Pharmaceuticals- Open Hatch

Subversive Compromise THE denouement of the Tripathi episode has been generally seen as a case of abject submission on the part of a venerable old man to the upstart young 'managers' of the Congress(I). Kamalapatji's undeniable humiliation notwithstanding, this affair has really served even more to expose the vulnerability of the power centre around Rajiv Gandhi. This is so for at least two reasons. First, if Pranab Mukherji has deserved to be summarily expelled for voicing certain critical opinions about the Congress(l) leadership and its policies in a Bombay periodical, then Tripathi's culpability should be rated even higher as his letter to Rajiv Gandhi, subsequently carried by newspapers all over the country, was even more forthright in its criticism of the present leadership. If, however, Tripathi's plea that the letter was leaked to the press by others without his knowledge and consent be accepted, the damage caused by it, its sharp tone of accusation against the supreme leader and the implicit admission that the document had been made accessible to a wide circle and so on, amounted to nothing less than lese-majeste in terms of the contemporary palace culture, Secondly, despite all his apparent penitence, Tripathi has not withdrawn any of the charges levelled by him