letterstoeditor
GENERAL’S JUSTIFICATION
Apropos the editorial ‘The General has it wrong’ (HT, May 29), army chief Gen Bipin Rawat’s justification of a civilian being used as a human shield against stone-pelters in Kashmir is both right and wrong. Right for the morale of soldiers combating insurgency and wrong for human rights activists, NGOs and opposition leaders who have run out of ideas to corner the government. The army’s job is to fight the enemy and not deal with unarmed misguided citizens. Gen Rawat spoke a soldier’s language.
Col RC Patial (retd)
II
Gen Rawat’s stance is commendable. It is important that our soldiers get the backing of their officers, who keep close tabs on their actions in field. Maj Gogoi’s step was a non-violent measure adopted to tackle stone-pelters. The army chief’s argument as to why there was no outcry when Lt Umar Fayaz was killed by militants also holds water. Using innovative ways to tackle rioters is indeed indispensable in this proxy war.
Upant Sharma, Panchula
III
The entire country must support the army chief and his troops in their counter-insurgency strategies, which could be unorthodox at times. J&K has turned into a graveyard for our bravehearts. We need to applaud the bold statements and candid approach of the army chief to boost the morale of soldiers. Those who condemn the army’s strategies in J&K are as inhuman as the separatists.
Dr Deepak Kaushik, Kurukshetra
IV
Your editorial indicates a growing chasm between public perception and media commentary when it comes to the army dealing with insurgency in J&K. This widening chasm is visible in daily ‘web poll’ published in your paper with people countering the view of commentators. The media and intelligentsia are oblivious to issues facing the country. It’s high time that media respects public opinion.
Dr BN Anand, Mohali
QUEST FOR NEXT PRESIDENT
After the massive mandate managed by the BJP in UP, the Modi government’s presidential choice will have better chances of occupying the Rashtrapati Bhavan. For the NDA, it’ s not much of a problem to select its candidate, but it is a tough task for the Opposition. First, it has to be united, and then nominate a person who has a national appeal. If the Opposition really wants to send its choice to the house a top the Raisin a Hill, they must put up a non-controversial, learned person like Gopalkrishna Gandhi against the NDA’s nominee.
LJS Panesar, Amritsar
VIP VERSUS EIP
Soon after the Union cabinet decided to ban red beacons atop cars, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said people must also move away from the mindset of VIP culture. His clarion call for EPI (every person important) is yet to show results. Politicians need to lead by example. Recently, BJP chief Amit Shah rode through Chandigarh in a cavalcade breaking all traffic rules.
Maniki Deep, via mail
NO ‘ACHHE DIN’ IN SIGHT
Swapan Dasgupta’s article “Three Years on, a work in progress” is nothing but an unsuccessful attempt at defending the Modi government’s failure. The NDA government came to power with the promise of “achhe din” but it has done nothing to make it a reality. Unemployment is on the rise, innocent people are being killed by so-called cow vigilantes, freedom of speech is being curtailed, social media and electronic media is being used to spread communal hatred and lies.
Ishatpreet Singh Maan, via mail
STATE OF ECONOMY
Apropos the interview with chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh ‘Our fiscal health is down but the mood is up’ (HT, May 25), the CM has rightly stated that fiscal position of Punjab has become the worst with the SAD-BJP government leaving a debt liability of ₹1.82 lakh crore. The interest payment on this debt is about ₹37 crore to ₹38 crore per day. The time has come to issue a ‘white paper’ about the fiscal mess created by the previous regime. Also, there is an urgent need to revive industry.
M Lal Garg, Chandigarh