Terror is terror

How do we differentiate between the attack on the police lines and jail at Jehanabad, from attacks carried out by the insurgen...

How do we differentiate between the attack on the police lines and jail at Jehanabad, from attacks carried out by the insurgents in J038;K on government and security installations? Anybody who has been following the policy of the UPA govt at the Centre saw this coming. The first step taken by this government was to lift the ban on Naxals in AP. Petty political gains have always dictated policy for the Congress. The so called Red Corridor now extends from AP in the south, to Nepal in the north, with Naxals calling the shots in New Delhi through not-so-subtle blackmailing. It is time Indian leaders woke up to the reality that in dealing with any kind of violence, there should be no difference.

8212; S.S. Rathore Jodhpur

Good strategy

8226; The Indian cricket team8217;s sparkling performance 6-1 win in the recent one-day series against Sri Lanka has reflected its strength in all departments of the game. Although playing on home turf has helped the Indian team, the way every player has taken up the responsibility to perform is remarkable. Coach Greg Chappell8217;s experiment with the batting line-up has worked quite well. His approach towards preparing the team for the World Cup by grooming youngsters not only raised the level of competition in the team but has also strengthened its bench strength. Keep it up, Coach!

8212; Moonis Rehman New Delhi

Inaction mode

8226; Normally, no one would argue that it is the Supreme Court8217;s prerogative to decide the timing of its judgments. However, its historic verdict on the illegality of the dissolution of the Bihar assembly has created a piquant situation in which the prime minister 8212; after owning responsibility for the fiasco 8212; slips back into inaction mode. No specific action has emerged even after a month of the judgment, although there was a grave breach of constitutional and moral responsibility on the part of the government. Further, the enigmatic seemingly, at least pronouncement, in which invalid dissolution of the assembly has not led to the cancellation of fresh elections, is being exploited by the beneficiaries of the constitutional fraud. Let us hope it does not turn out to be a case of justice awaited is justice denied.

8212; Y.G. Chouksey Pune

India Sleeping

8226; Many had realised the growing clout of China within SAARC 8212; many, apart of course from the Indian government!

8212; K. Venkateswaran Oviedo, Florida

Great editorial

8226; The editorial, 8216;Kalam8217;s conundrum8217; was great IE, November 11! I, too, was at first disappointed by the president8217;s comments. But, as you point out, he may have just been drawing the country8217;s attention to lack of an effective Ombudsman type function within the executive branch. He has been a great president so far, and I hope he recognises his own failure in this case.

8212; Ved Gupta Ocean, New Jersey

A question

8226; In obituary columns, it is invariably mentioned that K.R. Narayanan was the country8217;s first Dalit president. We have also had Muslim presidents, a Sikh president, a Brahmin president, and so on. When will we have an Indian president?

8212; V.S.Venkatavaradan Salem

Write Back

8226; Your story 8220;Congress stain spreads8221; The Indian Express, November 4 is devoid of facts, dragging my name into a controversy regarding the Volcker Committee Report that has absolutely nothing to do with me. I was never Shri Natwar Singh8217;s OSD as claimed. I travelled to Iraq twice, in 2001, both times, as one of the members of the official Congress Party delegations. The fact that the second delegation was headed by Shri A R Kidwai was carefully omitted from your story. On both occasions, the Congress delegations transited through Amman as this was the only available official route to Iraq under UN sanctions. It is unfortunate that you have chosen to ascribe motives behind my travel, that are totally untrue and wholly unsubstantiated which target me with deliberate intent to tarnish my name.

8212; Aneil Mathrani

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8226; Shishir Gupta 038; Pranab Dhal Samanta reply: The report clearly mentioned that Aneil Mathrani was OSD in the Ministry of External Affairs, not to Natwar Singh. Mathrani8217;s statements to the paper were reproduced accurately. The report did mention Mathrani as saying that Antulay and P Shiv Shanker were part of the delegation. Whether Kidwai, too, was part of the team is irrelevant to the key point in the story: Natwar8217;s son Jagat Singh travelled the same day as Mathrani to Jordan. And this came within weeks of the payments being made by Hamdan, as per the Volcker report, against oil rights allotted to Natwar Singh and the Congress. Mathrani, who was then secretary of the party8217;s foreign cell, declined to explain this timing. Also, curiously, Mathrani said that he was on 8220;medical leave8221; when the fact is another officer has already been approved for appointment as Ambassador to Croatia. We stand by our report.