letterstoeditor

VALIANT FIGHT BY CONG IN GUJARAT

The Congress has lost the Gujarat elections, but it has secured a moral victory over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rahul Gandhi has been trying hard to revive the fortunes of the party for the past few months. Now it is up to him to provide a sense of direction and momentum to the party after his appointment as the party president. Every action taken by the Congress over the next one year or so will reflect in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Devendra Khurana

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Apropos the editorial ‘Don’t take the voter for granted’ (HT, Dec 19), Gujarat election results have given a jolt to the BJP and a hope to the Congress. Voters in Gujarat have taught the BJP a lesson that it should not take them for granted. They want performance rather than slogans. The victory of Jignesh Mewani and Alpesh Thakur has underlined the need for ensuring social justice by uplifting the poor and downtrodden, giving them dignity and providing them jobs. Every political party will have to take all sections of the society along. Colonel RD Singh (retd),

Ambala Cantt

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The HT editorial rightly concludes that both the BJP and the Congress in Gujarat are winners. The BJP’S Gujarat campaign majorly involved taking jibes at Rahul Gandhi, his visits to temples, comparing his appointment as party chief to ascending a throne in Aurangzeb’s dynasty, raising the issue of alleged conspiracy against Modi by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a former army chief. There was hardly any mention about ‘vikas’ (development). However, people of Gujarat still believe in Modi. The Modi wave has defied all logic and continues to baffle both his critics as well as admirers alike. Arun Hastir, Gurdaspur

EC’S ROLE BECOMES QUESTIONABLE

The role of the Election Commission (EC) as an autonomous constitutional body has become questionable with recently concluded state assembly elections. The postponing of Gujarat elections, which were to be held with the Himachal Pradesh polls, the notice issued to Rahul Gandhi for violating the model code of conduct over an interview and ignoring the similar violations by BJP leaders are some aspects which require investigation. The EC should bring about electoral reforms to ensure more transparency in the electoral process.

Rohan Sharma, Panchkula

DHUMAL’S DEFEAT RAISES VITAL QUESTIONS

Despite the BJP’S landslide victory in Himachal Pradesh, the defeat of its chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal raises two vital questions over the role of the party high command. First, why Dhumal’s projection as the CM face was made just a week before the polls. Second, why was he shifted from his home turf Hamirpur to Sujanpur. The BJP must respect its pre-poll commitment to voters that Dhumal will be the chief minister in case of the party’s victory. The party can make a sitting MLA vacate his/her seat and make Dhumal re-contest from that seat. Hemant Kumar, Ambala

USE BICYCLES TO DECONGEST ROADS

The increasing vehicular traffic is worrying and there is a lack of futuristic planning in order to decongest roads. The public transport is inadequate to meet the requirements of public. The rising mishaps and pollution are consequence of lack of transportation infrastructure. It is high time the administration promoted bicycles and created the necessary public transport system to decongest roads. Upant Sharma, Panchkula

JUDICIAL SYSTEM’S FAILURE

The demise of 100-year-old Amar Kaur while awaiting justice for the kidnapping and killing of her three family members highlights the failure of our judicial system. Such cases underline the excesses committed by the Punjab Police during 1980s and 90s. The Supreme Court has issued numerous directions to the high court and lower courts for expedition of cases involving senior citizens, but nothing has been done. There are so many people who are awaiting justice for the 1984 killings. DS Thukral, Ambala

ANIMAL TRAPS IN ARAVALLIS

Apropos the report ‘Animal traps seen in Aravallis after FIR against poachers’ (HT, Dec 18), the series of felonies by poachers, traders and local residents speaks of the wildlife and forest department’s apathy towards conserving wild animals. Wildlife crimes need to be prevented with determination and grit because many wildlife species are on the brink of extinction. The government is not giving due attention to the creation of eco-sensitive zones, which are essentially required to protect forests, sanctuaries and national parks. Dr Soshil Rattan, Amritsar

BURSTING OF CRACKERS IS WASTAGE OF MONEY

The Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana high court deserve appreciation for imposing a ban on bursting of crackers in the region. There was no bursting of crackers when Lord Rama reached Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. Only the houses and streets were illuminated and there is no mention of bursting of crackers in scriptures. Every year, hundreds of casualties occur on Diwali, besides thousands of fights and clashes on the issue of bursting crackers at odd hours. The practice is sheer wastage of money. Those bursting crackers at marriages should be strictly dealt with and booked for causing public nuisance. Jasbir Singh