Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Heir manifest

The editorial ‘From heir apparent to heir manifest’ (Sept. 25) is right in saying that the moment Sonia Gandhi became Congress president in 1998, the pursuit for a leadership outside the Nehru-Gandhi family came to naught. Rahul Gandhi’s induction as Congress general secretary is timely and appropriate. Hope he will make an efficient leader to take up the challenges that come his way.

K.S. Thampi,

Chennai

The perpetuation of the dynasty rule and the culture of obeying one leader of the Nehru family has become the norm and the party culture. So it is no wonder that Mr. Gandhi has been made party general secretary and even inducted into the powerful Congress Working Committee.

E. Sivasankaran,

Coimbatore

Mr. Gandhi’s induction may represent a “generational shift” but it is a retrograde step. Jawaharlal Nehru, by dedicating his life to the freedom struggle, and Indira Gandhi earned the right to be Prime Minister the hard way. But the same cannot be said of the later Gandhis.

M. Riaz Hasan,

Middlesex

The Uttar Pradesh elections, for which he campaigned, proved that Mr. Gandhi is still a political novice. Any party that depends solely on a particular family or dynasty for its leaders cannot said to be progressive.

Mr. Gandhi’s induction is an insult to the elder stalwarts of the party.

B.R. Haran,

Chennai

Mr. Gandhi deserved the appointment, given his efforts in places such as Amethi and Rae Bareli. However, inducting into a party a young person whose only qualification is being the member of an illustrious family is not a good trend.

C. Gopalakrishnan,

Palakkad

The possibility of a mid-term election, first talked about after the relationship between the Congress and the Left parties soured over the 123 agreement, has been strengthened by Mr. Gandhi’s appointment as Congress general secretary.

Capt. T. Raju (retd.),

Secunderabad

As long as the Congress retains its outdated, feudal organisational structure, where sycophancy, nepotism, and ad-hocism rule, a revival of its past glory will be a far cry. So can Mr. Gandhi as general secretary help? Yes, if he is not feudal in his approach and introduces genuine intra-party democracy in the Congress.

Mahen Jain,

Belgaum

Mr. Gandhi’s induction will definitely add zing to the Congress. His presence will help the party woo a lot of youngsters into its fold. Mr. Gandhi has all the qualifications needed for being elevated to the post of general secretary.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai,

Vazhavallan

How much the foreign returned Mr. Gandhi, with practically no experience in ground level politics, will be able to understand a country struggling to recover from the agrarian crisis is anybody’s guess. If he was so keen on entering politics he should have started from the grass-roots.

Kumar Saket,

Patna

The induction of Mr. Gandhi comes as a welcome change. His leadership promises to be dynamic. While he still needs to hone up his political skills, the party will be glad to get a new and young leader with a broad vision and a zest for public service.

Farah Yameen,

Patna

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Destructive path
Republicans close ranks
The road home from Khalistan
How Flanders deals with its waste
Corrections and clarifications
Heir manifest
Bandh is no answer
Youth power
Darfur crisis: a view from the inside
India’s ‘rising profile’ in East Asia

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu