Letters To The Editor

Mahajan8217;s health8226; As a totally non-political and ordinary man, I have absolutely no interest in Pramod Mahajan, this way or that w...

Mahajan8217;s health

8226; As a totally non-political and ordinary man, I have absolutely no interest in Pramod Mahajan, this way or that way 8212; like his 8220;large number of his BJP colleagues who are not overly fond of him8221; or like 8220;a fair number of admirers in Congress8221;, to quote from your editorial, 8216;BJP8217;s Mr Possible8217; IE, April 24 . Whether he survives his grim battle for life, or succumbs to it, will make no difference to me or to millions of unknown, non-political people, who have been, are, and continue to be at the mercy of the politicians. With all the news, views and reviews on Mahajan 8212; which the media seems to be full of these days 8212; no one has raised the issue as to who is paying the enormous costs being incurred, including that of hi-fi doctors who have been rushed in from the UK. Mahajan himself has never had any income before he became an influential politician. If his party, the BJP, is going to foot these bills, its source of funds is also ultimately from the citizen. One wonders how many private persons, whether tax payers or not, who make honest living in this corrupt country, can generate such healthcare costs. One may also wonder as to who, ultimately, is paying for the number of 8220;dignitaries8221; who have rushed to Hinduja hospital to visit Mahajan. No wonder politics has come to be regarded as the best and most paying profession in the nation.

8212; Sameer Kumar, Mumbai

8226; One really hopes that Pramod Mahajan emerges from his current situation. He is a rare politician, combining the best of the suave and the rustic. Eminently watchable, confident and worth listening to on TV, he has mastered the gift of the gab. He also exhibited some rare honesty when he accepted responsibility for the BJP defeat in 2004. Contrast this with the efforts made by the Congress to protect and deflect the blame from Sonia Gandhi, when it got even fewer seats than under Sitaram Kesri.

However there are a few aspect that need to be clarified. Is Hinduja hospital allowed to admit patients who are victims of a crime? I understand that such patients can only be taken to government hospitals where a panchnama is first made by the police.

8212; T.R. Ramaswami, Mumbai

8226; Be it the biblical Cain and Abel or the present case of Pramod and Pravin 8216;Blood and thunder in the family8217;, IE, April 25, history has always been witness to the fact that the success of one brother has been the blot on the landscape for another. In politics there may be no permanent friends or enemies but it can certainly turn brother against brother.

8212; Abhishek Law, Kolkata

Clueless MEA

8226; This refers to 8216;Natwar criticises Indian policy on Nepal8217;IE, April 24. Irrespective of what King Gyanendra did in the wake of the Maoist revolt, I found the response of the MEA very awkward. The way it reacted to Gyanendra8217;s first TV address to the nation betrayed a lack of awareness of the situation on the ground.

8212; Amit V. Sengupta Kolkata

Idol treatment

8226; We were shocked that your paper chose to completely black out news of the finale of Indian Idol, telecast on April 22. In your Sunday edition, a whole page in 8216;Express Newsline8217; was dedicated to TV programmes, but not a word about 8216;Indian Idol8217;. Your TV columnist, Shailaja Bajpai, did a column on TV commercials but said nothing about the 8216;Indian Idol8217; finale. Does this have anything to do with the outcome of this competition?

8212; P.S. Rangarajan, New Delhi