President Donald Trump is posing as a “Conservative”. What is my evidence? In 1999 he proposed that Congress pass a “National Wealth Tax” of 14.25 per cent on all individuals who have a net worth of over $10 million. That is an extremely liberal idea; there is not a single Democrat in Congress who supports such a policy. Mr Trump wanted the money generated to be spent on two items: totally eliminating the national debt and a Social Security Trust Fund. Mr Trump has been posing as a “Conservative”. He has been masterfully manipulating all of us and playing us for fools – both his supporters and his critics.
Stewart Epstein, New York
The BJP and Modi look dominant after recent polls
I write in reference to your article Modi's growing domination of Indian electoral politics (March 4). The poll verdicts from northeastern states recently won by Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party show widespread approval for the Indian Prime Minister. The end of a quarter century of domination by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Tripura is laudable. The fact that the BJP is now ruling 21 out of India's 29 states is remarkable, especially given the hindutva criticism from opposition parties. Nevertheless, the party's leadership should concentrate more on the southern states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Certainly Mr Modi’s magic yielded positive results in the northeast. Whether he can do so in Karnataka remains to be seen. Ultimately in a democracy, it is the people’s verdict that matters. This was a good show from the BJP. Kudos to Mr Modi and party President Amit Shah.
K Ragavan, Bengaluru
They say poetry is the language of the soul
I write in reference to your article UAE Portrait of a Nation: The Emirati poet who is training to be a neurosurgeon (March 1). It is said that poetry is the language of the soul. It is a shame that Mohammed Belhoul's poetry is not in Arabic.
Omar Jaramillo, Berlin
We need to halt the decline of local shops and landmarks
I write in reference to your article Nirav Modi fraud might be the revival of an iconic record shop (March 3): It will be wonderful if the crowd-funding initiative launched by Anand Mahindra succeeds in restoring the iconic Rhythm House music outlet.
With the advent of e-commerce, the sales of brick and mortar shops have suffered. Now, online sites deliver to our homes within a day, at 10 to 20 per cent discounts. Single-stores like Rhythm House are suffering as a result. In the last few years, Mumbai has seen other landmarks disappear, like the Samovar restaurant in Jehangir Art Gallery, which was famed among students and executives for its parathas. Another business to disappear is Strand Book Stall, where many people used to flock to purchase books.
Rajendra Aneja, Dubai
