Travails of Jagan Mohan Reddy

Rift in JK panel
The rift in the panel of interlocutors appointed by the government to look into the  problems of Jammu and Kashmir was evident when one of it's members, MM Ansari, accused Radha Kumar and Dilip Padgaonkar of participating in  seminars arranged by Ghulam Nabi Fai of ISI abroad. The entire episode has cast doubt on the functioning of panel and its credibility. It also exposes the intentions of Congress government in choosing those particular members. The problems of J&K are so complex that there is little hope of improving situation. It is just a stalling device for the government. 
—Jayant Nadkarni, Navi Mumbai 

India's defence
The article 'Chinks in the armour', (August 8) which mentioned that 'India's defence budget being less than half of China's officially claimed figure…' is of great significance. It creates awareness about our defence. The common man might know about many things, like sports, stock markets, scams and so on but one thing which they do not have a fair knowledge about is the very essence of a peaceful life, our defence.

I know the government is trying their best to raise enough money to keep our country secure, considering poverty and other situations. Nevertheless, considering our neighbouring environment, defence cannot be compromised upon. For our air force and navy, we are primarily dependent on Russia more than we are on ourselves. Not that we are not capable, we have more than sufficient talent and skills to be a superpower on our own accord, but what we lack is infrastructure. The government has to provide more powerful incentives to attract talented people for public sector jobs. The common man needs to know about the strength of our defence forces. I hope for a scam-free defence improvement. I would sincerely like to thank DNA for its initiative to spread awareness about this vital sector. 
—Akash Kotak, via email 

Unauthorised structure
A building in Worli was granted permission for only plinth-level construction, but there is a 18-storey tower there. Now, certain authorities concerned are contemplating action against the developer. One has to take note of the promptness of the action being contemplated by the babus. Did the aforementioned structure come up overnight, that no one noticed the gross irregularity while it was being constructed? Such instances are quite common. They take place with the connivance and collusion of those in power. And in this case, several IAS and IPS officers, their relatives, and a few BMC officials own flats in the aforementioned building. With the involvement of such bigwigs, the chances of anyone being punished are too remote. On the contrary, the irregularities may now be regularised by levying a small penalty.  How many times have we come across a case where a BMC official or a babu who was wrong was punished? Corruption has indeed become a way of life.
—VV Vijayan, Mumbai

Travails of Jagan Mohan Reddy
That the Andhra Pradesh high court has directed the CBI to conduct in-depth inquiry into the alleged amassing of wealth by Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of deceased CM Rajasekhara Reddy, is highly laudable ('Andhra Pradesh court orders CBi probe into Jagan Reddy's assets', August 10). It would be fitting if the CBI unearths the names of political leaders and officials who benefited from this too. Until all the culprits are exposed and punished severely and the looted money is recovered, corruption will go on. The layman would be grateful if the high court monitors the investigation lest the CBI is not made to go soft on the culprits,
irrespective of the power and influence they wield.
—KRP Gupta, Mumbai

Smooth functioning
There cannot be two opinions that corruption is wide spread. This is an important issue and immediate steps are to be taken to fight against it on war footing. But that is no justification for anybody to block the proceedings of the Parliament.  The cases against the corrupt are being processed and one has to wait for the outcome. The nation can't afford to lose public money by stalling Parliamentary functions. Besides, do those blocking the smooth functioning of Parliament for non-action against corruption have clean records? There are number of important bills pending approval in the Parliament. The MPs should give a thought to such issues than playing politics in Parliament.
—SS Nair, via email

Flying horrors
This is with reference to 'Jet leaves senior citizen at boarding gate', (August 12). It is most unbecoming for an airline with the reputation of Jet Airways to leave an octogenarian passenger
unattended while he was completing the formalities for boarding the flight. The explanation given by spokesperson does not
absolve the airlines of the responsibility  to leave a wheelchair-bound passenger unattended. It should be the loader's responsibility to take the passenger upto the embarking point. The airline's staff should be more vigilant.
—RM Deshpande, Navi Mumbai

Lessons from history
At a time when increasing insurgency and Naxal operations across the country point to a need to shape our police forces on lines of Army, the ministry of home affairs' strange proposal to take Assam Rifles under MHA seems to be a retrograde and unwise step ('Home Ministry keen to take over Assam Rifles', August 12). On the contrary, MHA would do well to focus on the effective handling of Naxal menace in the country's hinterland, and on blocking numerous incidents of ships breaching the country's sea frontiers. MHA's efforts are, at best, moves of a novice, and not mature statesmanship. The move to convert the Armed forces into police forces is reminiscent of the Nehruvian era, which brought about the embarrassing defeat of 1962.
—RP Chaturvedi, via email