Date:07/12/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/12/07/stories/2002120700021001.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Diversionary tactics

Sir,— Launching her party's campaign for the Gujarat Assembly election, Sonia Gandhi, rightly pointed out that Pakistan and terrorism were not the State Governments' concern but that of the Centre. It is true that the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, was raising "non-issues" to district people's attention from the BJP Government's "dismal failure" on all fronts when the Congress was talking of development, peace and progress. There is no denying that the Congress does not need to take lessons from the BJP on terrorism. The BJP is not the sole proprietor of patriotism. Let Mr. Modi proclaim his achievements and seek a fresh mandate.

J.S. Vaz,

Tuticorin, T.N.

Sir,— In London in August, L.K. Advani described the happenings in Gujarat as "outrageous and indefensible". Were they so "despite" what he now calls his protégé Mr. Modi's "exemplary" handling of the situation - or "because" of it?

Mukul Dube,

Delhi

Sir,— The BJP and the Congress should thank the ISI for having made Godhra an election issue in the ensuing elections to the Gujarat Assembly. The BJP cautioned the Congress against raising Godhra even while the Congress promised to bring out a white paper on it and set up special courts to try the guilty of the post-Godhra riots. (I wonder whether the Congress has the moral right to talk of a commission of enquiry. It has forgotten the massacre of 2,000 to 3,000 innocent Sikhs following Indira Gandhi's assassination.)

The manner in which Pakistan plans and executes militant activities in India through the ISI, it is reasonable to presume that the Godhra incident was a brain child of the ISI. When thousands of innocent Muslims were massacred for no fault of theirs, the ISI would have had the last laugh.

A. Manian,

Ooty, T.N.