Staying on may hurt Antony’s image
Apropos of “Sonia rejects Antony’s move for a clean break from govt”, defence minister AK Antony must be complemented for offering to resign over the scam in the purchase of helicopters. If he continues in the post at the request of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, it could hurt his clean image. Morality is a personal matter and should not be subject to the approval of another. If Antony feels that he is morally responsible for the scams in his department, he must resign right away to uphold the moral standards of this government, or whatever is left of it. The prime minister must take responsibility for what is happening in the government and not leave everything to be decided by the party boss. This should not end up like another resignation drama at the Centre. Like Justice Markandey Katju has said that nothing can happen in a state without the knowledge of the chief minister, how can we accept that individual central ministers and the prime minister himself are not aware of the scams taking place around them?
—AG Ramasubramanian, by email
Clearing the rot
AK Antony’s clean image cannot be doubted. At the same time many irregularities have been revealed in defence deals during his tenure. He has also been accused of delaying decisions and serious questions have been raised over the country’s “defence preparedness”. If he resigns he might be able to keep his reputation intact. However, he would not be able to fulfil his assurance to clean the rot in the process for defence purchases. It is he and no other who can bring transparency in the system.
—N Ramamurthy, Chennai
No need to fret
By resigning from the post of defence minister, Mr Antony might not achieve anything for his party or for himself. He should reconcile himself to the fact that UPA-2 is in the habit of walking into every Parliament session with a new scam of a few thousand crore. Moreover, why should Antony fret about scruples and propriety when his colleagues tainted by charges of rape are going to be the rule makers when an anti-rape amendment bill comes up for discussion in Parliament?
—Haridasan Mathilakath, Navi Mumbai
Tragedy and comedy
Hardly a single day passes by without a report on the front pages about a hit-and-run case. After knocking down five people in Versova and running away from the spot, the driver of a Mercedes Benz car surprisingly surrendered to the police. It’s almost like a scene out of a movie, or a mega serial. I remember a scene from a Tamil serial, in which the owner of a vehicle advises the driver to surrender, assuring the driver that he would take care of his family. But after some time, he stops bothering about the driver’s wife and children, who have to suffer a lot. Hope this is not a similar case too.
—Janaki Mahadevan, Mumbai
Difficult to believe
It is difficult to believe that the Vashi builder was murdered in broad daylight at the behest of an ex-police officer after they got into an altercation over a traffic quarrel. Difficult to believe, because the brutality with which it was committed suggests the involvement of a nexus between the underworld, politicians and the builder lobby, besides the complicity of some senior police officials. It appears that the retired cop is being made a scapegoat, to divert public attention and build a weak case that will not stand the scrutiny of the law.
—Vanita Shenoy, Mumbai
Running to others
Why does the Indian government need a godfather to solve our issues. When Pakistan overran a part of Kashmir, instead of relying on the advice of our military commanders the government ran to the United Nations, and the UN turned the Kashmir issue into a permanent problem. When Pakistan sends trained militants into Kashmir, again we complain to the United States, but there has been no effect. Now, after making a mess of the helicopter deal, we fall at the feet of the visiting British prime minister to rescue us. Do we have such a spineless government that cannot do things on its own?
—RR Hosangdi, by email
Best of both models
Apropos of “Can Modi’s model beat Manmohan’s record?” the writer clearly brings out the areas where the Modi model has worked and where it has not. The article points out various areas that Modi needs to work on, like the development of IT and IT-enabled services, infrastructure in rural areas, the use of the English language in government and and public schools, and so on. Also, the state government needs to look into the plight of Muslims and other people who may have been affected by the riots. The rehabilitation of these people is an important task. The writer says that while Manmohan’s model has worked well for the whole country, Modi’s measures have worked in a select few areas. We must study this matter in greater detail to understand how the country can adopt the positives of both the models, to ensure good governance and the well-being of the common people.
—M Balasubramanian, Mumbai
Why this selectivity?
On the war between Justice Markandey Katju and the BJP, I agree that each individual is entitled to his or her views and preferences, and as the Press Council of India chairman, Katju is no exception. But, the judge’s targeting of particularly the non-Congress governments in Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal gives rise to suspicions that he may be biased. Katju has a reputation of calling a spade a spade. However, his silence over the allegations of corruption against the UPA-2 government is surprising to say the least. Whether Narendra Modi is acceptable as prime minister of the country or not is for the voters to decide. Therefore, it would have been appreciated if the judge had focused on the burning issues in the country, instead of spending time over what is a non-issue, at least the we get nearer to the Lok Sabha elections.
—HP Murali, Bangalore
