Worrying gaze
Sir — An invigilator peering over one’s shoulder or having an audience when one is trying to focus on something can be hard. Such situations would possibly be quite intimidating for most people. This is what firefighters in Calcutta must have felt when the governor of West Bengal, C.V. Ananda Bose, walked out of the Raj Bhavan to watch them while they were busy dousing the flames at a building nearby. Firefighting is a strenuous job and the firemen could probably have done without the added distraction of a high-ranking ‘supervisor’. I, for one, can get no work done if my boss is hovering over me.
Madhumita Choudhury,Calcutta
Selective eye
Sir — It is shocking that the prime minister, Narendra Modi, penned an open letter to the voters of Karnataka, entreating them to bring the Bharatiya Janata Party back to power just a day before elections were held in the state (“What’s on and on and on and on…? Ask PM”, May 10). Under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, such appeals are not allowed at least 48 hours before polling starts. Further, any claim that the letter is simply a general exhortation to citizens to exercise their franchise would be invalid because it clearly mentions the BJP by name. The Election Commission of India should take strict action against the prime minister if it wants to avoid further allegations of political bias.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,Faridabad
Sir — The manner in which the ECI has conducted itself during the campaign for the recently-held Karnataka polls is disheartening. It turned a blind eye to repeated attempts at religious polarisation by the BJP, including slogans like ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ chanted by some of its most influential leaders. Opposition parties should be more proactive in calling out such prejudice.
Tharcius S. Fernando,Chennai
Shining legacy
Sir — The news that Santiniketan will soon be included in Unesco’s World Heritage List will surely make every Bengali happy (“Heritage tag awaits Tagore land”, May 11). Santiniketan is not just a physical place; it is also a manifestation of Rabindranath Tagore’s profound vision of a bright future for the nation.
Santi Pramanick,Howrah
Time’s up
Sir — It is time that Donald Trump, the former president of the United States of America, faces the music. A jury in a Manhattan federal court has now found him guilty of both sexually abusing the journalist, E. Jean Carroll, and defaming her. Combined with allegations that he paid hush money to the adult actress, Stormy Daniels, using campaign funds, incited a mob to attack the Capitol and hid classified documents in his private residence at Mar-a-Lago, this verdict may be the beginning of a process that could see Trump go to prison.
Jang Bahadur Singh,Jamshedpur
Be wary
Sir — We are often unable to recognise the risks posed by technology. Smart meters are being installed in many homes nowadays to record electricity consumption,but has anyone thought about the dangers associated with such modernisation? Like smartphones, smart meters are also vulnerable to hacking. The government should set up security measures against such eventualities.
Noopur Baruah,Tezpur, Assam
Adapt to survive
Sir — Data indicate that white-collar job vacancies in the Indian information technology sector have hit a 28-month low. To overcome increasing competition, job seekers should learn new skills and adapt to emerging technologies.
Rajpal Singh Chouhan,Ujjain
