Leading lessons

8226; I agree with V.A. Pai Panandiker that governance was the common factor in these elections 8216;At the p...

8226; I agree with V.A. Pai Panandiker that governance was the common factor in these elections 8216;At the people8217;s pleasure8217;, IE, May 25. Add to this the theme of corruption and arrogance and you have solved the mystery of Verdict 2004.
All voters voted on the basis of issues affecting their localities. Andhra Pradesh had experienced severe drought for four years and nothing had been done to solve the problem of irrigation. This is true of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka too. In Orissa water was not a problem and even though Navin Patnaik had not progressed much, he is seen as a clean leader striving to right many wrongs 8212; that is the secret of his success. Politicians learn the wrong lessons 8212; note the reaction of Amma in Tamil Nadu in rolling back a series of measures after the results came in. They resort to populist solutions because it is the easiest thing to do. No one wants to work at it the hard way 8212; go to the people, decentralise government and funds, promote transparency.

8212; Ramu Karupaiah On e-mail

It began with ABV

8226; Atal Bihari Vajpayee shall be remembered for his role in improving relations between India and Pakistan. If now Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has exchanged greetings with the new Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, it is largely due to the measures initiated by Vajpayee. We in Pakistan wish him well, and hope he visits Pakistan again.

8212; Aijaz Gul Islamabad

More Manmohans

8226; Manmohans Singh becoming prime minister is perhaps one of the best things to have happened for independent India. It is common knowledge that this highly accomplished academician/ economist is a man of unparalleled integrity and disarm- ing humility. He is an expert of international repute in his chosen subject. There is no dearth of resources in our country. The only things lacking are character, honesty, discipline and hard work 8212; work for the sake of work and for the development of the country.

8212; Harish Khanna Panchkula

Power sharing

8226; The mask of the so-called 8216;8216;secular forces8217;8217; is beginning to fall finally 8216;The Chennai blackmail8217;, IE, May 26. We had Laloo Prasad Yadav demanding the home ministry, Ram Vilas Paswan asking for the railway ministry and finally the DMK, which has seven minsters in the cabinet, gunning for portfolios of its choice.
This clearly reveals the true intentions of various constituents of the United Progressive Alliance coalition.

8212; Ravi On e-mail

Musharraf8217;s pledge

8226; Husain Haqqani deserves three cheers for his article 8216;Under new clothes, all8217;s uniform8217; IE, May 22, in which he says that General Pervez Musharraf8217;s role as the West8217;s ally should not blur his position as an unelected military ruler running a regime under cover of a phased restoration of civilian rule. In fact, Pakistan, which was suspended from the Commonwealth in 1999 after Musharraf8217;s military coup deposing the civilian government of Nawaz Sharif, should not be reinstated into the organisation until the president fulfills his promise of giving up the post of army chief.

8212; Vinod Chowdhury Delhi