Remember JMM

• So the Bihar Assembly had to be dissolved because there was, as ...

• So the Bihar Assembly had to be dissolved because there was, as the prime minister has put it, “worst possible horse trading”. To carry any weight, such allegations must be backed by proof. Let us see the standards of proof set out in the JMM affair. As the FM and the MoS for home in the then government, the PM and the Bihar Governor must be aware that we know (a) who were paid (b) how much was paid and (c) the accounts into which the money was paid. The only thing we do not know about JMM is who paid. Yet it did not qualify as the Worst Possible Horse Trading. The then FM or the MoS Home did not resign, nor was Parliament dissolved. Do we know more about Bihar than we knew about JMM?

— Vikas Ranjan Delhi

Look who’s talking

• The NDA’s report card on the UPA government exposes its hypocrisy. May be Advani, Vajpayee and Co. have forgotten that when Narendra Modi was abusing Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, they never restrained him. Everybody knows the NDA was led by extra constitutional authorities and remote controls based in Nagpur. The NDA even tried to instal Nitish Kumar as Bihar CM even though he didn’t have a majority. It is the BJP which has miserably failed to play the role of a constructive opposition. The NDA’s report card is like the devil quoting the scriptures.

— Harish H.V. Bangalore

No politician

• Sunil Dutt’s last letter to the vice president of India speaks volumes about him as a human being who was compassionate, who loved the less privileged and who had shared their pain. He was never a politician in the real sense.

— K.J. John Vadodara

Watch out, yet

Story continues below this ad

• This refers to the report ‘UGC plans e-thesis to stop PhD plagiarism and increase access’ (IE, May 26). This is an excellent idea. However, theses examiners cannot depend solely on it, as many theses of the last 3 or 4 decades may not yet be on online databases. The not so ancient sources may still be prime sources for plagiarists.

— Dhinakar Kompala On e-mail

Go there

• Despite his recent health troubles, former US president Bill Clinton is visiting Tamil Nadu and the tsunami affected areas and extending help to needy people. We appreciate the gesture and would like to see our own senior leaders revisit (and in most cases, visit for the first time) the victims of the tsunami disaster.

— Divyesh Raythatha Dover

UPA weds NDA!

• Through your editorial ‘BHEL the cat’ (IE, May 27) you have rightly asked the union government to stick to its guns and go ahead with the BHEL disinvestment plan. The disinvestment is going to benefit the retail investor, increase public participation in the PSU and the sales-proceeds are to be utilised for public health, education and employment generation. The Leftists are asking too much in exchange for their support to the government by putting their foot down at every step the government takes. It is in the national interest that the Congress stops surrendering to these extortion tactics of the Leftists and the Laloos and thinks about taking the support of the NDA.

— M.C. Joshi On e-mail

H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear?

Explained2 hr ago

The White House's decision to impose a $100,000 entry fee on H-1B visa holders has sparked worry among Indian tech workers and students. While uncertainties remain about its implementation and exemptions, major tech companies have cautioned employees against traveling. The policy could lead to a shift towards other visa categories and potentially change the STEM immigration pipeline.

View all shorts

Live Blog