Today Baba Ramdev, Dayanidhi Maran and the issue of corruption in general generated the most discussion on Firstpost articles. You commented across social media platforms as well as on articles, with some of you even cross posting - which is something that made us really happy to see. This is our pick of some of the most entertaining/lucid/well argued comments that we received across all our platforms. Thank you as always for taking the time to share your opinions with us. 
Via @Firstpostin @da_twisted_one Obviously, it clashed with his yoga time.RT @firstpostin: #ramdev cancels press conference @debasishmisra Too many people going on fasts and hunger strikes? RT @firstpostin Food inflation falls to 8.06% for week ended May 21 @hiteshmanchanda @firstpostin But to make laws a movement is required and to build a movement an idol is required and fasts bring that in!! @mrigankdevam Naomi turns to “Cat Talk” after a successful career in “Cat -Walk” firstpost.com/bollywood/not-… via @firstpostin Via Facebook: This is a selection of answers we picked in response to the question " Can Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare quick fix our political system?"
| Sajith Mohmad Saleem Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and damn,suddenly you are doing the impossible |
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| Terrence Wharton For every person who sincerely professes to actively support the present cause championed by duo mentioned, there are plenty more who are either indolent or sceptical. Then there are the many who practice the ‘I’ll scratch your back if and when you scratch mine’ philosophy in totality. What is ingrained in the collective consciousness of the people can never be completely rooted out. Targeting those who are in full public view will not be a solution to the malaise. Instead it will lead to more devious schemes of evasion. Corruption will then be propagated in perpetuum. Political vendettas will be encouraged as the game of oneupmanship flourishes. There is no quick-fix solution, but Yes! a constitutional solution must be agreed upon, even though this be a ‘happy compromise’. |
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| Prasanna Venkatesh Srinivasan The origins of corruption is scarcity of supply and discretionary power to cater to demand. Anna Hazare’s (BR’s) efforts, while commendable, does not even touch the tip of the iceberg on this. Implementing the Panchayati Raj Bill, ie, placing funds at Panchayat level will enable voters to directly decide and hold reps to account for public funds. Decentralization of revenue collection from Central govt to Panchayats will place power with the people. Policy reform to enable free supply of goods and services will ensure we don’t need discretionary decisions (licencing/permits). eg Noone’s queueing up for phones anymore or being humiliated in banks or paying bribes for either. Salute to you, Mr Hazare, but you aren’t changing the system. |
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On Articles: shanker People in Tamil Nadu consider Karunanidhi to be some kind of political wizard and a man of great knowledege with a string of honorary doctorates. I fail to understand 1) Why did he name his son after Stalin, who is a well known Russian dictator known to have butchered 10 million humans? and 2) Why is he so blinded with unfettered greed and self-destructive ambition at age 87, instead of spending his last years more gracefully? Posted on Marans lose Rs 3,000 crore in an hour after telecom expose Pundit Commentator Somebody please save these UPA ministers from themselves. Who is their media/PR adviser? First Manish Tewari refuses to comment on the breakdown in joint drafting meetings, then they send out Renuka Chowdhury to debate Team Anna on Times Now and the best she can do is yell “Heloooo” and roll her eyes at world famous and respected and beloved ex cop Kiran Bedi. Then Rahul Kanwal tweeted that non-government Congress leaders were upset and R. Rajagopalan tweeted yesterday that Sonia was displeased with this too. Posted on How govt goof-up gave Ramdev a propaganda coup Meeta2000 In AP lower caste madigas that come under OBC category probably or SC category I am not sure and are eligible for subdised food form cooperatives to buy food in bulk - rice, dal, tamarind etc, distribute within themselves much more efficiently and have managed to pull themselves out of poverty - that aided by minimum wage scheme in AP really helped them it seems. I heard this from a kamma farmer who finds it inviable to do farming any more in Guntur. Sonia Gandhi seems to be convinced by YSR who sold the idea of how he did it before he died. Like they say in malyalam ’ a monkey that learnt from others with their help the trick of climbing a coconut tree needs to develop some expertise and skills of their own to climb back down’ If poverty alleivation could be so easy it should have vanished in the first five year plan. It requires integrity and its obvious demonstration all the way from the top to the bottom of the pyramid. Garibi Hatao slogan is a deadpan much beaten one by Indira Gandhi too. You cannot have corruption on one hand and poverty alleviation on the other. Posted on Choo mantar: cheap food disappears below poverty line Leovin27 If the DMK has spent the last 5 years amassing as much wealth as they could, what is to stop the AIADMK from doing the same thing during its tenure? Its a cycle, and the root cause of it all is that the weak Congress government at the centre requires the support of these parties. The more regional parties coming into power at the state level, the more the corruption levels are allowed to increase by an ineffective central government. Today the congress relies on the DMK for support at the centre, tomorrow they could tie up with Mayawati, opening up the floodgates for her cronies who will become ministers. Posted on Marans lose Rs 3,000 crore in an hour after telecom expose Abhishek Srivastava And how is being an Entrepreneur a bad thing. Better than being a Politician, I say. Digvijay Singh has become the bad boy of Congress. He is given the role of bad-mouthing anyone who goes on offensive against Congress. This is because of the fact that he has an image about himself which makes things easier for Congress. Anytime if Digvijay actually says something really offensive, Congress can wash their hads saying that Digvijay singh always bad-mouths people and thus Congress is not responsible for anything offensive comuing out of Digvijay’s mouth. Cunning ploy by Congress, I say. Posted on Yoga guru is no saint but an entrepreneur: Digvijay Singh Raj I would say that the Telecom Industry in India is currently at an exciting stage both from the Operator and Consumer perspective. First, let us clarify on the subscriber base - it would be less than 820 million in reality if you count one individual as one subscriber (currently many people have multiple phone connection with multiple oprators). Is there a place for so many operators? In one circle you will find 8+ operators fighting for customer share. In my view max 4 operators would be able to do justice to their presence. The recent entrants, will not be able to sustain for a long time and it’s just a matter of time when mergers & take-overs start become the order of the day. While we are happy with the low tarriff, let us not ignore the issue of Customer Service Quality. The Customer Service standards are very low, and on very few occassions you will find the issues and complaints resolved to the customer’s satisfaction. Also, let us not forget the unethical issue of deducting the balance for Value Added Services without the consent of prepaid customers. Almost all the companies are trying to make money through this unethical way. Though the industry seems to be facing difficult times, we as common people and subscribers can continue to keep smiling (hopefully for a long time!) Posted on Is the India telecom story over? No, it’s all uphill now Hsktoi any person trying to cleanse the system must be encouraged. do we still want to be ruled under this system that rots ? leave your class, caste, religious differences aside and support an effort of cleansing. ultimately it shall benefit us all. we can disagree on many issues later but lets get this job done for now. Posted on Dear Baba, here’s why your ‘Anna dream’ may be doomed
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