Manmohan Singh’s silence during his tenure as PM
Manmohan Singh kept his ‘Lips sealed’ when he was the Prime Minister and his sudden outburst on matters of economic interest comes as a surprise. He was a great economist undoubtedly and wore many hats from being the FM to PM but political compulsions did not allow him to open his mouth when it mattered the most. His own FM Chidambaram is warming the benches of the Tihar jail and he should actually be speaking about the scams under his tenure as PM than advising the government on economy.
Indian economy has hit the rough patch and various economic surveys indicate a slowdown which no one is debating. Economic growth is a successive process and Congress government is equally responsible for the slowdown due to the corrupt policies of the government under Singh’s leadership. Our country needs to eradicate corruption from the roots.
S.N. Kabra
Chandni Chowk redevelopment-plan should be suspended during Diwali
Historic Chandni Chowk in walled city of Delhi between Red Fort and Fatehpuri mosque is presently undergoing redevelopment for restoring its glory as major tourist-attraction of ancient era, with complete road closed for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Although redevelopment-plan has badly hurt trade-activities in area, but it was unavoidable.
Road-stretch between Red Fort and Gurudwara Sisganj is nearing completion, but will not be finished before Diwali-rush starting from Dhanteras on October 26, 2019. Delhi government should ensure day-night super-fast working on this stretch till midnight of October 25, 2019 after which work on this stretch may be suspended from October 26, 2019 till Diwali on October 28, 2019. with partially completed stretch open for pedestrians for these three days. It is necessary because famous Dariba bazar between this stretch is considered auspicious for purchase of idols of Ganesh-Laxmi and silverwares, thus not only for traders in Dariba but also for those coming from far-away localities for auspicious-considered purchases.
Devotees of Gurudwara Sisganj traditionally light candles outside Gurudwara on the day of Diwali. Therefore in interest of devotees, general public and Dariba traders, Lt Governor and Delhi Government should open stretch between Red Fort and Gurudwara Sisganj for pedestrian movement for limited period from 26-28 October 2019. Also road-blocks kept unnecessarily at Chandni Chowk side of Dariba should be permanently removed.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Girls in sainik school
Kudos to Defence minister Rajnath Singh and the Defence Ministry for approving the proposal to admit girls in Sainik Schools from the 2021-2022 academic session. This is an excellent step to bring in gender equality and is another very good step towards women empowerment. The success of the pilot project launched by the Defence Ministry for admission of girls in the Sainik School at Chhingchhip in Mizoram two years ago paved way for the approval. Our girls are not behind the boys and definitely they are going to get a wonderful opportunity to achieve their ambition of joining and serving the defence forces. Whether it is our great Indian mythology or history or political galaxy, it is beautifully studded with women stars who have been an inspiration to all Indians and the whole world.
M Pradyu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)