Give and take

Sir — With the advent of social media, privacy has become a myth. The actor, Alia Bhatt, recently called out photographers for taking pictures of her inside her home without her consent. Celebrities and paparazzi share a notorious relationship — the former have often accused the latter of invasion of privacy. The pressure of constantly churning out exclusive content forces stringers to push their boundaries. Instances of celebrities seeking out paparazzi for getting photographed are also quite common. While one needs the other for survival, a line should be drawn when someone’s personal life is getting hampered.

Sudeshna Saha, Calcutta

Surprise visit

Sir — The president of the United States of America, Joe Biden, recently made a surprise trip to the embattled Ukrainian capital. It came days before the first anniversary of the Ukraine war (“Biden in surprise visit to Kyiv”, Feb 21). Biden met his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, even as air raid sirens blared throughout Kyiv. The visit provided the American leader with a glimpse of what the Ukrainians have been dealing with for the past year. It also proved to be a crucial opportunity for him to keep the West unified in its support for Ukraine and ensure world peace.

Akhilesh Krishnan, Mumbai

Sir — Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv amidst a raging war was both unprecedented and risky. His visit was intended to affirm America’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s independence. His promise of an additional $500 million in security aid to Ukraine is proof of this. This sends out the message of a robust resolve for defence against Russia.

Jayanta Datta, Hooghly

Divided house

Sir — The editorial, “Unity hunt” (Feb 22), highlights the lack of consensus among the Opposition leaders about forming a united front to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 general elections. Despite their prime ministerial ambitions, leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar have not been successful in building an alternative front. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin, recently invited several Opposition leaders for his upcoming birthday celebration but, strategically, left out the frontrunners for the prime minister’s post. Such divisive approaches show that achieving Opposition unity is going to be easier said than done.

N. Mahadevan, Chennai

Sir — It is ironic that the Congress is talking about forming a united front without even a roadmap on how to accomplish it (“Cong bares distrust of double face”, Feb 20). Regional parties have been more successful in challenging the saffron party in their home states than the principal Opposition party. A divided Opposition has been the greatest strength of the BJP. The Congress has thus rightly been wary of its potential allies, many of whose actions arguably benefit the saffron party. This has created a significant trust deficit among the Opposition. The coming together of disparate regional parties as an alternative national front is an old formula that has never really worked. The Congress should thus continue to reinvigorate itself to remain the dominant Opposition force.

S.S. Paul, Nadia

Fraught contest

Sir — It is heartening that the Aam Aadmi Party has finally been able to elect Shelly Oberoi and Aaley Mohammed Iqbal as the mayor and the deputy-mayor of Delhi, respectively (“AAP wins mayoral polls”, Feb 23). The mayoral elections were stalled thrice owing to the clashes between the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party councillors over the demand by the saffron party that the nominated members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi be allowed to vote along with the elected councillors. However, the demand was rightly struck down by the Supreme Court. The municipal body should now focus on solving the problems faced by people.

D.V.G. Sankararao, Andhra Pradesh

Sir — The members of the BJP and the AAP coming to blows over the Standing Committee election late at night at the MCD House was disgraceful. As a result, the House descended into complete chaos and had to be adjourned several times without the election being conducted. This was unnecessary.

Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai

Breach of trust

Sir — A recent study by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has highlighted that poor skills or substandard care provided by doctors and healthcare facilities accounted for a third of medical negligence cases. The healthcare sector has become a profit-making medium instead of providing quality services. This has worsened the suffering of patients. Most medical students do not take internships seriously owing to poor pay. This has had an adverse impact on the profession. Doctors are trusted with our lives and any negligence from their end should not be ignored.

Kiran Agarwal, Calcutta