Manmohan Singh’s view that it would be disastrous for >Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister is not only in bad taste but also based purely on imagination sans evidence. Harping on the Gujarat riots will not take the Congress anywhere. Such riots are bound to take place occasionally in any State. Dr. Singh should remember that not one court has convicted Mr. Modi, and that it would be an insult to the judicial process for anyone else to pronounce judgment on the Gujarat Chief Minister. Further, no corruption charge has ever been levelled against Mr. Modi, which is more than can be said of the corruption-ridden Congress government.
N. Nagesh,
Chennai
Dr. Singh’s candid words typified his characteristic honesty, simplicity, commitment and selflessness. That he has never, in his long innings of almost ten years as Prime Minister, challenged the Congress leadership is a testament to his humility and sense of subordination to the party. It is difficult to imagine any other leader playing his role with such complete understanding and cooperation. The future will accord Dr. Singh a special place among those who worked selflessly to shape India.
P. Haridas,
Chennai
The Prime Minister has used very harsh language against Mr. Modi. He forgets that more innocents were massacred under Rajiv Gandhi, who even justified the atrocity by famously saying “when a big tree falls, the earth shakes”. A Prime Minister under whose tenure the country predominantly witnessed corruption, should not have used such unbecoming language.
V. Sharma,
Hyderabad
It is great to see our Prime Minister finally starting to defend his party, even if just in the lead-up to the general elections. He must be informed, however, that running a government riddled with corruption and accused of a number of scams is equivalent to harassing the public, albeit without physical violence. Rahul Gandhi may have the calibre to be a prime ministerial candidate, but his party has lost the trust it gained upon our country gaining Independence.
Vasumathi P.B. Varadhachari,
Thanjavur
If, as the Prime Minister claims, UPA-I and -II have effected an average economic growth of 7.7 per cent, India should have been tailing China in terms of growth trajectory. Dr. Singh’s words seem to betray poor economic knowledge. His unsavoury remarks against Mr. Modi, a leader in his own right, is unfortunate. In the light of all the scandals in the latter half of the UPA’s regime, Dr. Singh will likely be remembered as India’s most ineffective Prime Minister who pushed India down the growth ladder.
J.R. Kamath,
Coonoor
Whatever be the shortcomings of Dr. Singh’s government, what he did can never be matched by any prime-ministerial-hopeful. Compared to the NDA regime, the country’s growth rate under the UPA was tremendous. He is an economist who knows the pulse of the nation better than most other aspirants to his job. I am not inclined to vote for the Congress if he is not projected in the next Lok Sabha elections. I will vote for the next best alternative.
Manjunath P,
Bangalore
