Letters to the Editor

Sack BhandariSir: The ``Saturday murder of democracy'' by the Uttar Pradesh Governor, Romesh Bhandari, has dealt a fatal blow to the cherish...

Sack Bhandari

Sir: The “Saturday murder of democracy” by the Uttar Pradesh Governor, Romesh Bhandari, has dealt a fatal blow to the cherished democratic values of the country. Governor Bhandari’s blatant partisan and irresponsible act has tarred the high office he holds. Though his past track record does not speak high, his present action calls for dismissal.

The `Lucknow sultan’ should be stopped in his tracks and if dismissal is the only remedy to instill confidence in the democratic setup, the President should not hesitate to opt for this extreme step.

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There was a time when people of high ethical values adorned the office of governors. A person like Prabhudas Patwari rose to dizzy heights by his sheer conduct. Now governors are appointed with a `specific task’ on hand and these limpets, thriving on the democratic setup, ends up eating the system

— H. Srinivasan, Mumbai

Sir: Romesh Bhandari has made it obvious that he will do anything, if it is against the BJP. Hisargument that he dismissed the State Government to prevent horse-trading is ridiculous. What is the guarantee that there won’t be any horse-trading after the dismissal? The President should have stepped in to prevent such a situation and ask Bhandari to quit his office.

— Harischandra Parasuram, Mumbai.

III

Sir: It is rather amusing to see former prime minister Mr Chandrasekhar calling a special press conference to criticise the action of the President in seeking the opinion of the Prime Minister in the Romesh Bhandari issue.Chandrasekar seemed quite oblivious of the blatant violation of democratic norms in UP. The President deserves full compliments for taking this diplomatic, yet firm line of action. It is high time the country showed such pseudo leaders their place.

The likes of such leaders with so called ethical standards and double-speak have done enough harm to our country in the past 50 years.

— N Sharma, Mumbai

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Sir: Mr R. Bhandari is son of a Lahore HighCourt Judge, Justice A. N. Bhandari, and has been a Foreign Secretary. Given this background it is difficult to swallow his conduct as the governor. He has been partisan ever since his appointment.

He has not only ignored the advice of the President of India but also chose to skip over the Supreme Court judgment in S. R. Bomai case. The utmost haste in which he completed the conspiracy of replacing a State Government in less than 20 hours, speaks a volume about his malafide intentions.

— Dr. N.C. Puri, Mumbai

Political Gimmick

Sir: This refers to Sonia Gandhi’s apology for Operation Bluestar, the anti-Sikh riots following the death of Indira Gandhi and the Babri Masjid demolition.

These apologies are an indication of simply garnering votes of the minorities. Ironically politicians apologise for whatever wrong they or their parties might have done only on the eve of elections.

— S Sanjeet Singh, Aurangabad

Sindhis demand apology

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Sir: Sindhis are deeply offendedby the irresponsible remarks made by top-ranking Congress leaders describing the BJP president, L K Advani, as a foreigner just because he lived in Sindh at the time of partition.

Perhaps they are ignorant about the history that Sindh province was an integral part of India and all Hindu-Sindhis sacrificed their ancestral properties and migrated to independent India.

Sindhi langugage has also been included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India and the region Sindhi has been included in the National Anthem as well.

The Sindhi community demands an apology from the Congress party for such irresponsible uttarances by its leaders.

— Gopal Pamnani General secretary, World Sindhi Congress, Mumbai