Maya-opic

Your editorial 8216;One-UP?8217; showcases the bankruptcy of leadership in our national polity.

8226; Your editorial 8216;One-UP?8217; showcases the bankruptcy of leadership in our national polity. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati8217;s actions in cancelling the land allotted for a rail coach factory on the eve of its bhoomi pujan, and denying permission to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to hold a rally, is an outrageous act of petulance.

It also brings into question Mayawati8217;s suitability to rule India8217;s largest state, let alone be prime minister of India. Is she being surrounded by advisors who tell her only what she wants to hear?

8212; Prasad Malladi

Nidadavole

8226; Mayawati8217;s strategy to stymie Sonia Gandhi only shows her hauteur, hubris and sense of insecurity. This does not mean that the Congress is whiter than white. But what is worse in this contrived cancellation of allotment of land is that Mayawati has sacrificed the interests of the common man at the altar of her political ambitions. Arbitrariness and misuse of political power undermine all that democracy stands for.

8212; Satwant Kaur

Mahilpur

Best education

8226; This refers to the Jaithirth Rao8217;s article 8216;A new class theory8217;. Rao does injustice to the UGC when he blames it for all that ails higher education in India. The actual culprits are the politicians, who 8212; with the exception of the left 8212; have been steadfastly refusing to increase the budget allocation for education. Rao cannot disregard the fact that, in India, the best and the brightest students come out of national institutions 8220;guided8221; by the UGC. Rao also sticks to the dogma of private enterprise being superior to public enterprise, an argument that does not apply to the field of education. Even in the US, education is mostly funded by the state, or by non-profit trusts. It will be enlightening to know how many Nobel laureates have graduated from state run institutions in comparison to those from private ones.

8212; K. Raghu

Ahmedabad

Strong on terror

8226; This is with reference to the news report 8216;Modi refuses to speak at NIC, hands speech text slamming UPA on terror8217;. It is on terrorism that the opposition NDA has a clear cut edge over the ruling UPA. The Congress must seize the initiative and make anti-terrorism its own platform, while at the same time ensuring that minorities are not unfairly targeted.

8212; Deepak Chikramane

Mumbai

Green energy

8226; It is unfortunate that while most developed countries are concentrating on solar and other forms of renewable energy, New Delhi is 8220;committed8221; to buying costly as well as hazardous nuclear power.

8212; Hansraj Bhat

Mumbai