letters
Iconography of Power
GUWAHATI Ashim Kumar Chakraborty : I would like to thank you for your cover story 20 Icons and 1 Con ( Aug 20 ). Your choices are interesting — a politician writing about another politician , a renowned former filmstar about a budding one and more . Outlook has used different scalpels on PM Narendra Modi , Sonia Gandhi , Chetan Bhagat et al , and its Sadhguru forceps on Baba Ramdev . I thoroughly enjoyed reading the issue .
Chennai Kangayam R . Narasimhan : The politics of Nehru- Gandhi family is anchored in dynastic succession ( Legend of the renunciate , Aug 20 ). Political convenience forced Sonia Gandhi to abdicate the rights of leadership to outsiders like P . V . Narasimha Rao and former prime minister Manmohan Singh . Following the unexpected defeat of the NDA in the 2004 general election , Sonia successfully cobbled together a coalition of anti-BJP parties and became the chairperson of the UPA . After her socalled sacrifice in refusing the PM ’ s mantle , she nominated Manmohan Singh , an Oxbridge scholar who could be trusted to keep the PM ’ s seat warm for son Rahul Gandhi . But things turned out to be different and the Congress lost the 2014 Lok Sabha election . Though less decisive than Indira Gandhi , at one time , Sonia breathed fresh life into a moribund Congress and held the grand old party tightly together . While she allowed her government under Manmohan Singh to be roiled by a succession of corruption scandals , she gave him her strong support for enacting progressive legislations like the right to information , the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the National Food Security Act . In 2009 , Forbes declared her as the world ’ s most powerful
August 20 , 2018
woman leader . Sonia deserves commendation for successfully adapting herself to an Indian way of political life in a short span of time . Her dress sense is traditional and contemporary at the same time , and essentially Indian . Indeed , there are people who acknowledge her love for India , the country she adopted as her own .
There is nothing great about Sonia Gandhi . She became president of the Congress by sheer privilege of being the wife of Rajiv Gandhi and because of the infamous sycophancy of party members . They could not find a suitable Indian to lead the party . While I agree that she renounced the primeministership in 2004 , she did not give up on real power . She became the puppeteer behind the throne . It is an open secret that she pulled the strings in the UPA government and , as the head of the National Advisory Council , framed policies for the government . She turned a blind eye to the colossal scams happening under the UPA ’ s watch . Poor Manmohan Singh , he had to take the flak for all the ills of the government while Mrs Gandhi was credited for all its achievements . She managed the impossible , enjoyed power without responsibility .
On E-mail Kundan : All the words mentioned in the article Pradhan Sevak Above All Else about Prime Minister Narendra Modi depict truth . The PM has already churned out innovative , unconventional and bold schemes to jolt the country out of its slumber . I personally feel that now he needs to carefully plan the good governance of two of the most fundamental social sectors : our education system and our healthcare .
At present , these two fields are languishing and even this government hasn ’ t been able to figure out ways to revive them .
Pressure From Below
Bangalore K . S . Jayatheertha : This is about the story on Dalit leaders in the NDA being in a tight spot due to widespread disquiet within the community . Now , realising that the Supreme Court order ‘ diluting ’ the SC / ST ( Prevention of Atrocities ) Act was turning out to be a political hot potato , the Narendra Modi cabinet has decided to bring an amendment bill which , if passed by Parliament , will turn the clock back to the original law that had provisions for an FIR without any preliminary inquiry and immediate arrest of the accused . Truly , the government was under great pressure , with Ram Athawale and Ram Vilas Paswan virtually putting it on notice , threatening protests . Plus , there was a nationwide Dalit agitation planned in the first week of August . But how come Athawale and Paswan didn ’ t vociferously protest at news of the Una atroc- one-liner
Mumbai Vineet Kamra
‘ Remember remember ’ the 8th of November , when your grand icon robbed us of all our cash .
4 Outlook 3 September 2018