• On the 100th birth anniversary of Ram Nath Goenka, I recall the words of the eminent jurist, Nani Palkhivala, about him: “Ram Nath Goenka was one of the rare select band of men of whom it can truly be said that they have the courage never to submit or yield. In his later years he was bent with age, but never with fear. To the end he remained untamed and unbroken.” These characteristics are true for a good newspaper, too. A newspaper need not be pro-government or anti-government. It need not be the largest circulating and the one with the highest ad revenue. It need not have the latest printing technology. What matters is the will and credibility of the people who write the news. I’m sure in future, too, the Express team will serve our democracy with the same zeal shown by Ram Nath Goenka. — Sushil Mehra Bangalore Village voices • Apropos of ‘In Venkaiah’s town, Dalits can’t share the well’ (IE, April 27), I have heard the BJP president more than often boast about his state, town and people. Now ask him to explain why this injustice is happening in Nellore and what he has done for the poor Dalits of the region in the 50-odd years of his life. Let politicians like him be taught to serve and develop their own villages before they think about the entire nation. — Nilesh Tendulkar On e-mail It’s EC • The Election Commission need not depend on any verdict to implement the citizen’s right to reject all candidates (‘Negative voting is a right’, IE, April 27). In fact it would be a criminal offence committed by the system to compel voters to choose between two or more evils. — Shubhashish Ghosh On e-mail Wrong timing • Sometimes gut feelings and memory cells can get it wrong. In ‘Minds and mandate’ (IE, April 27), Coomi Kapoor reminisces about her first stint as a cub reporter. She goes on to say, “Every autorickshaw driver I met assured me that Indira Gandhi, fresh from the victory over Pakistan in the Bangladesh war, would win hands down.” The trouble with this nice story is that the general elections were held in early March 1971, the genocidal massacre in Dacca by the Pakistani army took place at the end of that month, and the Indo-Pak war in December 3, 1971. — Sanjiva Prasad On e-mail Congress switch • The Congress never believed in exit polls. Initially, in fact, it was boycotting exit poll panel discussions on television channels. It also chose to go to the Supreme Court to get a ban on exit polls. Representatives from the same party yesterday were very much a part of the panel discussions on a number of television channels discussing the results of the exit polls, now that they are indicating that party’s prospects have improved (‘Cong claims govt possible sans allies’, IE, April 27). The Congress today is a party without any principles. — I.R. Sharma On e-mail
