Spyware purchase
The Opposition parties are again hopelessly found wanting by not getting their act together (Page 1, “Opposition slams govt. as report says India bought NSO spyware”, January 30). Let us look at the statements from the Opposition, especially from the Congress and the Left, following the report by The New York Times on a ‘India-Israel Pegasus deal’. Will mere statements serve the purpose of digging out the truth? The government of the day will obviously duck and obfuscate this burning accusation as far as possible. This is an issue that concerns the privacy of the citizen.
P.K. Sharma,
Barnala, Punjab
It is unfortunate on the part of The NYT not to have divulged its sources — not even responding to an e-mail from The Hindu. This does cast a shadow of doubt on the veracity of the report. On the contrary, a sitting Minister calling The New York Times a “supari” (hit-job) newspaper does not augur well for the image and the reputation of our country abroad. Has the Minister concerned forgotten that our Prime Minister wrote an opinion piece in the same The New York Times, titled “Why India and the World Need Gandhi”, in 2019?
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
The NYT’s claim that Pegasus was a larger backroom deal makes the issue even more serious. The Supreme Court of India needs to fast-track the hearing of the case with ruthless objectivity and an urgency to get to the bottom of the issue. The Budget session of Parliament would see the Union government stonewalling questions, even pertinent ones, from the Opposition. Hence the need for the Supreme Court’s quick completion of the investigation.
S. Sanjeevi Rao,
Puducherry
The foreign report only gives credence to the snooping process by the Centre. It is not surprising that a Union Minister has used an unsavoury term to describe the paper. If this was such a big inter-country deal struck at the highest level of leadership, it will certainly weaken India’s stand in many an international issue.
G.B. Sivanandam,
Coimbatore
Access to spaces
The article,”Women and public spaces” (‘Open’ page, January 30), reminded me of my wife’s agonising experience years ago. It was near Deepavali and she wanted to buy a sari from a famous textile outlet. Being a working day, I asked her to go early and wait for me in front of the store. When I was about to start out from office, I received a message about a new pending assignment. I managed to reach the store late in the evening, but my wife was not to be seen. Her angry response to my telephone call was that she was back in the house and that she did not want any sari at all. Back home there were tears and a statement: “You just asked me to wait in a public place. I was standing there for two hours and so many people were staring at me.” It was obviously an uncomfortable experience. When can women claim their rightful access to public spaces?
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
It’s Nadal
It is astounding that, collectively, the triumvirate — Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer — is still holding strong. It would seem as if their fingers cannot be prised off the biggest trophies. Meanwhile, none would have been more disappointed than Djokovic who messed up a golden opportunity to create tennis history.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
Nadal has proved that he is made of sterner stuff. That said, Daniil Medvedev played a fantastic game too.
C.K. Prem Kumar,
Palakkad, Kerala
Nadal has proved that age is no barrier to sporting excellence. His work ethic and perseverance will be a beacon of inspiration for young athletes for decades.
Kannan B.,
Bengaluru
