Opposition unity

Refer to ‘The Oppn’s dark horse’; the writer lays bare the ambitions of many hopefuls like Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar. No Opposition unity is possible unless there is a consensus on the Prime Ministerial candidate. The 2024 election is still far. PM Modi has many admirers and vast support of people. Do we have an Opposition leader to match his stature? It will be difficult to dislodge him even if the Opposition unites. One does hope that the opposition parties put up a good fight and get enough seats to act as a strong Opposition, which will be good for the country and the democracy.

WG CDR CL SEHGAL (RETD), JALANDHAR

Deportation of youths

Reference to ‘40 Punjabi youths face deportation’; it is a matter of shame that Canada has decided to deport 40 youths to Punjab for misbehaving with the police. This is not a first such incident. Several incidents of Punjabi students creating ruckus on roads and in parties have been reported. Canada is not like India where you can go scotfree after damaging public property or disrespecting the law. Parents of students take loans on higher rates to send their children abroad for a better future. Due to a few students, the whole community faces humiliation and hatred. Those aspiring to settle in Canada must learn from this incident.

TARANPREET SINGH, MOGA

AAP’s publicity drive

The AAP government in Punjab has inserted full-page advertisements in various national and vernacular newspapers highlighting its achievements of six months. It is a sheer wastage of taxpayers’ money to get publicity not just confined to Punjab, but as far as Gujarat and the Andamans. The state is reeling under a burgeoning debt burden and has been unable to even square off the salary bill of employees. Such misuse of the state’s meagre resources should be stopped. The money should be utilised for the servicing of the debt portfolio and urgent development works. The Comptroller General should take cognisance and restrain the DIPR from using treasury for publicity purposes.

Anil vinayak, Amritsar

Burden of freebies

Apropos of ‘Freebies strain Punjab’s financial resources’; promising freebies by political parties nullifies election regulations as the parties overstep the prescribed election expenditure using public money instead of their respective party funds. Promising the moon if they come to power, and leaving it to the public to test its efficacy is a mockery of democracy. When a party announces, say, that it will waive farmers’ debt, it is a violation of banking regulations. The Election Commission has left it to the public to judge. How can it be left to prospective beneficiaries? The commission and judiciary should intervene.

Gaurav Badhwar, Rohtak

Hijab row

The best way out for the apex court is to refer the matter to its Constitution Bench for a final verdict on the issue (‘We aren’t interpreters of Quran: SC on hijab row’). Muslim women wear hijab for privacy. Hitherto, the issue of wearing hijab in educational institutions was never raised. How come the need to ban it has suddenly arisen? The issue is nothing but a result of Hindu-Muslim rivalry. If hijab is considered risky from the security point of view, questions could be raised about ‘ghunghat’ as well. Sentiments of all religions should be respected for maintaining communal harmony.

Ravinder Singh, Jalandhar

Quota crutch

Refer to ‘Hattee community of HP gets ST status’; it brings to an end the 20-year struggle of this community living in the remotest corner of Himachal. Reservation to SC/ST have been continuing since 1950s. Has this brought a tangible change in the quality of their life? Only politicians of every hue have reaped electoral harvest in elections. Just for this reason, they are continuing with this lopsided policy. The right thing would be to provide these communities with good education and financial help in academics. After this, they should be left to compete in whatever field they wish to pursue. Otherwise, they will always bear a life-long stigma of ‘reserved category’, even if most of them may prove to be competent. The quota crutch should be done away with.

LR Sharma, Sundernagar

Federer bids adieu

The tennis world has suffered a blow after Roger Federer, an icon who transcended the sport, announced his retirement. While it is a sad development, there is much to celebrate about his career. He built a stunning tennis profile with eight Wimbledon titles, 20 Grand Slam singles titles and not having retired mid-match in over 1,500 career matches. His constant quest for improvement took him to insurmountable heights. His demeanour, humility and elegance made him popular. He is also known for philanthropic activities.

Aaditya Singh, Karnal

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