Why is it so difficult to do simple things?

Courts are not meant to take policy decisions, only politicians can. A court can pronounce judgement on a matter before it, based on arguments made by lawyers, who are biased by whoever is paying them, but a judge cannot consult various sections of society and arrive at a compromise to benefit all, without victimising one section. The Supreme Court has banned registration of all diesel cars and SUVs in Delhi, with engine capacity above 2,000 cc, because these are owned by rich people. Why is it a crime for Indians to be rich? Last year 1.85 million cars were sold in India, that is less than half of what Volkswagen alone sold in China. A total of 23 million cars were sold in China and 16.5 million in the US last year. The Supreme Court also doubled the tax, cutely known as cess, on commercial vehicles entering Delhi which will increase prices of goods in Delhi, hitting long suffering citizens, while raising more money for politicians and civil servants to enjoy themselves. Motorcycles and scooters emit more harmful gases than cars, because they cannot have catalytic converters, but they are exempt, although they vastly outnumber cars. The order has confused car makers who do not know whether to continue to manufacture diesel vehicles. The automobile industry comprises 10% of the GDP, contributes 18% of excise duties and employs 19 million people, including in ancillary industries. Any damage to this industry has serious implications for the whole economy. Yet, the problem could have been solved so simply. The price of a barrel of oil dropped from around $115 to less than $40 last year, which was a golden opportunity to increase taxes on diesel and reduce them on petrol so that both cost the same as they do in the US and Europe. That would have increased tax revenues without increasing prices, because of the fall in input costs. More important, it would have moved car buyers away from diesel vehicles to petrol ones and given time to manufacturers to change their engines, without losing jobs. It would become profitable for truck owners to buy new vehicles with more efficient engines, which would increase sales and reduce emissions. We have written many times but we have no voice. Meanwhile, Ms Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul may not seek bail in the National Herald case. We do not know if the Congress is planning to create riots in Delhi if mother and son are sent to jail, though they are saying that they will not. Of course, people could riot 'spontaneously', as they did in 1984, and then the biased media will mount a hysterical campaign against the BJP government. Delhi Police mercilessly beat up protesters of Nirbhaya's gruesome rape 3 years ago. During Congress times. The pollution of politics. In Delhi.