Chavan more sinned against than sinning?Apropos of your city-edit ‘Towering shame’ (July 5), you have rightly pointed out with considerable caution that “while castigating Chavan, one must bear in mind that for now, he is only an accused; the court is yet to pronounce him guilty”.

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An understandably peeved Chavan has stated that the Adarsh housing society issue is a purely administrative matter that has been blown out of proportion. One is inclined to agree with him on this because in any organisation, there is an office set-up where the officials process the matter that are to be addressed to their chiefs and put them up for their signatures only after scrutiny and attaching notes citing the pertinent rules. The chiefs do not have time to go into the details of each and every matter and sign the papers in good faith. In all probability, Chavan must have implicitly signed the papers put up before him without reading them.—V Subramanyan, Thane

IIThe truth about misuse of power in the Adarsh scam will never come out with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge sheet. In fact, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan is just a scapegoat as many other big shots are roaming freely after committing serious frauds in the case. I strongly feel that the investigation by the CBI will be an eye wash and the matter will be dragged on in the courts for many years. With public memory being short, the case will be forgotten and eventually closed as many other scams in the political history of India, making a mockery of the judicial system. The urgent need of the hour is that the CBI must thoroughly investigate the matter and bring out the names of the other culprits, as people need to know the truth. —Bhagwan Thadani, MumbaiWishful thinkingNijotpal Basu’s article ‘Prez polls precursor to major realignment’ (July 5) at best, can be termed as wishful thinking! By hurling the ‘communal’ abuse at the BJP, Basu has only bared his bias. I would request the ‘secularists’ of his ilk to define the much abused term ‘secularism’. Is appeasing the religious minorities secularism? Or, is condemning the Hindus and perceived Hindu organisations secularism? It is ridiculous to suggest, as Bose has done, that Left’s platform offers a basic alternative from what either alliance of UPA and NDA can offer. Though people have a short memory, the experience of the third-front is not all that old. What would be the binding force among the regional parties and the so-called Left parties? The logic behind Basu’s article is to malign the BJP and pave a way for the demoralised Congress party!—Shreeram Paranjpe, MumbaiHiggs BosonThe almost certain detection of the God Particle Higgs Boson is a sure cause for both the camps — the spiritualists as well as the materialists — to celebrate over. The former one can rejoice at the fact that it was through the medium of science that the existence of the so-called creator has been proved. On the other hand, the believers can pride themselves with the fact that the Supreme being has been proved to have been in existence all along since the Big Bang event roughly 13.5 billion years ago, and that too in a definite form.  —Arun Malankar, via e-mail

Why the dress code?Jamiat-e-Islami has asked the J&K tourism department to impose a ‘dress code’ on those visiting the Valley, particularly from foreign countries. What to wear and where to wear is a personal choice. There is no need of any dress code for anyone. Simple and sober clothes add to the personality of an individual if the chosen dress suits his or her body. People in every country wear dresses according to their customs, culture and, of course, liking. We have our own culture but that does not mean we should impose it on others. Even we Indians have accepted many Western dresses. Does that make us different? No dress code should be forced on anyone in this country. — M Kumar, via e-mailDiffering signaturesIt is intriguing that a veteran politician and the prospective President of India side steps the issue that the signatures in his resignation letter and reply affidavit grossly differ. It is silly for Pranab Mukherjee to comment that he should be the person to complain about the “forgery” of his signature. He should realise that as beneficiary of the “forgery”, he cannot have any complaints, but Purno Sangma, the aggrieved, has all the right to complain.—H Mathilakath, Navi Mumbai Shoddy BMC workThe very first downpour of this year’s monsoon has exposed the tall claims of the BMC of being ready to face the rains. All the expenditure incurred in the cleaning of nullahs and gutters and filling of potholes seems to have been washed away on the flooded streets. This huge waste of money is a yearly affair as the city invariably reels under flooded streets and potholed roads and is at the mercy of the rains. The nexus of BMC officials, corporators and contractors make a killing under the pretext of rain-readiness. The state government needs to step in and alleviate the problems of the citizens by pulling up the BMC authorities for its shoddy work.—Vanita Shenoy, Mumbai

ODI team This is in reference to the cricket team selection for the Sri Lanka tour. I think, for the first time in the history of Indian cricket, the selectors have come out with a team purely on the merit of performance and fitness of players. It is a good move by Sachin Tendulkar to skip the ODI series and keep himself fit forthe strenuous Test matches ahead. This has been a boon for Ajinka Rahane, a promising player, who richly deserves his place. The only thing we have to see is whether he gets an opportunity in the playing 11 and also get adequate chances to prove his credentials. We wish the team all the success. The only snag at Sri Lanka would be the rain!— N Mahadevan, via e-mail