• The news about Nagimani Reddy’s suicide and the plight of his family is indeed heartbreaking (‘One reason Naidu may lose: dead farmer Nagi Reddy’, IE, April 23). How come no social or government organisation seems to be concerned about facilitating financial aid to the beleaguered family? The fact that the Reddy family’s plight has been allowed to worsen is a sad commentary on the establishment. — Pran Kaul On e-mail • Chandrababu Naidu has been hiding many unpleasant facts from his state, preferring instead to interact with the rich and present himself as a sophisticated reformer. Andhra Pradesh is home to the third largest number of illiterates in India after Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Its leaders must be held accountable by the electorate. — Sushim Mukerji On e-mail • It is very sad to hear of the state of affairs in some of the drought hit districts of AP. What’s sadder is the apathy of not only the politicians but also well-to-do people in these areas. — Rama On e-mail Campaign Bhavan • The governor of a state, being appointed by the president, is supposed to take care of the interests of the citizens of the state he/she governs (‘Brushing aside Raj Bhavan code of conduct, Haryana Governor says: back PM’, IE, April 23). Due to this the Raj Bhavan is like a reserved “territory”. But the governor has converted it into a propaganda ministry of the BJP. He is violating not only the law but also the code of conduct. The EC should take stern action on this. — Ramesh Lahoti On e-mail Victory duo • A very good, non-partisan article by Harsha Bhogle (‘Cricket’s Odd Couple right a winning script’, IE, April 23). One can only hope that the BCCI will not tamper with this winning combination. — A. Dass On e-mail Ketchup corrective • G. Parthasarathy makes incorrect assumptions in the article ‘Two democracies in poll mode’ (IE, April 19). First, in accordance with its corporate governance policies, H.J. Heinz company is a non-partisan organisation. It is not a ‘‘family business’’. It is a publicly traded corporation with a diverse shareholder base of both individuals and institutions and a market capitalisation of approximately $12.5 billion. Neither Mrs Heinz Kerry nor Senator Kerry nor any of the Heinz trusts or endowments — either individually or collectively — holds a significant percentage of shares of the H.J. Heinz company. In 1995 the Heinz Endowments and family trusts sold a large percentage of Heinz shares in a secondary share offering to diversify their holdings. As a result, their current holdings are under 4 per cent. No Heinz family member is involved in the management or board of the H.J. Heinz company. They have no involvement in the Heinz ketchup business or any of the company’s other brands or products. Second, 60 per cent of the sales of the company are outside the US. — Debora S. Foster H.J. Heinz Company Pittsburgh
