Senior Congress leader H R Bharadwaj recently blamed "sycophants" in the party for appointing him Kartanaka governor soon after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier this year, he attacked party president Sonia Gandhi, alleging she "shared no responsibility" and was in the "grip of sycophants and corrupt people". Then, in July, he blasted the party, saying  it was too weak to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party and claimed party vice-president Rahul Gandhi was out of touch with reality. Bharadwaj is not just angry with the Gandhi family - he appears generally upset with the party he represents. The former Union minister had last year disputed former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's contentions on the 2G issue and said if Chidambaram had attended to the treasury well as finance minister, the 2G scam could have been averted.

Why H R Bharadwaj is angry

Business Standard

With reference to the report, "Was Netaji alive even after 1945?" (September 19), numerous stories have surfaced, particularly in the past few days, about how the great life of this 'Prince of Patriots' ended. I have my own story to narrate.On April 22, 1946 - eight months after the plane in which Subhas Chandra Bose was travelling allegedly crashed in what was then Formosa - I had the fortune of meeting Col Habibur Rehman Khan, a former Indian National Army officer, who claimed to have been Bose's companion on that fateful flight. I had a one-to-one meeting with him in the drawing room of his uncle's house in Alwar (then the capital of a princely state). Col Khan gave a tearful account of the tragedy and showed his hands bearing burns sustained while attempting, without success, to save his leader's life. He gave me his autograph, which I still preserve.According to media reports, Col Khan met Mahatma Gandhi before my meeting with the colonel, and narrated the same story to Gandhi, wh

Letters: A memorable meeting

With reference to the report, "Amid rate cut chorus, Rajan warns against quick fixes" (September 19), broader economic and fiscal goals can be attained only with long-term fiscal planning and not first-aid measures like rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).To ensure economic growth, monetary and economic policies should be correlated and not be at loggerheads with each other. Fiscal stability is essential to our economy, given that we are surrounded by global commercial turbulence that has led to higher cost of imports, drop in exports and falling foreign exchange reserves. The international economic environment has been undergoing swift changes since oil prices started falling globally. The competition is so intense in international trade that long-term budgeting policies for industry are not relevant in the present scenario.The RBI's major role is to ensure economic safety along with a stable currency. While thinking of a policy geared towards global commercial expansion, the

Letters: RBI's major role

Apropos the editorial, "Railways on notice" (September 18), I fully endorse the views expressed in it that safety, not bullet trains, need to be the priority. After Suresh Prabhu took over as Union railway minister last year, his report card has not been up to the mark if the large number of train accidents during his brief tenure is any indication. This also highlights the legitimate safety concerns of passengers. How then can we expect the Indian Railways to run bullet trains safely?Neither exasperation by the railway minister over the spate of accidents nor the Railway Board chairman's proposed Rs 1 lakh crore safety plan will change anything unless the Indian Railways stops compromising with laid-down security norms and remaining indifferent to some of its basic infrastructural needs.Several accidents took place due to glaring human errors. And yet there is no full-time member on the Railway Board to oversee rail traffic operations, the most vital aspect of which is rail safety. It

Letters: Plan vs reality

German online meal preparation firm HelloFresh has been valued at Euro 2.6 billion ($2.9 billion) in a funding round ahead of a possible stock market listing

HelloFresh valued at $2.9 bn

September 26 is the last day for candidates to withdraw their nominations for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections

Watch these dates in Bihar

Click on graphic

However, even if driven by the fall in petroleum and other commodity prices, there is no denying the effect on India's balance of payments

StatsGuru: Tracking the downward trend in India's export and import figures

Several times there are rumours of huge loans granted by a bank becoming bad

Letters: Slow and steady

One of the highlights of my career so far as a conservation scientist was being invited to deliver a talk at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in May 2013

Letters: Deeply disappointed

With reference to the article, "GST: Remains of a decade" (September 16), I agree with the proposition of the author, Parthasarathi Shome

Letters: Don't wait too long

While battling in-party squabbling in Punjab, the Congress has decided to put up a brave front

Killing two birds

During the opening address at a conference last Thursday, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha listed two things

Why Sept 17 is 'auspicious'

Political circles in Kolkata are rife with speculation about the launch of a new political party, following an advertisement in a Hindi newspaper.

Party time

An exercise in futility

RBI governor's reminder appropriate and timely

Going beyond quick fixes

Business Standard analyses one family's finances and suggests a way forward

Case study

Realty check: Budget: Rs 2 - 2.5 crore

Business Standard brings you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in a price range of Rs 2-2.5 crore

While India has the world's second largest online user-base, as many as 63% of India's 51 million small businesses are largely 'invisible' online or have a marginal digital footprint

Statspeak: Taking the plunge

Hockey India League auction raises hope for the sport's revival

A leg-up for Indian hockey

Somesh Sharma of Rashtradoot Saptahik is the new deputy president of INS

BS president elected INS vice-president

Peter Watts

Best work momentGetting funding from the UK government for my new start-upBooks on your bedsideHow to be Brave in Business and Win and Sir Alex Ferguson: My AutobiographyMassage or workout to de-stressA game of five-a-side football with friendsFavourite accessoryMy Rotary watchDesigns that have caught your eye recentlyAlexander McQueen's recent collection at London men's fashion weekYour IT toolsiPad & iPhoneFavourite wineSauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New ZealandFavourite champagneMoët & ChandonFavourite TV showMatch of the Day!Best gift receivedVIP tickets to watch Coldplay liveBest gift givenI gifted a scrapbook to my girlfriend filled with pictures and memorabilia from our years travelling together in Asia. She was so overwhelmed that she cried!What food items do you like to shop for?Puff pastry and a beef fillet to make my famous Beef Wellington - a particular family favouriteNewspaper and TV channels and websites you preferBBC News, Sky Sports News, The Telegraph, Ever

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