State, the terrorist

State, the terrorist
I congratulate you on reporting the case of Arun Feriera ('Lawyers fume over Arun Fereira's re-arrest', September 28).  These are some of the cases which bring to light, the dark side of the state. Now it is more than clear that the state is against activists who challenge it. If you are an activist working for the poor then you are a Maoist. It is a systematic effort to label social workers and activist fighting on the side of the marginalised. In Arun Fereira's case, to call it a failure of the state would be too simplistic and naïve. The state has left no room for democracy and freedom. At present it appears that the state is more terrorising than the terrorist.
—Caesar Faroz, via email

Mockery of democracy
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is reported to have written an explanatory note to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that the controversial finance ministry document was actually an inter-ministerial background paper, prepared with the help of several departments, to ensure that different government representatives, summoned to give evidence on the 2G spectrum allocation issue, would adopt a common position. The entire ministry seems to have a prior knowledge about the under-pricing of the 2G spectrum. Nobody, including the PM, were unable to halt the sales at a throwaway price. It is a mockery on democracy and the people. That our PM, who is called Mr Clean, still does not speak the truth is a cause for concern. 
—Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai

Getting Bharat Ratna
After the failure of Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. (ABCL) and a series of flop movies, Amitabh Bachchan was on the verge of bankruptcy in the late 90s ('Bharat Ratna for Amitabh Bachchan?', September 30). It is inspiring to see how he turned around his career through the popular game show "Kaun Banega Crorepati". But Bharat Ratna award for him seems farfetched because there are more worthy contenders in other fields. Also, it would be interesting to find out whether he is among the few celebrities who are regular with their tax payments.
—Ketan Meher, via email

II
This is with reference to 'Bharat Ratna for Amitabh Bachchan?' (September 30). Lata Mangeshkar's magnanimous suggestion to award this prestigious award to Amitabh Bachchan is an emotive one. Since Amitabh is no favourite of the Central government, chances of his being awarded are bleak. More than Amitabh, Lata herself deserves this award. She has dedicated her life to music and her journey has been extraordinary. Her fan following transcends borders, religions and adversaries. Her voice has mesmerised millions for the last six decades and her repertoire of singing records is awesome. In her twilight years, Bharat Ratna will be a fitting tribute to the nightingale of India which she richly deserves.
—Ashok Goswami, Mumbai

III
This is with reference to 'Bharat Ratna for Amitabh Bachchan?', (September 30). After Sachin Tendulkar, now there is a demand for Bharat Ratna being awarded to Amitabh Bachchan. The recommendation has come from the nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar at the felicitation ceremony of her birth day. Awarding titles to civilians and military personnel has its roots in the British Empire. We have also devised many civilian / military awards based on different requirements, Bharat Ratna being the highest. The way things are moving, it appears that Bharat Ratna will have to be classified on the lines of Nobel Prize, being awarded to people from various walks of life, thus diluting the honour. There must be some strict code of conduct formulated for recommendation.
— RM Deshpande, via email

Wither democracy
The other day, I happened to view the ugly scenes in the J&K assembly. Abdul Rashid, a private member in the assembly, wanted to move a motion for the clemency of Afzal Guru, who has been sentenced with capital punishment by the Apex court. The members of the assembly were shouting and even looked like they were exchanging blows. Ultimately, Rashid could be seen kicking the furniture and a couple of pedestal fans. The icing on the cake was that the chief minister, instead of restoring order, was seen sitting in a corner smiling. This barbaric and uncivilised behaviour of our elected representatives goes to prove the kind of people governing this country. Why can't a resolution be passed wherein the costs of the property damaged by the Parliamentarians inside the house be recovered from them.
—TN Gupta, Mumbai

Come clean on 2G scam
Explanations by Pranab Mukherjee and acceptance of the same by P Chidambaram do not close the existence of the gap between the two senior ministers. It also does not answer the question, who is responsible for the mess the government is in. If Chidambaram's attempt to tell A Raja to follow the auction route did not come through, it means failure on his part to assert himself as finance minister. If the prime minister was informed, then he and the whole cabinet bears responsibility. Raja could not have hoodwinked all. After Raja, now Dayanidhi Maran is being accused in the murky dealings. Will the Prime Minister come out clean breaking his silence?
—K Venkataraman, Mumbai

Temporary truce
After Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's prolonged illness and the surgery, she amicably brought the two warring ministers — the home minister P Chidambaram and the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee under one roof. But the truce does raise a few questions. One is unable to understand Mukherjee who had said that he is aware of the content of the note two days back. But after meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Mukherjee did a U-turned and said: "the paper contains certain inferences and interpretations which do not
reflect my views". Now Mukherjee is distancing himself from a note issued by his ministry. Sonia Gandhi's patch up seems to be a temporary truce.
—Bidyut Chatterjee, Faridabad