MyVoice: Views of our readers 17th November 2020

BJP's future moves

With NDA winning the recent Bihar election with flying colours proving most of the exit polls wrong, Nitish Kumar is all set to take the oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the 7th term on 16th Nov (" Nitish back as Bihar CM" The Hans India, Nov 16). There is also a buzz going around that Bihar might get 2 Deputy Chief Ministers from the Saffron party. BJP's move is not arcane anymore and it is clear that BJP leadership wants to come out of Nitish's shadow in next five years by nurturing the future leaders in Bihar, which is the only state in the Hindi heartland where BJP had not formed the government on its own.

Vinayaka M, Bengaluru

Move over please, Trump!

US President Donald Trump has set a bad example for the upcoming world leaders and politicians by not accepting the US election 2020 result. His adamant behaviour and unpredictable nature is really a cause of concern which gives him defeat in this election. So it is the time for him to accept the US election result 2020 and pave the way for elect President Joe Biden to assume the office without any hiccups.

It will be no doubt, when people of the US and the world remember Donald Trump as a bad man, adamant person in history. The time has come when Donald Trump should hand over the administration process smoothly to elect President Joe Biden and give the opportunity to take the US President's oath on January 20, 2021 as per rules and regulations.

Syed Nissar Mehdi, Hyderabad

India and RCEP

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed after a decade of serious negotiations and a mega Asian trading bloc was formed. Fifteen ASEAN countries except India are part of this giant trading bloc. India had pulled out of the pact last year on the grounds that it did not satisfactorily address New Delhi's outstanding issues and concerns.

Considering that India's ultimate goal has been to get rid of Asian supply chain based on China-centric trade and that RCEP will strengthen China's central position in the intra-Asian trade, Indian doubts about the pact are justified. However, India cannot afford to turn its back on free trade in this way.

There are many crucial factors that affect India's free trade. One, domestic demand is not high to strengthen India's growth. Two, the global trade has been disrupted by COVID-19 and US-China conflicts. New supply chains, trade connections and trading infrastructure are crucial at this juncture. If India misses out on these, it could adversely affect its growth.

India must see things in the true perspective. True, India is not in a position to rejoin RCEP but it must explore other avenues that will enable it to strengthen free trade. For example, India could try the trade agreements with the European Union. Considering India's geopolitical position and economic characteristics, it is a deal worth signing. If India delays it, some other countries will benefit from it.

Venu G S, Kollam

Discriminatory settlement

The bipartite settlement in the banking industry is now signed after a period of three years. This is happening every time. Why so much delay? Can't it be settled within a period of one year from the day it is due? It's IBA that is postponing the meetings every time and brooking delay in the matter.

Every time the IBA and the govt is not showing any interest to settle the matters of the pensioners. The benefits of 100 per cent DA neutralisation has been granted to all pensioners who retired after the year 2002 but not extended to pensioners who retired prior to 2002. Why this unjust discrimination? The pension rules are implemented from 1995 and the benefit of 100 per cent DA neutralisation is not extended to them. The seniors are ignored and all benefits have been extended to retirees who are juniors or retired after a cut -off date fixed by the IBA arbitrarily.

A M Daniel, Hyderabad