Letters To The Editor

— Cynthia Reilly Mumbai

Iconic abstinence?

• Sonia Gandhi’s decision to resign as MP and chairperson of NAC was prompted not by of her “inner voice” but by the Indian Express’s clear wake-up call to the nation, on how the UPA government was attempting to save her position by locking up Parliament and issuing an ordinance. Even now Congress spinmeisters are attempting to portray this sordid episode as a ‘second sacrifice’ by their leader. Maybe they should go the whole hog and add Nehru-Gandhi tyaga to the asvammedha and rajasuya sacrifices of Vedic era. That would steal the thunder from the Hindutva types.

— R. P. Subramanian Delhi

Post facto

• Sonia Gandhi’s resignation move (‘Sonia sees profit in quitting office’, IE, March 24) was tinged with compulsion. She almost did again what she had done two years ago, making a show of sacrifice. If she is really conscientious, she should have quit immediately after Jaya Bachchan’s disqualification. Didn’t she know the rules? Her resignation is a good political move. She needed to stop the Opposition in their campaign and an ordinance to bail her out would have shown her in bad light. She is not interested in holding posts, she says. Then why does she contest elections?

— Amjad K. Maruf Mumbai

Handled sans care

• Far from the inner voice of her conscience, as pointed out in your editorial ‘Inner voice: now lost’ (IE, March 24), Sonia Gandhi’s resignation was no more than a strategy. The ordinance would have gone against the Congress’s assembly election prospects in the five states. The act was not an expression of her desire to “serve the people”, nor is it exactly a shrewd move to impress. It was a fallout of the UPA’s sloppy handling of the crisis. First they force Jaya Bachchan’s disqualification and then plan an ordinance, to which end Parliament is suddenly adjourned sine die. In apprehension of public discontent, Sonia Gandhi then strikes the posture of self-denial.

— Ved Guliani, Hisar

Total view

• Your March 24 editorial page brings to mind a submarine commander who, before surfacing his boat, sticks his periscope up to take an all round view of the horizon. You have done just that to utter perfection: inner voice: now lost; law is not an ass; Indira to Sonia (no one profits by political worship); the gamble of a daughter-in-law (much depends on how the weapon of her resignation is used). The Op-Ed page, with its story on Maharashtra’s political geography; the new spring in Iraq, and ‘The sign of the Scorpene’, was also commendable. That last bit was by none other than a former submarine commander, Raja Menon! Three cheers and more to the Express, and more power to your elbow!

— Mukund B. Kunte Delhi