The movement coming of age
Apropos of the column ?AAP versus VIP? (FE, January 6) by Shekhar Gupta, the AAP is still less of a party and more of a movement irrespective of the Delhi election result, and in these few months leading to the Lok Sabha polls, it will remain the same. Their interactive mode of operating a political outfit, in a mix of footwork and leveraging the new found social media, has achieved singular success on a shoestring budget as, thanks to Anna Hazare, painstaking ground work to tune in people?s attention had already been done. A tone of political simplicity set by the AAP nascent leadership has appealed to the swelling horde of young voters. It has also pioneered a sort of seamless weld between the elector and the elected, for a shared onus and a stake in dynamic politics. On both counts, the older parties face a heavy handicap that may take a long time to neutralise, given decades of their VIP-driven disconnect with the commoner. A disturbing facet is that the leitmotif of the AAP appears to be shaped in a liberal mould, akin to a modern day mutant from the Left era. One hopes that this will pass as economics overtakes politics since the AAP is a meeting ground, not of ideologues steeped on the red or blue strains of thought but a disparate band of educated men and women thrown up from the DNA of the hoi polloi, eager to strike newer paths. The elector and the elect better note that the political curriculum stands fully replaced today and that and the pace of our socio-political change will remain both unfamiliar and hectic.
R Narayanan, Ghaziabad
Change needed
This refers to your editorial ?Over to Rahul now? (FE, January 6). With few months left for general elections, could the UPA bring about the required change to contain price rise and increase growth? The UPA has to act fast to choose the Ordinance route, if necessary, to remove fruits and vegetables from the APMC Act. That can give instant results. The AAP has started membership drive. Will they start with promises as made to Delhiites to bring a subsidy raj? Could Rahul play an Obama to inspire, to create confidence and bring about a change? The UPA government has to support him to act fast in his efforts to give a new image of growth and development for the government. With many aspirants for the top post, there could be surprises.
Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram
No consistency in policy
Apropos of the column ?China?s policy disharmony? (FE, January 6), the obvious inconsistency between China?s Third Plenum projections and the Work Conference core outcome shows that China is tumbling between achieving long-term objectives to focus consumer prominence and services and short-term imperatives of fiscal and monetary control. At this juncture, rebalancing and slow growth of China go hand in hand. As suggested by the author, this disharmony can be solved by allowing them to work to move on their respective tracks and achieve fine balancing between long-term mission on steadying consumer interest and short-term growth imperatives. Let it be a chariot that is moved by two fine horses.
NR Nagarajan
Sri Kaliswari College, Sivakasi
