22 Feb 2019 | 05:17am IST
Letters to the editor
False promises fooling voters The parliamentary elections are fast approaching and the BJP has started to fool us again. The BJP National VP Vinay Sahastrabudhe comments on CM’s utterances on mining stating that the mining issue is with the judiciary and the Prime Minister looking into the matter and solution will come. How can the Prime Minister solve the mining issue when it is a judicial matter?
The party has failed to the promise it made in 2014 on Special status to Goa and now the BJP is trying to fool us again to grant Special Status to Goa to vote for BJP. (Herald dated Feb. 21, 2019). The mining dependents and the Goans at large should not be carried away by these false promises and vote for BJP.
While the whole country is mourning the death of our braves, a disturbing question is could this tragedy have been avoided? Today's issue carries the people's edit - Srinivas Kamat questions the deficient protocol in moving 2500 jawans bunched together in known terror areas. Compound this with decisions allowing for free movement of civilian vehicles, alongside the convoy, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Is free movement of civilian vehicles allowed alongside a convoy transporting even one VVIP? As the edit says are the lives of our jawans cheap? In such situations could the army use armoured personnel carriers? Is it because the army does not have enough of such vehicles.
Can we get our priorities right? Not that we lack the resources, a prime example being the crores of rupees spent on statues. Let not our jawans lives, be wasted, at least now let the authorities quickly put in place safeguards and revoke the decisions whose sole purpose is to placate the vote banks.
It is learnt that the Margao Municipal Council has handed over traffic sign boards to the Traffic Cell. In the past, I have written extensively in the local newspapers, especially Herald, regarding traffic problems in Goa, including about traffic sign boards and their placement or display. However, my letters and articles seem to have always gone unnoticed, as there were never any comments nor action. Besides, I never got any answer to my repeated queries to the concerned authorities, especially about priority at crossroads. Hope the sign boards now supplied are in accordance with the specifications laid down in the law and that the Traffic Cell makes good use of them to ease traffic in Margao, without making things more complicated, for motorists and pedestrians alike, by their wrong placement or display.
Joaquim Correia Afonso, Benaulim
In the past politicians exercised refrain over disclosing their intent to remain in power by every possible means. It is not the case today. Today politicians are more outspoken and speak of their plans to stay in power. Hence we hear of ‘Plan B’ if ‘Plan A’ fails and ‘Plan C’ if both the previous plans fail. God knows how many more plans politicians have up their sleeves.
One never heard of such plans being mentioned by politicians in the past. Be that as it may, these plans could be against the mandate of the people and does not augur well for a democratic set-up where a party with the majority gets to form the government. Such plans only go to show how much politicians desire to stick to power.
The question that arises is whether the various plans expressed by the politicians have the backing of the voters. It would be desirable for the politicians who come out with such plans to remain in power, to go back to the electorate and discuss the proposed plan with them and get their support.
SC collegiums overrule government-objection on transfer of judges: What happens next?
The above refers to media-reports about Supreme Court collegium not changing its recommendations of 10.01.2019 on transfer of judges at High Courts including transfer of Telangana Chief Justice Radhakrishnan as Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. Big question is what happens next, when present system allows appointment of judges at higher courts as per recommendations of Supreme Court collegium in case collegium declines to review its earlier recommendations.
It is a matter of concern that central government and concerned ones at Supreme Court could not achieve consensus on system of appointments in higher judiciary.
Best is to constitute a permanent National Judicial Commission having retired Supreme Court judges as member-nominees of President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, leader of largest opposition party in Lok Sabha and Bar Council of India with Central Vigilance Commissioner as its ex-officio Secretary. This Commission can be final authority in appointments and probe against judges of higher courts.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Delhi
Many psychiatric, lifestyle, degenerative and neoplastic diseases are attributed to alcohol over-consumption. Not to mention accidents and suicidal tendencies which jeopardise the psyche of the society.
Generally, easy availability makes alcohol a crippling intoxicant. Worldwide, including India, the use of alcohol has led to dependency among many. A recent government report says around 14 per cent of Indians have consumed alcohol at any point in their lifetime and a 19 per cent dependency on alcoholism has been observed in the above. A staggering sixty million contemporary Indians are alcohol users. Absenteeism, work-loss, marital discord, financial deprivation make life hell for an alcoholic. .
The efforts to curb the evils of alcohol have not really worked in India. Many States introduced a blanket ban on alcohol; some selectively restricted its use. And a few big States went back to their old ways.
Though kept away, alcohol mafia is too strong, and supported clandestinely by the politicians -- policemen, to result in a spurt of alcohol black-marketing. De-addiction centres have noble intentions; but quite a few centres have not lived up to expectations because they have focused their energy more on "alcohol" and less on the "alcoholic". There are both ordinary and famous people who have shunned alcohol before alcohol has consumed them. Others need to take a leaf out of their books.
Something is better than nothing. The present mediation talks by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is an exercise few likely to undertake and he steps in to strike a peace-pact between India and Pakistan at the earliest. But Pakistan is in a defying mood without acknowledging the terror attack at Pulwama by the Pakistan based terrorist group and it is for sure Pakistan’s mea culpa on the failure of wiping out terrorism from its soil can never be expected.
With the intervention of MBS who is very powerful and influential, a tangible positive result can be expected. Anyway, let us all look forward to more vibrant and constructive dialogues that must lead to restoring our good relationship with Pakistan. Only where peace prevails, progress and prosperity will rule the roost. So, India and Pakistan must go forward unitedly in the future if both the countries want real progress.
