Opinion Blessing in disguise

H.R. Bhardwaj,in his capacity as the Karnataka governor,

attacks the state government from time to time. Bhardwaj should not forget that every time he speaks against the chief minister,he makes B.S. Yeddyurappa look like a martyr and his popularity goes up. This turns into a blessing for Karnataka’s otherwise embattled BJP government.

— Bidyut K. Chatterjee

Faridabad

House rules

The Supreme Court judgment in S.R. Bommai vs Union of India is valid in the case of Karnataka — the government must prove its majority on the floor of the House (‘Recall Bhardwaj’). The Centre also doesn’t seem to be happy with Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj’s behaviour. The Congress should do damage control and recall him.

— K.V. Seetharamaiah

Hassan

Speak carefully

Your advice to Rahul Gandhi is timely and apt (‘Example politics’,May 19). Given his family’s contribution to nation-building,his mass appeal is undeniable. The nation,therefore,expects him to be more circumspect while expressing his views,as they are prone to be drummed up across the country. To say that the depth and thoughtfulness of our politics suffers due to such intemperate remarks is putting the cart before the horse,for it touched a record low long ago,and Rahul-speak is but a consequence of it.

— Sitaram Limaye

Vadodara

Set an example

The criticism of the steep increase in petrol prices is justified. The common man is already troubled by unabated inflation,so this increase will only add fuel to the fire. Sonia Gandhi’s earlier suggestion to state governments to reduce their levies has gone unheeded even by most states run by UPA constituents. Now,if political parties are concerned about the plight of the common man,they should at least reduce levies in the states.

— K.R.P. Gupta

Mumbai

Free them

Apropos your editorial ‘Trust in law’ (May 18),it would be a futile exercise to send brilliant people to Parliament or state legislatures if their parties do not allow them to offer their independent views or vote as per their conscience. The provision of a party whip that binds the members to run the affairs of the party is undemocratic and should be scrapped.

— Harish K. Monga

Ferozepur

Cause and effect

In ‘After the fact’ (IE,May 18),Pratap Bhanu Mehta correctly traces the origins of inflation to supply side bottlenecks in rural areas and tries to link it to the imbroglio about the conversion of agricultural land to other purposes. In this context he refers to the 40 per cent rise in rural wages but he could have carried the argument further if he had examined the role of NREGA in fuelling inflation.

— Prithwis Mukerjee

Kolkata