|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | COMMENTARY | THE OUTSIDER | |||
|
October 6, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
|
How Readers reacted to Saisuresh Sivaswamy's recent columns
Date sent: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:23:22 -0700 I sincerely think that Sai should get his basics right, forget his morals and ethics. Or for that matter, his history and polity should be given some teeth. Or is he wearing any dentures supplied by Mulayam and Laloo? I have been reading with amusement, more than curiosity, Sai's articles and his assault on the BJP. He is doing more damage to the Rediff site than what Jayalalitha is doing to womankind. Give the government a chance to govern, Sai. It is easy to point fingers, but try and be in Vajpayee's seat.
Vilas Prabhu
Date sent: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 16:17:51 -0500 Sivaswamy pontificates: "It needs no special talent to divine that Bihar is an eyesore, was one, and will remain one." Surely he outdoes Miss Malaprop! Although this columnist's name does invoke Hindu divinity, his knowledge of history, recent and past, certainly is less than pedestrian. God saves us from the opinion of columnists such as this one who enjoys the hospitality of a newspaper on the WWW. There, indeed, is a mess in Bihar but it is of very recent origin. The beauty of its landscape, the richness of its mineral wealth, the grandeur of its past, is not unknown to Indians. And we Biharis do realise that the political mess in Bihar is not unique in India. We also know that two wrongs don't make a right. Finally, I suppose it is time for Biharis to become so numb to xenophobes like your columnist as not to care for their comments. For this Bihari, the response is for the first time, and, perhaps, ought to be the final time!
Date sent: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 14:48:04 -0400 I agree with your analysis that there is more to it than meets than eye in the way the BJP government recommended the dismissal of the Rabri government in Bihar. But I am not ready to dismiss it as the Vajpayee-Advani shadowboxing. It has been more than obvious that Bihar has become the fountainhead of rampant anarchy, crime and corruption. Obviously, this is worse than what is seen in any BJP-ruled state or Tamil Nadu for that matter. If we flip through the pages of national news magazines, it is more than obvious that every other political party including the Congress, the Janata Dal and more vociferously the leftists wanted the RJD government dismissed then and right then. Not willing to commit harakiri, the BJP resisted the demand. And when the BJP really recommeded its dismissal, all the political parties did an amazing somersault, and rallied behind the corrupt Laloo. This clearly exposes the double standards being practised by the political parties (most distinctly the Left and the Congress), who have always been part of destructive politics -- whatever the enemy says or does is wrong. While the President's action could have caused embarrassment to the BJP, it is set to do a lot of good for the BJP contrary to popular thinking. The first one being that this could be used as an excuse to turn down all the dismissal demands of allies (AIADMK, Samata, Trinamool etc). If the BJP takes this on the offensive, and exploits the Bihar situation vis-a-vis the use of Article 356, the double standards of the Opposition will get further exposed. I think that has already started happening. Vijay
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 20:29:55 -0700 Looking at the letters by Rediff readers, Saisuresh Sivaswamy might need to quit Rediff for its betterment before the BJP government falls. He is the most partisan journalist I have ever seen. Where is Varsha Bhosle nowadays? I want her articles. I don't want to see any article that will support the likes of Laloo and Mulayam. Dinesh
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 22:11:08 -0400 Personally, I think the Bihar fiasco was planned in order to silence Jaya and others who are demanding the dismissal of governments in TN and Orissa. As you point out, there is no way that Jaya can push for the dismissal of the TN government. I don't think this had anything to do with putting down Advani! Maybe people should start giving a little more credit to the PM! Ven Hari
Date sent: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 10:27:56 -0400 "At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the prime minister's Bihar blunder is like Bill Gates not knowing how to boot a computer. It seems extremely odd to me that such a prime minister would take such a decision in such manner, while fully mindful of the consequences, unless he had an agenda of his own." By saying that Bill Gates does not know how to boot a computer you are trying to say that the prime minister does not know how to boot the Bihar government. Just to make it more clear your sentence should have read thus: the prime minister's Bihar blunder is like Bill Gates not knowing how to boot a programme in the computer. Booting a computer means booting the whole system or the BJP government at the Centre -- which I don't think you actually meant, while booting a programme could have been your argument. It is not for you and not for this column, but journalists really do not go into facts before and that's why this world is so misinformed by the media. Moreover, editors do not think and take responsibility. Well, the media can be positive or negative, it depends on who writes and why s/he writes, for his own fame or for the country or for both. Shashi Kant Sharma
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 17:45:02 -0500 (CDT) I haven't read too many of your columns so I do not know how your thought process works - but I really have strong objections to your recent column Circle of Treason. I do not think Vajpayeeji miscalculated the situation - the BJP's position was and is clear -- that it is against the misuse of Article 356, and the Centre should not just remove state governments as they like. Having said that, Bihar was certainly a fit case for the Centre's intervention because the Rabri Devi government failed to perform its duties as a state government. In the recommendation to the President, they had clearly mentioned the number of instances when Rabriji did not inform the governor of the government's actions. Hence, it was necessary for the central government to end the anarchy prevalent in the state. Why didn't they press for it and send the recommendation next time? Good question!! Why did the Congress support the Rabri government when they are opposed to every single move of the Rabri government, and certainly opposed to their philosophy. By recommending the dismissal of the Bihar government, the BJP did what it was supposed to do. They investigated the situation in the state and submitted their recommendation. If the President (with all due respect) thinks Bihar is fine in the state it is, we respect his decision. Advaniji has already mentioned that he still believes that the Bihar government should have been removed, but I don't think that's a fight worth fighting. There are other important issues and we certainly cannot afford to lose an able government on an issue (certainly not trivial if I was living in Bihar), but less important than international issues. You just cannot fight all battles and hope to win them, and I am impressed with the current leadership on their excellent handling of the situation. By not sending the recommendation back, they put a limit on what should be the Centre's intervention in state politics. The government should be entitled to make a recommendation, which they did -- rest is up to the people of Bihar. I know, I wouldn't want to be in Bihar at this point and experience life in Laloo Raj (oops Rabri Raj), but there are more important wars ahead and I wish all the best to Vajpayeeji's government. Prakash
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 16:25:21 -0400 I am from Bihar. In my opinion not only Saisuresh but even the President should go to Bihar and stay there for a few months. It sure is an incredible environment to believe. I don't blame those who have not seen it and lived it. Arun
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 13:00:17 -0700 How can you support Rabri and Laloo? Are you too an illiterate? You should join the RJD!!! In India, we have a democracy, we have a news media and we have our politicians. I don't know if the news media knows its responsibility or not. I am in the USA for the last three years and read Rediff columns almost every night. The creation of uncultured creatures like Laloo, Mulayam, Subramanyan Swamy or Jayalalitha is by our news media. And Rediff, as far as my knowledge is concerned, is on the same lines. Why do you want to publish the statements of these people? They don't have anything to do in their life other than creating havoc in the country. Why don't you behave as a responsible media? We have a state like Bihar and if they have a chief minister like Rabri at their helm, that is their fate. She doesn't have any clue about what is happening in the state. She neither knows how to make a statement nor is able to read a newspaper. The law and order situation is bad there. Bihar is being looted by such leaders and you turn a blind eye to it. When the Centre legitimately wanted to enforce President's rule there, the news media unitedly rejected it. Hats off to our media!!! Mulayam Singh Yadav, Subramanyan Swamy, Jayalalitha -- you people report their doings. I don't know why you people can't give credit to true politicians like Manmohan Singh, A B Vajpayee, P V Narasimha Rao, Madhu Dandavate. You people want juicy stories and weird tasting statements. Here in the US, people like Laloo, Mulayam, Swamy would have no columns in the media. Frankly, they don't have such politicians here. That is just because the news media does not care about them.
Dinesh
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 12:17:56 -0700 It is unfortunate that the writer blames Bihar Governor S S Bhandari for being unfair to the Rabri Devi government. We all cry at the non-availability of good politicians who are clean and dedicated, yet we never care for the ones who meet these criteria to some extent. Nobody has bothered to check Bhandari's past record in public life before blaming him. Bhandari has been active in public life for several decades. He is a committed bachelor and a strict disciplinarian. Besides he is an absolutely honest man. He has never contested elections, so he is not a politician with a following in a particular constituency or state. He has served as a member of Rajya Sabha and was mainly responsible for organisational matters of the BJP. He is among those rare politicians who has worked in politics at the national level while keeping away from the limelight. He was unfortunate to have been appointed the governor of Bihar -- a state which is notorious in India for its lawlessness and has Rabri Devi as CM. The governor is a representative of the President of India, yet his letters and recommendations were never replied to by the Bihar government. Is it not unconstitutional? In his wise opinion the President finds that the President's rule should not be imposed in Bihar. But should he not instruct the CM to respect the office of the governor? But I feel our polity has reached a level where nuisance prevails and decorum/protocol mean nothing.
Dr Sunil Kumar
Date sent: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 21:03:14 +0300 What does Saisuresh think about the present central government? He is not only just awaiting the fall of the BJP government, but is also looking ahead for a Laloo-Mulayam government. As an editorial staff, he should be more responsible and more positive. We would like to read his writing, but as one partial to the Laloo combine, we do not expect straight-forward neutral columns from him.
Subhas
Date sent: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:07:04 -0400 Saisuresh Sivaswamy has shown his true colours - the Congress colours. These neo-patriots openly started supporting the BJP, only after its emergence as an alternative to the Congress. There is one only interest in the minds of these mediocre intellectuals from the upper middle class -- their class and caste interest. They were supporting the Nehru family until V P Singh, Mulayam Singh, Laloo Yadav, Kanshi Ram et al drilled holes in the Congress boat because the Congress took care of their class and caste interests. Even during the Nehru family rule, occasionally these pseudos pretended to criticise the Congress politicians (excluding the Nehru family), just to keep their intellectual image. During those days, even though they preferred the BJP, the ideal champion of their cause, they did not reveal it for the fear of being branded as communal. When they knew for sure that the Congress was a sinking boat, all these pseudos turned to the BJP since the BJP is now accepted all over India. However, they cannot be ungrateful to the Nehru family for taking care of their interest thus far. Saisuresh Sivaswamy's article is an example. He wants to portray Rajiv Gandhi as an innocent victim of malicious propaganda carried out by the media and the 'satanic' V P Singh. Besides covering up Rajiv's looting of the Bofors money, Saisuresh hits two more mangoes, one in expressing his gratitude to the Nehru family, the second in attacking their class enemy V P Singh who changed the Indian polity overnight. In case Sonia revives the Congress from its death bed, these people will then turn to her and the Congress. They know very well that there is no difference between the Congress and the BJP except that the latter is clean and sincere to its ideals. Only the stupid Leftist parties fail to see this difference and prefer going behind the Congress, rather than working with the poor and downtrodden to make them aware of upper class politics. Even the likes of Laloo and Mulayam are not reliable in this regard, because their affection for the oppressed class is out of convenience rather than conviction. S Sankarapandi |
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT |
INFOTECH |
TRAVEL
SHOPPING HOME | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | HOTEL RESERVATIONS PERSONAL HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | FEEDBACK |
|