The ‘family’ has decided

The resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh as Punjab CM was expected, given the long simmering tensions between him and the Congress high command, read the Gandhis. The development is yet another reminder to all second-rung party leaders not to entertain ambitions of growing too big. Though it is the norm in all family-owned state political parties, one would expect a national party like the Congress to have a broader vision. Nehru alone had the stature not to feel threatened by the growth of other leaders in the party. That apart, making the mercurial Navjot Singh Sidhu a replacement for the outgoing CM, or projecting him as CM candidate in the state elections, due in a year, would be an act of harakiri. Politics is more about perception than performance. The fact that Sidhu has repeatedly changed sides, his participation in Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony as Pakistan PM, defying his CM’s advice, his infamous hug of Pakistan army chief Bajwa and so on, may not endear him to the people of a state that has contributed maximum number of martyrs during Indo-Pak wars and skirmishes.

V Jayaraman, Chennai

Congress gamble

This refers to ‘Congress fiasco’, Amarinder Singh’s ouster and the selection of his baiter Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister was scripted in Delhi by the Gandhi scions Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The party MLAs had turned against Captain Amarinder, but not before the Gandhis made it clear that they wanted him out. The cost of this change for the Congress will be clear only in the coming days, but it is already evident that getting the party back in fighting shape will be an uphill task, while Amarinder is exploring political options outside the Congress. Appointment of Channi, a Dalit leader, as CM is a smart political symbolism — he will be the first Dalit CM in a state with 31% Dalits. But this does not take away from the Congress’s poor management of the Punjab crisis, which has potentially jeopardised its electoral prospects and enhanced the trust deficit between senior party leaders and the Nehru-Gandhi family nationally.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

Congress masterstroke

The Congress move to appoint a Dalit as CM can turn the tables in the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. Picking Charanjit Singh Channi as the state’s first Dalit Chief Minister has given the party the first mover’s advantage at the nick of time when its leadership was fragmenting. Channi is the new broom that sweeps clean and will hopefully keep the party together. However, he needs to put out the greatest show of administration in less than a year’s time, as the main opposition parties like the BSP, AAP and BJP are also promising a Dalit CM candidate in 2022.

Ankita Sharma, Panchkula

Another power conflict

The resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh and the unanimous selection of Charanjit Singh Channi as the Punjab CM seemed to have wreaked havoc in the Congress yet again. The sudden change in the internal party dynamics shows cracks in the party, which will be an opportunity for the Opposition. This will cost the Congress in terms of votes as well as optics in Punjab. It will be interesting to see how Channi’s appointment will sow the seeds for a new power conflict in the state. The Congress seems to have created yet another internal war for itself.

Khyati Kataria, Chandigarh

Indian legalese

We need to appreciate the Chief Justice’s concern that the legal system should be Indianised to make it more effective. As a lay person, I can only say that there is dire need to first simplify the language of the judicial system, because the language used in the proceedings is not only meandering, repetitive and incomprehensible, but also it is often grammatically incorrect. It is challenging for the uneducated litigants as well as those with an education to understand the archaic English used in our legal papers.

Lalita Jagmohan Singh, Chandigarh

Deal with addiction

Apropos of ‘De-addiction centres’, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh taking the two top slots in drug trafficking is a matter of huge concern. The rising trend is reflected in the arrest of bootleggers on a daily basis. The border state has acquired the epithet of ‘udta Punjab’ while a nondescript village has acquired global recognition for ‘Malana cream’. The tobacco story as the major contributor of life-threatening diseases is non-stigmatised. The graph is rising with an increasing population of infirm people, putting a massive drain on resources and the economy. It is a wake-up call.

Harbans Lal Kapoor, Mandi

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