A change of guard needed at the finance ministry

A change of guard needed at the finance ministry
Expressing concern about the prices of essential commodities, the union finance minister has been repeatedly assuring us that the prices of essentials will go down in time. But the rising inflation rate shows the inaction on the part of the Congress-led government. This indicates that it is an appropriate time for a change of guard in the finance ministry.
—BS Raghavendra Rao, Mysore

Software to tackle pothole menace for BMC
Quirky are the ways of the BMC. It has embarked upon yet another freaky idea by launching new software that will be attending to potholes in real time. The civic body has spent Rs6 million for three years on this latest venture. It looks like another avenue just opened up for them for making some money. Does this mean that they might have to prune some staff directly involved in tracking and monitoring potholes manually?
—Deepak Agharkar, via email

An era ends with the demise of a music maestro
Apropos ‘Hazarika brought the north-east to the limelight’ in DNA, on November 6, it is heartbreaking to learn about the sad demise of this versatile music icon. Bhupen Hazarika was a complete package, comprising basically a local Assamese folk singer, a filmmaker, a composer, a politician, a reformer — all into one. A well qualified musician like him is rare. His speciality was his melodious voice and the emotions that he injected in the listeners’ hearts. This was phenomenal.
—Bikram Banerjea, Mumbai

II
Yet another doyen has passed on to eternity. The death of Bhupen Hazarika marks an end of an era. In the recent past, we have lost many musical legends like Jagjit Singh, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal and C Ashwat. Hazarika was a multi-faceted personality — a great singer, music composer, author, producer and politician. He was the greatest cultural icon of our country, equally cherished in Dhaka and in Guwahati. He entertained music lovers with his powerful soulful renditions for several decades.
—Ramesh Jethwani, via email

Jungle law prevails when guilty protect their own
It is crucial for the media to independently establish the ownership of the tow-truck, as it is widely known that this lucrative business of towing vehicles is being run by police personnel. There is likely to be a major cover-up to save the Mumbai police the embarrassment of this disclosure and to protect one of their clan from prosecution and shouldering the liability of paying hefty damages. The High Court has declared that insurance companies are not obliged to entertain a claim if the vehicle is driven by a person not holding a valid licence. This means that any compensation payable to the victim’s family will have to be borne by the owner of the vehicle, unless, of course, the state government decides to bear the burden, as a special favour to the owner.
—Phiroze Javeri, Mumbai

Is Mumbai turning into a lawless city?
The recent murder of two young men at Andheri (West) and spate of robberies in Mumbai only goes to show that no one is safe in Mumbai except the politicians who travel with police escorts. There seems to be no fear of law in the minds of the unscrupulous elements and they are having a field day with the police falling in line with them. RR Patil and the police commissioner have failed in their duty to ensure the safety of the common man. It is better if the CM intervenes and makes a few drastic changes to bring in some semblance of law in the battered city before it turns into another lawless state.
—SG Shenoy, Mumbai

Mamata’s motives in question over threat
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s threat to withdraw support to UPA II if the government did not roll back the hike in the price of petrol is just posturing for the benefit of her constituency back in West Bengal. After the euphoria of her landslide victory over CPM in the last assembly elections, Mamata is now coming face to face with the realities of governance. She was confident she could control the Maoists after hobnobbing with them but she was snubbed eventually. Then, the railway accidents occurred, and the abysmal conditions of government hospitals led to the death of several infants. In the background of these unfavourable developments, her attempt to assume the role of champion of the downtrodden has only one purpose — to improve her rating with the masses.
—VM Swaraj, Chennai

A separate law for politicians?
It is unfortunate that there seems to be two sets of law in our country — one for the common man and the other for politicians. Otherwise, Jayalalithaa would not have approached the Supreme Court just because the trial court in Bangalore had asked her to appear in person in court. The common man languishes in jail or spends time and money on trials. The courts should tell the politicians that they should attend cases like the rest. If their duty gets in the way, then they should resign and finish the case. If the accused politicians complain of chest pain, they should be treated in jail. Law is above all.
— MH Nayak, Mumbai