A GREED, a new kind of drama is being staged in the corridors of the capital post-Volcker report (Volckerwagon , Dec 19). But no one has spelt out if there is any specific violation of the law of the land. Which law has been broken? We, the people, are afraid that after tonnes of paper, thousands of manhours and crores of taxpayers’ money, it would turn out to be a tale that started with a bang and ended with a whimper. We all remember the follow-up of the Bofors kickbacks.
Gyan Ranjan Saha, Calcutta
If there is one thing the entire Volcker controversy has exposed, it is the complete self-centredness and lack of morality of the Indian politician. There is an all-round "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" relationship among the central players of the unfolding drama. Considering that the UN is largely a front for the US, the superpower found it useful to expose the Congress party and Natwar Singh when they were in power, ignoring the involvement of the functionaries of the erstwhile bjp-led nda government, which towed Washington’s line on Iraq. Back in India, the Congress initially stood up for Natwar, albeit half-heartedly, but made him the scapegoat once it found the Opposition attack on the issue too hot to handle. On his part, Natwar first put on an aggressive posture but finally gave up and left everyone to fend for himself. His son Jagat is using amateurish tactics to escape the legal dragnet. Frustrated over being unable to get back at the Congress high command, he is just making couched comments about his father’s detractors, without naming anybody. As for Aneil Mathrani, his way to fame and success is evidently strewn with favours sought and given. In the end, I wonder if this cobweb of power, selfishness, cronyism and deceit has any relevance to the man on the street or the taxpaying middle class.
Sudhanshu Mishra, on e-mail
The Volcker findings have thrown up arguments, a lot of outbursts and bouts of silence. Which among these will prevail depends on who outnumbers whom.
Amita Behera, Ranchi
Mathrani’s revelations should not come as a shock for those aware of the Congress’ past. (‘Let them investigate Ram Naik also’). Power-hungry and devoid of ideology, its leaders have always been opportunistic, easily trampling upon national interests. The party’s strange hierarchy is dictatorship padded up by a bunch of crooks.
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad
The interview with Mathrani doesn’t make much sense when you carry a story portraying his character as loose. And, why did he come out with such claims when the upa government was running without major hiccups?
Bijoy Ranjan Dey, Tinsukia, Assam
Romesh Bhandari’s words that he had no chance to judge Mathrani’s intellectual competence is strange. The ‘bright Youth Congress member’ was his assistant for, it appears, two years. Yet he lacked this simple ability. One wonders if all his other assertions shouldn’t be mere exaggerations.
Bertie Vaz, Bangalore
Prem Shankar Jha’s comments on former cia agent Jonathan Pollard are seriously mistaken (Monsieurs, We’ve Been Had). Israel and the Jewish lobby lie about Pollard, and Jha seems to have been had. Pollard is not "serving a life term in prison for passing to the Israelis secret Arab plans to attack Israel". An Internet search will show that the Jews are spending to free Pollard.
Syed A.R. Zaidi, Delhi
Kudos for a brave article that is not in line with the popular view. Jha is right that we can’t accuse someone of crime without producing concrete evidence.
Naheed Dakhtar, Pune
Jha has made the usual mistake of building his logic on specious facts. Primarily, the laughable point Natwar makes that his letter opposing Indian troop despatch to Iraq help the Americans made him a target. The media uniformly calls inc head Ahmed Chalabi a crook. So, probe the Sonia connection to Marc Rich and Century Corp and real estate investments in New York and foreign banks and find out the whole story.
Ravindra Kalia, Lucknow
Just because Mathrani said things that would implicate the Congress and its members, you have decided to tarnish his image in public (A Much ‘Roving’ Ambassador). Now, that’s not investigative journalism.
R. Venkatesh Prasad, Bangalore
Mathrani seems to be the Indian politician at his best.
I.S. Zakhariya, Kochi
Who is so naive to believe that Natwar’s resignation will automatically save Parliament from daily walkouts and disruptions?
Medha Dutt, Calcutta
By the way, let me ask one thing: How many of our ‘esteemed’ ambassadors have ‘roving’ eyes?
A.B. Parthasarathy, Chennai
The practice of paid advocacy through parliamentary questions as well as letters to ministers may be older and more widespread (It’s Question Hour, People, Dec 26). During my three terms in Parliament, I used to go through the question lists of both Houses and was sometimes amazed by the language and subjects used by some MPs who possessed scant knowledge of English and had little interest in matters beyond their groove. It was also known that the Parliament Secretariat staffers were available for writing queries for MPs for a price, and even see them through the selection process. Who knows whether they acted as conduits between outsiders and the MPs?
Syed Shahabuddin, New Delhi
Uma Bharati had been a pain in the neck for the BJP for quite some time (Saffron Soot, Dec 19). But, even after expelling her, the party isn’t relieved. Confusion reigns over its leadership issue, the internal feuds are getting worse. Uma rightly says the BJP has become a laughing stock but the sanyasin shouldn’t forget that she too is seldom taken seriously.
P.V. Ariel, Secunderabad
Jagmohan Dalmiya undoubtedly brought Indian cricket on the world canvas, becoming icc’s first president (What’s the Score..., Dec 12). An able administrator, he also brought enormous money to the bcci. Where he tripped was in not realising how adept Sharad Pawar too is at playing politics. Also, the wisdom he showed in appointing Greg Chappell as Team India’s coach deserted him when it came to his batting for Sourav Ganguly. Pawar can capitalise on his decision to shift the power base from Calcutta to Bombay if he, like the mca president in 2001, focuses on creating good infrastructure and unshackle the funds meant for the game, by using it for really fruitful purposes.
H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, New Delhi
A detailed saga, A Slice of Sicily (Dec 19) lends itself to a serialised telefilm. Since all parties across the political spectrum—from saffron to green—are making use of bandits, why not give complete firepower to an stf? They are competent enough to scrub the Poorvanchal block by block.
Anindya Chatterjee, Dubai
The reported comments of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi are distressing (Bash Brahminism Back?, Dec 12). It’s unwise to attribute all social discrimination to one community, more so when Brahmins constitute a negligible minority in Tamil Nadu. They only performed the role society prescribed, and are a beleagured lot today.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bangalore
The recent outbursts against people who dared to put forth their own unconventional opinions highlight the ambiguous degree of maturity we as a people have attained. It’s much in tune with our economy that is mixed, and an administrative set-up that is federal. Everyone is entitled to draw their own conclusions, but you are in serious trouble if your realisations don’t match with the popular opinion.
Vibhooti Malhotra, on e-mail
Could Ibobi Singh please explain to the extremist-stricken people of his state why "commenting on such documents will not be in public interest or in the interest of national security" (Manipur CM Gave Rs 1.5 Crore To Separatists, Dec 12)? How is he helping their cause by funding militants? Hiding truths in the name of national security and breaching it is nothing but treason. Surely this calls for the severest of punishments.
V.K. Shrivastava, Delhi
As a member of the team that designed the Bhopal memorial, I can say that the article Rancid Requiem (Dec 19) carries some wrong facts. A subterranean structure doesn’t qualify itself as an ‘underground tunnel’. The plan is to instal lifesize Bastar figurines at the base of the factories in a two-storeyed transparent envelope, and not ‘encase the Union Carbide plant in glass with human dummies operating it’. About community facilities, you have missed the main point: developing the entire frontage of the site as a participatory planning exercise. Also, you make phytoremediation sound like sci-fi horror. The entire landscaping is to have an educative, contextually informative thrust and signage that displayed phytoremediation properties of common plants. The Rs 96 crore has to be spent not only on the memorial building but for providing social and economic infrastructure for the surrounding area within the 66-acre site. We don’t contest the need to clean up the site, only that there’s a need for a befitting memorial.
Suditya Sinha, Space Matters, Delhi
Apropos Heir’s How The Gender Bends (Dec 12), I am a transgender person and have been living with this for long. Life has been difficult for me socially. Thus, news about transgender persons like Manabi and Teesta has been of great solace for me. By revealing true identities, these people have helped me draw courage to come out of the closet.
Malika, on e-mail
