Keep it cool
Sir — The weather is too hot to handle and people are finding unique ways to beat the heat. In Telangana, for instance, a man was found floating motionless in a pond for hours. So much so that the police assumed that he was dead. As it turned out, he was a drunk quarry worker enjoying a well-deserved break after 10 days of back-breaking labour in the scorching heat. Across India, there are many others like this man who cannot afford air conditioners or coolers and seek relief from the heat with a quick dip in the local pond. Yet, climate change policies that are often drafted in well-ventilated, air-conditioned rooms do not take into consideration the significance of local ecosystems and how they can help the poor combat the adverse impacts of heat waves.
Piyush Gaikwad, Mumbai
Unreal expectation
Sir — Asking whether an autocrat can become a democrat is like asking whether a leopard can change its spots (“The boss chastened”, June 15). The Indian media and the Bharatiya Janata Party built an aura of invincibility around the prime minister and he ended up believing that he is a messiah. But people realised that a messiah has no place in a democracy and showed Narendra Modi his place.
Anthony Henriques, Mumbai
Sir — In the last century, we had seen autocrats like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Leaders like Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin are part of the same club and are unlikely to ever turn into democrats. The democratic ethos of India has taken a hit since the BJP and Modi came to power with a thumping majority in 2014. Now opportunists like Nitish Kumar and N. Chandrababu Naidu have given autocracy another five years in India.
Asim Boral, Calcutta
Fallen behind
Sir — It is not right to say that the Left is not interested in the unorganised sector comprising delivery personnel, security guards, shop-floor assistants and other gig workers (“Left red-faced”, June 14). The Left has a strong affinity towards workers from the informal sector. As part of a Left party myself, I can vouch for the fact that gig workers have been contacted and conventions held with them. Workers from the unorganised sector are apprehensive of joining the Left brigade for fear of losing their jobs.
Niamul Hossain Mallick, East Burdwan
Sir — Anup Sinha has rightly observed that unless the Left parties rethink their methods, they will lose credibility in West Bengal. In fact, the Left has lost support in many places owing to its isolation. It is the duty of youngsters within the Left to ask the leadership to understand the potential of newer social identities in electoral politics.
Jayanta Datta, Hooghly
Sir — The article, “Left red-faced”, critically analyses the reasons for the Left’s debacle in West Bengal in the 2024 general elections in spite of fielding fresh faces who drew large crowds. The Left has not kept itself up to date with present-day realities such as the effect of technology on labour and the widening rift with nature. An upgradation is thus the need of the hour for the Left. Blaming the Trinamool Congress for the Left’s decline will not help.
Jahar Saha, Calcutta
Sir — In spite of allegations of corruption, the TMC has implemented many welfare programmes in West Bengal. Anup Sinha’s argument that nothing happens in the state without the use of “side-payments” is an overstatement. Welfare schemes and freebies are now used by most political parties, leading to the Left losing its exclusivity in this aspect. The support that farmers received from the Opposition parties in 2020 which forced the Centre to withdraw the three harmful farm laws caused further damage to the Left’s chance to make an impact.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly
Sucker punch
Sir — After the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, Mohan Bhagwat, another sangh functionary, Indresh Kumar, has now taken potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party (“Sangh churn persists”, June 15). The RSS is leaving no stone unturned to vent its anger and dent the BJP’s arrogance. The RSS and its cadre deserve much of the credit for the BJP’s current success. Remarks by the BJP president, J.P. Nadda, regarding his party no longer needing the RSS seems to have angered the latter. The prime minister should pay attention to these warnings.
Bal Govind, Noida
Sir — The RSS leader, Indresh Kumar, has blamed the arrogance of the Narendra Modi-led BJP for the party’s lowered seat share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The statement came after the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, rapped the prime minister on the knuckles for his arrogance. A personality cult now reigns supreme in the BJP. The RSS’s continued attacks are a criticism of this attitude.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Sir — Indresh Kumar has slammed the ruling BJP for its “arrogance”. Speaking at the Ramrath Ayodhya Yatra Darshan Poojan Samaroh, Kumar suggested that the outcome of the 2024 polls was a fallout of the BJP’s attitude. These remarks came days after the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, said that a true “sevak” does not have arrogance and serves people while maintaining “dignity”. The BJP should pay heed to these hard-hitting remarks.
Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai
Too old
Sir — The United States of America deserves a president younger than Joe Biden. One cannot believe that the Democratic Party does not have a more competent candidate than Biden. Donald Trump might win because of Biden’s faux pas.
S. Kamat, Mysuru
