High drama

Sir — The editorial, “Descent begins” (June 27), justly admonishes the Congress for having thrust an unknown person as the probable presidential candidate upon the citizens of India. Pratibha Patil has already become a controversial figure even in the eyes of her patrons, the United Progressive Alliance. As matters now stand, it is a Catch-22 situation for the UPA: it can neither fully support her, nor reject her. Under these circumstances, it would be in the best interests of the country if Patil herself withdrew from the presidential race. The lesson from this long-drawn drama is that the common man should be made a part of the process of selecting the candidate for the highest office of his country.

Yours faithfully,
Ashok Kumar Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir — It seems unlikely that Indian politicians would be able to choose a president who is “above controversy”, whose integrity is “unimpeachable”, and who has an “untarnished image” and an “untainted past”. The Congress president had initially preferred Shivraj Patil to be UPA’s presidential candidate because he is a self-proclaimed Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist. It was only when the Left rejected the Congress nominees that Sonia Gandhi picked a convenient non-entity, Pratibha Patil. This nomination was then projected as a historic step towards women’s empowerment in India, while it is just a ruse of the Congress-Left alliance to install a puppet in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Politicians prefer a president with some ‘politics’. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is a member of a religious minority, and K.R. Narayanan was a Dalit. Instead of politicizing the identity of the presidential candidate, the leaders should be looking out for someone with impeccable credentials.

Yours faithfully,
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow

Sir — It appears that the editorial, “Descent begins”, has been a bit too uncharitable to Pratibha Patil. It is not as if the descent has begun with this presidential election. The process had started way back in 1969, when the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, lobbied against the candidate of her own party, thereby ensuring the defeat of the ruling party’s presidential candidate. Again in the Eighties, Rashtrapati Bhavan was occupied by someone who was at pains to keep Mrs Gandhi happy with his unfailing loyalty. Pratibha Patil may be a politician of too low a profile to be the presidential candidate, but in selecting her against the backdrop of a very vulnerable electoral college, Sonia Gandhi has shown an exemplary political astuteness.

Yours faithfully,
Buddha Deb Chattopadhyay, Kulti

Sir — No political colour was able to influence A.P.J. Abdul Kalam during his tenure at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It seems that Kalam’s moral fortitude has not gone down well with any party. Political parties are averse to such a determinedly apolitical person as Kalam. Moreover, the ruling coalition needed to find the perfect person who would be a loyalist and help in 2009, when it fights for a second term in power. Pratibha Patil thus fits the bill perfectly. Never mind the adverse reports, as long as she can be used as a rubber stamp, Patil will do.

Yours faithfully,
Tusar Kanti Kar, Howrah

Sir — India is a land of contradictions and surprises. While the current president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is a scientist and a rationalist, his prospective successor, Pratibha Patil, appears to be exactly the opposite. She is a firm believer in occult and claims to have communicated with the departed soul of a spiritual guru (“Spot a ghost in Raisina Hills”, June 28). All this is by her own admission, and it cannot be merely written off as the opposition’s attempt to tarnish her image. The Congress supports her because she has the blessings of their Madam, but it is a wonder that the Left too has no problems backing her for the highest office. Perhaps the leftists are hoping to communicate with the departed souls of comrades Lenin and Stalin through Patil.

Yours faithfully,
S.B. Gupta, Calcutta

Sir — If the National Democratic Alliance really wanted to elect a deserving candidate to the highest office of the country, why did it refuse to offer a second term to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and back the independent candidate, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat? When Kalam was willing to accept the third front’s proposal for a second term, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA immediately dropped Shekhawat. The BJP, which likes to project itself as a nationalist party, seems to have forgotten that another independent candidate, V.V. Giri, supported by Indira Gandhi, ran the presidential elections in 1969 and won the race. Before filing his nomination, Giri had not only resigned but also vacated his official residence. Why did Shekhawat not follow the precedence set by Giri?

Yours faithfully,
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Sir — Perhaps it is not too late to set aside mutual bickering. Without embarrassing the Indian public by making Pratibha Patil the president, despite the controversies, politicians can start thinking of some other candidate whose honesty, integrity, and stature would bring glory to the highest post of the republic.

Yours faithfully,
T.V. Ramanarayanan, Calcutta