The Hindu : Elections 2004

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Elections 2004

Sir, — Never in the past have we seen so many film stars joining politics or campaigning for different parties. It is a pity that the national parties are vying with one another to woo the film stars just for a few votes. Gone are the days when the parties relied on the strength and charisma of their leaders.

R. Muralikumar,
Chennai

Sir, — The recent utterances by the Congress leaders about L.K. Advani being a foreigner because he was born outside India will prove counterproductive.

B. Sathyanarayanan,
Chennai

Sir, — The political climate is such that campaigning is far from dignified. Filthy language, character assassination, spiteful jingoism and empty promises have become the order of the day.

A.V. Narayanan,
Tiruchi, T.N.

Sir, — Mr. Advani has been repeatedly saying that the Gujarat riots were a reaction to the Godhra train carnage.

If a civilised society were to be governed by this "action-reaction" formulation, then what is the need to have a Constitution and a Government?

S. Raghuram,
New Delhi

Sir, — The two major political parties seem to think that the electorate is not interested in any serious discussion of their policies and programmes.

The BJP wants the electorate to give Mr. Vajpayee another term to continue with his good governance, which it claims has generated a `feel good' sentiment in the country. The Congress is wooing the electorate on the strength of its past glory and the presumed love and admiration the people still have for the Nehru-Gandhi family.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore

Sir, — The Prime Minister has said that he is contesting the election this time as he fears that the country could slide into anarchy otherwise (March 21).

Does Mr. Vajpayee really believe that there is no alternative to him?

P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala

Sir, — The practice of a candidate contesting from more than one constituency should be discouraged as it involves wasteful expenditure. This may be a safe proposition for politicians but consider the time, effort and public money involved. The election laws need to be amended suitably.

S. Kannan,
Chennai

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