Strong signals

The results of the assembly elections intrigued political analysts. Terrorism is on everyone8217;s mind and Indians are firm that it should be acted upon.

The results of the assembly elections intrigued political analysts. Terrorism is on everyone8217;s mind and Indians are firm that it should be acted upon. What the voter disliked perhaps was the manner in which certain parties politicised terror. People also want to see visible developmental and civic work. Strong state leaders with positive programmes are more likely to deliver and the Delhi and MP results prove that. Henceforth, parties should build assembly campaigns solely on local issues and national ones on national ones. There8217;s a lesson here for Rajnath Singh, who overrated terrorism for these elections and is now underrating it for the Lok Sabha polls.

8212;Anil P. Bagarka, Mumbai

As good a chance

This refers to 8216;One man, one vote8217; IE, December 10. There is little precedent in the Congress where a candidate opts out because he8217;s lost and that too by a single vote. Instead, there have been candidates, most notably Shivraj Patil, who were picked for important offices despite losing elections or not contesting at all. C.P. Joshi ought to stand a better chance. He at least contested, got a decent number of votes, and was crucial to the party8217;s success in Rajasthan.

8212;Kedarnath R. Aiyar, Mumbai

No excuse

This refers to Asif Ali Zardari8217;s 8216;The Mumbai attacks8230;8217; IE, December 10. Zardari8217;s argument shows his courage since he indirectly criticises both the US and the Pakistan army. He would have been more successful if he had taken early steps to rein in that army and the ISI. These two institutions give the impression that they have the veto over the civilian government. Militants have caused much suffering to Pakistanis. Mere arrests of militants will not forestall doomsday. Zardari is weak but he has more to lose by inaction.

8212;Prasad Malladi, Nidadavole

Asif Ali Zardari8217;s article leaves serious questions unanswered. He tends to homogenise terror in South Asia, implying that India and Pakistan are on the same side and the attacks on Mumbai too were directed against the Pakistani civilian government. He also acknowledges that previous Pakistani administrations sold the state8217;s peace and sovereignty to the West, thereby sowing the seeds of extremism in South Asia. One argument Zardari omits is whether Pakistan nurtured terrorism to weaken India. If Zardari wants to open a new chapter, he must cooperate with India.

8212;Ashwani Sharma, Ghaziabad

The token arrests by Pakistani authorities are not convincing 8216;Masood Azhar kept under house arrest8217;, IE, December 10. What is the point of displaying goodwill periodically to a country that fails to respond despite all evidence? If Pakistan acts only after a warning from the US, there is no point drafting bilateral treaties that remain confined to paper. Enormous international pressure should be applied so that Pakistan discovers better issues than protecting terrorists.

8212;R. Venkataraman, Delhi