What’s the point?

It seems as though the judiciary is passing sweeping orders, without knowing their implications. Take the Madras High Court order saying the the intentions behind an RTI application should be mentioned. The reason for an RTI application is to get the facts and make them public. The Supreme Court has instructed the petitioner to reveal the whistle-blower. What is the security that can be provided to the whistle-blower? Will the Supreme Court judges protect the life of the whistle-blower?

The Supreme Court cancelled the coal block allotments since 1993 stating that many irregularities were present, but who will compensate the people who have invested thousands of crores in those projects? At a time when the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ policy is going viral, these type of road blocks will put us behind. What is the judiciary trying to tell us when so many badly affected people are waiting to get justice?

CAP Kailasanathan

Bangalore

Two views

I strongly disagree with your editorial “A wrong corrective” (September 26).The apex court verdict proclaims in no-nonsense terms that it won’t allow the looting of natural resources which belong to 1.25 billion Indians. If the court had adopted a lenient approach, that would have set the wrong precedent. It would embolden vested interests to seek permission for any business activity in illegal and arbitrary ways and when the court cracks the whip on them they would plead that any move to cancel the permission would cause great financial loss.

So the Supreme Court verdict acts as a deterrent which can prevent such unlawful activities in the future. But I wonder why it took a staggering two decades to unearth the coal scam.

Kiran Jose

Kottayam

The quashing of the allocation of 214 coal blocks is not only on account of illegality but also because of the arbitrary way in which they have been allocated. The court has taken sufficient care while allowing allottees who have commenced extraction of coal from illegally allotted mines a time of six months to make alternative arrangements for coal linkage for their plants. In a way this judgment must improve investors’ confidence as illegality and arbitrariness have been struck down by the judiciary.

S Kalyanasundaram

Email

Sensible suggestions

This is with reference to “For a political consensus” by Pradeep S Mehta (September 26). Political consensus is very difficult to achieve since scoring political points is the chief strategy in the working of parties today. That too, in the case of the two major national parties, namely the Congress and the BJP, a working relationship is hard to achieve, as on important issues these parties do not see eye to eye.

Even on issues of economic policy there should normally be a similar approach, even as differences could arise over matters of implementation and operational procedures; but even here the two parties do not agree to arrive at a consensus. It is to be seen whether Modi will find it worthwhile to seek the cooperation of the Congress since he is still riding a wave of popularity and his following among the masses remains unabated.

TR Anandan

Coimbatore

The views expressed in the article are sensible and certainly worth a try. As rightly observed, one party advocates a certain reform while in government and then promptly ditches it while in the opposition. This amounts to rank opportunism, political insincerity and double standards.

A great deal of time and energy can be saved for the nation’s sake if major political parties can evolve a consensual approach on agenda and reforms for development and growth. Often, policy differences water down to the difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. There is no point arguing over whether the chicken came first or the egg came first.

It is high time parties said goodbye to grandstanding and instead, adopted a consensual and creative stand on what’s for the nation’s overall welfare and well-being.

CG Kuriakose

Kothamangalam, Kerala

Mars mission

Congratulations to the dedicated scientists of ISRO for the success of Mars mission, which has enabled India to occupy a place of prestige and recognition among scientifically advanced nations. However last year a section of society asked if it is necessary to indulge in the luxury of this costly mission ignoring the deplorable conditions of millions of rural Indians, as the money spent on this mission could have been used for development work in rural areas. But investment in space research has to be continued because it is like a gold mine where mining has just begun. It needs patience and foresight. Those who look for immediate return on investment may fail to see the long-term benefits which may open new vistas to the earthbound spirit of life.

TS Karthik

Chennai

Wrong move

The Kerala government’s move to disinvest 26 per cent shares of State-owned public sector undertakings for mobilising ₹1,000 crore to rein in the revenue deficit, is wrong. The proposal if implemented would have far-reaching consequences. The finance department of Kerala is poorly run. One instance is their deploying police, excise and sale tax staff on highways to extract money from passengers. In order to protect government interests, there are better ways other than selling the assets of our ancestors. If not checked, this government will sell land and other properties owned by government colleges and other public sector institutions.

The absence of a professional management in public sector establishments is the fault of the government. The unaccountability of the staff there may be another factor. The government which is in power for a short span of time has no right to sell public property. The move should be opposed outright.

KA Solaman

Alappuzha

HMT forever

It is very painful to read about the closure of HMT, the time-keepers of the nation. HMT watches were a household name in India. At any function and important events, people gifted only these watches. To this extent HMT watches had a brand equity.

Nobody took any interest to rehabilitate HMT when it became sick. Instead, people moved from there to another private company which is now very popular.The company had lot of real estate worth crores of rupees. All the assets have been sold one by one and the proceeds have been used to clear the liabilities. We have lost some shining family silver but brand HMT will never die.

Shrikanteshwara S

Bangalore

COMMENT NOW