The ongoing debate on whether the country wants Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister overlooks certain facts. That he has made Gujarat a frontline State in development is accepted by impartial observers. The only factor held against him is the role he is alleged to have played in the anti-Muslim riots following the Godhra carnage.

The court verdict is yet to be delivered. But let us look at the long list of Congress leaders tainted by communalism, corruption and practically all the crimes covered in the Indian Penal Code. They are all occupying high positions.

The gentleman who was part of the infamous Gang of Four during the Emergency that saw atrocities on different fronts, including compulsory sterilisation and destruction of the huts of Muslims in Turkman Gate in Delhi, is now safely ensconced in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Those who were active in the anti-Sikh pogrom following Indira Gandhi’s assassination are all well-entrenched in the higher circles of the Congress party and the Government. Almost every other day we hear of scams and scandals. We do not know how many more skeletons are waiting to tumble out of the cupboard. Against all this, Modi has had few allegations of corruption against him. More importantly, there have been no communal riots in Gujarat in the recent years unlike in the UPA-ruled States.

A. Seshan

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Cover for oil firms

This is with reference to the editorial “Oil imperatives’” ( Business Line, February 20). The editorial has rightly pointed out the need for Government’s intervention in providing insurance cover for oil companies processing Iranian crude oil – given the lack of reinsurance support from western countries for the vessels carrying Iranian oil and for the companies processing it.

Since the needed cover is beyond the capacity of the GIC, the Government, along with all the general insurance companies , could form a special pool of insurance to cover the risks in importing and processing the Iranian oil.

N. R. Nagarajan

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