Sir — This refers to the article, “When the party interest overrides national cause” (April 12) by Ashok K Mehta. Defence has never been given priority by successive Governments, be it the Congress or the current NDA Government. For them, defence expenditure is a sheer waste of money. Most Defence Ministers since Kargil days have failed to contribute anything to make any worthwhile change or improvement in the system and have left this crucial sector to be managed by the babus. It is unfortunate that our soldiers have to agitate for a decent pension.