Half-baked schemes

Refer to ‘Agnipath hurdle’; the scheme was launched last year to recruit youngsters in the military. As many as 18,849 Agniveers completed their training in June. However, 6,277 out of them have not been able to join the Army over pending police verification. Half-baked schemes or policies, which are not thoroughly planned or implemented, usually meet such a fate. Effective policy development and implementation require careful consideration of various factors. The authorities frame the schemes in their offices without a thorough understanding of the ground reality.

Raj Kumar Kapoor, Ropar

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Experimenting with forces

Apropos of ‘Govt to weigh hierarchy, rank, status of theatre commands’; how many experiments will we carry out with the armed forces? The Agnipath recruitment is stuck in bureaucratic lethargy. Disbursement of defence pension through SPARSH is not veteran-friendly. The IAF’s reservations over theatre commands seem to have been sidelined. After Gen Bipin Rawat, the CDS’s post was to go to an Air Force or Navy officer, as per the agreed rotation plan. But it didn’t happen. The Army is no superior to the Air Force or the Navy, except in numbers. The Defence Ministry should shun its partisan role.

WG CDR CL SEHGAL (RETD), Jalandhar

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Exodus of migrant labourers

Apropos of ‘Restoring trust’; the failure of the Haryana Government to stop the exodus of migrant labourers following the Nuh violence will disrupt economic activities in the region. The availability of skilled labour is a critical factor for the success and growth of industries and businesses in any region. Its unavailability will result in lower production levels and decreased output. Some businesses may consider relocating to other areas, which would impact Haryana’s economy. Asking people of a certain religion to move out of a state or a country goes against the principles of inclusivity, tolerance and equality.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

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Exploiting communal tensions

Refer to ‘Restoring trust’; all democratic governments possess administrative tools and bureaucratic systems to promptly quell ethnic and religious disturbances without any political interference. Ethnic and religious conflicts often do not emerge suddenly but are the result of underlying tensions that have been simmering for a long time. Some politicians exploit communal tensions for political gains, either by taking action that appeases their voter base or by allowing tensions to escalate to divert attention from other issues. Even the biggest of riots can be controlled if a government wants to.

BM Singh, Amritsar

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Sunny Deol’s poor attendance

Apropos of ‘Six of 20 MPs mark 100% attendance, Deol zero’; it’s not surprising that Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol didn’t attend the House even for a day during the monsoon session. This is not the first time Deol recorded zero attendance during a session. Ever since he was elected MP, he has asked only one question in the Lower House and visited his constituency just a few times. Posters declaring Deol ‘missing’ keep surfacing in Gurdaspur. He has neither bothered to participate in any parliamentary debate nor introduced a single private member’s Bill. People who voted for him must be feeling cheated by his dismal performance.

Balbir Singh Kakkar, Jalandhar

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Rahul needs to inspire confidence

Apropos of ‘Looking beyond the desk-thumping’ (Nous Indica); the writer’s perspective about the political mood in the country seems to be closer to ground reality. Yet, nobody can ignore the lack of ideological clarity and socio-economic vision among Opposition leaders. On the other hand, the BJP has a well-oiled election machinery and a vast cadre of loyal party workers. Besides, the charismatic presence of Modi notched up huge electoral victories for the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi has potential, but he needs to inspire confidence among the masses.

Raj Bahadur Yadav, Fatehabad

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