No ethnic cleansing

Apropos of ‘Nuh demolitions’; be it Nuh or any other place in India, structures built illegally on government land must be demolished. Encroachments on public land shouldn’t have been allowed right at the outset, but the fact that they have come up gives no right to the encroachers to stay put permanently. Secondly, some of the questions posed by the High Court seem to be out of place. If a religious procession taken out by a community is attacked by people belonging to another community, action has to be taken against the latter and not the one that took out the procession. It cannot be called ethnic cleansing or targeting of a particular community.

Wg Cdr CL Sehgal (Retd), Jalandhar

No-trust debate

The sole concern of the BJP during the debate on the no-trust motion was to outwit the Congress through whataboutery by raking up violent incidents that had happened during the Congress’ rule. The fierce oratory of Amit Shah and Smriti Irani suggested as if everything was hunky-dory in Manipur. According to them, the current spate of violence pales into insignificance when viewed in the context of the riots that had happened over the years when the Congress was in power. What a clever ploy to shrug off responsibility for what happened in Manipur! The fact is that Manipur is burning and the ruling dispensation feels complacent in thinking that it has outwitted the Congress by passing vitriolic jibes.

Roshan Lal Goel, Ladwa

Optimising resources

Refer to ‘Inter-services Bill’; the Bill will help enhance efficiency, optimise resources and improve overall strategic effectiveness. Faster decision-making and streamlined operations are other key advantages. It will also aid theaterisation of integrated commands. However, the decision of appointing a retired Lt Gen as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in preference to the three Chiefs who are senior to him may cause resentment in future. The appointment of the CDS should ideally be based on factors such as merit, experience, leadership qualities and strategic acumen rather than political affiliations.

Wg Cdr JS Minhas (retd), Mohali

Nothing wrong in flying kiss

Apropos of ‘Flying kiss: Women MPs want action against Rahul’; demanding action against Rahul is ridiculous. The flying kiss seems to have been casually directed towards the treasury benches as a goodbye gesture and not towards the women MPs only, as alleged by them. The Congress leader did nothing wrong in any sense and BJP’s women MPs just chose the incident to malign him in public for political reasons. Their objection has undermined the spirit of women’s empowerment.

Jagdish Chander, Jalandhar

Unparliamentary gesture

Refer to ‘Flying kiss: Women MPs want action against Rahul’; despite being admonished twice by the SC for his ‘irresponsible’ utterances in public, Rahul Gandhi has not learnt a lesson on how to behave publicly. Inappropriate and indecent flying kiss gesture towards the treasury benches, including women MPs, in Parliament speaks volumes of his non-seriousness and disregard for women in the House. He must be punished for his unparliamentary gesture towards women MPs so that the prestige and decorum of Parliament is maintained.

Ashok Kumar, by mail

Social isolation worrisome

Refer to ‘Why loneliness is becoming a big social issue’; living alone is like solitary confinement, nothing short of punishment. Social isolation can have a significant impact on individuals’ physical and mental well-being, leading to a range of negative outcomes, including increased likelihood of smoking, alcohol consumption and depression. It can be fatal, too. The erosion of values, impact of technology and the changing social dynamics have contributed to loneliness and disconnection. Social media platforms create a distorted view of others’ lives, contributing to feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. Engaging in meaningful conversations with the right people can be a valuable strategy to curb the tendency to overthink.

Raj Kumar Kapoor, Ropar

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