Sir — Ms Jayanthi Natarajan’s decision to quit the Congress is not the first manifestation of brewing discontent in the party over fears that Ms Sonia Gandhi is on the verge of passing the mantle on to party vice president Rahul Gandhi. Under Ms Gandhi’s stewardship, the die-hards in the Congress were eagerly waiting for a resurrection, but under Mr Gandhi, they see nothing but disaster ahead.
Incidentally, when Ms Natarajan took over as the Union Environment and Forests Minister from Mr Jairam Ramesh, she was perceived as pro-development, who would not be a stumbling block in the clearance of projects — unlike her predecessor, who was known to have peculiar green leanings. We don’t need an activist Minister who is either overly pro-green or pro-industry. The Minister must balance the mandates of both environment and development, and take decisions based on laid-down policies.