Too Many Holidays – DDT at the receiving end
When we carried Central Excise Superintendent Dev Kumar's frustration about too many holidays for government, we least expected DDT to be the target of attack.
A Netizen remarked in the Message Board, It is sad to see government offices having a few working days thrown in between holidays! Isn't it equally sad to see DDT also having a few working days between holidays? Preachings must also be practised. Isn't it so?
A Distinguished colleague from the Bar, Anil Kumar remarked, “ It's an irony to see your DDT write about Holidays and you finish your column with "Tomorrow is a Holiday. See our columns Wednesday for the judgments." Why blame the Central Government alone for not accepting the pay commission recommendations...Are we also not doing the same thing”
My Editorial Colleague responded, “The activities of the Govt are the primary source of commentary for any media organisation, more predominantly for us as we are more govt-centric. If the Govt does not work; our policy making or revenue administration goes into hibernation, what is there for us to comment on. If we are lamenting holidays it does not mean that holidays are primarily bad or we do not need holidays but not so many in a series which affect the normal working of the economy”
Since its inception in December 2004, DDT has been following the Central Government Holidays in Delhi and that is the source of all our doses. On our Birthday last year in -24.04.2008, we had asked our esteemed Netizens if they would like to have DDT on Saturdays too and the majority opinion was that the present system of five day week in tune with the Central Government was perfectly right. While many Netizens felt that DDT deserved a two day break, the main plea was that many government officers browse TIOL in the offices, DDT on a holiday will be missed.
So we are following the Government holidays as per the suggestions of our Netizens. We are grateful to the large number of Netizens who understood and appreciated the agony and plight of writing a daily column on such a mundane topic as taxes and advised us to maintain the status quo, we are more grateful to the critics, for they keep us on our toes where we deserve and ought to be. Thank you.