•I agree with Arun Jaitleys contention that the voter has rewarded state governments that have performed,irrespective of party lineage (Triumph of the moderate,IE,May 27). I also agree that the voter has rejected non-performing state governments. But I disagree that the voter wants a stable government at the Centre. The poll results cannot be taken to be an indicator of this. The average voter cannot perceive how a stable government at the Centre can be of any benefit to him. The concept is too distant for him. An industrialist can,but the aam aadmi cannot. Besides,how can a voter perceive that his voting for a particular political party will lead to the formation of a stable government at the centre,and that too by the party hes voting for?
Siddhartha Mukherji
Old habits
•It was good to see BJP leader Arun Jaitley acknowledging that shrillness does not help in politics. Jaitley needs to impress this wisdom upon
his partys self-righteous spokespersons and others,who always get nasty referring to their opponents. Jaitley himself made a valiant attempt at an image makeover during the run-up to the election. But old habits die hard for both BJP leaders and their party.
Ahmed R. Mumbai
The other Korea
•With North Korea conducting its second nuclear test earlier this week,the spectre of nuclear holocaust is back to haunt the world (Dear leaders gambit,IE,May 28). Whatever progress the Chinese brokered six-party talks had managed now seems fruitless. And now North Koreas declared that the armistice that,for practical purposes,ended the Korean War doesnt stand. What started as clandestine Chinese efforts to equip Pakistan with nukes has terminated with the North Korean nuclear programme through the efforts of Pakistans notorious nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan. More than the nukes,it is the impishness of roguish or irresponsible states that is dreadful. This is what burying ones head in the sand can do.
Ashwani Sharma
Ghaziabad
Obamas option
•US President Barack Obamas remarks about North Koreas nuclear and supposed missile tests are fraught with dangerous consequences for the international community at large. If the US launches a pre-emptive strike at North Korea,one fears how China,Japan and Russia will behave. Theres every possibility then of a local conflict expanding into a global war. The only option for Obama is to mobilise world opinion against the North and further isolate it.
Arun Malankar Mumbai
After Punjab
•The editorial Among the deras (IE,May 27) should spur an introspection in Punjab,by political and religious authorities. The rioters were certainly emboldened by the states directionless politics. Caste inequality is predominant in Punjab and the Sikh orthodoxy must be tolerant towards those outside the mainstream while others become sensitive towards Sikh beliefs.
B.B. Goyal Ludhiana