Page 6 - 31JAN2020E4

Letters
special report Is Jawaharlal Nehru uNIversIty turNINg INto a war zoNe?
issue
3
Volume 17
31 Jan 2020
new Delhi
Where is the country heading for? Three reports. Entirely different perspectives
www.tehelka.com www.facebook.com/tehelka www.twitter.com/tehelka
THERE’S NO NEED
TO BAN EVMS
With reference to the report “EVMs are absolutely safe in
strongrooms: EC” by Tehelka WebDesk (May 21, 2019) the economy by brute force.
This is with reference to an bid
by Onkar Singh Dhillion, who
is on a nationwide padayatra,
to seek a blanket ban on EVMs
because he thinks that ruling
parties are manipulating the
same to win polls. His effort is a
waste of time as it’s a Herculean
task to ban EVMs and bring back
ballot-papers once again.
Further, it is not easy for the
parties in power to tamper with
EVMs. These are manufactured
and tested by state-owned firms
and have been found to be
reliable and tamper-proof. And,
if any party is found indulging in
manipulation, it runs the risk of
being penalised by the ECI.
HARMINDER SINGH GUMBHIR
LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM
Govt must take urgent home minister, Amit Shah, had
20 steps to revive economy been enthusiastic about building
With reference to the Cover Story “Paradox called detention centres for those who
Indian economy” by Tehelka Bureau (January 31) would be identified as non-
The growth rate of India’s gross citizens. The entire plan would
domestic product has slid to a incur an enormous expense. Is
six-year low of 4.5 per cent. This it not the taxpayers’ money that
decline seems to be a matter of would be spent for this?
concern for all except the Cen- According to Abhijit Baner-
tral government. jee and Esther Duflo, the Nobel
People do not have jobs — Prize-winning economists,
unemployment is at a record illegal immigrants do not add
high — and the purchasing to the economic burden of any
power of the common citizen is country. On the contrary, they
shrinking every day. stimulate the economy.
The Centre must take im- Will our ministers pay more
mediate remedial steps to revive attention to these thinkers than
8 the economy before it is too late on ways to garner more votes by
to reverse the downward trend. dividing the nation?
CHANDAN KUMAR NATH TAPOMOY GHOSH
Demonetization and the faulty This does not augur well for
implementation of the goods
the nation, which is currently
and services tax are respon- facing an economic slowdown,
sible for India’s economic
which is conveniently attributed
slowdown to a great extent. The to global factors. Exporters are
government cannot control
facing several hurdles on the
domestic front, including uncer-
Complex rules and theories — tainty over the Merchandise Ex-
that the present dispensation, ports from India Scheme (MEIS)
unfortunately, seems incapable
and the holding up of exporters’
of grasping — are needed to GST and duty drawback claims.
manage the economy. One earnestly hopes the
Unemployment in the coun-
try is higher than it has been in government would realise the
gravity of the situation and un-
45 years. The sale of almost all dertake all remedial measures to
commodities, from cars to bis- rein in the constantly declining
cuits, has fallen. The middle and
exports before it gets too late.
lower classes of society, both in KUMAR GUPT
rural and urban areas, are fac-
ing severe economic problems
in everyday life. The youth is Bid to de-legitimise CAA
naturally frustrated at the sight protests needs to stop
With reference to the report “Politics hots up
of their bleak future. amidst CAA row in Assam” by Nava Thakuria
(January 31)
The economy is the founda-
tion on which all our social and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has
called for unity among Opposi-
political operations are based. tion parties to support the ongo-
Fixing it could bring stability
to the entire country. Yet, the ing protests against the CAA and
government is trying to divert force the government to roll
back the law. When the CAA,
people’s attention from this cru-
cial issue towards other matters rushed through in Parliament,
such as the National Register is ‘political’ in its true sense,
the protest against it too has to
of Citizens and the Citizenship be ‘political’. The protest is as
(Amendment) Act in order to
hide its economic failures. In ‘political’ as the enactment of the
fact, until a few days back, the Act was ‘political’. The law was
6