Sudden jolt

Sir - The former environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, had resigned to take up 'party work'. Her move had raised eyebrows even then. Now the cat is out of the bag. Natarajan has alleged that she was the victim of a vicious media campaign, and has blamed the Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, for her plight ('Retrospective 'Jayanthi tax'', Jan 31). Natarajan has stated that she had rejected big-ticket projects on account of specific requests by Rahul Gandhi to do so. It was unfair on Natarajan's part as Union minister to accommodate such requests in the first place. Her allegations against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi also come as a surprise, given her 'loyalty' to these leaders.

Natarajan is not a mass leader. But the manner in which her letter mentions an Adani project in Gujarat raises the possibility that she may join the Bharatiya Janata Party. If she were to do so, Natarajan ought to make up her mind as to whether she can put up with the kind of 'democracy' that prevails in a party like the BJP, where Narendra Modi is the final authority. Her allegations would hurt the Congress. But she, too, will suffer if she decides to join the BJP.

Yours faithfully,

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Sir - Jayanthi Natarajan's explosive letter to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, with its stunning revelations about Rahul Gandhi's interference in the functioning of the Union environment ministry when she headed it, underscores what was long known within the party circles. As heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi would sporadically interfere in policy decisions, depending on his pet beliefs at a particular point of time. Worse, the positions he took were often inconsistent. As Natarajan points out in her letter, Rahul Gandhi's espousal of the interests of tribal people was soon superseded by his advocacy of industry. At a FICCI meeting, shortly after Natarajan was sacked as minister, he complained about delays in environmental clearances and promised that there would be no more bottlenecks. There are other instances of Rahul Gandhi's interference in matters of policy. In September 2013, he tore up a controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers. A few days later, the Union cabinet withdrew the ordinance, but not before Rahul Gandhi's act had deeply embarrassed the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh.

Differences on policy issues exist in all political parties and governments. The ideal way to settle these issues is through internal debate, a practice that the Congress abandoned long ago. During the initial years of the United Progressive Alliance, in Sonia Gandhi's National Advisory Council the Congress created an institution through which social welfare could be introduced into governance. Singh did not always agree with the NAC's formulations. But the differences were resolved through discussion - the National Food Security Act, 2013, is an example of this. But when it comes to Rahul Gandhi, there has always been a great deal of anxiety among his minders to ensure that he gets the credit for any success, sometimes with comic results.

One of the key problems for the Congress had been that even though Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly entreated to join the government in a ministry of his choice, he had chosen to stay away from a position of authority. He insisted that he preferred to build the party instead. The uncharitable view in the Congress was that ministerial responsibility would have brought in its wake the demand for accountability, which is anathema to the heir apparent.

Rahul Gandhi's spin doctors may raise questions about the timing of Natarajan's resignation. But what is undeniable is that if he does not draw the right lessons from Natarajan's dramatic exit from the party, there could be more trouble in store for the Congress.

Yours faithfully,

Bhagwan Thadani, Pune

Sir - The decision taken by Jayanthi Natarajan to quit the Congress shows, once again, that all is not well with the party. Natarajan's silence for over a year was like the proverbial calm before the storm. The Congress's electoral fortunes have nose-dived. There are no signs yet of things looking up for the party. In the last assembly elections in Delhi, the Congress had ended up securing the third spot. Delhi will go to the polls soon. The Congress's prospects continue to be grim, if the independent assessments are any indication.

If more people follow in Natarajan's footsteps and quit the party, the Congress would be able to fulfil the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi who had wanted to disband the party after Independence.

Yours faithfully,

K.V. Seetharamaiah, Hassan, Karnataka

Parting shot

Sir - The Bharatiya Janata Party has made inroads into Tollywood. The Bengali film industry was, until recently, a bastion of the Trinamul Congress. But now artists working on the small screen as well as veteran actors have made a beeline for the BJP. The party seems to be relying on star power to build its vote bank. This has been a common trend in Indian politics. Actors have often helped political parties garner public support. Full-time politicians have been replaced by celebrities, who contest and win elections. It is true that some celebrities have turned out to be outstanding politicians. Yet the root cause of their popularity is their stardom. Political parties should avoid roping in filmstars. They should focus on harnessing leadership qualities because politics is a medium to serve the people.

Yours faithfully,

Sourajit Choudhury, Calcutta

Letters from Odisha

Cry baby

Sir - The Odisha chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, revived the 'Central neglect' bogey once again on the Biju Janata Dal foundation day on December 26, 2014 ('Naveen strikes neglect chord', Dec 27) . For the last few months, he and his party had been silent on the issue. Earlier, the BJD used to be quite vocal, making the Central neglect an emotive issue and, thereby, a very effective political tool to win elections. Patnaik has, of late, woken up to the Centre's 'special responsibility' towards states and the fact that Odisha has been deprived of its rightful dues. The chief minister has announced that the party will intensify its struggle against the Centre in order to get justice. Let us wait and watch how vigorously the ruling party in the state fights the Narendra Modi government at the Centre in the coming days, and how it manages to extract something from the Centre.

Yours faithfully,

Pramod Mohapatra, Bhubaneswar

Sir - The state government should not resort to its old tactic of trying to sway public opinion in its favour by raising the issue of Central negligence at this moment. We have noticed that despite Odisha's failure to send an adequate number of Bharatiya Janata Party members to Parliament, the Modi government has given due recognition to Odisha's cause. Recently, the Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, announced that Rs 1 lakh crore would be spent on different projects in the state. Besides, the state government would be benefited to the tune of Rs 1.5 to two lakh crore in the next five years as the entire money accrued through auction of coal blocks would come to the state's exchequer instead of going to the Central government's coffer. What is more important is that the state has also been included in the concessional gas connection scheme for families below the poverty line. Instead of criticizing the Centre, the state should cooperate with the newly-formed government at the Centre if it wants to get any benefit.

Yours faithfully,

Sanghamitra Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

Sir - Naveen Patnaik and his party seem to have no issue at hand. His government and the BJD are saddled with controversies on different fronts. Take the deposit collection scam or the mining scam or the land scam. Perhaps that is why the chief minister has decided to attack the Centre by raising the issue of Central neglect. However, critics remain doubtful if the tactics will work. Nonetheless, the chief minister seems to have been left with no other option but to deflect attention to the Centre's step-motherly treatment. This is what he was doing when the United Progressive Alliance was in power at the Centre, and he is doing it again.

Yours faithfully,

Sarat Mohapatra, Cuttack

Sir - Naveen Patnaik tried his best to get cosy with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, as he was under threat because of the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the chit fund scam. Several key party leaders have already been arrested. Now that Modi has refused to fall in line, Patnaik has gone on the offensive and started attacking the Centre. Perhaps he thinks that offence is the best defence.

Yours faithfully,

Nandini Samal, Bhubaneswar

Sir - The BJD has resurrected its old political plank of Central neglect. But there is something intriguing in this: why has the party been silent over the issue for all these months that the Modi government has been in power? The BJD was part of the National Democratic Alliance from 1998 to 2004 and Naveen Patnaik himself was a cabinet minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government till he became the chief minister of Odisha in 2000. He did not raise the issue of Central neglect at that time. Now, confronted with pressure from the Opposition parties - that is, the BJP and the Congress - over various scams, the BJD is raking up the old issue in order to divert public attention. It remains to be seen whether the voters will be influenced by this emotive issue raised by the BJD and extend their support to it in future elections.

Yours faithfully,

Abinash Sharma, Rourkela

Letters from Bihar

False step

Sir - The Union minister of women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, recently called for deliberations on the possibility of legalizing sex-determination tests to check female foeticide. This may not be a wise move, considering the patriarchal nature of Indian society. Sex-determination tests have been banned in the country. Yet people opt for these examinations in violation of the law. Little wonder then that the gender gap has widened significantly in the last decade.

Such a proposal could encourage more people to go for sex-determination tests. The idea is that the legalization of sex-determination tests would check female foeticide. But what if, after determining the sex of the foetus and knowing that it is a girl, the family forces the woman to terminate the pregnancy? What if doctors fall prey to greed and decide not to register the pregnancy? Such a malpractice cannot flourish without the help of doctors. A number of apprehensions exist concerning the new proposal. It is imperative that the government examines the implications of such a proposal before taking a decision.

Yours faithfully,

Nancy Priya, Patna

Go slow

Sir - Traffic congestion is a daily feature in Patna. The stretch between Bailey Road and Ashiana Colony suffers on account of traffic jams frequently. Buses remain over-crowed, forcing commuters to stand on the doorstep. Women have to board crowded buses to reach home. A bus usually takes around half an hour to reach Ashiana Colony from the Income Tax roundabout. But matters take a turn for the worse in the evening. It takes much longer to cover the same distance.

The police have a duty to ease traffic congestions, which cause great inconvenience to office-goers. A few other measures can also be mulled. The government should take steps to increase the number of public transport vehicles. People should also be discouraged from using private cars. Political rallies are yet another major reason for traffic jams.

Yours faithfully,

Vipul Kumar, Patna