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All eyes are now ron the electoral battle in UP as it will decide the course of national politics. Like it or not, the election will be viewed as a referendum on demonetisation. The BJP will spare no effort to show that its 2014 win was not a one-time phenomenon. Whether the Centre announces sops in the Budget to sway voters remains to be seen. That it goes without a CM face is widely seen as a negative. The last-minute attempts to polarise voters by raking up issues like the Kairana exodus and the extent of tactical voting by Muslims to stop the BJP from coming to power may well prove crucial in swinging the pendulum. By ensuring proportional representation to all communities in ticket distribution, Mayawati has shown that the BSP is a sarvajan party that accommodates all sections.
G David Milton
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Where’s the autonomy?
The autonomy of key organisations like the CAG, the CBI and the RBI have been jeopardised. The intervention of politics in almost all departments of government are making functioning difficult and officers are penalised for no fault of theirs.
Some court judgments lead us to believe that even the judiciary is in the clutches of political leaders. The announcement that the Government has given autonomy to these key organisations is only on paper.
TSN Rao
Bheemavaram, Andhra Pradesh
The Sidhu factor
Navjot Singh Sidhu joining the Congress on the eve of the Punjab elections must have come more as a setback to the BJP than a boost to the Congress. The BJP could not gather the nerve to go it alone and yet it handled the Sidhu episode with little acumen. The Akali Dal must be feeling isolated.
R Narayanan
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Singh’s decision to embrace the Congress could to be a game-changer for the ‘grand old party’ which is struggling to reassert itself. The Congress will set its sights on the sizeable Jat Sikh vote, particularly in Punjab’s rural belt. The former cricketer could rock the boat of the opposition parties.
NJ Ravi Chander
Bengaluru
No cover for farmers
This is with reference to Rajalakshmi Nirmal’s article on farm reform (January 16). Indian farmers are not aware of the risks but have faith in their farms. Many farmers are tenant cultivators and others do not have proper land records. When a crop fails, insurance companies mandate submission of crop failure for the entire revenue district.
The prime risk that farmers face is price risks, for which insurers do not give cover. Production in abundance results in rock bottom prices. Farm insurance is another policy to strengthen the bottom line of insurance companies at the cost of farmers. A dynamic policy should be simple. If the income generated is below the accepted income, the farmer should be idemnified up to the level of income. The cover should be farmer specific and not district specific.
The Government spends more on welfare schemes and we don’t know why farmers are forced to pay premia, which adds to the cost and interest. The cost of premia should be fully borne by government. Private insurers should also have farm insurance up to 25 per cent of the total business.
S Veeraraghavan
Coimbatore
Huge challenge
The challenges faced by the Government to kick-start the economy in terms of reviving growth and employment generation are huge. The stage was set for an economic revival on account of a good monsoon leading to GDP growth and increased consumer spending but the Government had upset the applecart through the demonetisation exercise. This process is bound to delay the growth process by at least a year.
Apart from a weak domestic environment, uncertainties in the external sector due to a protectionist approach by some countries along with increasing commodity prices are going to add to the woes. Under the circumstances it is going to be difficult for the government to maintain the fiscal deficit and inflation targets set for the current year.
Srinivasan Velamur
Chennai
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