In a country where political dynasties and arbitrary party high command nominations for regional posts reign supreme, it is not surprising that DMK president M.K. Stalin has appealed to other Opposition leaders to strengthen the hands of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and strongly endorse his candidature for the post of Prime Minister in 2019 (Page 1, “Stalin proposes Rahul as PM candidate at Oppn. meet”, December 17).
What is amusing and ironical is that the DMK chief finds the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, having the arrogance of a king ruling by virtue of hereditary rights, while conveniently forgetting what aided his own vertical ascent in his party hierarchy, sidelining many a veteran in the party. It is also baffling how the Congress chief has taken a sudden interest in the culture of Tamil Nadu. While the Opposition pitching for unity to take on the might of the BJP next year is understandable, what is unacceptable is the uncharitable language being used by some in the Opposition against Mr. Modi. The occasion chosen to endorse and propose Mr. Gandhi as the PM candidate suggests that the bonhomie on show on Sunday was well rehearsed so that the other aspirants, if any, are notified in advance to contain and ration their ambitions.
Sivamani Vasudevan,
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Chennai
The warning sounded by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was also present at the Opposition meet in Chennai, about the possibility of the ruling party manipulating electronic voting machines is a point to be noted. The Election Commission of India should also have a voter verifiable paper audit trail, or VVPAT, in place. The general election has to be fair.
R.M. Manoharan,
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Chennai