Impact of Sibal’s exit

This refers to ‘Sibal quits Congress after 31 years’ (May 26). Former minister Kapil Sibal has resigned from the Congress party and filed his nomination as an independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha (RS), with support from the Samajwadi Party (SP). His exit, arguably the most high-profile in the party in two years, comes at a critical time for the Congress, which is trying to rejuvenate its ranks after a clutch of demoralising losses.

Sibal’s departure also punctures the narrative of revitalisation that the Congress has been seeking to put forth after its Udaipur Chintan Shivir. While it remains to be seen if his exit has any electoral ramifications for the party, it is sure to have an effect on the party’s churn. Worse still, it bolsters the public perception that the Congress is in terminal decline, one that the party needs to desperately reverse if it has to stand a chance in the upcoming elections. Its response will determine whether future departures can be stopped.

N Sadhasiva Reddy

Bengaluru

Congress must introspect

It was quite interesting to learn that Kapil Sibal, one of the key members of the ‘G-23’, thought it wise to resign from the Congress party. While such a worrisome development does not augur well for the already sagging image of the grand old party, there could be many more similarly placed highly aggrieved senior Congressmen who may be waiting for some worthy opportunities before jumping ship. The sudden migration of Sibal to the SP’s fold must ring some alarm bells for Sonia & Co. But will she carry out some honest introspection or forget Sibal as some bad dream, remains the moot question?

SK Gupta

New Delhi

Joint demat account

Banks allow conversion of single savings bank account into a joint account on submission of an application form giving details of the new account-holder. A similar facility must be made available for demat account also.

When demat for shares started in India lots of individual accounts were opened. Now most of them have become senior citizens. For them this facility of adding additional names in demat account will be useful and future troubles can be avoided. The cost and time involved in opening a new joint account and transferring the securities to that can be saved. Also, it will be beneficial for the inheritors, as they can access the demat account without any hassles. SEBI should give serious thought to this.

Vijay Walhekar

Thane

Encourage entrepreneurs

This is with reference to ‘Too early to write off the start-up story’ (May 26). There is lots of talent hidden in the private sector, which can be well-utilised for the development of the nation/economy. However, due to rampant corruption in government offices, people of integrity keep away from government-related schemes and organisations. For each ministry, the Modi government should set up a panel of advisors consisting of experts. The advisory board must be given responsibilities and powers. They should directly report to the PMO to avoid any bottlenecks or roadblocks.

Also, there should be a clear demarcation of entrepreneurs based on the location of their business. Entrepreneurs who would like to set up tech start-ups in rural, tribal and backward areas should be given more concessions. This will help people of these areas get jobs, as well provide farmers an alternative source of employment. Entrepreneurs with rich experience and who have started from scratch should be taken into confidence by the government and should be asked encourage new entrepreneurs.

Veena Shenoy

Thane

Factors driving the power crisis

This refers to ‘Power, coal, Rlys – piercing the jigsaw puzzle’ (May 26). Indeed, the country-wide power shortage is caused by heat waves and coal shortage. In spite of abundant coal reserves, wrong policies in allocating coal mines, paucity in railway infrastructure to transport extracted coal to power stations, considerable time delay and cost overruns in completion of thermal projects, and environmental and land acquirement issues involved in coal mining are perennial problems obstructing the flow of coal to power plants.

Synchronisation of the vital three sectors and removing bureaucratic hurdles can go a long way in solving the power crisis.

NR Nagarajan

Sivakasi, TN

comment COMMENT NOW