UPA has sunk India

UPA has sunk India
With continuous internal bickering and a state of indecision, the UPA government has brought India to a grinding halt. The old men of the Congress who ought to have retired long ago are unable to steer India to industrial growth. As a result, today our country is in danger of facing a recession. Industrial growth has taken a nose dive and the rupee is not worth anything in the overseas market. Under these conditions, the Congress which boasts of ‘renowned economists’ like Dr Manmohan Singh and Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia are bogged down with confrontations with the Opposition and Team Anna. It is amusing to note that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has been blaming changes in the global markets for all the ills that India faces. Mukherjee must know that with advancement in information technology people no longer believe what ministers say. There are facts available to prove what and why India’s industrial growth has changed. It can be concluded that corruption, indecision and a lack of will to administer are the major reasons for our present condition. Since the people of India have no alternative to the Congress, they have been voting with one policy: a known devil is always better than an unknown one.
—MV Nahusharaj, Bangalore

Anna is not apolitical
The way Anna Hazare accused Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi of weakening the Lokpal Bill, ridiculed his campaign in UP and his quip: ‘Spending one day in a hut is just not enough,’ was not only in bad taste but also proved that his thinking is anti-Gandhian. People wonder why Rahul has become the whipping boy of the Opposition and Hazare. Rahul is only an MP. He is neither minister nor the head of the UPA or Congress and he has never opposed anti-corruption movements. Rahul is in favour of a strong and effective Lokpal Bill. Actually Hazare’s attack on Rahul in front of various political parties is nothing but an attempt to embarrass the Congress and the UPA government. It’s clear that Anna’s Jan Lokpal movement is becoming a political movement day by day. Anna should accept the decision of Parliament and not take steps to act like the leader of the BJP or RSS.
—Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

II
The December 11 fast by Anna Hazare was premature and preposterous especially since Parliament is in session and the Lokpal Bill is scheduled to be brought before it. Also, shouldn’t we be aware of the dangers of vesting vast powers (like overseeing the PM and the actions of lawmakers inside Parliament) to a single authority? Remember, absolute power corrupts absolutely. As a safeguard against the Lokpal overstepping his authority, it is better that it is a 3-5 member team like the Election Commission. Do you think Team Anna and the UPA would be able to find a mutually acceptable person of impeccable integrity (a rare commodity)?
—KP Rajan, Mumbai

New Civil Aviation minister
Apropos ‘Will Ajit bring AI back on its feet?’ (December 13). The cabinet berth assigned to Singh is nothing but the price paid to get the support of five more MPs at the Centre. The Congress wants to rein in its allies like the Trinamool, DMK and other leftist parties that are creating hurdles and threatening to withdraw support. Similarly, a seat sharing agreement with the RLD in the upcoming UP elections is a Congress strategy to tackle caste arithmetic that dominates politics in the state. The NCP must be happy to be relieved from this dead ministry. The Congress’ move is to be viewed strictly as an eyewash that will have no positive result for a sick aviation industry.
—Kishorkumar Ved, via email

Protecting a weak God
Let the Sibal-Katju combine not stir or support passions to promote web censorship. The ones who take offence at their ‘God’ being trivialised and see themselves as their God’s protectors must indeed worship weak Gods that need their protection instead of being able to protect them. These are ‘Gods’ of their creation and not their omniscient Creator.
—Phiroze Javeri, Mumbai

Get your priorities right
This refers to the news report ‘No government in UP without Congress’ (December 11). Rahul Gandhi seems to be conspicuous by his absence in the Parliament when it is facing one of its most turbulent sessions in its history. The government is under fire from left and right for mishandling issues like FDI retail, price rise, corruption and Lokpal. As a prime minister-in-waiting, he should have been in the Parliament to defend it instead of leaving the battered Pranab Mukherjee —the UPA’s ‘Man for all seasons’ — to put up a brave fight. It is intriguing why our media that never misses an opportunity to grill other politicians, handles him with kid gloves.
—Vijay Mohan, Chennai

Wasted martyrdom
Exactly 10 years ago six gallant security-men saved our ‘holy temple of democracy’, Parliament house, at the cost of their precious lives. But their martyrdom has been shamelessly wasted by our ‘peace loving’ government. They all just finished their ‘national’ duty by paying verbal and floral tributes to the six martyrs. On the other hand, Afzal Guru is still alive at the cost of lakhs of honest taxpayers money and has had freedom from the gallows for the past ten years. What will be done with Ajmal Kasab, Abu Salem and many others if this is the situation with Afzal Guru?
—Hansraj Bhat, Mumbai