Commendable

The publication of India Cables accessed by The Hindu through an arrangement with the WikiLeaks is by far the best journalistic contribution in recent times. N. Ram deserves praise for taking the bold step of exposing our politicians and bureaucrats. The exposés couldn't have come at a more appropriate time — with elections in five States approaching and instances of money being seized appearing every day.

A. Raman,Chennai

The Hindu has done well to bring the cash-for-votes issue out of the closet. The WikiLeaks exposé — that Congress leader Satish Sharma showed a U.S. embassy employee two chests containing cash meant for purchasing the support of MPs during the crucial vote of confidence in 2008 — has once again raised questions about the UPA government's credibility. More shocking is Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee's defence that the allegation relates to the 14th Lok Sabha and the government of the day is accountable to the 15th Lok Sabha.

Krishna Kumar,Ahmedabad

Mr. Mukerjee's argument is unacceptable. The same party named in the payoffs scandal is in power. The Prime Minister should resign, owning moral responsibility.

C. Lakshmi Narain,

Chennai

The Hindu created history in the annals of investigative journalism when it uncovered the Bofors scandal. It now has the WikiLeaks cash-for-votes exposé to its credit. Many have questioned the authenticity of the cables sent by U.S. diplomats to the State Department. It must be noted that so far neither the U.S. administration nor its diplomats here have denied the veracity of the reports. What is the harm in ordering a probe to ferret out the truth?

C.A.C. Murugappan,Kothamangalam

Few will believe the Congress party's denial of wrongdoing in the cash-for-votes scam for three reasons. First, the party's attitude towards corruption has always been benign and ambivalent. Second, The Hindu is not known to indulge in sensationalism. Third, there is no reason why the American diplomats should distort and falsify facts while reporting to their bosses.

V.N. Mukundarajan,Thiruvananthapuram

It is inconceivable that American officials imagined all the transactions they have mentioned in their cables with minute details. The standard refrain of our politicians is to deny all allegations, call them “baseless,” “mischievous,” “politically motivated” and end up with the famous maxim “the law will take its course.”

V. Vedagiri,Chennai

One thing the WikiLeaks exposé has established beyond doubt is America's access to our corridors of power. The Americans know about the working of our democracy much better than we do. No wonder they are able to pull strings and blackmail us whenever they want to.

D. Balakrishnan,Coimbatore