M A I L B A G

Is ‘govt governing body of capitalists?’

KARL Max has said that government is the governing body of the capitalists. That seems to have been highlighted by what happened at the annual meeting of the CII. Mrs Sonia Gandhi was invited on April 26 to address the inaugural session. Normally it should have been considered as a routine function. But I do not know who advised Mrs Sonia Gandhi to open her speech and take pride in the fact that she had been invited by the leading industrialists to start off their annual get-together and opining that this shows what sort of political winds are blowing. Frankly, it did not show a good taste, being self-praise.

The Prime Minister’s reaction was equally inapposite. If the Prime Minister felt that he had been slighted by the CII by deliberately calling the Leader of the Opposition to inaugurate the function whereas as a practice in the past it used to be the Prime Minister, he would have been well advised to keep away from the function to indicate his annoyance. But to have gone there and then to try to answer back Mrs Gandhi at the CII conference was not in keeping with the dignity of a political debate. Both these leaders seem to have provided an unnecessary inflated ego to the business lobby.

As a citizen one feels sad that both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition should have vied with the business lobby to curry their goodwill. This incident reveals how both the Government and the Opposition are out to please the business lobby such political outfits cannot obviously represent the suffering millions of poor of our country.

RAJINDER SACHAR, New Delhi

Power supply

Apropos the news item “Power cut for 14 days” (May 2), the electricity conditions are the same as in 1977 when I lived in India. I have been living in the USA for the last 20 years and only once or twice in 20 years electricity was not available for a few hours otherwise it has been available 24 hours a day for 365 days a year uniform.

The USA and state governments here encourage people to go in for alternative ways to produce electricity and help those people with tax credits. People have installed solar water heaters and solar power generators. They not only use the energy they produce but also feed the state power grid. Their meters actually run in the reverse direction and they get paid by electricity companies at the end of the month.

SURINDER K. DHUPAR, USA

Punish the guilty

I wish to congratulate the new dispensation in Punjab on its bold stand against corruption which has become so natural to our living that it is hardly noticed at all.

We wish all cases where bribes have been taken and jobs sold should be opened and judged again and the betrayers of public faith — the Judas — must be given exemplary punishment. If they go scot free, the people will not excuse even the present government.

Dr. J.S. ANAND, Bathinda

JBT posts My daughter-in-law, Anjula Sharma, MA, B.Ed, with a teaching experience of over seven years in Army School applied for the post of JBT teacher twice but she was rejected with the remarks that the posts were meant for the JBT candidates only. If it was so, then why were applications from B.Ed candidates invited? Why was a fee of Rs 200 charged from each candidate? During Akali rule posts were usually advertised in prominent newspapers but the results were published in small newspapers. The result was not conveyed to any of the rejected candidates though a fee of Rs 200 was charged from each. S.K. Sharma, Batala

BJP different?

When a train derailed, the then Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of the Congress resigned. Now when the entire law and order machinery in Gujarat has derailed, Narendra Modi sticks to his chair. Is that how the BJP is different from other political parties?

O.N. BHARGAVA, Panchkula

Shameful

I live in Australia. I do not think we realise the damage caused by the communal disturbances in Gujarat to the reputation of India. It makes me shameful when neighbours talk about these mishappenings in India.

RAJESH DHIR, by e-mail

Hold it responsible

The BJP and its leaders should be held responsible and liable for the damage caused to human lives with homes looted and burnt in Gujarat.

Dr. B.S. AHLOOWALIA, Vienna