Letters to the editor

— S. Chattopadhyay, Mumbai

Active on Babri

• IF a Gandhi was active, Babri wouldn’t have fallen says Rahul Gandhi. I disagree with him totally although I agree that the Babri demolition was unfortunate. More than one Gandhi is active today and see the level to which our country has fallen. Corruption rules the roost everywhere, rapes and molestations are on the rise, as are murders and killings. India would soon be the AIDS capital of the world. Our country’s biggest problem is its politicians. They are ‘bol bachchans’ (great orators), who, after the elections, disappear until the next poll. Rahul Gandhi should let his work do the talking rather than his mouth.

— S.N. Kabra, Mumbai

Baseless allegation

• I WAS appalled to see an item, entitled ‘Stargazing’ in Coomi Kapoor’s column, ‘Inside Track’ (IE, March 11). In that item, Ms Kapoor claims that Tara channel, which I head, has been backing Mamata Bannerjee’s position in the Nandigram case, in exchange for a Rajya Sabha ticket for me. It is a shockingly baseless allegation — I have never met Ms Bannerjee in my life, nor do I have political ambitions. It’s also a malicious allegation as it affects the credibility of my channel’s reports on Nandigram, which were fair and objective.

Apart from getting the major facts wrong, Ms Kapoor also got the minor facts wrong: I was never secretary, I&B.

— Rathikant Basu; Chairman, Broadcast Worldwide, Kolkata

Coomi Kapoor replies:

Mr Rathikant Basu was not secretary, I&B. He was, nevertheless, director-general, Doordarshan.

Letter of the Week Award

We write to be read. When you write in, we read you to know what you think about what we publish. The ‘newspaper-active reader relationship’ is of enormous significance for a serious publication. A good letter, especially a good letter that critiques us, is of immense value. It is to recognise this and to encourage quality reader intervention that The Indian Express is instituting the ‘Letter of the Week’ award. Beginning with the issue dated March 31, we will announce and publish every Saturday the reader intervention our editors deem most substantive, well-thought-out, sharp and cogent. Selection will be from letters received that week.

The winner receives books worth Rs 1,000 and his letter gets pride of the place in the letters column as well as on our website.