Party pooper

For long we have known that the CPM is a disciplined party where cadre and hierarchy...

8226;For long we have known that the CPM is a disciplined party where cadre and hierarchy rule the roost. If so, why is Somnath Chatterjee wavering in supporting his party against the UPA on the nuclear deal? He should realise he is a CPM member first, and by virtue of that he became an MP and then Speaker. That the Left would side with the BJP if they vote together against the UPA is neither here nor there, since voting is being done on the issue and not on the basis of party ideology. Lastly, Somnath Chatterjee should temper his ambitions of becoming President and not put himself before the party.

8212; S. Kamat

Goa

Brake on Karat

8226; CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat has gone too far in his frenzy to retrace his steps. With the CPI8217;s Bardhan and Raja, rather than anyone in his own party, relentlessly feeding his ego, Karat is now in a ruinous bind of his own making. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee8217;s open defiance of Karat8217;s numerous hints to resign, delivered through multiple channels, is too galling for his bloated ego. It seems the Bengal group in the Party is hardening its stand against a rapacious general secretary riding roughshod over decency and fair play. Kudos to the Speaker for standing up. The public is enjoying seeing Karat get his comeuppance under rather humiliating circumstances.

8212; Ranjan Das

Bhubaneswar

Bush8217;s pat

8226; It was nice of US President George Bush to congratulate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his 8220;leadership at home8221; during a meeting on the sidelines of the recent G8 summit in Japan. It is somewhat unusual, though, for a head of state to compliment his counterparts in other countries for their leadership 8220;at home8221;. Were President Bush8217;s praises uttered deliberately to garner support among the Indian people for the Indo-US nuclear deal? The President would have made Indians a lot happier if he had acknowledged our prime minister8217;s leadership in the international field.

8212; S.C. Kapoor

Noida

House of lobbyists?

8226; This refers to 8216;Mukesh, Anil 038; us8217;. The author recommends that organisations be formed and given legal status to lobby for the interests of corporations and suggests, as a balance, that the ministers should explain to the public why they decided in favour of or against a particular lobby. The system of lobbying is currently in practice in the US, where there are allegations that it lets corporations exert too much influence on the government. Lobbyists also negotiate with senators to introduce and pass bills that are clearly against the public interest. Further, it is far-fetched to believe that ministers will explain their omissions and commissions when they evade the law by hook or crook. We need more accountability from Parliament before we can even think of such a measure.

8212; Easwar

Mumbai