It is amusing that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has suddenly remembered the issue of corruption (Dec. 22). Has he forgotten that scams were at their peak during UPA-I and -II? His speech to India Inc. can at best be labelled an election gimmick; it lacked essence and failed to report what measures the government has taken to contain corruption. He should understand that people today are politically aware and want performance.
Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,
Hyderabad
Would Rahul have held forth on corruption had the Congress won the recent Assembly elections? It is amazing that he has spoken the way he has considering the fact that it is the UPA government that is the fount of the river of corruption. He could have been Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s voice of conscience when the scams erupted like a chronic rash.
S. Sankaranarayanan,
Chennai
He seems to openly accept the incompetence of the Congress government in dealing with corruption. He may soon say something similar about terrorism and describe how it is another handicap! He must realise that India Inc. is just a small part of the political landscape. People want results, and one wonders how seriously they will take his remarks.
V.S. Ganeshan,
Bangalore
It is reassuring to know that Mr. Gandhi has diagnosed corruption to be the main reason for his party’s humiliating defeat. Mercifully, he has not blamed his partymen for organisational and motivational deficiencies. But, like other politicians, he too seems to be cultivating the art of practising the opposite of what he preaches. People will no longer be swayed by empty rhetoric.
R. Narasimhan,
Chennai
Rahul Gandhi’s sudden realisation about corruption is in sharp contrast to what the Prime Minister told an international conference organised by the CBI in November. How can we forget Dr. Singh’s note of caution to investigative agencies that probing corruption should not hamper growth, a caution that was later echoed by the Union Finance Minister? What are we to make of all this? Is it that the government is reconciled with corruption but the party is not?
A.P. Govindankutty,
Thrissur
