* This refers to A leftist assault by Tavleen Singh (IE,November 24). Singhs humour is one sided. The writers criticism of Rahul Gandhi is seen as being motivated by her personal prejudice. Polite and courteous criticism attracts more attention than abusive nitpicking. The same logic applies to columnists who attempt to degrade Narendra Modi by calling him Feku. Much of their reasoning even if it is grounded in facts goes unheard due to the language they use. An article that uses harsh language is probably only read by converts. But a commentator is truly good only if she is read across the political aisle.
Maulik Bhatt
Two wrongs
* This refers to Cong confused: slam faithful in rape case or draw in Modi? (IE,November 28). Whether it is the Tehelka case or snooping in Gujarat,the Congresss stand is that of zero tolerance towards crimes against women. You would appreciate that taking a firm and unequivocal stand against two issues of a similar nature does not in any way dilute the attention on either of them. Our written brief on the two cases,sent to our spokespersons,says: We unequivocally condemn any act or incident of any kind of harassment of women especially so where the perpetrators of such acts are people in position of authority and victims,hapless individuals. We hope that the BJP,for once,breaks out of its typical double speak and ensures that,as in Goa,its government in Gujarat files an FIR for an inquiry into the snooping scandal,rather than pushing for a commission whose terms of reference are themselves skewed. The entire exercise of setting up of this commission is an eye wash. It has members who have been given post retirement sinecures by the government of Gujarat. This is an obvious conflict of interest and would result in a quid pro quo for the state government. The Gujarat government cannot be the accused as well as the judge.
Ajay Maken
In-charge,Communications Department,Congress
A step change
* This refers to Rawalpindi shift (IE,November 29). Congratulations to Raheel Sharif for being chosen as Pakistans chief of army staff. But will he be different from his predecessors or will he survive on promoting the fear and hatred of India? Will he respect the democratically elected government headed by Nawaz Sharif? Will he try to rein in the militants or help them multiply? The new army chief has the opportunity to make history. He should follow the path of peace and progress,and defer to the civilian government.
R.D. Singh
Ambala
Jolly mobbish
* Apropos the editorial The vandals (IE,November 29),Vijay Jollys vandalism outside the residence of former Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury should be condemned in the harshest terms. It is not enough for BJP leaders to distance themselves from their party members hooliganism. Jolly and the others who participated in the protest should be made to face the consequences of their actions by both the police and by their party.
M.C. Joshi
