Is Rahul the right choice? Or is he...

Is Rahul the right choice? Or is he...  
The brouhaha made in the Congress Chintan Shivir at Jaipur over Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the second position in the party’s pecking order makes no sense whatsoever. What difference does it make to his status in the party even if he is declared the number two? Is there anyone in the party or in the government who can defy his diktat? Is it the contention of his coterie that Rahul could not play an emphatic role in the affairs of the country because he did not have a label of his position in the hierarchy? If he wanted to do so, no one could have stopped him. During every cabinet reshuffle the prime minister pleaded with him to join the government; by accepting his offer Rahul could have shown his skill and capability in tackling the country’s problems and the people would have known what kind of a PM he would make later. But he always backed out of commitments. The truth is that he does not want to get actively involved in current issues but prefers power without responsibility. The people will have to decide whether they can trust such a fence-sitter as the head of a future government.
—S Venkataraman, Mumbai

II
A hitherto reluctant Rahul Gandhi was not prepared to shoulder any major responsibility to lead the Congress party in a run up to 2014 general elections. He had no choice but to accept the powerful No. 2 position in the party at the Jaipur Chintan Shivir. This proclamation may have taken some senior leaders aback as they  will have to work under him and take his edict. But unfortunately, the Gandhi scion has not proved his political acumen in the last UP assembly elections nor did he impact on the Gujarat voters recently in the state’s assembly elections. So, how he will lead the party in 2014 is a million dollar question. Secondly, he has been given immense responsibility of the party at a time when the Congress is  in a mess and in the well of corruption. Issues like women’s safety, rising prices etc. too are staring at its face. It is the middle class which can spin the fate of the Congress at the hustings. Unfortunately, the Congress has remained aloof from this section of people and has done precious little to mitigate their sufferings. So, Rahul has a gargantuan task to deliver the Congress from its current mess.
—Jitendra Kothari, via e-mail

III
I welcome the decision of the Congress party to make Rahul Gandhi its vice-president. I strongly feel that the Congress under Rahul will be able to get new alliance partners like the JD (U) in Bihar and BLD in Odisha which will improve their tally and strengthen their chances in the 2014 general elections. Since the party has indirectly announced Rahul Gandhi as its candidate for the post of prime minister in the next general elections, a nervous opposition,  especially the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is criticising it stating that this move will never help the Congress and the nation. Moreover, due to infighting in the party, it is avoiding to name Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its possible prime ministerial candidate. The need of the hour is that all the secular parties must reject the parties with communal agenda and support the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi for the PM’s post.
—Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai
 
CCTVs in schools
This has reference to ‘Goa schools to install CCTV cameras soon’ (Jan 20). An intruder raping a seven-year-old girl student is a clear  security breach in the institution in question. The government’s decision to fix mobile jammers and install CCTV cameras to keep a tab on strangers sauntering around schools across the state is a positive move. This should be translated into a reality soon to send right signals to the people who have insidious intents. Other state governments need to take cue from Goa in the interest of the girl students.
—HP Murali, Bangalore

Doping and sports
The doping admission by well-known cyclist Lance Armstrong is just another case in in the history of world of sports. The fact is that the world of sports has never ceased to be in the limelight for wrong reasons. The integrity and good features of the sporting world are now left in the lurch with such doping incidents coming to light at regular intervals. It is the responsibility of the higher-ups associated with sport authorities all over the world to enact strict rules and apply modern technology to prevent possible doping cases in the future.
—PSS Durai, Mumbai 

Back in the groove
Apropos of ‘Home, sweet home’ (Jan 20), for the second time running, everything fell into place admirably and the local lad, MS Dhoni, was justifiably proud of leading his team to a massive victory in his home town. He marshalled his bowling resources well and all those who turned their arms around picked up wickets to bundle up England for 155 runs in just about 42 overs.

The biggest gain of the match has been the return of Virat Kohli to form, who scored 77 runs. With Gambhir and Yuvraj’s contributions, only 11 runs were needed when Dhoni walked in. The rest is history. One hopes that this win will not go to the head of the team but will keep it in good humour to win the series as well.
—V Subramanyan, Thane

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