L K Advani (File Photo)This refers to the article, ‘The man who won’t be President’ (IE, June 21). I wonder how Karan Thapar has ignored two basic facts while suggesting that L.K. Advani should have been the BJP’s presidential candidate. First, Advani had publicly opposed nomination of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and, second, the Supreme Court has restored criminal conspiracy charges against Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case. It is true that Kovind was a little known figure till the other day but now we know that he is humble, has a clean slate and while in active politics he had been above controversy.
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
Beyond his caste
This refers to the article, ‘Journey of Ram Nath Kovind’ (IE, June 21). In 2002, the emergence of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the successor to the then President K.R. Narayanan was preceded by intense political manoeuvring. The BJP government’s choice of former Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as the presidential candidate is a welcome rejection of caste prejudices. It is time the political class stopped debating his caste and reducing his candidature to a mere exercise in political outreach.
Shreyans Jain, Delhi
Not anti-India
This refers to the report, ‘Celebrating Pak win, 17 men charged with sedition’ (IE, June 21). Leaving aside the fact that the “evidence” in the cases is weak, why is it a crime to cheer a cricket team. It is one thing to look at sports as a metaphor for war, and quite another to take the idea literally. Supporting a cricket team, even the Pakistan one, is not anti-India. A country as large and diverse as ours deserves a legal system that does not waste its time with such trivial matters.
Bishwadeep Majumdar, Delhi
