Ineffective Opposition

The Lakhimpur Kheri incident is reprehensible (‘Mowing down protest’). Opposition parties are fishing in troubled waters and striving to draw maximum political mileage. Politicians are shedding crocodile tears. This issue shall also blow over with time like the floating corpses in the Ganga. The Yogi government is notorious for extra-judicial killings, enacting regressive laws to create communal disharmony, mishandling of the pandemic and no perceptible and tangible development in the state. The Opposition has so far been a mute spectator and could not close ranks to take on the Yogi government. It needed a Lakhimpur-type macabre incident to corner the current dispensation. Congress scions are likely to go on a holiday after the clamour. The Opposition should not be selective but consistent.

Deepak Singhal, Noida

Punish the guilty

The government should shed the obsession of a megalomaniac bent upon crushing the voice of the people who, as per the Constitution, are citizens of a federal republic and not the subjects of a dictatorial regime. If the Centre fails to take this incident seriously and does not punish the culprits, it will give rise to anarchy. Self-delusion of the government seems to have been born out of the majority in Parliament. The voice of a weak and divided Opposition goes unheard. The survival of the government will be at stake if it does not mend its way.

Col Kuldip S Grewal (Retd)

PM must apologise

If speaking the truth is called sedition, let it be so. Poor and innocent people are murdered in broad daylight and the government is fabricating things, whereas everything is clearly seen in the video gone viral. What else is needed to punish the culprits? Can money bring back the loved ones? The accused should be behind bars without any delay. The PM must talk to the agitating farmers to end the stir and apologise to the nation. We want justice.

Harkawal Jeet Kaur, Mohali

Like Jallianwala Bagh

It sometimes arouses suspicion — are we really living in our own independent country or under subjugation to tyrannical medieval or colonial rulers? What transpired at Lakhimpur Kheri appeared pre-meditated and is a throwback to the Jallianwala Bagh incident. The gruesome incident reflects the poisoned, polluted and criminal mindset of the malefactors, regardless of the exalted offices they occupy. If we take pride in being citizens of a country that talks of being ‘vishwaguru’, certainly the Lakhimpur spectacle does not bode well for our democracy and civilisation.

EPSA Prashar, Dharamsala

Equality before law

Apropos of ‘Mowing down protest’; the sentence, “Ita fiat esto; we remain yours seditiously” speaks volumes of the resolve to be a votary of fair play and justice, calling a spade a spade. Unfortunately, the needless escalation of violence in Lakhimpur Kheri raises many searching questions at the polity’s dereliction of its duties and responsibilities to honour as well as protect the Constitution, the law of the land, democratic norms and time-honoured values. The moot question remains if everyone is equal before the law? Silence on the issue and inability to pinpoint the accused and ensure justice to the victims and those killed will only add to the already tense situation.

PK Sharma, Barnala

Tax haven

Apropos of ‘Seychelles connection’, it is a matter of concern that a senior Army officer’s name figures in the Seychelles offshore accounts. Tax havens have been used for quite some time to open offshore accounts for laundering ill-gotten gains. Corrupt bureaucrats and politicians have used tax havens like Seychelles in view of its ‘very favourable’ treatment of offshore companies. India needs to curb this tax evasion by investigating the information provided in these papers. This can act as a major deterrent to the accumulation and concealment of wealth. Coordinated efforts of the income tax department, the ED, RBI and the financial intelligence unit would be worthwhile to expedite the investigation.

Gurpreet Singh, Mohali

In education business

Refer to ‘Churning in tech education’; private colleges have mushroomed in the past two decades only for minting money. The owners are businessmen not social workers, and are least worried about quality education. Thousands of third-division engineers are doing menial jobs. These colleges have ruined the value of engineers. The directorates of higher education and universities should think before affiliating with such institutions.

Ravinder kwatra, Shahabad Markanda

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