Speaking of hope

Somnath Chatterjee8217;s wish to stay on as the speaker is a sign of emancipated thinking and not necessarily indicative of strife within...

8226;Somnath Chatterjee8217;s wish to stay on as the speaker is a sign of emancipated thinking and not necessarily indicative of strife within the Left. Subhas Chakraborty8217;s statement fortifies this view. Intra-party democracy has always been absent among communists the world over, but then they were mostly under totalitarian regimes. The Indian Left has had the opportunity to be part of a democratic set up, and yet has been wary of democracy within the party. The Left has shied away from responsibility, and their MPs lost the chance to become capable Central ministers with a national perspective on issues. Instead, they have remained obedient to the party apparatus. One hopes Chatterjee can be a catalyst of change within the Left.

8212; R. Narayanan

Pune

Fools8217; paradise

8226;The players in the nuclear debate are more obsessed with their perceptions of each other than with the deal itself, let alone the national interest 8216;Single personality disorder8217;. The irony is that most of these netas don8217;t even know the difference between uranium and thorium. How can they want the issue to be discussed with the masses who are even more ignorant?

Besides, those among the public that have the slightest knowledge have already endorsed the deal. Did Vajpayee discuss Pokharan II before conducting the 1998 nuclear tests? One is not surprised by the communists8217; stance. But one pities L.K. Advani8217;s BJP, a party that lays claim to the national interest more than any other.

8212; R.C. Goyel

Ambala

Slovenly cops

8226;This refers to the editorial 8216;Crime, punishment8217;. The investigation into the Aarushi Talwar murder had been criminally mishandled. In his 50 days of detention, Aarushi8217;s father must have been mentally and physically shattered. No wonder he couldn8217;t think of taking action against the Noida police. The police had failed to observe the basic principle of preserving the scene of crime and collecting all possible physical evidence from there. Their inexperience and lack of professionalism had been responsible for such callousness.

8212; Shariq Alavi

Lucknow

CM and CBI

8226;Reading the editorial 8216;Maya8217;s verdicts8217; , one recalls that, around the time of Jawaharlal Nehru8217;s death in 1964, four Congress chief ministers were facing commissions of inquiry in disproportionate asset cases in Orissa, Bihar, J038;K and Punjab. All of them had to exit since Nehru8217;s successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, forwarded the reports of the Inquiries for 8220;compliance8221;. That is one way of tackling corruption in high places. The editorial notes that 8220;changing partners has never frazzled Mayawati8221;. She did not reckon with the possibility, at the time of handing over the Aarushi murder case to the CBI, that the same agency could investigate her too. Now she is playing all her cards because our politicians come to power to stay in power.

8212; Prasad Malladi

Nidadavole AP