Truce for now

Sir ? The left may have decided not to destabilize the government on the oil price issue, but the matter will remain a trouble spot for all governments unless an alternative is worked out to meet the global increase in crude oil prices (?Centre, left in silent pact?, June 20). Besides, oil prices once increased must not be reduced unlike before. Efforts meanwhile have to be made to gradually reduce taxes on petroleum products. Even rounding-off prices of petro-products can increase revenue earnings without affecting consumers? pockets. But prices should be uniform throughout the country by arranging for uniform rates of local taxes in all states. Public sector oil companies can be merged to reduce heavy overheads and expenses. And surely the government itself, the biggest consumer of petrol and diesel, has to find ways to cut fuel consumption.

Yours faithfully,
Subhash Agrawal, Dariba

Unbeaten record

Sir ? An element of drama, contrived by Alimuddin Street bigwigs to show the neutrality of the Calcutta police during the municipal elections, captivated the city (?Rule of law bites mighty CPM?, June 20). The show not only confused the intelligentsia but also left the media clueless about the real story behind the assault on Joykrishna Ghosh and Amitava Nandi. But the left need not have resorted to such gimmicks to capture the corporation. In any case, there was every indication that the Left Front was going to win. The suicidal attempt of Mamata Banerjee and Subrata Mukherjee to go their different ways were enough leverage for the left?s mayoral candidate. The Banerjee-Mukherjee feud divided the opposition vote. Add to that the left?s strong organization, and you have the results staring at you in your face.

Yours faithfully,
Subhankar Mukherjee, Burdwan

Sir ? The association of Subhash Chakraborty with the darker elements of society is common knowledge. His name cropped up after the Salt Lake stadium raids, land grab scandals in Lake Town and the sordid saga of Hathkata Dilip, during which an upright police officer was summarily transferred for doing his rightful duty. Each time the party covered up for him, no matter how blatant and shameful the act. This has apparently emboldened Chakraborty to assert his ?right? to continue his unlawful activities which definitely get more attention than his duties as a minister. The state of the public transport is proof. It will be interesting to see how the party wriggles out of this crisis.

Yours faithfully,
Dhrubo Mukerjee, Calcutta

Sir ? My mother was quite apprehensive before going out to vote on Sunday. Like her, many fear trouble at polling booths, be it during the municipal, assembly or general elections. Today, going to vote is like going to war. No one knows if one will be back safely.

Apart from the usual spectacle, the other thing this municipal election held out was the sight of Joykrishna Ghosh with a huge piece of cotton on his face. Perhaps a few drops of blood or medicine stain could have made Ghosh?s injury more convincing.

Yours faithfully,
Govind Das Dujari, Calcutta

Sir ? The reaction of Jyoti Basu to the police action in Salt Lake is ridiculous (?Pained Basu asks why?, June 20). It is Basu who had encouraged the criminalization of politics in order to consolidate the hold of the Left Front on the government through rigging, violence, booth capture and other such unlawful means. Why is he shedding crocodile tears now? Basu must be angry because his efforts to perpetuate the tradition through his cronies like Subhas Chakraborty, Amitava Nandy, Tarit Topdar and others were thwarted to a certain extent by the police. But what were Nandy and Ghosh doing in the booths where they were neither the candidate nor a voter? It needs to be said, however, that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would have earned a lot of praise if police action in Salt Lake had been extended to other parts of the city. Unfortunately, in the rest of the city, the police acted as part of the CPI(M).

Yours faithfully,
Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir ? The hue and cry over the Calcutta municipal polls has been unprecedented this time. So has been the rigging. Although the police have grabbed the headlines by thrashing up a current Lok Sabha member and a close aide of the state?s previous chief minister, the manipulation of the polling process has gone largely uncontrolled despite the electronic voting machines. Perhaps the elections need to be conducted under military vigilance.

Yours faithfully,
Arjun Chaudhuri, Calcutta

Sir ? Whatever image the police lathicharge on the left cadre created for the government, it leaves little doubt that the left has rigged the municipal polls. Moreover, the non-partisan attitude of the police cannot be established till we know that the lathicharge was made with the full knowledge of the identity of the wrongdoers. The assault was obviously made by cops who were not aware that they were using their baton on the blue-eyed boys of the party.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Calcutta