Page 7 - Tehelka Issue 13 - July 15, 2018
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                       that the very people who so   stay away immediately from   The BJP’s move is just not
                       meticulously follow travel   office after the controversy   acceptable. Most of its reasons
                       guidelines while commuting by   came into the public domain.   do not pass muster. Though the
                       more sophisticated modes of    It would appear that the   Agenda of Alliance had been
                       transport, feel uncomfortable   bank’s board of directors   put on the backburner, the two
                       when the Railways intend     continues to be beholden to her   parties should have worked
                       to enforce similar rules.    and it has not covered itself with   things out. It is unfortunate
                       Transporting about 18 million   glory. One cannot forget how   that the people of Kashmir are
                       citizens daily, India’s vast rail   it earlier and hastily gave her   constantly being denied an
                       network is the most heavily   a ‘clean chit’ without carrying   opportunity to live in peace.
                       used in the world. Although   out an objective internal probe.
                       passenger fares on Indian    The board’s act has only shown              unnati khubyani,
                       Railways are among the lowest   up the absence of an efficacious
                       in the world; subsidized by high   internal vigilance mechanism in   As predicted by many, the
                       cargo tariffs, it is claimed that   the private banking sector.  alliance finally ended. When
                       Indian Railways does not even                             it was formed, many of us
                       recover its cost of operating.               Sk choudhury,  hoped that it would focus on
                       Railways needs to innovate its                            development, but its energy
                       working style in a manner that   Parties should unite     was consumed in combating
                       it guarantees better revenue.   against terrorism         militancy.
                       Though railways should not   All the major political parties   The grave question which
                       compromise passenger comfort,   in Jammu and Kashmir —    arises now is this: How does
                       it should ensure that rail users   the Congress, the National   one bring everlasting peace
                       adhere to rules and regulations.   Conference, the People’s   in the region? There are
                       Therefore, it is recommended   Democratic Party and the   more problems now — more
                       that the period of ‘awareness   Bharatiya Janata Party — are   radicalisation, greater alienation
                       campaign’ is immediately     represented in the Assembly.   of Kashmiri youth and lack of
                       followed by stringent          All these parties are      much needed employment.
                       enforcement of the resolution.  committed to peace and the   If Governor’s Rule is imposed,
                                        Pachu Menon  development of the State. They   military interventions will rise
                                                    have also been in and out of   which in turn will fuel greater
                       Kochhar should have          power in the State in various   hostility.
                       stayed away from office      combinations.                                     aSif ali
                       With reference to the online report “CEO Kochar   Yet these parties are divided,
                       to go on leave till completion of probe, says   which is what separatists and   The collapse of the BJP-PDP
                       ICICI” (June 19)
                       SEBI, the regulatory watch dog,   Pakistan-supported elements   government marks the logical
                       should act expeditiously on   draw strength from and use to   end to a political experiment
                       its own to find out the truth in   continuously disrupt peace and   which had arisen as a result of
                       the ICICI Bank case since it is   growth in the State. Perhaps   circumstantial post-election
                       presumed to be in possession of   all these parties can unite and   compulsions. Rather than
                       all evidence at its disposal.   thwart these grave designs to   encouraging petty politics, one
                         Chanda Kochhar has had a   interfere with our sovereignty.   hopes that parties across the
                       chequered career and the bank’s   A unity government      political spectrum rally behind
                       name is more or less identified   can restore democracy in a   the Union government and
                       with hers; her contribution   meaningful manner and send   the Indian Army in rooting out
                       to the growth of the bank can   out the message to Kashmiris   terrorism in the State.
                       never be underestimated. The   that their future can be made   The underlying lesson from
                       continued suspense over alleged   secure.                 the political development is that
                       quid pro quo will damage not   The national parties should   in the absence of a coherent
                       only her reputation but the   take the initiative to put forth   ideology and constructive
                       banking industry’s as a whole.   such a plan.  All this may be   vision for development, political
                                                    wishful thinking but it’s worth   experiments such as the PDP-
                                       V. SubraManian  a try to prove that India follows   BJP government are bound to
                                                    democratic norms and always   collapse under the weight of
                       Chanda Kochhar on her own    has peace in mind.           internal contradictions.
                       volition should have chosen to              b Sundar raMan,              b SureSh kuMar



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