— Mohd Mubarak Ranchi

Truth, not torture

• This refers to the editorial ‘Talk it out’. The argument about security and civilised debate is timely. Mainstream national parties are already unanimous on rooting out terrorism. Nevertheless, one must stress that torture in custody, whether of Islamist or Hindu “terrorists”, is unacceptable. Instead of trading charges, BJP and Congress should talk to each other regularly on terror and intelligence. The PM judiciously spoke to L.K. Advani on the Malegaon blasts accused. He must now clear the air on the charges of torture.

— Parimal Y. Mehta Mumbai

Citizens’ watch

• This refers to the article ‘The polls and the polis’. The formation of public fora such as the National Election Watch is a welcome step. For long we have lamented our politics. In the process, a lot of productive time was lost. Our fault was to believe that politicians would be selfless guardians of the state. But man is perhaps indeed wicked by nature. So it is heartening to see our ideas are changing to admit reality and cope with it. The democratisation of the election process is a good place to start, with the gradual injection of more and more vigilance into the system.

— Rajeev Kumar New Delhi

Roads we travel

• It is in times of crisis that a government’s character is judged. The downturn presents an opportunity to the UPA. The NDA’s development initiative under the Golden Quadrilateral project and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, if given an extraordinary push by the UPA right now, will stave off a prolonged recession. Infrastructure projects have a great potential for maximising employment opportunity and catalysing development in related sectors. For this, the NHA should pay attention to systemic improvement. The technical and bureaucratic aspects will certainly be helped by inter-party cooperation during the December session of Parliament.

— H.R.B. Satyanarayana Anand

Too optimistic, FM

• P. Chidambaram may believe that the “worst is over”. Statistics may show a decline in inflation but prices of most essentials remain high, except those of vegetables. And that last is due to seasonal changes and rains. Highly paid professionals and businessmen may not feel the pinch despite the crisis, but it is the aam admi who will keep struggling with his small and declining income.

— K.L. Khandekar Vadodara