Carefree existence
Sir — Viewers around the world remain divided over whether Emily Cooper from the popular Netflix series, Emily in Paris, is actually just a bumbling American who wrecks the lives of those around her unintentionally or whether she is a selfish woman who thinks of none but herself. But a question that plagues both camps of viewers is what kind of visa is Emily on — she first moves from Chicago to Paris for work, presumably on a work visa which shows no signs of expiring. Then she just waltzes into another job in Rome without a care in the world about updating the said work visa. Given that countries across Europe are resorting to protectionism and visas have become rare to come by, perhaps the next season of Emily in Paris should show her actually getting a visa. Now that will be thrilling stuff.
Sanchari Chaudhury, Calcutta
Unilateral step
Sir — The ‘one nation, one election’ proposal that has been passed by the Union cabinet will have far-reaching consequences if it receives Parliament’s nod (“Cabinet nod to one poll, but no timeline”, Sept 19). The Opposition has questioned the feasibility of conducting simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, the state assemblies and the local bodies. But the real contention is this: will it impact India’s multi-party democracy and the federal spirit of the Constitution? Local issues will be subsumed and eclipsed by national concerns if elections are held in one go. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s motive for introducing the ‘one nation, one election’ plan is clear — it wants to consolidate power by swaying the electorate with nationalist sentiments to the detriment of regional parties. Bringing reforms without weighing their pros and cons is characteristic of the BJP.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The former chief election commissioner, S.Y. Quraishi, has highlighted the flaws in the ‘one nation, one election’ plan. For instance, while elections will be held for both the Lok Sabha and the assemblies, panchayat elections would be delayed, defeating the purpose of the exercise. Money would also be wasted on acquiring 40 lakh additional electronic voting machines, posing financial and logistical hurdles. The only thing this plan might achieve is securing a fourth term for the BJP by hoodwinking voters.
T. Ramadas, Visakhapatnam
Sir — The future of our democracy hinges on the passage of the ‘one nation, one election’ bill in Parliament. Simultaneous elections were not envisaged by the Constitution. It is thus fair to conclude that simultaneous elections did not seem to be in consonance with our democratic architecture even when India was a fledgling republic in 1950.
C.K.S. Iyer, Bengaluru
Sir — The Union government’s plan to implement ‘one nation, one election’ should be opposed as it will take India one step closer to being a dictatorship. The reason cited by the Centre for bringing this electoral reform does not hold water. Further, if this plan is to be implemented, 18 amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would have to be made. It is unlikely that the BJP will have the support of all its allies in Parliament to pass these.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Sir— ‘One nation, one election’ is one of the most ambitious plans of the BJP. While it is being hailed as a progressive measure to minimise election-related expenses, the Opposition bloc has rightly criticised it as a distraction from pressing national issues. This proposal will allow national parties to influence the results of the assembly elections. It highlights the tendency of the government to pass laws that benefit the party in power.
Aayman Anwar Ali, Calcutta
All work
Sir— The death of a 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young’s Pune office because of overwork is tragic (“Snuffed out in earnest: young life”, Sept 21). It is a shame that no one from the company attended her funeral. Corporate houses whose sole aim is to make money glorify overwork at the cost of employees’ well-being. Employees working in the IT sector, for instance, slog for over 14 hours a day. This atmosphere needs to change. The government must issue necessary guidelines to promote a better work environment.
Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai
Sir— The Union ministry of labour is probing the death of a young employee of a multinational firm. A thorough investigation will expose the impact of overwork on employees. Fear of losing their jobs makes employees hesitant to reveal their struggles. The government must take necessary steps to revamp the exploitative work culture prevalent in India.
M. Pradyu, Kannur
Unhealthy diets
Sir — In spite of falling poverty rates and rising incomes over the last decade or so, India has struggled to improve its nutritional outcomes substantially. The National Family Health Surveys of 2015-16 and 2019-21 revealed high rates of undernutrition among children and rising rates of anaemia among adults, even as the prevalence of obesity has increased in both rural and urban areas. Nutritious diets are widely recognised as the key to tackling the so-called triple burden of malnutrition — the coexistence of undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies — being faced by India. Unfortunately, most Indians do not consume healthy diets.
Vijay Singh Adhikari, Nainital
Dubious claim
Sir — Last week, controversy over the claims of the prowess of eye drops prescribed for presbyopia led to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation suspending a pharmaceutical company’s permission to manufacture and market the product. The casual exaggeration of the benefits of medicine has long plagued the health sector.
Somnath Mukherjee, Calcutta