SCOURGE OF NAXALISM

The killing of 25 CRPF personnel in Sukma (Chhattisgarh) by Naxals is a big setback for the security forces. It’s time for the government to rework its strategy to deal with the Naxalites. The scourge needs to be dealt with a heavy hand. Shubham Anand, Jalandhar

II

The plans of operational preparedness and administrative back-up should be revised to effectively counter the Maoist ambushes. The weaknesses should be identified early and remedial measures adopted. The training of jawans should be modified. The frequency of ambushes is alarming and needs urgent proactive measures to apprehend the insurgents. Subhash Vaid

III

This is high time for the government to take some concrete measures to take on the Maoists, who keep on killing our soldiers. The scale of casualties and type of weapons being used by the insurgents indicate that they are wellorganised and don’t deserve leniency. If our paramilitary is not able to contain them, let army take positions. We just can’t keep on losing our soldiers. Naresh Malhotra, Anandpur Sahib

IV

To deal with the insurgency in Kashmir and Naxalites in some parts of the country, the government first needs to involve locals and assuage them by meeting their genuine demands. No amount of force can quell dissent for long. In J&K, the intellectual Muslim leadership should take the lead in educating people and tell them that Islam stands for ‘peace’. Also, there should be a corpus fund to compensate the families killed in operations.

BM Singh, Amritsar

STOP TROLLS

Had Sonu Nigam not used the word ‘azaan’ and spoken against noise emanating from religious places, he could have escaped trolling. Social media sites should have mechanism to check trolling. Threats and vulgarity in comments should earn penal action. Niranjan Walia, Jalandhar

INTEREST FOR SMALL SAVINGS

The Centre must subsidise small savings interest income for pensioners. Small savings schemes are the lifeline of senior citizens. With consolidated pension in most sectors, retirees are dependent on the returns from their terminal benefits, invested mostly in small savings. With the escalating price index, their planning will go haywire and dependence on the government will go up. Household savings form a major portion of capital formation unlike in the West. SC Dhall, Zirakpur

THIRDPARTY AUDIT

The decision taken by local bodies minister Navjot Sidhu to conduct a third-party audit of works executed in last three years involving investment of at least ₹10 crore is a welcome move. A uniform decision to bring other departments under the ambit of third-party audit is required to prove the commitment of government against corruption. Deepak Kumar, Panchkula

GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY

On the heels of UP assembly election verdict, the Delhi MCD poll results have many positive takeaways. First and most important is that now voters have become much wiser. Political arrogance and rhetoric are being discarded. Good for the democracy.

AK Sharma, Chandigarh

SPARE THEM IN SIZZLING HOURS

The Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Animals Rules-1965 prohibits carrying cattle beyond the prescribed load limit and their transportation when the ambient temperature exceeds 37OC. The governments and animal rights bodies should look into this aspect too. Dr Soshil Rattan, Amritsar

DILUTING RTI ACT

With reference to the news item ‘New RTI rules can endanger whistle-blowers’ (HT, April 26). The Centre and state governments have been on the look out to mollify the RTI Act 2005. The Modi government’s proposal to allow the applicant to withdraw the appeal before the chief information commissioner is a ploy to exert pressure on the applicant to quit or face the consequences.

RM Ramaul, Paonta Sahib

POLL PROMISES

The Congress’ poll manifesto had made several promises. However, Captain Amarinder Singh government is yet to deliver on the promises, including that of disbursing 50-lakh smartphones to youth. This is not going in his favour. Madhav Sharma, Jalandhar

WE CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE

Apropos ‘It’s our tradition to agree to disagree’ by Ashok Vajpeyi (HT, April 25). It is a continuous celebration of ‘human plurality’ in the context of Indian civilisation. Recognition of right to dissent is the very foundation of Indian culture. In the beginning of our civilisation, the Upnishads were critical of some Vedic rituals. This openness has sustained the oldest civilisation of the world. Dr S Kumar, Panchkula