Defence disorders

8226; George Fernandes is possibly right in asserting that he was not involved in the purchase of the exhorbita...

8226; George Fernandes is possibly right in asserting that he was not involved in the purchase of the exhorbitantly expensive imported coffins for Kargil martyrs. But then, as a defence minister during whose tenure this happened, he must reveal to Parliament those responsible. He continues to state that the entire Tehelka expose was vague and fictituous and has not been able to explain the intelligence failure that led to the Kargil war. These are only a few instances of his mismanagement of the defence minister8217;s portfolio.

8212; B.N. Pathak Caranzalem,

Goa Keep silent

8226; In the interests of peace, it would be good for Natwar Singh and Shivraj Patil to get into silent mode 8216;No troops to Iraq, no strings to Pak8217;, IE, June 2. Let them not spoil what A.B. Vajpayee achieved. Many things in life are destroyed by talking too much. The Congress has constantly criticised Vajpayee, but what these two gentlemen are doing is not an enhancement of what has been achieved, but a slow destruction. The climate on the subcontinent has changed for the better. Don8217;t take us back to the past.

8212; Ramesh Lahoti On e-mail

Unconvincing defence

8226; The PM8217;s defence of chargesheeted persons as ministers in his government, citing the strictly legalistic principle that a person is assumed to be innocent until proved guilty, is wholly unconvincing. Do government rules permit the appointment of chargesheeted persons to any post under the government? If not, then why make a departure in the case of ministers? The governing principle in such cases should be 8220;no appointment of chargesheeted persons until acquitted of the charges8221;. Such an approach is necessary to give a new direction to Indian polity. Corruption and criminology of politics are the gravest menaces India is suffering from. No programme of economic development or poverty alleviation will succeed until these maladies are eliminated with a determined will and a firm hand.

8212; K.L. Davar New Delhi

Wrong, wrong, wrong

8226; It is absolutely wrong to give D. Maran the telecom and IT ministry, where he will have to sit in judgement on the affairs of an industry in which he has a substantial stake 8216;Cable guy faces cross-connection8217;, IE, June 2. M. Karunanidhi will be happy to have him there since it benefits the family fiefdom but the prime minister should have his porfolio changed.

8212; Manumidas On e-mail

Let8217;s talk

8226; The suggestion to organise a dialogue between shining India and rural Bharat was excellent 8216;Bring Bharat into the discourse8217;, IE, June 1. However, as the writer points out, 8220;there are those in power whose political motives run counter to this notion of democracy and who devote their blood, sweat and money to ensure that channels of communication between the two Indias remain closed8221;. But the poll results indicate that Bharat now feels empowered to overthrow those who don8217;t listen. It is time, then, for the world8217;s largest democracy to encourage a truly democratic 8220;crosstalk8221; among its citizens.

8212; Kirtidev Bhatt On e-mail