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Kalam’s ‘no’

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, missile man of India, made himself vulnerable to the designs of the so-called Third Front formed by a group of former Chief Ministers when he accepted its offer to contest for a second term with the ‘certainty’ rider. The move has dented his reputation of being a simple man with no ambition for power, which cannot be repaired by his subsequent decision to stay out of the race.

The UNPA did a great disservice to the nation by dragging Mr. Kalam’s name into the fray knowing full well that he had no chance of winning.

K.M. Lakshmana Rao,
Visakhapatnam

The expression “if there is certainty” — reminiscent of “Barkis is willing” — has somewhat stained the impending exit of President Kalam from Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Instead of leaving honourably he, rather unwittingly, landed in a mess of his own making. No use saying later: ‘enough is enough.’

C.N.N. Nair,
Mumbai

The statement is extremely relevant in the context of the presidential election. The Constitution should be amended for the President to be elected directly by the people.

Shakeel Anjum,
New Delhi

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