Changed objective

Changed objective

This refers to 'Speaking for ourselves' (IE, January 23) by Seema Chishti. In India, the opportunities for the underprivileged to improve their economic lot are still inadequate. As a result, a large section of the population looks to the government for patronage. This leads to people forming pressure groups based on identities, and political parties resorting to identity politics for votes. For this to change, the government's agenda must become development-oriented, with its prime objective being the economic empowerment of people. Unfortunately, at present, schemes such as the NREGA, the farm loan waiver and the National Food Security Bill do not seem to adequately meet this objective.

— Kishor Kulkarni, Mumbai

Betting on the old

THIS refers to the editorial 'Back to Rajnath' (IE, January 24). The RSS's failure to appoint Nitin Gadkari as BJP president for the second time is not likely to deter it from continuing to hector the BJP. To shake itself free of interference from the RSS, the BJP leadership must learn to make its own decisions and speak as one voice. As for Rajnath Singh's return to the post of party president, the BJP has not picked a winner. To appeal to a largely young electorate, the party should have picked a fresh face, someone with modern ideas, instead of a jaded old political player. That would have improved its chances in the coming assembly elections and the general elections of 2014.

— Satwant Kaur

Mahilpur.

Need for speed

APROPOS the editorial 'Looking forward' (IE, January 24), the Justice Verma committee's effort to prepare a comprehensive report on women's safety in such a short time must be lauded. The government, which has failed to adequately protect women so far, could now make up for its inefficiency by speedy implementation of the recommendations.There are several state officials who need to be sensitised to the matter, including bureaucrats, police officers and judiciary members. The disturbing question of citizens' apathy to the victims of such crimes also needs to be addressed. Timely medical aid is essential to save lives. We should be optimistic and hope that the government implements measure to curb crimes against women within the next month.

... contd.

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