•This refers to the editorial ‘Sense of the deal’. The BJP should stand behind the Indo-US nuclear deal, which is its own brainchild. Brajesh Mishra has rightly pointed out that the “failure to wrap up the deal now will undermine India’s three-stage civilian nuclear programme and leave the nation without access to a range of dual-use technologies”. Further, it would also tarnish India’s image at international fora. In fact, the BJP should take “political” advantage of the “adamant posture” of the Left by openly supporting the UPA government on the deal in Parliament and exposing the communists’ pretensions about India’s national interests when they clearly toe the Chinese line. The BJP should not miss this golden opportunity for proving its credentials as a nationalist party. — S.K.GuptaDelhiKeeping watch•This refers to the editorial “In the sunlight”. The right to information is a fundamental right. However, although the Constitution makes it clear that the government machinery is supposed to be at the service of the people, it is certainly not so in real life. Only a few people with the right education, money and connection have access to information about what happens in the inner circles of the government. This is why the RTI Act has genuinely helped ordinary people with little money and network. The act is a useful tool for getting work done for the poor and marginalised. Therefore, a strong vigil needs to be kept in case the government ever tries to curb the little freedoms that the RTI Act has allowed ordinary citizens. — Calistus Fernandes Raigad Make it new•The ouster of K.P.S. Gill was long overdue ‘Gill loses his throne, enter Kalmadi & Co’,. One can only hope that the committee formed to take care of the IHF’s affairs takes the right decisions for the sake of Indian hockey and rescues the sport. The IHF is in need of a complete overhaul.— F.S.K. Barar JodhpurUse the rod•Banning Harbhajan Singh for the remaining IPL matches and paying him the match fees for only the first two should send the right message to all cricketers involved in the ongoing IPL ‘Harbhajan can now only watch IPL,. Tantrums and ungentlemanly conduct cannot be tolerated on the field and must always be dealt with severely. The action against Harbhajan should make the rest of the bunch behave themselves while playing. — K. Venkataraman Mumbai •The incident of Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth spoke volumes about the type of person Harbhajan is. It seems that Harbhajan had not even been provoked by his younger national teammate. In any case, provoked or not, Harbhajan had no business dealing with his junior in such an unsportsmanlike manner. Indians, after having supported Harbhajan against Andrew Symonds, will now wonder if they had done the right thing back then. — Roda D. HakimBaroda
