MyVoice: Views of our readers 22nd August 2022

BJP govt 'playing the game of ED and CBI'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's prediction that next to Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia would be targeted came true. The raids substantiate his statement that every morning the BJP government is 'playing the game of ED and CBI' by these central agencies on political rivals in recent times. We are yet to see a raid on a BJP leader or supporter by these agencies which act more as the arms of the government than autonomous entities. It is astonishing that the CBI has not deemed it necessary or fit to investigate how liquor worth Rs.10, 000 crore is sold every year in the dry State of Gujarat! Apparently the CBI's raids on Manish Sisodia's house and the seizure of his computer, phone and files had to do more with the political tussle between the BJP and the AAP than alleged corruption in the issuance of liquor licenses. It could well be a part of a 'larger script' aimed at stalling AAP's political advance across the country. In the upcoming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, the AAP could well mount a good fight against the BJP. It could also be a retaliatory action against Kejriwal's emergence as a likely challenger to Narendra Modi in 2024. It is an old trick to try to defame a party or a leader, which promises to win popular support by leveling false allegations. The BJP has alleged that the AAP used tainted scam money to contest elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and other States. We wish the BJP reveal the public with which money it contests elections! The Delhi government indeed deserves credit for the good work it does in the fields of education and health care and the priority it accords to the welfare of the poor in Delhi. Not for nothing was the Delhi Model praised in the New York Times. To say that it was paid news was just sour grapes! The BJP responded to the photo of Manish Sisodia on the front page of the prestigious newspaper with its coinage Moneyshh Sisodia exhibiting its fake nationalism!

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

"Suspend remission orders against criminals In Bilkis Case"

The Gujarat government's unjudicious decision to let off 11 persons convicted for life in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape and the murder of seven members of her family, during the 2002 Gujarat riots, on remission, strikes a major blow to the Supreme Court as an institution and threatens its future legitimacy. Those who do something heinous crime aren't truly human. There is certainly no guarantee errands won't do something horrible again. ,Sine qua non, lifetime imprisonment for such hard-core convicts is the right punishment. The action of Gujarat government is highly deplorable.

Seetharam B, Hanakonda, Telangana

Non-Gandhi Congress President?

It is of some political significance that Rahul Gandhi has declined to return as Congress President and ruled out his sister Priyanka Gandhi coming into the reckoning. On her part, Sonia Gandhi has made it clear time and again that she does not want to continue as the party chief. All this, when the presidential poll is set to get underway, indicates that there could be a non-Gandhi at the party's helm if a last-minute surprise is not in store.

The change of leadership at the top despite the party cadres' overwhelming preference for someone from the 'first family' to lead them will invalidate the charge of accumulation of power in the hands of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. It will force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tone down his strident criticism of parivarvad. It will leave the BJP harder to equate the Gandhis with the Congress party and vice versa.

However, the scenario of someone other than a Gandhi holding the reins of the organization does not necessarily mean the dilution of prominence of the illustrious dynasty. For sure, the Gandhis will continue to play a significant role in running the party and may have the final say on what role it is to perform and how in national politics. The Gandhis owe the esteem they still enjoy in large measure to not just their inherited charisma, but also to what they represent – Nehruvian secularism and social welfare.

The better electoral performance by the BJP must be attributable to the overarching appeal of Hindutva. At the same time, the back-to-back electoral defeats of the Congress are not owing to the leadership of the Gandhis. As true inheritors and upholders of the legacy of the freedom struggle, the Gandhis continue to be in the forefront of the ideological battle against Hindutva and Hindu nationalism. Since Rahul Gandhi does not hanker after power, he can afford to be true to his authentic self. The Congress, whether headed by a Gandhi or a non-Gandhi, must be strengthened if India is to be saved from far right-wing Hindu revivalists.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Talking high and lying low

The Indian political scenario is in total doldrums as the ruling party is enjoying a majority and there is no opposition as such. Leaders oppose the Central government come and go and diminish like an air bubble time and again. Till now Mamata has been shouting loudly against the Centre and everyone she disliked, thinking that she is pure and honest. Once her minister is caught taking money in SSP recruitment, her moral authority has shrunk. Delhi Chief ministers is trumpeting his own achievement through paid channels. He may not have the same high decibel shout against his adversaries.

C K Subramaniam, Anna Nagar West, Chennai