Game changer?

This refers to ‘Cong’s ₹72,000 a year promise to the poor can be a game changer...’ (March 26). With election season in full play, political parties, especially from the opposition, are racing against each other to offer doles. This latest spin seems like usurping the taxes paid by the honest poor and use them to influence voters. Yes, even the poor pay taxes such as GST.

This denies welfare benefits such as public healthcare and education for the poor and destroys the culture of financial prudence. It works against the honest citizen who works hard to earn a livelihood. Such universal basic income schemes presuppose the withdrawal of all subsidies. Can we announce this too as loudly?

Pune

The Congress’ election-related offer could cost the government a huge sum. Implementation of this minimum income guarantee scheme would involve huge basic work, especially in identifying the people eligible for it. The better alternative would have been identifying the various commitments which the poor have to shoulder and get them fulfilled by establishing a special body.

Coimbatore

The talk of the day is the stepping down of Naresh Goyal and Anita Goyal from Jet Airways. What is surprising is the treatment that is being meted out to the airlines. While the laws of the land could have prompted the lenders to take a different path, it appears that the lenders (read SBI) and the government are keen on protecting the airline for reasons better known to them. Why was the route that was adopted in the case of Kingfisher Airlines not adopted in Jet’s case? The NCLT, the IBC and the other avenues were available to the lender as well as the borrower, but both continued to adopt a different method. As against this, Air India, which is government-owned, is being crushed under a debt burden of more than ₹50,000 crore. But the government does not seem interested in rejuvenating the airline. Can anybody explain this?

Goa

Apropos the article ‘Needless deadlock over labour reforms’ (March 26), the other main impediments for delay in labour reforms are political compulsions and self-interest of the parties involved. Since all major trade unions are affiliated to political parties, they pressure the government through their leaders to obstruct any change in industrial law which affects their self-interest. Thus the government’s move to liberalise the Industrial Disputes Act by raising its applicability to 300 from 100 workers has been opposed by Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh also, though it is promoted by the BJP.

Similarly, the employers are resisting the move to give wages to contract labour on a par with that of regular ones for doing the same kind of work. The idealistic solution suggested by the author of the state fully funding social security contributions by employers and employees up to a prescribed level will face objections from the government.

Pune

The Election Commission (EC) is striving to make polling accessible to physically challenged voters. Amongst other initiatives, the EC has ensured identification of such voters and providing them with free pick-up and drop facility. Apart from this, the EC is also making adequate arrangements to provide wheelchairs at the polling booths and has requested volunteers to chip in with additional wheelchairs if the numbers fall short.

Further, the EC can look at arranging mobile polling booths for the exclusive use of physically challenged voters.

Bengaluru

In the story ‘Cong’s ₹72,000 cr a year promise to the poor can be a game changer...’ ( BusinessLine , March 26), the word “cr” was introduced into the headline by oversight. The correct headline should read: ‘Cong’s ₹72,000 a year promise to the poor can be a game changer..’ The error is sincerely regretted.

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