Letters to the Editor — December 16, 2021

A surge

The rise in the price of essential commodities is a double whammy for the common man who has also been reeling under the impact of the pandemic. (Page1, December 15). The Central government’s blitzkrieg of ‘all is well’ advertisements and the Finance Minister juggling with numbers, statistics, and verses in Parliament and the media, cannot hide the fact that the country’s economy is on shaky ground; there needs to be course correction. Eminent economists who have voiced concern over the economic policies of the government of the day have only ended up being dubbed as ‘critics’ with an agenda to ‘defame’ the government. Even Dr. Subramanian Swamy has expressed his strong views.

Dr. Biju C. Mathew.

Thiruvananthapuram

State of politics

Poaching, fishing in troubled waters, and being rewarded with plum positions are some of the tactics being adopted by some in the Opposition bloc to get important leaders and others from rival parties to switch sides (Inside pages, “Easy shift to Trinamool for Cong. rebels”, December 13). It is needless to say that such detractors and free floaters are cosying up to the side they are joining not out of any ideological considerations or with a genuine concern to strengthen the party concerned but to further their political interests . There is no guarantee that those who raised their voice against the leadership of their parent parties will not do so in the new party they have jumped to.

Those who imagine that they can unseat the Government in 2024 by performing a solo journey are only helping to facilitate a cake walk for the BJP.

V. Johan Dhanakumar,

Chennai

One can only think of the story of “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” that keeps lingering in our minds. In recent years, party hopping has become routine. It is remunerative.

Hoppers hog the limelight too, this is despite having an anti-defection law in place. It is time people reject these party-hoppers.

K. Ganesh,

Coimbatore

Gold hallmark

The explainer, “How is hallmarking being implemented?” (‘FAQ’ page, December 5), was timely. Most members of the public are totally ignorant about the subject. Just a couple of days ago I purchased a pair of gold bangles from a well-known jeweller in Bengaluru. I asked for the ‘hall marking’ on the bangles which the staff claimed was marked. I was given a large magnifying glass and told to look for it in the location specified. I could not make out anything legibly. It was probably very small, perhaps illegible, whatever it may be. But the obvious result was that I, the customer, could not get any idea about its genuineness. There is a need to make this very clear to a customer. Without some thought going into this, ‘hallmarking’ will end up like the invisible “FSSAI” mark that you find on all packaged food articles.

V.H. Subramoney,

Bengaluru