N-deal discussion or semantics?
Sir, The stand pursued by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress in the context of the Indo-US nuclear deal is rather strange.
The PM would have grown in stature if he had communicated to George W Bush that the majority of the people in India are against the deal. Even today the argument over the deal has boiled down to semantics. What is the meaning of holding back the “operationalisation”?
To the Congress it means that the talks can go ahead with the IAEA and only the final outcome need be held back!
For the Left, to put an embargo on the N-deal would mean that the process of “operationalisation” itself must be stopped.
The people are mute spectators watching this great farce. Whether the pride of Manmohan Singh is hurt or not, it matters little because he has by his own volition entrenched himself in such a situation.
Hilda Raja
Chennai
PM’s anguish
Sir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s anguish over the turn of events is genuine. But his offer to quit office is a charade. This is a ploy used by all the Chief Executives, since the time of Pandit Nehru, to silence the Opposition to their authority. This is based on the shrewd calculation that no one wants to precipitate a crisis in the cabinet that will lead to a mid term poll. In his case, he is the mascot for the Congress and the UPA because of his clean image and even Sonia Gandhi does not dare disturb him.
V VENKATASUBRAMANIAN
Mumbai
Political sagacity
Sir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s reported offer to quit office because of his distress in having to surrender to the communists on the nuclear deal issue is understandable. But who is to blame for this sorry spectacle? He entered into an agreement with the Bush administration, that would almost turn India into a vassal of the US. He grossly underestimated the resistance offered by the Left Parties to the smooth passage of the agreement and needlessly provoked them with his challenge. All this shows his lack of political sagacity.
V V S MANI
Bangalore
Censor them
Sir, The censor board has taken a wise decision in issuing U/A certification to such films where violence, cruelty is shown as we are witnessing our younger generation resorting to such crimes daily after watching such films. The common man wants such films where the entire family sits and enjoy the films without giving room for any repercussion. The censor board should not yield to any pressure to listen to the request for revising its decision.
B S Raghavendra Rao
Bangalore
Foolproof method
Sir, This refers to the report Govt plans curbs on Pak cricket fans (DH, Oct 23.) In the report it is stated that more than 150130 foreign nationals “disappeared” after coming to India between 2003 and 2006. Now merely restricting issue of visas to cricket loving fans from Pakistan will not in any way help to improve the bilateral relationship. Government should seriously think and evolve a foolproof method to stop this “disappearing” act .
Mandikal S Ananda Rao
Bangalore
Hardly a role model
Sir, The media in India, while going ga-ga over Bobby Jindal, has studiously avoided mentioning some crucial facts about this Indian-American. Jindal is a religious fundamentalist Republican who strongly supports Bush’s invasion and occupation of Iraq. Furthermore, he stayed away from the first White House ceremony celebrating Diwali since they were counter to his new-found religious beliefs. Jindal is hardly a role model for any kind of Indian.
N Murali
Bangalore
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