Letters: Different priorities

A number of comparisons and other aspects between the recent elections in the US and in India have been discussed in the media, including what we could learn from each other. The biggest lesson we can learn is the fact that Obama proposes to retain at least two Republican cabinet members for some time to ensure continuity and a smooth takeover. Can we imagine something like that here? Granted that the US has a Presidential system, while in our Westminster style, a government may not be able to retain ministers from the opposition party. But can we not at least retain continuity of policies, programmes and even those executives who are vital? The first thing a new government does is to change the Cabinet Secretary, CBI director, IB director, Planning Commission deputy chairman and almost all chiefs of police forces, governors etc. All programmes are then scrapped or modified beyond recognition and even renamed.

The fundamental difference between the US and India is that in the former the priorities are: country, government and party, in that same order. Here, it starts with family, then chamchas and chelas, then party, then government and then comes the country at last. We have a long way to go.

TR Ramaswami, Mumbai