The make-or-break gambit

Apropos of ‘Kejri: Will quit as CM in 2 days, return after Delhi gives honesty certificate’; one can expect the unexpected in the coming days and weeks. Once Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation reaches the Lt Governor, the ball will be in the latter’s court. There could be twists and turns if the elections are held ahead of schedule. Moreover, even if his party gets a landslide mandate, how will he deal with the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court regarding his duties as the CM? Immediate dissolution of the Assembly and Central rule in Delhi can revive governance, which has been in limbo for months now.

Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

Poor handling of civic issues

With reference to ‘Kejri: Will quit as CM after 2 days…’; his decision to resign is an acknowledgement of the people’s anger over Delhi’s crumbling administration. With AAP’s top leaders in jail in the past year or so, policy paralysis has resulted in poor governance. Though the Supreme Court has granted Kejriwal bail, the conditions imposed would have made it very difficult for him to run the government. With the MCD also under AAP’s control, the party has a lot to explain to its voters about the poor handling of civic issues. His offer to resign is nothing but a desperate attempt to control the damage caused to him and AAP. The Congress and the BJP both would pose a serious challenge to AAP in the elections, as and when they are held.

Bal Govind, Noida

Bittu’s outburst unacceptable

Rajya Sabha MP Ravneet Bittu’s utterances against Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the US are unacceptable. He needs to exercise restraint while making sensitive statements. Having been a hardcore Congressman until the recent past, he cannot wash his hands of whatever right or wrong decisions were taken during the Congress rule. Holding the Gandhi family solely responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots shows the height of his political opportunism. Being a senior politician, he must maintain decorum.

Raj Kumar Goyal, Patiala

Uphold sanctity of top posts

This is with reference to Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s dig at Rahul Gandhi. This is not the first instance of Dhankhar criticising Opposition leaders. He has been issuing statements both inside and outside Parliament as if he were still a leader of a political party. Persons holding the constitutional posts of President and Vice-President should not resort to politicking. The ruling party has many able leaders to rebut the Opposition’s accusations. The President and the Vice-President do not belong to any political party, their previous affiliations notwithstanding.

Sudhir Sharma, Ambala city

Bank retirees’ demand

Apropos of ‘State duty-bound to protect health of retired officials: HC’; the court’s ruling bringing the retirees’ right to health under the ambit of Article 21 of the Constitution is welcome. It is ironical that bank employees are left to fend for themselves regarding their health facilities when these are required the most after retirement. The Centre should intervene to ensure that the bank retirees’ demand of making their medical facilities on a par with those of current bank employees is accepted unconditionally.

Jagdish Chander, Jalandhar

Put a stop to art theft

Apropos of ‘Back where it belongs’ (Spectrum), it is heartening that many countries have returned stolen artefacts and antiquities to India. In spite of strict domestic and international regulations, art theft continues to be a booming business and is estimated to be the third-largest international criminal activity after drugs and arms trafficking. One of the earliest slang words from India to enter the English language was ‘loot’. Over the years, collectors and museums have helped themselves to the artistic riches from nations like India, China and Greece. Every time we lose an artefact, we lose a piece of our heritage. There is an immediate need to catalogue our treasures and let specialists protect our museums, temples and archaeological sites. The government must do all it can to put a stop to the plunder of our cultural heritage.

HN Ramakrishna, Bengaluru