The Left sowed the seeds of agrarian problems in Bengal
With reference to the report 1 more farmer suicide, Oppn tears into Mamata govt (January 29), over the years, the rate of procurement has not kept pace with the cost of farming, which has increased greatly. The Left
Front government, which ruled West Bengal for over three decades, deserves the blame for this. It would be wrong to blame the present chief minister of the state, Mamata Banerjee, for the farmers’ suicide. With the help of the Congress, the Left destroyed the state’s agrarian economy and forced poor farmers to commit suicides.
D Jayati, via email
Don’t try to write your wrongs
Amit Chaudhuri in When talk is cheap (January 28) overlooks Salman Rushdie’s obvious mistake of giving Islam a bad name through his book The Satanic Verses. It’s unfortunate that the recent controversy has given Rushdie unwarranted publicity. We can’t go against the State. If the government can proscribe social networking websites to publish any defamatory content, it can also warn Rushdie against coming to India, as it may have led to law and order problems. Rushdie and Chaudhuri are indulging in State-bashing for no valid reason.
MC Joshi, Lucknow
Well begun but only half done
This refers to the report In poll year, Cong ad praises Modi (January 28). Lauding the Gujarat chief minister alone, even though unwittingly, is not enough. The Congress should emulate his style of politics and prioritise development in the states it rules.
JL Ganjoo, Delhi