Nobody needs to teach the people about the valour, s of our defence forces. They already have a lot of gratitude towards our armed forces. Therefore, the Prime Minister’s appeal to first-time voters is perplexing. It runs the risk of being misconstrued in terms of ‘us and them’ (Page 1, “Dedicate your first vote to armed forces, Modi tells young voters”, April 10). People should not get carried away by such oratorical appeals, but judge him and his party on the basis of performance.
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
It is almost as if the armed forces are also contesting the elections. Is this not a blatant violation of the model code of conduct? Not only is our leader attempting to politicise the armed forces but he is also looking at them as a part of goods and services being offered by his party. Prime Ministers will come and go but the armed forces will go on forever.
Abdul Assis P.A.,
Thrissur, Kerala
It is unfair to make an issue out of every utterance and attribute motives. The sacrifices made by our armed forces have never been the talking points during elections. The statement could well be construed as aimed at invoking the spirit of nationalism in the minds of young voters who are otherwise ignorant of the sacrifices of our armed forces personnel. Requesting voters to dedicate their votes for the country, society and armed forces is way better than asking for votes on a caste and communal basis, which almost all parties do without any compunction.
V. Subramanian,
Chennai
