The riddle of Sonia Gandhi

The riddle of Sonia
This is with reference to 'Manmohan Singh plays his trump card: the double-dip recession', (July 3). The argument about the way the PM is functioning during the present bad times is sound. But the last two paragraphs with special mention of the last paragraph puts the reader into a riddle as to how the writer has come to a conclusion that Sonia Gandhi should take over the reigns from Manmohan Singh? The people of India remember a few years back, when instead of Sonia Gandhi becoming the PM, the present opposition leader, though a married woman, had vowed to shave her head and Sharad Pawar had challenged her foreign nationality. Then what has changed now.
—RM Deshpande, Navi Mumbai

Sachin is not god
Instead of accepting Sachin Tendulkar as a human being with failings, he is being treated as a god, and the media has created a halo around him. Recently, a columnist defended Sachin, saying one should not question his decision to sell the Ferrari he got as a gift, and taking loan to buy a flat in Panvel. I agree that these are his personal decisions which are not in the realm of
public space and hence should not be commented upon. However, there are a few questions which he or some one on his behalf should answer, did he paid import duty for the Ferrari which he got as a gift? If not, should not he or the buyer bear the duty? He got tax exemption on his income earned, claiming exemption under Artist category. Is depriving the national exchequer its income not a form of corruption? Let all right thinking Indians ponder over these questions.
—S Viswanathan, via email

Travesty of justice
The court verdict in Neeraj Grover's case is disgusting to say the least ('Maria seeks a return to innocence', July 3). I am unable to understand how Maria Susairaj could walk out scot-free, while Emile Jerome has been sentenced to (and rightly) 10 years in jail. This is possible, in my opinion, if the prosecution prepares a weak case, as has been the trend in most of similar situations. She committed a major crime by being an accomplice throughout the crime. She had plenty of reasons to tell the truth to police but she didn't. This is travesty of justice.
—Amjad K Maruf, Thane

II
It is shocking that Mumbai session court gave only three years imprisonment to prime accused Maria Susairaj for murder of Neeraj Grover. More shocking is that after her released from the jail, she called a press conference and said that she is innocent. The session court verdict has made the mockery of the entire judiciary system. Susairaj and her boyfriend should have been given death sentence for Grover's murder and destroying the evidence to give justice to the victim and his family.
—Bhagwan Das, Pune

PM’s plan backfires
PM's damage control press conference, with the exclusively selected five editors has backfired, with more questions than the unconvincing answers. It appears the conference was the strategy of the PM's think tanks to create a divide between the media. The press conference only added to the PM's already existing woes, further tarnishing his image.
—MC Joshi, Lucknow

Power play
The BJP's annoyance with the ruling party and the PM is understandable. Several efforts have been made by the party to capture power at the Centre but they have failed. Even if another PM comes in, they will still manage to find fault with him/her because their main grievance is against the party in power. This can’t be solved by the PM's press conferences or mutual consultations. The BJP will do whatever it takes to get power, which is their ultimate aim.
—SS Nair, via email