No-confidence vote

July 23, 2018 12:09 am | Updated 12:09 am IST

Congress president Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation for misleading us and making a wrong claim in Parliament that the French President had told him that there is no secrecy clause in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal. With the French government refuting his claim, he has dented his political stature — if he ever had one in the first place. Credibility is a must in politics and Mr. Gandhi seems to have forgotten this.

S. Parthasarathy,

Chennai

The ‘performance’ of Mr. Gandhi stood out — for its flip flops. After making several serious, if not unsubstantiated, charges against the government, he concluded his speech by claiming he bore no anger or hatred to the BJP, then followed it up by theatrics. The freedom of speech and expression are doubtless a privilege enjoyed by MPs, especially on the floor of Parliament. But this is also circumscribed by the need to maintain order and decorum, especially when a serious debate is on.

V. Jayaraman,

Chennai

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha deserves full praise for counselling Mr. Gandhi on the need to be serious. The strange happenings in the Lok Sabha when it was Mr. Gandhi’s turn to debate gave one the impression that it was all frivolous. Where was the serious dialogue that should have reflected the concerns of Indians?

C.P. Chandra Das,

Ramanattukara, Kozhikode, Kerala

By resorting to a cocktail of combativeness, sarcasm and, at times, even self-deprecation, ending with an abrupt and perhaps avoidable hug and a wink, Mr. Gandhi has no doubt made the BJP realise that the party needs to quickly reverse its opinion about him. The statement by the French government has not cleared the air. One does not have to be a security wizard to know that mere disclosure of prices of defence equipment per se neither compromises security considerations nor the commercial interest of the manufacturer. What is intriguing is the French firm’s choice of Indian partner in this venture.

S.K. Choudhury,

Bengaluru

Considering that the outcome of the trust vote was already known, what was more important on the day was the substance and style, the thrust and parry and the optics. Only inveterate critics of Mr. Gandhi will deny that he put up a credible show though it was marred to some extent by the mischievous wink. He seemed to speak from the heart unlike the Prime Minister who spoke with the practised ease of a demagogue, sometimes unconvincingly and evading issues to which he had no answers. The hug exuded a certain freshness. Mr. Gandhi’s reference to the debt of gratitude owed to the right wing for teaching him what it means to be an Indian would not have been lost on the discerning. To the common man, what concerns him most are the bread-and-butter issues. The Prime Minister hardly said anything worthwhile to allay our concerns on these counts.

G.G. Menon,

Tripunithura, Kerala

Mr. Gandhi came through with flying colours. He posed pertinent questions to the government. We expected the Prime Minister to respond to the issues raised but were left disappointed after Mr. Modi chose to indulge in familiar rhetoric — the usual targeting of the Congress. Mr. Modi appears to be still in the Gujarat mode of campaigning where he cleverly appropriated all criticism of his policies as criticism of the state. In the pan-Indian context this will no longer sell as the Prime Minister is answerable to the masses on every parameter of governance.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan,

Tiruchi

After a spirited speech that was very critical of the Prime Minister and the BJP, the Congress President’s gesture was great. By doing so, Mr. Gandhi has demonstrated that a difference in policy can make a vast difference to all Indians. Political differences may remain but our hearts beat in unison for the country. It would have been appropriate had the Prime Minister reciprocated Mr. Gandhi’s gesture by standing up and acknowledging him. Any way, well done.

R.J. Khurana

Bhopal

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