Letters To The Editor

The recent resignation of Sonia Gandhi from Lok Sabha and NAC is a shrewd political move

Queen8217;s rival

8226; The recent resignation of Sonia Gandhi from Lok Sabha and NAC is a shrewd political move, which has backfired when she and her advisors wanted to teach a lesson to Jaya Bachchan for her closeness to the Samajwadi Party. The real proving of popularity of Sonia Gandhi would be if she contests from a mature political constituency like Allahabad, Mumbai or Delhi and not from the Rae Bareli, whose electorate are being blackmailed emotionally. And a matching opponent of her would be Jaya Bachchan whose contribution is much more than Sonia Gandhi, who is still a paper reader and has been propped up by sycophantic Congressmen, who in spite of their own talent available among themselves have made her Rashtramata of sorts.

I will request all the political parties and their leaders who believe in nationalism to shed their differences and prop up Jaya Bachchan to contest against this so-called super queen of this great country.

8212; Ashok Jain Mumbai

Verdict and cruelty

8226; Whether against celebrity figures or slum dwellers, the law of the land should be invoked evenly. The Sunil More case and now even swifter, nine-day trial of Bitty Mohanty8217;s rape of a German student show that speedy justice is not impossible. However, many feel that the sentence given to actor Salman Khan is steep. Instead, shouldn8217;t we be asking why it took eight years to try a poaching case? The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, may be one of the laws Salman Khan8217;s fans would want to be reviewed. Cruelty against animals is punishable, but what is the sentence and who takes responsibility when an animal hurts humans and sometimes fatally, as in case of stray dogs and bulls?

8212; Aires Rodrigues Mumbai

Trial run

8226; Our judiciary seems to have been jolted after public anger in the aftermath of Jessica Lall murder case judgement. First, the speedy conviction by fast-track court in the Mumbai rape case and now the judgement in a record time in the German national8217;s rape case in Alwar. Can we expect similar alacrity of all the courts throughout the country in trying all pending cases within a set time-frame, with a directive from the Supreme Court that judgements shall in no case be reserved for more than a week?

8212; Inder Nath New Delhi

TN poll promises

8226; A big tamasha is happening in Tamil Nadu politics. After the DMK8217;s announcement of Rs 2 per kilo of rice and freebies such as colour TV with cable connection, it is the turn of the newly formed DMDK which has come out in its election manifesto, with implausible promises. Vijaykanth has promised 15 kilos of rice free per month to the poor, a subsistence allowance of Rs 500 per month to all poor families, besides an allowance of Rs 500 per month to two poor children under three years of age. Yet another assurance is that his government will ensure all the loss-making state government undertakings make profit. How?

8212; R. Thirwengadam Chennai

Conversion ante

8226; The minorities should not take exception to the Rajasthan Assembly8217;s passing of the Religious Freedom Bill. Instead of each state passing an anti-conversion law, the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, which is a central legislation, can be amended to make religious conversions an offence and prescribe punishment for those who practise religious conversion.

8212; K. Pradeep Chennai