Letters To The Editor

Reality check8226; Thank You for your no-nonsense editorial 8216;Dozen more reasons8217;, IE, July 12, which puts the UPA government sq...

Reality check

8226; Thank You for your no-nonsense editorial 8216;Dozen more reasons8217;, IE, July 12, which puts the UPA government squarely on the mat. And coming as it does from the Express, it carries far more weight than poor L.K. Advani, who says much the same thing, but suffers a two-fold disadvantage 8212; his BJP tag, whose 8216;sensex8217; has tumbled over the months; and his own image vis-a-vis his RSS masters. But the UPA government is going through no less a crisis, as evidenced from its lack of convincing rhetoric, let alone action. Does it fear that its own masters 8212; from the ubiquitous Left secularists to the maulavis and ulemas on the other side of the political divide 8212; will continue to take offence, no matter what the stakes are? It is high time for the UPA government, for once, to face reality. Things are fast getting out of hand.

8212; A.N. Mitra, Delhi

Pak process

8226; The prime duty of the government is to provide security to the citizen. Going by that yardstick, our prime minister and leaders have failed the people. As usual, it is left to the citizen to face up to the terrorist threat with courage. We should not allow ourselves to be cowed down by the sort of barbarism that was on view in Mumbai on Tuesday. Terrorists want nothing more than the failure of India8217;s peace efforts with Pakistan. But we must ensure that they are defeated in this intention. At the same time, we should make it clear to Pakistan that its attempts to aid terrorist networks will not be allowed to succeed.

8212; S.P. Sharma, Mumbai

This myth

8226; We, the Mumbaikars in Gujarat, are affected when any calamity strikes Mumbai. The myth of Mumbai being a safe city has been totally shattered by incidents of this kind. Let8217;s take the lesson from Punjab and crack down on every form of terrorism facing the country. We also take great pride in the fact that Mumbaikars immediately bounced back. Salaam Mumbai!

8212; Roda D. Hakim, Vadodara

Untoward colour

8226; The serial bomb blasts in Mumbai deserves to be condemned in the strongest words. The loss of innocent human lives is deeply regrettable. This is nothing short of a crime against humanity. There also seems to be an attempt to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country. We call upon the government to identify, apprehend and punish the perpetrators severely. The government needs to check any attempt to give the attack a communal colour.

8212; M. Sharfuddin Ansari, New Delhi

Support to Singh

8226; Congratulations to Shekhar Gupta on his column 8216;Handicap at 7, Race Course,8217; IE, July 8. I wonder how many Congressmen will read and appreciate it, but an ordinary citizen like me liked it. I believe the kind of argument he makes can influence Sonia Gandhi and her rising son on the issue of not letting Manmohan Singh fail. They should be able to support Singh openly and directly. That will certainly frighten the crafty oldies in the party.

8212; P.K. Dutta, Pune

8226; Shekhar Gupta8217;s observations on the state of affairs between the PM and his party are quite pertinent. However, the reality possibly is that the Congress and its president cannot afford to have a PM who is completely effective. If his stature were enhanced, he could become another power centre 8212; posing a threat to Rahul Gandhi in 2009. Their interests are best served in ensuring that he stays in power, but just about.

8212; Divya Agarwal, Delhi