Linking the expenses incurred on the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman's overseas visits with the poverty index created by the Commission (“The austerity of the affluent,” May 21) is far-fetched. That way, everyone in the government, right from the Prime Minister, can be questioned. I do not think huge social spending projects are based on this poverty index. They are much more inclusive.
We need not grudge the corporate sector the huge sops it gets. It is a large employment provider and helps the government in its work. However, it is important to take on those elite critics who keep questioning the government on its social sector spending without offering alternative models.
M. Balakrishnan,
Bangalore
