Conscience and recusal

I disagree with your editorial 8216;Red-faced, vindictive8217;. Somnath Chatterjee has broken party discipline and his expulsion is not tantamount to the party getting red-faced and or vindictive.

8226; I disagree with your editorial 8216;Red-faced, vindictive8217;. Somnath Chatterjee has broken party discipline and his expulsion is not tantamount to the party getting red-faced and or vindictive. His performance cannot vindicate him in the face of his act of indiscipline. His conscience should have, when he was elected to the Speaker8217;s post, caused him to resign from his party. You cite the example of a judge, but you forget if a judge happens to be an interested party in any manner, directly or indirectly, he recuses saying, 8220;Not before me.8221;

8212; Kedarnath R. Aiyar

Mumbai

Approaching revolution?

8226; Apropos of your editorial 8216;Red-faced, vindictive8217;, the expulsion of Chatterjee exposes the hypocrisy of the CPM8217;s boast of being a responsible social democratic force. In adamantly pressuring the Speaker to resign, it destabilised constitutional functioning of democracy for momentary gain. The Left, at present dominated by the ill-placed enthusiasm of the likes of Prakash Karat, acted on the ingrained autocracy of the party, which neither tolerates dissent nor believes in pragmatism. But the same party cracked down on a person like Chatterjee, who stood for the true spirit of ideology and had the guts to defy diktats. Which brand of communism does he profess? Is there something simmering behind the scenes waiting to rise against the suppressive rigidity and irrationality of the dominant few?

8212; Ved Guliani

Hisar

Men of honour

8226; Thank you for being one of the few papers to carry Manmohan Singh8217;s entire reply to the trust vote debate. I am grateful you gave your readers the chance to read the mind of our prime minister. The speech was deeply moving in that it showed how much this sensitive man was wounded by L.K. Advani8217;s constant put-downs and jibes. It also reinforced the pride we, his supporters, have for the prime minister 8212; a man intelligence and integrity when seen in the context of the behaviour of the Left8217;s Mohd. Salim and other opposition members who deliberately shouted down and heckled every speaker but their own. There are still some men of honour left not just in the UPA but also the National Conference8217;s Omar Abdullah, and the man who leads our country.

8212; Cynthia Reilly

Mumbai

Disproportional

8226; This is about T.R. Andhyarujina8217;s 8216;Acquired immunity syndrome8217;. If 8220;MPs are shielded from bribery investigations by a regrettable judgement8221;, such worthies can be tackled through the 8220;disproportionate assets8221; route, and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram can, through his income tax sleuths, investigate those who ended up rich after the latest trust vote. Why should we not at least collect what is due to the exchequer from those who got mind-boggling moneys, trading their 8220;valuable votes8221;?

8212; M.K.D. Prasada Rao

Ghaziabad