Letters: War of words

This refers to the report, "Modi targets Congress, takes dig at dynastic politics" (July 18). The recent war of words between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi gives a foretaste of what is to come in the monsoon session of Parliament. It looks set to be disrupted on a range of issues - from the Lalit Modi row to the Vyapam scam and the land acquisition bill to labour reforms. Modi and Gandhi are leaders good at wrestling with words. The Gandhi scion seems to have won this round with his remark in the context of the land acquisition bill that people will reduce Modi's "56-inch chest" to "5.6 inches" in six months. He added that his party would not allow an inch of land belonging to farmers to be acquired by big businesses without their consent. The Bharatiya Janata Party's repartee that Gandhi was a baby in "diapers" seemed less effective. The witticisms exchanged between the two leaders might not be products of their imagination; they seem to be the opening salvos in what may turn out to be a long battle.

G David Milton Kanyakumari

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