A Congress legacy

While blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for packing key institutions with its loyalists, in the letter titled “Biased narrative” (August 21), it should be recalled that the BJP is continuing with a bad legacy of the Congress, but with some difference. It was Lt General B M Kaul, close to the then PM, under whose command India lost the Chinese invasion of 1962. The concept of “committed judiciary” was initiated by Indira Gandhi during Emergency which resulted in an out-of-turn promotion for a Supreme Court judge (A N Ray) who justified Emergency and resignation of another non-committed judge (H R Hanna).

Rajiv Gandhi sacked his very capable foreign secretary, A P Venkateswaran, for not toeing his line. Sonia Gandhi created the National Advisory Council that acted like a super cabinet. The PMO was crowded with her favourites giving little room to the then PM to lead freely. It was during the tenure of Navin Chawla, a family friend of Sonia Gandhi, as Chief Election Commissioner that the Congress-led coalition registered an unexpected win in 2009.

Most in the print media despise Narendra Modi; many dislike BJP and just a few do an objective assessment of the government. And the electronic media lacks credibility. It is a misconception that the top bureaucrats are from the upper class and pro-BJP. The Supreme Court is still non-partisan, otherwise it wouldn’t have ordered the prosecution of L K Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Since the army is not in a position to defend itself publicly, the government has to answer such criticism. BJP has at least not sacrificed merit for loyalty.

Y G Chouksey, Pune

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