The Home Minister of India is usually an important political personality like the Iron Sardar or more recently, Lal Kishen Advani. Now the ministry is presided over by a politician who was defeated in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from the Latur constituency of Maharashtra. I do sympathise with the personal toll that Shivraj Patil's so called public service has taken, but I cannopt condone his offensive, and I would even add treasonable remarks made to the compere of ther NDTV show in which he appeared. Shivraj Patil demonstrates the fact that elegant courtiers like him belong to ther darar of Sonia and her choldren not in politics.

Shivraj Patil equated the Sarabjot case in Pakistan with the Afzal Guru case in India. If my memory serves me well Afzal Guru was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India for carrying out the December 13, 2001 assault on the Lok Sabha. In this attack not a single MP or minister was killed. 7 servicemen lost their lives. Sarabjit was sentenced to death for carrying out a bomb attack on innocent civillians in which 14 civillians were killed. Can the two cases be equated.

Further, India has consistently maintained the it had not sponsored Sarabjit nor had it hired him to carry out the attack. On the other hand all know who was behind the attack on ther Lok Sabsha building in which not a singe MP or minister was killed. By equating the two cases Shivraj Patil has undermined the Government of India's stated position on terrorism. He now seems to suggest that indeed the Government of India had sent Sarajit Singh on his mission. This minister, a stylish well dressed courtier is not of place in an important and responsible ministry and the people must punish him in the next election. There must be a law forbidding the appointment of defeated caNDIDATES TO THE RESPONSIBLE POSITION OF MINISTERS.