Good heavens

Sir — Although the expression, ‘raining cats and dogs’, is often used to describe heavy rain, no one actually expects kittens and puppies to fall from the skies. But a woman in the United States of America recently had the misfortune of experiencing a snake descending on her from the sky, followed by an onslaught by the hawk which had been carrying the reptile in its talons. The snake wrapped itself around her arm as it fell, and the hawk then attacked her in an attempt to retrieve its dinner. One wonders if newer, sturdier umbrellas need to be built to protect us from such showers of birds and beasts.

Manish Joshi, Mumbai

Kiss and tell

Sir — It is shocking that the Union minister for women and child development, Smriti Irani, has painted the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, as a “misogynistic” man simply because he reportedly blew a flying kiss towards the Treasury benches in the Lok Sabha (“Smriti objects to Rahul ‘flying kiss’ at govt side”, Aug 10). It seems that the
government can only grasp at straws to defend its inaction in Manipur. Ironically, Rahul Gandhi has been accused of misogyny by the very leaders who have failed to speak up in support of victims of sexual assault repeatedly — both in the national capital and in Manipur. It is disheartening that Irani is so obsessed with scoring political points against the Gandhi scion that she has painted an innocent gesture of love and respect as something vulgar.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Sir — The Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, seems to be controversy’s favourite child. Recently, parliamentarians from the Bharatiya Janata Party took offence at his alleged act of blowing a kiss towards the Treasury benches. The issue has been blown out of proportion. The matter that deserves serious attention is why only around four minutes of Rahul Gandhi’s 15-minute-long speech on Manipur was broadcast on television (“Glare on Sansad TV ‘biased’ eye”, Aug 10). It sets a dangerous precedent of official censorship of a member of the Opposition.

M.N. Gupta, Hooghly

Sir — If members of the BJP are so concerned about the safety and the dignity of women, why did they not speak up in support of the victims in the Hathras, Unnao and Kathua rape cases? It is disgraceful that the party has condemned the reported flying kiss from Rahul Gandhi while the former head of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, continues to receive official support. The BJP’s attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill is a glaring example of its hypocrisy.

Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta

Sir — The prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the Union home minister, Amit Shah, have delivered nothing but empty platitudes on the continuing tensions in Manipur. The huge ruckus created by the BJP over the so-called flying kiss by Rahul Gandhi is simply an attempt to divert attention from the conflicts in Manipur and Haryana. If a flying kiss is an expression of a misogynistic attitude, then most celebrities should immediately be denounced as misogynists.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sir — It is disappointing to see such juvenile behaviour as blowing a flying kiss towards one’s political opponents in the hallowed halls of the Lok Sabha. Our elected representatives should maintain appropriate decorum in Parliament.

Maimul Safui, Howrah

Sir — Rahul Gandhi has squandered away the gains he had garnered by attacking the Centre on its failures in Manipur by allegedly delivering a flying kiss towards the Treasury benches.

S. Kamat, Alto Santa Cruz, Goa