Army chief needs our support

This is with reference to “AK Antony was aware of Tatra scam since 2009” (DNA, March 30). Some Congress leaders, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Communist party leader Karat had demanded Gen VK Singh’s dismissal on the leakage of his letter to the PM on the state of preparedness of the Army. Many politicians and Babus had questioned why the COAS had not revealed the Tatra deal earlier. Now a BJP leader has dropped a bombshell that Nabi Azad, a cabinet minister had written a letter to the Defence Minister in 2009 pointing out irregularities in the Tatra deal highlighted by the Karnataka congress MP, D Hanumanthapa. The MP remarked that if the probe has not been completed for two years, the government is trying to cover up corruption. The issue of kickbacks in Tatra deal is not new, the CBI had been probing it for two years. Then why did Antony say he could not have acted? Was he just trying to shift the blame from his shoulders? It shows what the Army Chief is up against. Like the prime minster, he has no power of his own and is just a puppet in the hands of gang of crooks. That is why Gen VK Singh must be supported by all serving soldiers and veterans. 
—Wg. Cdr. (Retd) Shashank Bendre, via email

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According to the Chief of the Army Staff, he did inform the Defence Minister that one Lt. General had allegedly approached him with ill gotten money of a few crores to influence the purchase of Tatra trucks which cost was not only on the higher hide but also it was substandard one detrimental and inimical to the army during the time of real action.  Though it was a serious issue with far reaching ramifications and consequences, neither the Defence Minister, who is known for his integrity, dignity and uprightness nor the Army Chief thought it fit, proper and appropriate to investigate into the allegations then and there and book the culprit, if at all his allegation were not a figment of imagination. Or else take him to task for abusing the office of the Army Staff.  Hence, in the eyes of the general public, the nation’s security has been compromised not only by the alleged brief giver but also the officials who slept over the issue for a long time.
—LR Moorthy, Badlapur

Unholy builder nexus
This is with reference to the story “SC setback for Hiranandani; fate of 9000 rests with HC” (DNA, Mar 31). The Supreme Court (SC) decision of non acceptance of Hiranandani developer’s plea against the High Court (HC) order has put the fate of 9000 residents hanging in balance. Since its construction activity started 28 years ago at Powai it has become synonymous with Hiranandanis. Despite signing an agreement with MMRDA that 3000 affordable housing units would be built in the Powai area, the builder Hiranandani have conveniently evaded construction. To survive that long shows unholy nexus between the Hiranandanis, MMRDA and the BMC. It is the unsuspecting flat seekers who will ultimately suffer. So on what basis was the OC, NOC, etc issued by the relevant authorities?
—Deepak Chikramane, Mumbai

Living in the shadow
Sachin Tendulkar made his absence at the BCCI’s felicitation function for Rahul Dravid in Mumbai so glaringly conspicuous (“Missed being at Rahul Dravid’s felicitation event: Tendulkar”, DNA, March 29) that all his explanations that he had to keep his appointment with a medical consultant in London on that day sounded very lame.  The gentleman cricketer that he is, Dravid has resigned to his fate of living in the shadow of the Master Blaster all these years.  As it is being pointed out by many, Tendulkar could have made some adjustments in his flight schedule to be present at the felicitation if only he wanted.  One is more inclined to believe that the holder of hundred-tons-record skipped the function only to escape searching queries about his retirement — something which he resents to the point of flaring up on its mere mention.
—Dr V Subramanyan, Mumbai

Shirdi Trust in doldrums
Apropos “HC red flag to Shirdi trust” (DNA, March 31 ), the greed of politicians knows no limit. The earlier Shirdi Trust committee members were illegal but continued on till a PIL intervened into it. It is unfortunate to observe that the state CM instead of following the HC ruling rehabilitated the politicians and their kin in the new committee. It was also alleged that these committee members misappropriated funds. The need of the hour is to find the appropriate group of people to run the temple as it is one of the wealthiest Indian shrines so far its annual turnover is concerned.
—Bikram Banerjea, via email.

Why value Earth Hour ?
India is a perennially power-starved country and, therefore, we are forced to observe Earth Nights (and not Hours) all through the year (“Make the earth greener; an hour today is all it’ll take”, DNA, March 31). Our streets are dim-lit and shops and establishments use bare minimum lights at night.  Farmers get power only for a few hours and load-shedding and power cuts are a year-round norm in many states. Industries suffer for want of power or enough voltage to run the machines.  Let flood-lit cities like Sydney and Paris observe Earth Hour or even Earth Night.  What cities and towns in India need is more power and not darkness.  Let’s not, therefore, observe (as a protest against poor power supply) this Earth Hour prank.
—KP Rajan, Borivli