Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Rahul's remarks

Rahul Gandhi has claimed that had the Gandhi family been active in politics in 1992, the Babri Masjid demolition would not have taken place (March 20). He has also claimed that his father told his mother that he would stand in front of the mosque and challenge those who intended to harm it to shoot him first. Why did not Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, and Priyanka stand in front of the mosque and challenge the mob to shoot them, to save the Masjid? What is the point in blaming the Narasimha Rao Government now?

A. Srikantaiah,
Bangalore

* * *

Rahul's assertion reveals two things — one, the Nehru-Gandhi family is different from the Congress party it heads. He forgets that it was Rajiv Gandhi who brought the Babri Masjid to centre stage. He was the Prime Minister when the locks of the mosque were opened in 1986. Until then the nation was hardly aware of its existence. Two, Rahul wants the people to depend solely on one family for the preservation of national monuments. By making the statement, he has blamed the Congress. For whom is he canvassing — the Congress or the Gandhi family?

Hilda Raja,
Chennai

* * *

Was it not the Gandhi family that was in power during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984? Why did it not do anything then? Why did the Rajiv Gandhi Government allow the shilanyas for the Ram temple in 1989? Rahul Gandhi seems to have spoken without a sense of history. He is indulging in vote-bank politics.

S. Sudhir Kumar,
Hyderabad

* * *

Rahul Gandhi would do well to remember that the locks of the disputed structure were opened during his father's term as Prime Minister. Its demolition was the consequence of successive Congress governments' inability to find an amicable solution to the Ayodhya dispute.

The Nehru-Gandhi family survives in politics not because of its achievements but thanks to the sycophancy of Congressmen. Rahul is not where he is by dint of hard work but because of his birth in the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Avuthu Srihari,
Secunderabad

* * *

Rahul Gandhi has opened a Pandora's box. Narasimha Rao might have been sleeping while the mosque was destroyed but it was during his father's tenure as Prime Minister that the doors of the mosque were opened and shilanyas was performed. Instead of playing the blame game, Rahul should try to help to bridge the differences among the people in our society.

Khaja Hameeduddin,
Hyderabad

* * *

The Babri Masjid would not have fallen had a Gandhi been in power, contends Rahul. Since the Gandhi family is at the helm now, why not start rebuilding it?

Balvinder Singh,
Chandigarh

* * *

Is Rahul saying that the Congress is irrelevant in the absence of the Nehru dynasty? Parties are supposed to be organisations that are independent of individuals. Rahul's statement clearly reflects his feudal mindset.

G. Prem Kumar,
New Delhi

* * *

Rahul's claim is quite credible. Had a Gandhi been at the helm of affairs the demolition could have been averted. The Narasimha Rao regime handled the issue ineptly.

P. Prabhakar,
Karimnagar, A.P.

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