Booby trap

appeasement policy, which, in his opinion, leads to

incidents like these blasts in Varanasi. Whenever there are attempts to disrupt peace in the country, the BJP falls into the trap set up by terrorists and contribute to further anarchy. The BJP seems to forget that after the Parliament attack, the nation was united in its commitment to fight the

divisive forces.

8212; S. Kamat

Panaji

Secular downside

n THE blasts in Varanasi are caused by Islamic militants, supported by Muslims in

India and in our neighbouring countries. It is really sad that our shankaracharyas have remained silent or no news channel has approached them for their

reactions and directions to Hindus. We take pride in

being secular and end up being cowards.

8212; Sudhir K. Bhave

Mumbai

Appeaser Mulayam

n ONCE again bloody

terrorism has raised its head. Politicians like

Mulayam Singh Yadav are to be blamed for 8220;inviting8221; terrorism. Leaders like him go to any extent to appease certain sections of the community just to garner votes; they in fact divide the

population of the state.

Time the Indian government addressed the escalation of terrorist violence.

8212; S. Krishna Kumar

Mumbai

Thought leader

n YOUR call for a united

resolve, devoid of politics, to fight terror in the wake of the Varanasi blasts 8216;What is

sacred?8217;, IE, March 9 advocates the right course to be followed. However, the spirit of this editorial does not match the general

reporting in your paper. If both the print and electronic media continue to give a political colour to such

barbaric acts, politicians are bound to make political capital out of them.

8212; G.S. Kulkarni

Delhi

n THE bomb blasts in Varanasi has to be

condemned in the harshest possible terms. There seems to be a plan to disturb peace and harmony just before the important festival of Holi. It is the demand of the citizens of India that the government takes stringent action against the culprits and ensure a peaceful atmosphere prevails in the country.

8212; Mohamed N. Ansari

New Delhi

n THE precisely timed and meticulously planned Varanasi blasts are not about religion but are just a heinous and terrorist crime, as Pamela Philipose has highlighted 8216;Varnasi is us8217;, March 9. We Indians may not fall prey to the terrorists8217; designs, but it is really painful that despite our

educational and economic progress, we have failed to ensure the nation8217;s security.

8212; Ved Guliani

Hisar

Pointless tax

n THE service tax increased in the budget is a way of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Given this increase, many companies will find it more economical to do train and air booking through websites. This will put out of business a large number of travel agents,

reducing in turn service tax collections.

8212; B.V. Rao Bangalore