M A I L B A G

Demeaning parade of legislators

I write this with reference to Mr H.K. Dua’s article dated December 10 in which he has sagaciously drawn our attention to the sad legacy of Nehru-Gandhi and later about-to-be-born Vadhera dynasty. Though Mr Dua has drawn our attention to Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and the rabbit to be pulled out of the magician’s hat, Priyanka Vadhera, he has failed to expose the blunders of the founder of this dynasty, Nehru.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi like the Bourbons has learnt and unlearnt nothing from modern Indian history. She took many days to install Mrs Sheila Dixit as Chief Minister of Delhi. Mrs Dixit of all of Mrs Gandhi’s Chief Ministers is the only one who has, by her hard work, won the people’s mandate. Then why did it take so many days for the Congress party to give Mrs Dixit the green signal to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair?

Further, Punjab Congress leaders Capt Amarinder Singh and Mrs Bajinder Kaur Bhattal camped in Delhi to show their respective strength of legislators. Why should Mrs Gandhi demean these legislators and their leaders by having them paraded before her?

I deprecate this practice in Indian politics of sometimes the President of India taking a head count of Members of Parliament or the State Governors resorting to the same practice by counting MLAs. To my mind, ministries must take their birth in their respective legislatures and meet their end in the same chamber.

GURSHARAN SINGH, General Secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Delhi

This is public dealing Recently, I had the misfortune of having to visit a post office in response to a notice in my letterbox, intimating me that a Registered V.P. had been received and I should retrieve it from the post office. I went at 2:30 p.m. I was told that I should come in the morning. On my requesting that I have to go to office in the morning and therefore, I may be given the letter, I was told that cash had been deposited and I should come four days later as there were two holidays in between. I went the next time at 2 p.m. First of all, none bothered to help me and would direct me to somebody and so on. Ultimately, I was directed to the roof where some were gossiping and playing cards. On my repeated requests, I was asked to wait as if I had been called to some police station in connection with investigations in case of a murder. I know the reasons. One, they want their palms to be greased. The other is sadistic behaviour. This incident is not an isolated one but routine in public dealing institutions. I wish there were frequent refresher courses for all the employees on courtesy and good manners. KASHISH KHANNA, Panchkula

Medical allowance

On the basis of the last pay commission set up by the Punjab Government the State granted Rs 250 per month as a fixed medical allowance to its pensioners.

Since then the prices of medicines have risen manifold but the fixed medical allowance continues to be disbursed at the same rate, despite representations to the government by the Punjab State Pensioners and Senior Citizen Welfare Association. Keeping in view the hike in the prices of medicines, the fixed medical allowance should be increased to Rs 500 per month. The government should also consider the idea of granting house rent allowance to the pensioners.

HARDEEP SINGH SANDHU, Chandigarh

Messed-up career

I have got sick of reading article after article showering praise on Dev Anand. That is why Mr Amar Chandel’s piece, “A monarch of all that he surveys” (Oped, Dec 13) came as a whiff of fresh air. The writer has made a fair and candid study of Dev’s career.

He has rightly remarked that Dev never wanted to rise to the potential that he could have easily achieved if he dared to break the template. I, too, feel that he messed up his career by dabbling in direction for which he just seems to have no aptitude. He has churned out as many as 12 inane and super flop movies in a row (“Loot Maar” to “Love at Times Square”)! I am sure this is a “world record”. In fact, a joke doing the rounds in the film industry is that the Union Government should utilise Dev Anand’s services to procure loans from the World Bank. After all, he has been successfully arranging finance for his movies despite such a terrible record in the field of filmmaking!

Mr Chandel has rightly hinted that Dev Anand is not a great actor either. He has only been a popular star. Frankly, I don’t know why such a fuss is being made of “late” conferment of the Phalke Award on him.

In the box-item under the headline “Refreshingly unchanged” published on the same page (“culled from the Net”), “Return of Jewel Thief” has been wrongly mentioned as a directorial venture of Dev Anand. It was Ashok Tyagi who had wielded the megaphone for the movie with T.P. Aggarwal as its producer.

It has also been wrongly mentioned that Dev’s last hit film as actor was “Johny Mera Naam” (1970). Actually, some of his subsequent starrers like “Tere Mere Sapne”. “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” (both released in ’72). “Amir Garib” (’74). “Warrant” (’75) and “Des Pardes” (’78) had also reaped a rich harvest at the boxoffice.

SURENDRA MIGLANI, Kaithal

CA versus MBA

What is the difference between a chartered accountant (C/A) and an MBA (Finance)? There is no black and white answer to this question.

Even though the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recently introduced a six-month course in General Management and Communication Skills which is indeed praise worthy but still I have a strong feeling that if the ICAI sets up professional colleges to impart full-fledged C.A. courses it will be the icing on the cake.

SACHIN JAIN, Lehra Mohabat