Letter of the WEEK

Omar Abdullah, in his speech in favour of the trust vote, ably articulated the sentiments of the progressive Muslims of India.

Omar Abdullah created a buzz in Parliament. In a letter earlier this week, Kapil Kaul from Gurgaon hinted at problems within Abdullah’s party and advised the National Conference to nurture new leaders.

• Omar Abdullah, in his speech in favour of the trust vote, ably articulated the sentiments of the progressive Muslims of India.

I have a word of advice for Omar about the management of the political party that he heads. Time and circumstances have changed significantly. Unfortunately, the management style of the National Conference remains feudal, with no effort being made to develop new leaders.

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Omar should publicly state that he and his father will develop a new crop of leadership in the party. Only then will he gain credibility with the people of Kashmir and be seen as genuinely working for them. Else, the rhetoric is hollow.

Sour grapes of victory

• The trust vote is over and the UPA government is staying put. Most importantly, the nuclear deal will go through.

However, parliamentary democracy had lost its innocence long back. What we saw on Tuesday was an open auction of whatever shreds were left of it. Through the entire episode, the Left parties behaved like a bunch of spoiled school brats. There is hardly any meaningful debate in Parliament — only shouting, heckling and walking out. Omar Abdullah had to speak as loud as he could into the microphone to convey his very sensible and mature words. No marks to the Congress either, even if the claim made by the three BJP MPs doesn’t turn out to be true. The very fact that cabinet berths may be given to Shibu Soren and his ilk says it all.

— P.K. Handa

Panchkula

Take another look

• The editorial, ‘Red-faced, vindictive’, on Somnath Chatterjee, brings into focus some hard realities. Our democracy is being reduced to a game of numbers.

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Barring the CPM members, many leaders have already changed several parties to suit their better prospects. Which group other than the Left has an ideological base in the country?

The switching of sides and cross-voting make a politician richer and the nation poorer. Convicted criminals can come out of jail and decide national policy. Does such a thing happen in any of the democratic countries of the world?

— K.P. Udayabhanu

New Delhi

Probe deep

• The editorial, ‘Just air it’, is pertinent. The confusion created by allegations and counter-allegations of bribery is very odious. Either the BJP or the UPA is lying. The people of India need to know which one of the two it is, and fast. The longer such suspicion and disgust persist, the worse it is for Indian democracy. One hopes a thorough investigation will be conducted at the behest of the speaker or political leaders them-selves. They should probe this corrupt politicking, especially the supposed offer of money as a bait to defect and desert one’s party.

— John Alexander

Nagpur