No more street fighting please

With reference to the report ‘Jaitley calls Rahul a ‘clown prince’, accuses him of concocting facts’ (September 21), it goes without saying that the ongoing verbal duel between the Congress party and the BJP could not only be perceived as totally unjustified but highly ill-conceived too. In fact, there seems to be no end to the mindless accusations and counter-accusations by leaders of both parties to score some brownie political points.

The Congress has been gunning for the Modi-led government over the Rafale deal. Besides approaching Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi for a special and forensic audit and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the deal, the party has also sought the resignation of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the issue.

However, Arun Jaitley’s latest jibe against Rahul Gandhi Congress declaring him to be unfit for public life and discourse as the issues he has raised as either “lies” or “legacy issues” carried over from the Congress, obviously raises eye brows.

How could Jaitley sit on the judgement on such a highly emotive matter more so when his own party (BJP) also happen to be in the eye of the storm?

Further, Jaitley’s that “Many have been banished from political activity because they were caught lying. But this rule obviously can’t apply to a dynastic organisation such as the Congress party,” genuinely needs further elaboration. Could he please “name and shame” all such politicians who were actually banished for lying? In all fairness, let the cat out of the bag, if he really means business.

Bengaluru

It is welcome news that India acceded to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request for talks between Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session after a hiatus of two years. In a sense, it has come as a vindication of Navjot Sidhu’s pleadings for India’s reciprocation to Imran Khan’s peace overtures.

There is no need to decry the decision as a climb-down from its position that ‘terror and talks don’t go together’. It is enough to see it as a small move that has its intrinsic value for moving towards the normalisation of relations.

The need to avoid further bloodshed on the Indo-Pak border and in the restive Kashmir should add a new urgency to the talks.

The mutilation of a BSP jawan and the abduction of J&K cops — deeply disturbing as they are — should be all the more reason for the government to turn down the demands for the reversal of its decision. As a relatively more mature democracy, we must engage with our neighbouring country to get the sticking points sorted out instead of retreating ourselves into our shell.

Islamabad can open the route to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara for Indian pilgrims to visit and on its part; New Delhi can agree to take part in the SAARC summit to be hosted by Pakistan.

Sabre-rattling, bellicosity and jingoism do not help in building bridges between the two countries, but sanity, sagacity and statesmanship do.

Maruthancode (TN)

With refernce to the column “Shrunken icons” ( September 21), world over today, dependence on individual leadership is getting more pronounced, reminiscent of the earlier centuries when kings and dictators decided the fates of people.

Icon or celebrity status for talented individuals who have made a mark in their field of expertise does not affect society adversely.

But creating an aura around them camouflaging their real identity can become a social problem. The syndrome of ‘active’ leaders and ‘idle’ followers can do more harm than good.

Grassroots level democratic process has to emerge to support natural leadership in all fields.

The aim here is not to undervalue the iconic status of Dalai Lama or Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi.

But there is a need to encourage cadre development in every profession.

Mumbai

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