Cops & cooperation

• Politicians should put partisanship and politics aside, and allow the FBI’s well-trained and technologically superior experts to help us find out where the explosives came from, and who the culprits were in the attacks in the Northeast.

— Falak Shah On e-mail

Laloo’s heroics

• While I quite agree with your editorial ‘Tainted halo’ (IE, October), I feel that the media is very “soft” on Laloo Prasad Yadav only because he is perceived as a “secular hero”! All crimes can be forgotten and forgiven provided he/she is considered as anti-Hindu — sorry, secular! In this narrow vision, a person who is justly proud to be a Hindu and who refuses to appease minorities, and especially the Muslims, is the criminal of the highest order. Secularism is dead — long live Laloo!

— Shreeram Paranjpe Mumbai

Left-hand drive

• Lord Meghnad Desai is spot-on in ‘Foreigners at the gate! Slavery for ever!’ (IE, October 4). He rightly questions whether the Indian state is so fragile on the issue of sovereignty and sums up that it is a device to keep the Left in the seat of power and influence. Or are they in fact doing their best to do even better by riding in the ‘‘back seat’’?

— Mukund B. Kunte New Delhi

Quota quotes

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on reservations sends shivers down my spine (‘Quotas in pvt sector: PM says the time has come, rules out a law’, IE, October 7). I see lots and lots of trouble ahead if he brings forth a legislation on this.

— Dev Ashish Rampur

Beyond slogans

• An interesting editorial (‘Reason badhao’, IE, October 6). Unless the government changes labour laws and kickstarts massive industrialisation in urban as well as in rural areas, ‘‘Rojgar badhao’’ will remain a slogan only, like Indira Gandhi’s ‘‘Garibi hatao’’ slogan. Garibi has not been removed even 30 years later. The people of India need no more slogans, but they look forward to concrete results.

— Divyesh Raythatha Dover

Well said, Prez

• Both the president and prime minister deserve praise for their commendable suggestion that their offices be brought under the purview of the Lokpal. It is only when a suitable legislation is passed that the rule would stand fully vindicated. If all are truly equal before the law, then all must be equally accountable with regard to the law of the land.

— Kowlagi Seshachar Mysore