Congress’ best bet in Kerala
Refer to ‘Modi & the hand of God in Kerala’ (The Great Game); the incisive analysis highlights a crucial political opportunity for the Congress in the southern state. To counter both the BJP’s rising vote share and the CPM’s strategic missteps, the party must assign four-time MP Shashi Tharoor a key role. His broad appeal and intellectual stature could unify the Congress and energise voters more than the Gandhis’ favourites such as KC Venugopal. Meanwhile, with the CPM prioritising opposition to the Congress over ideological consistency, the Left may inadvertently facilitate the BJP’s expansion in Kerala, as seen in West Bengal and Tripura. By backing Tharoor, the Congress can fortify itself and stem the BJP’s rise in the South.
Chanchal S Mann, Una
Recognise merit within party
Refer to ‘Modi & the hand of God in Kerala’; political parties must recognise merit within their ranks. Shashi Tharoor of the Congress has won four parliamentary elections consecutively, while Suresh Gopi won a seat for the BJP for the first time in Kerala. Both have proved their worth to their parties. We often rue that good people don’t enter politics and when they do, their parties don’t support them. For any party to be successful, it will have to establish a grassroots connect with the people of Kerala. Party politics should not mar the prospects of any candidate and they should get a fair chance to seek a mandate.
Gurnoor Grewal, Chandigarh
Mutual funds good option
SEBI has said that nine out of 10 people burn their fingers while investing in stocks in the hope of better returns. One needs to have good knowledge of forward trade, short, long sale and other intricacies to become a good investor. At present, various open-ended mutual fund schemes are a good option. One is sure to gain around 20 per cent over a period of one or two years. Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) are beneficial over long periods for small investors. Interested people should switch over from investing directly in stocks to mutual funds.
NPS Sohal, Chandigarh
Combine farm subsidies
Apropos of ‘Fertiliser crisis’; the current system of agricultural subsidies should be overhauled as it discourages diversification and is regressive, with a major share of the benefits going to rich farmers. Subsidies on power, water and fertilisers should be clubbed together into a single cash transfer payable per hectare of area cultivated. Subsidy should be reduced with an increase in area under cultivation by any landowner. Additional cash incentives could be announced to encourage cultivation of environment- friendly cash crops, like a top-up payment to encourage the cultivation of pulses, millets, oilseeds, horticultural products, etc. This would help in preventing further depletion of the water table and also reduce the power consumption and subsidy bills.
Chander Shekhar Dogra, Jalandhar
Ditched by the US
Donald Trump wants to recover $350 billion that the US pumped into the Ukraine war by forcing Zelenskyy to sign an agreement on accessing mineral resources. Now, Zelenskyy is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Kyiv faces the harsh reality that many former US allies have earlier encountered. History is replete with examples of nations such as Afghanistan that reposed their trust in Washington and were abandoned later. Henry Kissinger was right when he said that it was dangerous to be America’s enemy, but fatal to be its friend.
Ramesh Gupta, Narwana
Language row avoidable
Apropos of ‘Now, Tamil Nadu Governor versus CM Stalin on Hindi row’; the Governor has held the ruling dispensation’s two-language formula responsible for a lack of job opportunities for the state’s youth. TN Law Minister S Regupathy needs to realise that the Governor is a representative of the President, responsible for implementing provisions of the Constitution. He is very well within his rights to guide the state government. The CM must understand that Hindi is not just ‘another language’.
Vijaya Sharma, by mail
