needs. It is impossible to imagine life
without Google.LUCKNOW M.C. Joshi: Besides
its various applications and services,
Google is the topmost search engine,
which within seconds provides you
links to all available information about
whatever you ask for, regarding
anything from A to Z. Google has
undoubtedly changed our lives, but
technology is advancing by leaps and
bounds. Who can say that something
far better than Google won’t be
invented in the future, changing our
lives once again beyond imagination?We the Fools
KOCHI George Jacob: What is being
enacted in Karnataka is a shameful
disgrace for the nation (Mutiny on
HD Karnataka, July 22). Blatant and
audacious horse-trading that makes
fools out of voters exposes the glaring
dishonesty and dearth of ethics and
basic decency in politics, leaving
one wonder if it’s really worthwhile
standing in long queues, braving the
sun and rain to vote these opportunists
to power.BANGALORE K.S. Jayatheertha:
There is a message in this unedi-
fying coalition alliance: allow the
single-largest party to form the
government, always. By not doing so,
you leave the door open for dissatisfied
elements to create trouble in the long
run. It’s unfortunate that the Congress
and the JD(S) are fighting a desperate
battle on two fronts—weaning away
the rebels while protecting the existing
flock, which is ready to flee any time. If
the resignation of all the 13 lawmakers—
who have marked their exit—is
accepted, the Congress and the JD(S)government, which has a wafer-thin
majority, could collapse. This is because
most MLAs who have resigned are of the
unanimous opinion that Kumaraswamy
has been ineffective. Kumaraswamy in
his previous stint as CM was efficient
and managed to protect his flock, HDK
2.0 has been a disaster. The Congress
has accused the BJP of trying to topple
the state government. This is a classic
case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Last May, when the BJP emerged as
the single-largest party with 104
assembly seats, the Congress and the
JD(S)—both sworn enemies with 78 and
37 seats respectively—decided to join
hands to keep the BJP out. Well, the
shoe is in the other foot now.Choked in the Chase
MUMBAI C.K. Subramaniam: This
refers to Fresh Dew on Good Length
(July 29). We failed to have an
authoritative coach-cum-manager like
Hemu Adhikari in 1971, or more
recently Anil Kumble, to guide the team
to glory. We were finding fault with Greg
Chappell after the 2007 World Cup
debacle. As a matter of fact, we won 16
ODI matches on the trot under Rahul
Dravid’s captaincy and Chappell’s
mentorship. We were not able to chase
in one match and became chokers in
another. Kohli played spoilsport by
kicking Kumble out and now has to face
the wrath of the cricket-loving public.
We lost 14 finals on the trot when Sachin
Tendulkar was at his peak. In all those
matches, Sachin could score hardly 200-
odd runs, a 20-plus average. Our
weaknesses came to the fore several
times, but we never made an attempt
to correct our mistakes. Fans are now
baying for the heads of both the captain
and the coach.The Lumbering Elephant
SECUNDERABAD Padmini
Raghavendra: This refers to The
Latest Heir-Bender (July 15).
Mayawati, a vocal critic of dynastic
politics, has succumbed to the lure
of nepotism, which is second nature
to Indian politicians. Mayawati is fool-
ing no one when she claims that the
BSP adhered to the ‘gathbandhan
dharma’ with the SP in the interests
of the country. She had her own axe
to grind, with an eye on the PM’s chair,
and it was the support of Muslims and
Yadavs to the alliance that helped her
party avoid absolute decimation in UP.
With her latest move, Behenji has lost
the moral right to adopt a holier- than-
thou attitude. Under her reign, the
BSP seems to have consigned the noble
ideals of B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi
Ram to oblivion. It’s self-aggrandise-
ment and realpolitik, not Dalit empow-
erment, that the party swears by now.Friends and Foes
MYSORE J. Akshobhya: This refers
to No Relief For The Guards Battlion
(July 15). Strange bedfellows might
just get stranger with Mamata
Banerjee’s quest to seek the Congress
and TMC’s support against the BJP.
Quite understandably, both the
CPI(M) and Congress leadership
refused. Even though there are no
permanent enemies or friends in poli-
tics, a TMC-Left tie-up is quite the
impossible proposition. Mamata took
the TMC from strength to strength by
opposing the Left’s ‘red fort’. As for the
Congress, even though it matters little
whether it accepts Mamata’s proposal
(it didn’t), it too would not like to
destroy remnants of its brand equity
by allying with its splinter faction.UNSTABLE BJP protest in BangaloreA Self Goal?
PUNE Deepak Kher: This refers to
your interview with Mahua Moitra of the
Trinamool Congress (‘The BJP Successfully
Appealed to the People’s Basest Instincts’, July
15). The first-time MP has won over many,
especially on social media, with her articulate
and feisty maiden speech in the Lok Sabha on
the theme of fascism. What she didn’t say but
others know is how the regime of her leader,
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, also fits all the criteria laid down by her.
While she may have temporarily impressed many, this honeymoon with the
public isn’t likely to last. Of course, Derek O’Brien has competition now.letters INBOXED
6 OUTLOOK 5 August 2019