Najma146;s outrage

Only the other day the prime minister had called upon the Elders to retain the character of the House of Elders by maintaining...

Only the other day the prime minister had called upon the Elders to retain the character of the House of Elders by maintaining decorum and act as mature people. What annoyed Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla was Kapil Sibal8217;s obviously taunting remark, 8216;8216;Give me a chance after you allow all others to speak.8217;8217; He continued to argue even when Heptulla, taking strong objection to his remarks, asked him not to argue and said that he had a habit of arguing. Such opinions formed by the chair don8217;t add feathers to anyone8217;s cap. Heavens wouldn8217;t have come down had Sibal waited for a while, letting L.M. Singhvi speak first. True, MPs will be MPs 8216;Trading chairs8217;, IE, December 15 but they should not be devoid of decorum and decency.

8212; M.C. Joshi On e-mail

Self-inflicted feud
I have read your balanced editorial 8216;Congress vs Congress8217; December 13. If the rebellion that is slowly brewing against Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is anything to go by, it is plain that the Congress has not learnt any lessons from its debacle in the recently held assembly elections. If members of a coalition ministry indulge in internal feuds, have mistrust among one another and pose a challenge to their leader, it is still understandable for they have forcibly joined hands together to taste power. However, if MLAs belonging to the same party possess these dubious qualities, then it is inexplicable and lowers its image and dignity in the eyes of the people. Congress President Sonia Gandhi need not waste time appointing committees to find out why her party put up such a poor show in the recent elections. She needs to put her leadership qualities to the test and teach her partymen and women to stay disciplined and united.

8212; V. Rajesh On e-mail

Kesri8217;s legacy

Saeed Naqvi8217;s article 8216;The world according to Sonia8217; IE, December 12 gives a good picture of the Congress8217;s internal politics. But his reference to Sitaram Kesri as a low caste Bihari is not very clear. What is he trying to convey?
8212; Ravi Shankur On e-mail

On horse-trading

Cabinet approval of the 97th Constitution Amendment Bill on electoral reforms to ban political defections altogether and limit the size of ministries is a welcome step forward. The anti-defection law of 1985 continues to be misused and the main objective of the constitutional amendment moved by Rajiv Gandhi is defeated each time power-hungry legislators freely display their bargaining skills when defections became a wholesale business 8212; in other words, horse trading. Now under the new bill that has been proposed, if any legislator or group defects from a party, he or they would lose membership of the legislature and would have to face afresh the electorate. The move to limit the size of ministries to 15 per cent of the membership of the Lower House is also welcome.

8212; K.L. Batra Yamunanagar

Fickle allies

The fate of Saddam Hussein shows that nothing is gained by being an ally of the US and UK. The least that was expected of the US was that it would grant asylum to Saddam as a reward for his help in the 1980s. It also confirms the foresight of the Congress governments in India who kept their distance from the US administration.

8212; Anu Chatrath Chandigarh