• The unending turmoil in the BJP is symptomatic of all parties when they lose elections. The Congress had been written off as a political force in 1999, and we know how it has come back. The crux of the problem is that while our political parties are contesting elections under a democratic set-up, there’s often very little internal democracy within these parties. Although the Congress has traditionally had much less internal democracy than the BJP, the current crisis of the latter has exposed its latent fault lines. It has failed to ensure that the best talents necessarily make it to the top. The BJP has to confront its internal divisions head-on.

— Niranjan Solanki

Vadodara

After the Maoists

• It’s a relief to learn that the Union government has at last formally proscribed the Maoists. The Centre is right to assert that a violent outfit destroying peace must be banned, and the CPM’s doublespeak will not do. Yet, the Centre and affected states cannot ignore the fact that while the Maoists per se must be defeated by law and force of arms, the question of deprivation and administrative apathy must be addressed. Tribal areas have been the most neglected in most states. Lalgarh didn’t happen out of the blue.

— R.J. Khurana Bhopal

Avoiding Lalgarhs

• The battle between the Maoists and the state machinery in Lalgarh exposes the constant threat to national security posed by the red terrorists and bungling state governments. There may be innumerable explanations of potential perpetual conflicts, but mainstream political parties in Maoist-affected states, such as the CPM in Bengal, must realise that it can no longer use poor villagers to elect themselves to power or use them as cannon fodder. For the sake of the rural poor and national security, every effort must be made to avoid future Lalgarhs in India.

... contd.