Leaders exhortations
TIME and again our leaders have been
exhorting us to maintain standards of fairness and
probity in our dealings. Are these exhortations meant
only for the common man?
A few days back an
Assistant Commissioner of Police was arrested for forgery
and for accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh. Justice C.
Shivappa of the Madras High Court was compulsorily
retired by the President for furnishing a wrong date of
his birth.
More recently a
Bangalore-based advocate has been charged with tampering
with her birth certificate.
If such is the conduct of
persons at the helm of affairs, what can be expected of
ordinary citizens? Does this not call for national
regeneration?
SURINDER KUMAR
MARWAHA
New Delhi
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Errant
bus operators
During the past three
months I had to do a lot of travelling in Himachal
Pradesh, especially Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Kangra and Mandi
districts. Very few of the operators of privately owned
buses show normal courtesy to passengers. None of them
issues any ticket to the travelling public whether
undertaking a long journey or on a short travel. Many of
them indulge in over-speeding, roof-loading, playing all
kinds of filthy audio cassettes. And at full (injurious)
volume.
They tend to get violent
if a passenger insists on the issuance of a ticket or
stopping of or reducing the volume of the noise nuisance.
Are the authorities aware of all this? They must act
before it is too late.
K.L. NOATAY
Mehre
Flood
of cars
During the past
20-25 years Maruti Udyog dominated the Indian car
market and had its complete monopoly, but in the
recent past, many other cars, small and large,
cheap and costly, hit the market. Now many cars
of Indian and foreign make are on the road.
Due to the flood
of cars many finance companies and banks have
started attractive schemes to lure customers to
buy these cars on low rates of interest. The cost
of cars, on other hand, is also decreasing owing
to the competition among the companies. Not only
this, many schemes are being launched on the
purchase of certain items which carry cars as
prizes against lucky coupons.
Now the question
arises: whether we have roads in India to bear
the extra burden of these cars. Where will we be
able to move the cars and where will we get space
to park our vehicles? The ever increasing rush of
vehicles will lead to more accidents and traffic
jams. Then committees will have to be formed to
know the cause of the accidents.
It is high time
the government initiated some action and
prevented this mad race of cars to save the
environment.
PUNEET
MEHTA
Patiala
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A bold budget
The budget for 1999-2000
was presented on February 27, 1999, at 11 a.m. Mr
Yashwant Sinha was bold enough to break the old British
legacy. It was presented every year on February 28 at 5
p.m. He set a new precedent. He has been bolder in other
fields also. Various sections of the population expected
reduction in various taxes direct and indirect
but the Finance Minister has risen to the great
expectations of the Indian nation which wants its economy
to be strengthened.
During the last 50 years
populist policies generated the back-breaking subsidies
which stood at no less than Rs 1,37,000 crore annually.
Every year a deficit budget was presented. Even this year
the Finance Minister has not been able to present a
balanced budget but he has tried his level best to reduce
the deficit to a large extent. He hopes that with the
grace of God and peoples cooperation he may be
presenting a balanced budget after 2-3 years. Let us hope
and pray that the present government headed by Mr Atal
Behari Vajpayee completes five years of its term Mr
Sinhas dream comes true.
The present young
generation and coming ones have to bear the burden of
public borrowings which are resorted to cover the
deficit. Mr Vajpayee and Mr Sinha know very well that
they are besieged by hostile elements who see no
reasoning and are always there to throw away the larger
national interests to the winds. Yet they have the guts
to muster courage to present a budget which will lift the
Indian economy and ultimately bring about a revolution if
God helps them to remain in power for full term. The
present generation feels grateful to them for mitigating
their burden.
Dr NARESH RAJ
Patiala
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