There was a visible discord among his senior ministers and colleagues. Like a pigeon, he had closed his eye to the cat approaching to poach him and ignored the reality". To please Sonia Gandhi, he indulged in unwarranted favours of allotting land to Robert Vadra. He developed only his constituency Rohtak, ignoring other districts. It is neither the Dera factor, nor the internal sabotage or uncooperative attitude of certain Congress leaders within the party, but his autocratic attitude, corruption and bad governance and failure to keep the leaders united. The party did not bother about the sentiments and aspirations of people and justified the shielding and protecting the corrupt and tainted leaders. The Congress party must introspect honestly.

Capt Amar Jeet Kumar, Mohali

Turncoats in Haryana

I share his argument in Prof DR Chaudhry's article "Haryana elections smash a myth" (October 29) that "Haryana politicians, leaving aside exceptional cases, pursue the politics of 'soot-kassot' (convenience). The turncoats in the politics of Haryana are known as "Aya Rams and Gaya Rams". Money has also come to influence the election results in a big way. As per the reports of reputed national dailies, nearly Rs 18 crore in cash and 2.84 lakh litres of wine were seized by the police and Election Commission officials in Maharashtra and Haryana during these Assembly elections. The landed gentry of Haryana now seem to be pitiably on the backfoot, having been supplanted by the rising business magnates. The traditional influence of the rural chieftains of different agrarian communities on the local electorate is waning. They seem to be fighting a lost battle in the present day politics of Haryana.

Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV, Fatehabad

Gandhian philosophy

In his article “Challenges ahead for PM” (October 25), S. Nihal Singh says that one serious challenge before Narendra Modi is to “reconcile the open philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi with the narrow view of Hindutva.” Anyone with a little knowledge of Gandhian thought will testify that no such reconciliation is possible. The attempt by the BJP to coopt Mahatma Gandhi is only a thinly-veiled political manoeuvre. Gandhi believed in 'sarvodaya', the welfare of all, and regarded all religions as true and equal. Hindutva contravenes all these principles, treats certain religions as antagonistic and seeks the dominance of one religious community over others. Gandhi subordinated the quest for power to the quest for truth and that is what satyagraha means. On the other hand, Hindutva's focus is on power by all means.

Prof Bhupinder Singh, Patiala

Vanishing money

In 2006, according to the Swiss National Bank, Indian national money with Swiss banks was around Rs 41,400 crore. Then the din about foreign accounts started in India, and from 2009, black money started vanishing. In that year, the amount was whittled down to Rs 15,400 crore. In 2013, the figure was down further to Rs 14,000 crore and in 2014 it has been reduced to a few crores. At this rate, it seems that in 2015, it will totally vanish. After all, black money keepers are much more clever than the snatchers.

RM Mittal, Mohali

Black money gimmick

With the BJP government dithering on the issue of black money stashed offshore, it is becoming clear that tall promises made during election speeches are nothing but a gimmick. Howsoever sincere Modi may be in his words, his ideas and promises lack the collective will of his political kin. Action, not words is the need of the hour. Ultimately, the adage that “people get the government they deserve” rules the roost.

Sharat Ralhan, Palampur

Unearth black money

Unearthing of black money is a continuous process. The recent actions by the present government are belated but sincere. The black money in foreign countries was stashed by the beneficiaries over a long period of time. There should have been continuous pressure on the culprits by the income tax department and the government. Now it may be too late. A very long judicial process awaits before guilty are booked. By now, the culprits must have covered all loopholes to avoid the law.

We have lakhs of crores of black money in India, but no worthwhile solution to unearth has been found. The culprits get away easily due to the corrupt system and lack will of the government. The revelations by the government to the Supreme Court SIT will prove an exercise in futility if the culprits are able to befool our system.

The government should first book and unearth black money in our own country. We have stringent laws to book the wrongdoers, but corruption has to be booted out first.