Let the party begin

Sir — Politicians never lie, they only speak half the truth. This is as much true of Anil Biswas as it is of politicians everywhere. Recently, while defending the West Bengal government’s decision to issue new liquor licences and earn some revenue in the process, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s West Bengal secretary dismissed Mamata Banerjee’s February 3 bandh as being called with an eye on the elections (“Thirsting for revenue, party uncorks liquor logic”, Dec 30). But is this not true of Biswas’s own party? Or why should the CPI(M) be in such a hurry to earn more revenue? Was that too not a function of the coming elections? The left’s profligacy before and during elections is all too well-known. Such suspicions are given more credence by reports that panchayats and zilla parishads have been especially instructed to finds ways to earn more revenue. After all, the left’s traditional bastion is rural Bengal. Biswas should have the honesty to accept that for both Banerjee and the CPI(M), elections are the bottomline.

Yours faithfully,
Snigdha Goenka, Calcutta

Winning ways

Sir — Ashok V. Desai identifies the core of the Congress’s problem when he says that Sonia Gandhi is not a winning leader (“Can the Congress recover?”, Dec 30). Somehow the Congress looks more like a sinking ship with Sonia Gandhi at its helm. Dissidents may not come out in the open to say anything against Sonia Gandhi, but her credibility will be increasingly questioned as time goes by. After the assembly poll defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, what the Congress needs is a coordinated strategy to combat the Bharatiya Janata Party. There is a view that disgruntled workers sabotaged the party’s chances in Rajasthan. In contrast, the BJP had a well-chalked out poll strategy. The success of this strategy has emboldened the BJP in the run-up to the general elections later this year.

The Congress needs genuine structural changes as well as a genuine development agenda. Intra-party factionalism also needs to be dealt with. Without dedicated workers at the grassroots’ level, garnering support from the masses will be difficult. But what is most important is a decentralized leadership that will look into the needs of the people without hanging on to the past, when the party was in power. Action, not rhetoric, is the need of the hour.

Yours faithfully,
Koyel Basu, Calcutta

Sir — One cannot fault someone for publicizing his personal opinions. But it is a pity that Ashok V. Desai believes that a country of one billion people cannot produce a suitable leader. Thus, he suggests importing foreigners to lead India, as if foreigners are always implicitly efficient and sincere. It is difficult to believe Desai is so naïve as to hold such a view, he must have made such an atrocious statement only to substantiate his deep-rooted contempt for all Indian politicians. But can Desai name one foreign leader who has an absolutely spotless record? The quality of our ruling classes may be extremely poor and the quality of the political class even poorer. But many foreign politicians come from respectable backgrounds. How do they become so corrupt eventually?

Yours faithfully,
Saptarshi Mukherjee, Calcutta

Sir — Ashok V. Desai contends that anyone who is physically in India should have voting rights. Does he include all those Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who are in India illegally? Later, he suggests that “we should import more competent rulers if they are prepared to come”, since there is a dearth of good homegrown rulers. If this be the case, why did we ask the British to quit India in 1947?

But Desai is not the only one to hold such views. After he broke away from the Congress and formed the Swatantra Party, C. Rajagopalachari reportedly said, “I thought that self-government was better than good government, but now I think good government is better than self-government”.

Yours faithfully,
C.V.K. Moorthy, Calcutta

Sir — Ashok V. Desai’s article is full of blind sycophancy to Sonia Gandhi. His suggestion that foreigners be imported to lead over one billion Indians and his support for Sonia Gandhi’s primeministership are outrageous. Desai should realize that a native leader is sure to be more rooted to India than any foreign-born one can possibly be. The editorial, “Halfway house” (Dec 30), elaborately analyzes Sonia Gandhi’s limitations which prevent her from steering India, particularly her failure “to articulate any kind of vision for the country”.

Yours faithfully,
Govinda Bakshi, Budge Budge

Sir — Ashok V. Desai paints an extremely sorry picture of the Congress and Sonia Gandhi. The Congress may have fared miserably under Sonia Gandhi in the recent assembly polls, but it would be premature to write her off for good. Governments in power everywhere, except in West Bengal, get routed owing to the anti-incumbency factor. Thus it was the turn of the Congress governments in the three states where elections were held to give way to the new. There is always the possibility that the electorate will boot out the BJP after five years. Besides, the voting pattern in Lok Sabha elections is usually different from that in assembly polls; the Congress might just fare better in the latter. It is also not as if Sonia Gandhi’s credibility has nose-dived all of a sudden. A few months ago, the party was in power in no less than 12 states and her foreign origins did not seem to matter.

As for her pan-India appeal, no swadeshi Congress leader can match this videshi bahu. Sonia Gandhi is the strongest card the Congress can play in the coming elections.

Yours faithfully,
Kajal Chatterjee, Sodepur

Symbol of hope

Sir — The story of Lalita is a beacon of hope in distressing times (“Literacy kick from Karate girl”, Dec 22). The poor Musahar girl’s determination to continue her education, braving all odds, is truly commendable. India needs more Lalitas to inspire the millions of underprivileged who are missing out on an education.

Yours faithfully,
Manzar Imam, New Delhi

Sir — Lalita deserves extra accolades for continuing with her studies because she comes from Bihar, where the society continues to be very conservative. Lalita was even beaten and scolded for her decision. Even though education up to 14 years has been made a fundamental right for all children in our country, it eludes many. Many still believe that women are good for household work only. If we desire development, we must produce more Lalitas.

Yours faithfully,
Govind Das Dujari, Calcutta