Blood on the field
Sir — Every game has its passionate fans. Followers of English football clubs, for instance, have often been known to engage in drunken fisticuffs. But sporting loyalties were perhaps taken too far in an American football game this week at Kansas City. The match was held in subzero temperatures and several fans who attended the game later suffered from frostbite, with doctors stating that some of them may even require amputations of their frostbitten extremities. These fans can now claim to have ‘bled’ for their clubs, literally, thereby one-upping those who watch games from the comfort of their homes.
Sanjit Banik, Calcutta
Blatant hypocrisy
Sir — The debate over ‘parivar’ and ‘parivarvaad’ has no relevance to actual bread-and-butter issues, which political parties should focus on ahead of the elections (“Taunted, Modi turns to embrace parivarvaad”, Mar 5). The catchphrase, “Modi Ka Parivar”, is now part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign. The relentless attack on dynastic politics and nepotism by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, led the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Lalu Prasad, to take a jibe at him by stating that Modi has no family.
Modi has now claimed that all 140 crore Indians are his family members. But this beggars belief. If the entire nation is his family, why were the slums in Ahmedabad barricaded ahead of the visit by the then president of the United States of America, Donald Trump? Why has Modi not visited Manipur even once since the conflict began in the state? It is a pity that socio-economic issues have been sidelined while family politics remain in the spotlight.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — Lalu Prasad’s comments about Narendra Modi’s family were in poor taste. But Modi’s claim that the nation is his family is also hollow. Why, then, has the prime minister not visited Manipur even once? Are the citizens of Manipur excluded from his vision of a united family? Muslims are attacked frequently on allegations of beef smuggling, but Modi has never spoken up for them. He has not protected or tried to protect female wrestlers from predators like Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Are the members of the BJP and the crony capitalists the only ones who belong to Modi’s parivar?
Zakir Hussain, Kazipet, Telangana
Sir — Narendra Modi must practise what he preaches. A vocal advocate of ‘nari shakti’, the prime minister must ensure that justice for women is not confined to Sandeshkhali alone. Women in BJP-ruled states deserve justice too. Moreover, Modi should do away with the hypocrisy of proclaiming that the entire nation is his family. One wonders whether the so-called anti-nationals, many of whom have wasted away years of their lives in prison, are also part of his ‘family’. The millions of children who go to sleep on empty stomachs surely cannot be part of Modi’s family. Mere lip service to earn brownie points should be avoided.
Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta
Sir — The BJP will reap dividends from the Opposition’s barbed, personal remarks against Narendra Modi’s familial ties (“Family matters”, Mar 7). While Modi has turned the tables on Lalu Prasad’s remark by embracing the citizens as his family, the latter would surely take any jibe about his large family on the chin.
Vinay Asawa, Howrah
Sir — Holding up Karpoori Thakur as an example to be emulated, Narendra Modi launched a broadside against Lalu Prasad by alleging that the latter ruined the futures of lakhs of Bihari youth by presiding over a ‘jungle raj’, where only his family members benefited. This is unfair. Almost all political parties, including the BJP, have family members of party functionaries in important posts.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
