Close watch

Sir — There was a time when friendships across the political spectrum were not out of the ordinary — take, for instance, the bonhomie between Arun Jaitley and Kapil Sibal. But these days, even the sight of a chance encounter between two leaders from different political parties sets alarm bells ringing, as it did when the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Devendra Fadnavis, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief, Uddhav Thackeray, ran into each other outside a lift. So tenuous are politicians’ ideological convictions these days that any meeting between leaders is treated with suspicion as being an attempt to switch loyalties.

Divya Poojari, Lucknow

Partisan spirit

Sir — It is unsurprising that the newly-elected Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, brought a resolution condemning the imposition of the Emergency by Indira Gandhi during his inaugural address to the House (“Birla lands Emergency surprise”, June 27). The Opposition leaders have rightly objected to the Chair making such political statements.

Soon after being elected, Birla was felicitated and escorted by the leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, along with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to his Chair. But Birla’s partisan comments have breached parliamentary traditions, thus spoiling hopes for such bonhomie on the floor of the House in future.

S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru

Sir — Om Birla’s resolution on the Emergency was a political ploy to target the Congress. At the same time, one cannot remain oblivious to the significance of reminding a newly-elected House about the onerous responsibility of upholding democratic institutions and protecting civil liberties.

However, the Narendra Modi-led dispensation cannot claim the moral high ground and criticise the Congress for imposing the Emergency especially since Modi’s reign in the last 10 years has been marked by the suppression of dissent and the misuse of Central agencies against Opposition leaders. The Bharatiya Janata Party has been given a stern warning by the Indian electorate. It is time that the saffron party starts working on preserving India’s democratic ethos.

M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

Sir — While the Emergency is one of the darkest chapters of modern India, Indira Gandhi was voted back to power through free elections just three years after the Emergency was lifted. It seems that the BJP loves to harp on the Emergency in order to brush its own incompetencies under the carpet.

Further, while Indira Gandhi maintained cordial relations with some of her staunchest critics, the harsh treatment meted out to activists like Stan Swamy, Sudha Bharadwaj, G.N. Saibaba and others by the current dispensation exposes the latter’s intolerance of dissent.

Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta

War brewing

Sir — Fears about the prospect of a third world war are on the rise. With multiple conflicts raging across the world at the present — the Ukraine-Russia war is an example — such fears have become legitimate. Extremist elements such as pro-Khalistan groups in the West and Hamas in Gaza have been destabilising global peace. Significantly, demographic invasion has emerged as the prime motive for such warmongers.

M.R. Jayanthi, Mumbai

Dark lives

Sir — The plight of the gig workers, highlighted in the editorial, “Cruel gig” (June 26), is unfortunate. Enforcing strict regulations to prevent the exploitation of gig workers is not enough. Consumers, too, need to be aware of the malpractices by the corporate behemoths and shun their products. Businesses cannot be allowed to prioritise profit over workers’ welfare.

Soumendra Choudhury, Calcutta