price hike debate
The finance minister’s response to the debate on price hike was about securing political brownie points rather than assuring the common man that unprecedented prices of essential commodities and runaway inflation (p. 1, “GST levy will not be burdened by the poor”). , 2 August).
Surprised to read the statement of the Finance Minister that the implementation of GST will not burden the poor.
One wonders how the higher GST on staple food items will not affect the poor. There are enough indicators that this will have a cascading effect given the fact that most people in the country have rice as their staple food. The decisions of the GST Council are almost always decided by the Centre, with states given a minor role in making suggestions (usually brushed aside). There was also no word in the minister’s reply on what was being done to tackle the critical unemployment issue.
J Ananth Padmanabhan,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
The Finance Minister’s contention that the imposition of GST on food items will not burden the poor families is not convincing as the ground reality is different. It is no surprise that the opposition was dismayed by the reply – that the decision has been taken by the GST Council ‘with the approval of all states’. The statement that the government is trying to keep inflation at 7%, when inflation was above 9% under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, is unacceptable. The ruling party is now eight years old and it doesn’t feel right to compare itself with the UPA government for everything. The ruling government should try to offer concrete solutions instead of citing other economic factors.
D Sethuraman,
Chennai
The Treasury Bench will never bow down to the arguments of the Opposition! The opposition then stalled parliamentary proceedings to highlight the price hike and GST rates. The finance minister seemed to remind us of her spokeswoman-ship days (page 1, “‘GST levy will not burden the poor’,” August 2). Free food to 80 crore people was his trump card in favor of the poor. According to him, despite the global crisis and the ‘burden’ of UPA’s oil bonds, all other parameters are under control. Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi said ‘If you can’t buy bread, eat cake!’ The saying was correct in referring to the ruling party’s strategy. All said and done, the opposition parties got nothing in return for their efforts.
K Nehru Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam
On what basis was the Finance Minister claiming in Parliament that the imposition of GST would not burden the poor? Fearing adulteration, daily wage workers and common man now buy small pouches of milk, curd and buttermilk. Even an increase of one rupee affects the poorest person in India.
N Nagarajan,
Secunderabad
VP election
The opposition’s interview with vice-presidential candidate Margaret Alva reveals that the fighting spirit within her is alive and kicking (in the inside pages, “Where is the South in this whole set-up, and who represents us). does?” (July 31). One has to wonder why his abilities are unusable, or under-utilised, by the Congress party for unhelpful reasoning.
Ms. Alva is right in pointing out the blatant injustice for South India in not providing even a modest share of representation at top constitutional posts or other higher leadership levels.
Ayyassery Rabindranath,
Aranmula, Kerala
where democracy
Our freedom fighters will be amazed at how radical nationalism occupies the entire space of the country’s popular culture and consciousness (Editorial page, “Rebuilding India’s Consciousness”, 2 August). Right has been successful to a large extent in making the ‘ideology of the ruling class’ the ruling ideology of the wider society. The political nature of the country has changed so much that it is baffling that Savarkar is being promoted as the most prominent symbol of the country as a rival or as an equivalent of Mahatma Gandhi.
One should not forget that the ruling party has corporate billionaires, top bureaucrats, academicians, think tanks, film stars, journalists and judges. The new form of nationalism is opposed to inclusiveness.
G David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
monkeypox strategy
Immediate measures need to be taken to prevent further spread of monkeypox. All primary contacts should be kept under strict surveillance and surveillance reports should be of the standard prescribed by WHO. All passengers arriving at international airports should be screened.
Dr Jayasekaran VP,
Payyanur, Kannur, Kerala
Woman power
India got off to a good start in the Commonwealth Games. But what makes it even better is that India’s female athletes are picking up the pace. Her success will surely inspire girls in India.
Albin Benny,
Bangalore