Letters to the editor dated November 29, 2021

This refers to the editorial ‘Just debate’ (November 29). India being a sovereign, social, secular democratic republic has embraced a parliamentary form of government. Unfortunately, during the last few years there is a disruptive attitude which has crept into the minds of members as a result of which Bills tabled in Parliament are not allowed to be debated leading to loss of valuable man-hours with taxpayers’ money going to drains. In the Monsoon Session of Parliament convened in July 2021, taxpayers’ money worth ₹133 crore was wasted over the ruckus created by Opposition parties leading to a loss of about 83 per cent of valuable parliamentary hours.

All the elected members of Parliament, whether they belong to the ruling party or Opposition, are equally responsible for the smooth conduct of Parliament. Irrespective of the strength enjoyed by the ruling party, all important Bills should be debated threadbare before a decision is taken on their passage. In this regard, the passing of Farm Bills using voice vote through ordinance route was unfortunate and could have been avoided.

Chennai

There are a few questions about conduct of both the ruling party and the Opposition parties as regards business of Parliament. It is necessary that as a first step, the ruling BJP/NDA and the Opposition ensure that both the Houses actually function as watchdogs of our democracy.

During the last few decades, precious time of both the Houses has been lost on account of disruption of proceedings. Such disruptions of Parliament must be minimised if not banned. More importantly, Members of Parliament who resort to disruptions should not be allowed to get away without a reprimand.

Pune

This refers to ‘How e-comm is powering jobs in India’ (November 29). Even before the pandemic, e-commerce was creating a number of jobs. But the disruption caused by this pandemic has boosted the retail e-commerce industry, which has seen demand rise by several notches. The biggest behavioural change which has taken place is that now people search and buy products online, though these are available in their neighbourhood stores. Allowing 100 per cent FDI has increased the spending power of these e-commerce giants in India. And with growth comes jobs for both skilled and unskilled manpower.

With India set to become the second largest e-commerce market in the next decade or so, it will put huge responsibility on this sector to provide sustainable employment opportunities. The government, on its part, needs to further deepen internet penetration and connectivity, especially in rural areas.

Noida

Both public and private sector banks levy penalty on encashment of fixed deposits before maturity, ranging upwards of 1 per cent on the rates prevailing at the time of opening of the deposit account. This is quite steep. Because of low yields on FDs and the pandemic effect, many are forced to break the FDs and survive on the capital sum.

In a falling interest rate regime, the penalty should be capped at not more than half per cent and in the case of senior citizens, not more than a quarter per cent.

Bengaluru

The detection of a new Covid variant, designated as ‘Omicron’ by WHO, has now set off alarm bells among countries across the globe with many having begun to impose air travel restrictions. Though the mutation of the virus is not unexpected, preliminary scientific evidence points to faster transmissibility of the new variant and its capability to evade immune response to infect even fully-vaccinated people. Given the devastating effect the Delta variant had on people’s lives and livelihoods, India can ill-afford to be callous on stepping up its genomic surveillance.

Sholavandan, TN

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