxury of imbibing a good English knowledge.
The United Nations observed April 23 as English Language Day to commemorate the birth and death anniversary William Shakespeare. Even as technology is increasingly employed for multilingual learning, the cultural and intellectual heritage of English cannot be sidelined.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
End game for EVM issue
The Supreme Court dismissed the pleas seeking ballot paper voting and rejected pleas seeking cross-verification of the votes cast in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). Delivering the verdict, the bench issued two directions – containers carrying the symbol loading unit should be sealed in the presence of polling agents and candidates and be kept secured for 45 days and the control unit, ballot unit and VVPAT shall be verified by engineers of the manufacturing companies post the result of the counting on a written request to be made within seven days of the declaration of results.
The expenses for the verification (of the program) to be borne by the candidates making the request, in case the EVM is found to be tampered, the expenses will be refunded, It is a right step in the right direction and lead to a free and fair elections. Thus the EVM end game has come and SC rejects all the petitions challenging EVMs. It has all the opposition raising its doubts cleared once for all. The end game has come for the EVMs issue.
CK Subramaniam, Navi Mumbai
