The Rediff Election Issues

• Adm J G Nadkarni (retd):'The guns versus butter is going to be a tough choice for the new DM and the FM'

• H D Shourie :'Politicians are more concerned about how they will feature in the evening news, they just don't care about the common man anymore'

• L C Jain:'If our political parties are full of sickness, they cannot provide health for the nation'

• Ved Marwah: 'We have to handle internal security with a long-term perspective'

• Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, the Prince of Arcot: 'To be honest, I didn't know where the Babri Masjid was till it was demolished'

• Vandana: 'The more educated the people are, the less empathetic and conscientious they become'

• Devaki Jain 'The most dangerous blow they are giving to the Indian polity is making the voter feel that it is not worth voting'

• Colonel John Taylor (retd): 'The next government will have to do more than just find a replacement for George Fernandes!'

• Vidyakar: 'Does the society expect me to work in isolation?'

• Deepa Vasani: 'BJP and Congress are practising the politics of enmity and opportunism'

• S Gurumurthy: 'Mindset will have to slowly change for which I don't think there is any lead in the current political leadership in any party'

• Dr M S Swaminathan: 'Our countryside is crying for attention, our countryside is crying for investment'

• S Nijalingappa: 'Vote for right individuals, and they will be able to form an effective collective'

• Suresh Heblikar: 'We have severe social problems like female infanticide that our parties don't bother about'