MyVoice: Views of our readers - 5 Dec

TSRTC fiasco enacted by govt

This is with reference to the report titled 'Opposition leaders were no match to KCR's guile' (Dec 4). One must understand that the RTC workers did not go on strike at the behest of the Opposition.

K Chandrashekar Rao, the Chief Minister of the State, is least expected to deal a blow to the Opposition using the RTC strike as a shield.

The Opposition being what it is, it can be certainly said that Chandrashekar Rao didn't score any additional points nor he could succeed in achieving what he had said and reiterated multiple times during the course of strike.

The High Court had dropped sufficient hints that the strike was not illegal not their demands and in fact, found fault with the way the government handled it.

Even Chandrashekar Rao, despite his noncoherent statements, himself proved the strike was legal and the demands are worthy of consideration by accepting many of the demands, even some the demands which were not part of the original charter.

In other words, Chandrashekar Rao had mishandled the whole issue and hence he and his whimsical ways are responsible for loss of revenue during the strike period, loss of precious human lives and loss of credibility.

In his luncheon meeting with workers and even before and during the strike, tried to isolate the union leaders but definitely he didn't achieve it. So, it was fiasco wholly enacted by the government.

Hari Mothkuri, Hyderabad

Will Sena-NCP ties impact national politics?

The new Maharashtra government will be on test for effective handling of the major problems facing the State and measuring up to the people's expectations.

The development is likely to encourage Opposition parties to come together but merely targeting BJP was not enough to keep them united politically, given the weak hold of the Congress as an all India force today compared to the nineties when the United Front government could come to power with the former's support. It has to be seen what role the Congress can play as an anchor of Opposition now.

The image of Prime Minister Modi as a protagonist of clean governance and a firm handler of bureaucracy in the matter of fixing its responsibility for delivery, still holds an appeal for the masses.

He is the BJP as far as the people's perceptions go and the happenings in the states do not materially make a difference for the credibility of his regime at the Centre. Also, the non-BJP alternatives in different parts of India are as diverse as the multiplicity of opposition parties in the country itself.

The advent of a Shiv Sena-led coalition in Maharashtra will be in the political news for some time and the next elections in Jharkhand and Delhi may or may not be impacted by it depending upon the relationship that exists there between the Congress and the principal non-BJP party of the State.

The electoral fortune of the BJP in a future election anywhere will depend on the performance of the Modi government at the Centre and the perceptions people have of its contribution to both development and security.

There is little doubt that Prime Minister Modi is widely looked upon as a leader who had successfully safeguarded the nation against external and internal threats to security.

Despite all the critique of the government on the issue of economic growth, the popular impression about Prime Minister Modi's personal commitment to development and people's welfare has not diminished.

Developments in Maharashtra have a local dimension revolving round Shiv Sena and NCP - their impact on the national political scene, however, will be keenly watched.

Ravinder Reddy P, Nizamabad