All for votes

This refers to your editorial 8216;Congress turncoats8217; September 18. What a sad day it was for the Indian economy when...

This refers to your editorial 8216;Congress turncoats8217; September 18. What a sad day it was for the Indian economy when opposition parties led by the Congress and the Left celebrated the Supreme Court8217;s decision on disinvestment of oil
companies.

The Congress didn8217;t even bother to say that the party would examine the matter and then decide its stand. Its spokesperson forthwith announced that the party would oppose the government8217;s proposal in Parliament.

The economic reforms programme was initiated by none else but the Congress party. Ironically, today it stands with the traditional opponents of reforms 8212; the Left parties 8212; only to get political mileage.

The disinvestment programme has definitely suffered a setback.
8212; M.C. Joshi, On e-mail

The Supreme Court has given a verdict on the procedure for disinvestment of oil companies by saying it should be cleared through Parliament.

What does this have to do with the Congress?
8212; Ravi Bhosale, On e-mail

Family ties

Apropos of the news report 8216;Bouncers fly in Mumbai as veterans trade charges8217; IE, September 17, Sunil Gavaskar8217;s son, who a few years ago could not even find a place in the Mumbai team and had to play Ranji Trophy for Bengal, has suddenly been found to be worthy of donning the national colours!
8212; Arnab K. Gupta, On e-mail

Story continues below this ad

On alert

The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace CNDP expresses its deepest concern that the Government of India has chosen to compound its original blunder, the Pokharan blasts of 1998. At its first meeting, the Nuclear Command Authority decided to 8220;consolidate India8217;s nuclear deterrent8221;. This can only have spine-chilling consequences for South Asia. In instant reaction, the way Chagai followed Pokharan, Pakistan held a meeting of its own National Command Authority two days later. It announced that Pakistan would 8220;keep upgrading its arsenal to maintain its minimum deterrent8221;.

The falsehood of 8220;security8221; and 8220;stability8221; through nuclear weapons was fully exposed by the Kargil war, and the dangerous 10-month-long military mobilisation and nuclear brinkmanship by India and Pakistan in 2001-2. Given the abysmal safety record of both militaries, a catastrophic nuclear exchange by accident cannot be ruled out.

We urge both governments to desist from open deployment and instead work for South Asia8217;s denuclearisation and for a nuclear weapons-free world. The search for 8220;security8221; and 8220;supremacy8221; through nuclear weapons entails unimaginable disaster.
8212; J. Sriraman 038; others, on behalf of CNDP, On e-mail

Words of wisdom

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is correct as always 8216;The Taliban in our midst8217;, IE, September 18. I hope that his words reach every soul
on earth.
8212; Niteen Shastri, On e-mail

Story continues below this ad

Why this fuss?

Why should any honest worker be bothered as to who owns his company 8216;Privatisation: Airport staff threaten hunger strike employees8217;, IE, September 18? In fact, workers in some privatised companies have found the change in management both pleasant and gainful. Of course, union leaders are very agitated, for obvious reasons.
8212; K.S.C. Nair, On e-mail