A personal choice
Most of us are delighted that the regressive Section 377, which treats homosexuals as criminals, has finally been repealed (‘Conditional victory’, DNA, July 6). All gays ask for is to be accepted by the society, and rightly so. The inclination towards homosexuality may not be common, but it is not abnormal. Just as a man and woman fall in love, so can two individuals of the same sex. Anyway, why should it matter to anybody what two people do in private with mutual consent. Ours is a progressive society and individual freedom is a fundamental right.
—Neville S Bengali, Mumbai
No small mercy
Pranab Mukherjee has failed to deliver an all inclusive growth-oriented budget (‘Small Sops, Smaller Reforms FM chooses muddle path’, DNA, July 7). It has overlooked many crucial areas like infrastructure, foreign direct investment, bank reforms and manufacturing incentives. By increasing the IT exemption limit, the FM has wasted his ‘largesse’. It will not cut any ice with the service community, as it is too little and too late. Raising tax resources without blocking wasteful government spending is a futile exercise. The FM has not initiated any measures to plug leakages in the system. The stock markets responded by falling by over 5 per cent which is by and large a reflection of the general mood. Being the first year of this government, the FM should have shown intent for reviving the economy by bold initiatives rather than showing small mercies.
—Ashok Goswami, via email
II
The much awaited first budget of the UPA II government has turned out to be a damp squib. It is an insipid budget that offers very little towards stimulating the sagging economy. There is hardly any attempt at employment generation or increasing the purchasing power of the common man. The fiscal deficit will result in the shooting up of the inflation once again. The largesse Pranab Mukherjee has bestowed on the rural sector will not reach the rural poor due to the absence of a proper mechanism to monitor it. This budget will not help generate wealth but only help distribute poverty.
—Subramanian Venkataraman, Mumbai
A true legend
This refers to ‘King of all courts’, (DNA, July 6). It is indeed a praiseworthy achievement. Roger Federer made history by winning the Wimbledon 2009 title. He also achieved the distinction of becoming the first player to secure 15 Grand Slam Titles, which also happens to be his seventh consecutive win. It was heartening to read that the title match was witnessed by tennis legends like Pete Sampras, Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg.
—Ramesh Deshpande, via email
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