What is surprising is that after the infa
mous Ambidant fraud, people could
again fall for this multicrore IMA
ponzi scheme. No wonder, as American
showman P.T. Barnum who employed
sensational forms of presentation like
the threering circus is rep orted to have
said “there’s a sucker born every min
ute”, and con artists, scamsters, charla
tans, hustlers, snake oil salesmen,
swindlers prosper.Didi vs Modi
CHENNAI M.Y. Shariff: This refers
to your cover story Can Didi Survive
Modi (July 1). Going by the unstoppa
ble march of the BJP and the inroads
made deep into West Bengal, it
appears that it is not going to be a
cakewalk for incumbent Mamata
Banerjee’s Trina mool Congress in the
next assembly elections in 2021. The
TMC won 211 of 287 assembly seats in- The BJP has fixed the target of
250 for 2021, and it looks likely to
touch that figure. Mamata has com
mitted mistakes of unprecedented
Muslim appeasement that, unfortu
nately, will not change the fate of
Muslims in the ghettoes. She also pro
moted her relatives, ignored corrup
tion and scams, let loose foot soldiers
to create anarchy, and suppress the
free press. If Mamata can rely on ‘Jai
Bangla’, the BJP has ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and
Modi’s ‘Sonar Bangla’ vision. Mamata
seems to be running heltershelter,
not knowing how to stall the BJP’s
progress. The road ahead is not
smooth as before.Clean-Up Time
SECUNDERABAD K.R. Sriniva
san: It is shocking and shameful that
Mamata Banerjee is defending thecorrupt in the party. Isn’t it that
several TMC leaders have been caught
taking bribe from widows for their
monthly pension? Sadly, rampant
corruption in the party and state has
gone unchecked. Mamata asking police
to take action against the corrupt,
instead of taking the lead by dismissing
them from the party, appears fishy as
well. The exposure of corruption in the
party is just the tip of the iceberg. It is
high time Mamata cleaned up the mess
and saved the party.Delicious Descriptions
DURGAPUR Jyotiranjan Biswal:
Apropos the snippet ‘Don’t Blink’ in
the Glitterati column of the June 17
issue of Outlook, it is advisable to stay
away from dashing divas. But your
delicious descriptions of these
ultramodern hotties have kept me
hooked to the magazine for years.Bemoaning Babus
PUNE G.L. Karkal:. This refers to
Babus who run India (July 3). I am an
ordinary citizen who unfortunately
disagrees with most of leaders and
babus. After reading and seeing different media, citizens like me rue the
disheartening aspects of our polity,
economy and society. I am compelled
to say humbly that the correct expres
sion should have been “Babus, includ
ing leaders, who ruin India”. All
leaders, including babus, think that
they are the ones responsible for
uplifting the country, but their act
ions are leading to India’s downfall.Closed Minds and Doors
PUNE G.L. Karkal: This refers to
The Mystery of Ratna Bhandar (July
8). I wonder what is so newsworthy
in this story. Is this not common in
other temples as well as churches and
mosques? The only difference is that
such stories are not divulged to the
public. Surprisingly, the article ends
with the statement that some people
believe only a CBI enquiry would
bring out the truth. Really? Do they
believe in such an outcome? In my
humble opinion, when people are
solely guided by faith, they will not
allow any government or institution
to reveal the truth to the public. There
will no proper investigation into this
case; only a makebelieve one.LAST STAND? Mamata BanerjeeParty Pooped
NOIDA Bal Govind: This refers to your
story on whether Sonia Gandhi can “sal
vage the Congress’s sinking ship” as
“Rahul sulks and shies away” (Mum’s the
Word, Again, July 8). The Gandhis must
note that the stepping down of Rahul will
not solve the problem as their clan contin
ues to be the glue that keeps the Congress
from falling apart. In fact, such a move will
further disintegrate the grand old party
because there will be no unanimous sup
port for any other leader. This makes it
quite unfortunate that neither Rahul nor
his sister Priyanka have inspired much
confidence so far, leaving the burden once again to their mother Sonia, who
has held the Congress together for the past three decades. Having taken the
back seat for a few years due to her illness, she let her son lead from the
front, but now such is the shambles the party is in that there is no certainty
it will stick together even if she returns to its helm. What ails the Congress
is its growing distance from the ground reality that has shifted majorly in
the past decade or so. Its regional and local leaders no longer enjoy a fine
feel of the pulse of the masses across the country. This is one of the inevita
ble outcomes of the high command’s failure to trust them with carrying out
their responsibilities independently, which has been a bane of the Congress.
Revival will be long and painful, demanding a lot of patience and pragma
tism, and failure will not just be the Congress’s as a democratic country
needs a vibrant Opposition in Parliament.letters INBOXED
6 OUTLOOK 22 July 2019