Balance for fairness
Apropos of your editorial ‘RIL goes to Mexico’ (December 8), Reliance seeks profit, and off it went to Mexico. India’s hostility to business may not be the motive behind such endeavours. And, Mexico is not a beacon of predictability of policies and good treatment of industries. Enrique Pena Nieto, the Mexican President, is trying to liberalise the murky Mexican oil and telecom industries; maybe, this is a silver-lining for Reliance. But, Nieto is struggling to stay afloat what with law-and-order problems caused by drug cartels. Recently, some students were kidnapped from a school there by a gang allegedly in connivance with a local official of a law-enforcement agency. Hardly a place someone would venture to, to do business. That said, India is not faultless. Its industrial environment was highly unpredictable under UPA. The Vodafone retroactive tax and before that, dispute over pricing of the gas found in the KG basin did India’s exchequer no favours in terms of attracting investors. But, under the current government, with a PM with a good business acumen at the helm, we are sure we would strike the right rhythm. Requiring immediate attention are the following cases. Accident liability has been a thorny issue between the Indian establishment and potential builders/operators of nuclear plants. It is true that the liability must be fixed in a fair and transparent manner—but time is of the essence. Done quickly, not only does it have the potential to create hundreds of jobs, but also to produce abundant electricity with the least carbon footprint. Closure of outstanding issues with Dow Chemicals (at the site of Union Carbide, Bhopal) and Microsoft (at the site of Nokia, Chennai) would add up to our repute. We need not compromise on fairness, but it must be remembered such delays only tarnishes our image.
Raghu Sheshadri, Chennai
National book?
It is unfortunate that external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who is known to be collected and amenable to reasoning has also joined the militant Hindutva band wagon by demanding that the Bhagawad Gita be made national scripture thereby adding a new communal touch to the list of various controversial communal ideologies of the saffron group. While there can be no second opinion that the tenets of the Gita can also be compared to the great teachings of the Holy Bible or the Holy Quran, Sushma’s advocacy to declare the Gita a “Rashtriya Granth” conveniently forgetting that ours is a secular nation is exhibition of religious chauvinism. We in general and particularly as a secular nation are bound to give respect to all holy books equally. May be, Swaraj is compelled to demand so for her survival and to retain her role and rank in the party. Whatever may be the reasons for her unwarranted statement, we could not resist lamenting, “ Et tu, Sushmaji?”
Tharcius Fernando, Chennai
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