A Sivamani, P Puliyampatti.

Question: Isn't Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh correct when he says that no talks should be held with Pakistan till the terrorist training camps in that country are disbanded?

Answer: He may have a point. But it must be remembered that when the BJP was in power, the same precondition wasn't stipulated. On that count, the present stand sounds hollow.

K Ganeshan, Chennai 16.

Question: The very Congress Party which claimed that the DMK was instrumental in the murder of Rajiv Gandhi is heading a coalition ministry with that party. This is being two-faced, says George Fernandes. Comment.

Answer: I cannot accept George's statement because it would mean that this is the only issue in which the Congress is two-faced.

R Venkataraman, Thottappalayam.

Question: Why did Karunanidhi send his Chief Secretary to the CM's meet in New Delhi instead of going himself?

Answer: Thank your stars that Karunanidhi didn't depute Islamic fundamentalist leader Abdul Nasser Madhani instead.

P Pon Rajapandi, Madurai 16.

Question: Is Jayalalithaa correct in making a snide remark about Karunanidhi inaugurating a barber shop?

Answer: I don't think that she would have any objection to the inauguration per se.

Arokkiadas, Cuddalore.

Question: Why did India, which sent a flotilla of ships to repatriate Indians during the Lebanon bombardment avoid doing the same to save our kinsmen in Sri Lanka?.

Answer: It would be worth recalling that the LTTE supremo Prabhakaran himself has gone on record stating that the Sinhalese are his brothers. When that is the case, why should we interfere in a fratricidal, family conflict?

CA Keshavan, Inam Maniacchi.

Question: If one removes the last letter in the word "Fate," it reads "Fat." What do you make of this?

Answer: Remove the last letter "t" from the word "Fat." You get the name of an upmarket soap. Now, what do you make of that?

T Srinivasan, Chennai 14.

Question: Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa condemned the suspension of Premkumar the police officer who was the investigating officer in the case concerning Kanchi Acharya Sri Jayendra Saraswati. Comment

Answer: The officer in question was already under a cloud in another matter. Now, he has been accused of asking the approver to escape from custody, which is a serious matter. On these counts, I feel that the suspension is very much in order.

M Seth, Naththam.

Question: Comment on the Jharkhand imbroglio.

Answer: Even as I wrote my comment, an independent legislator has been made the CM of the state by a few parties including the Congress. Perhaps the new incumbent is bound to have the same fate as his predecessor. Let us wait and watch.

A Peter, Kalaiyarkovil.

Question: Munir Hoda was suspended because he tried to help (Islamic Fundamentalist leader) Madhani. Hoda, therefore is a an anti-national, says Jayalalithaa. What is your take on this?

Answer: Hoda's help for Madhani is something that is yet to be denied. Further, he did not seek the permission of the then Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary – another issue that has not been convincingly denied. There is just a bland statement which claims that the Home Secretary is empowered to act on his own in such matters.

KGS Govindan, Krishnapuram.

Question: Compare the question hour in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Q & A section in Thuglak.

Answer: Both are different varieties of entertainment. They are incomparable.

J Tariq Moideen. Keezhchakkaravilai.

Question: A Chennai based geological scientist Venkatanathan attached to the Madras University had predicted that there would be a major earthquake in Assam on 8 th of September. This led to a fear psychosis in that state. Comment.

Answer: Such predictions end up being predilections if not couched in official language with the premise of probability. Else, the result would be as disastrous as this one.

P Lakshmi Narasimhan, Coimbatore 38.

Question: According to Prabhakaran, a separate Tamil Eelam is the only way out of the present imbroglio. Will the Tigers return to parliamentary democracy after the establishment of a separate Tamil state? What is your take on this?

Answer: If a Tamil Eelam indeed becomes a reality ever, it will be a black day for the Sri Lankan Tamils. Let me explain. Since Prabhakaran himself has said clearly that he doesn't believe in Parliamentary Democracy, there will be no accountability in such a realm. In short, it will be a free for all environment wherein the powerful (read LTTE) will do as they please. In such an environment, armed rowdies will run a parallel administration where any criticism of the "government" will be encountered with a bullet. Worse, if things come to such a pass, fissiparous groups in India will demand the creation of a separate Tamil state on the basis of Eelam. The division of Sri Lanka is not only bad news there, it will a catastrophe for us as well.

KGS Govindan, Krishnapuram.

Question: Do you have any comments at all on the issue of actor Khushboo playing the role of Periyar's wife Maniyammai in the forthcoming movie and it being opposed by the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Dalit Panthers of India?

Answer: According to these worthies, the actor's comments on chastity have rendered her incompatible for the role. To me it is a joke. Nobody attacked the concept of chastity in a worse manner than Periyar. He didn't stop with that. Periyar assailed the very concept of marriage itself. On these counts, expecting a mere actor to have a high opinion about chastity makes no sense to me.

K Ganeshan, Maraimalai Nagar

Question: A foreign journalist has been viciously, physically attacked by the Central Industrial Security Force officers for merely smoking in the Chennai Airport. Comment.

Answer: After reading the reports on this, I have come to know that the journalist in question has ill-treated the cops by physically pushing them away. Perhaps, this led to the fracas. While one should admit that the cops should have acted in a restrained manner, the journalist's behaviour too is reprehensible.

LN Shiva Kumar, Chennai 33

Question: Karunanidhi has said that the prayer song being played at all government functions was created during his tenure and therefore nobody else can claim any credit for it.

Answer: Is it so? Have the song's lyricist Manonmanian P Sundam Pillai and MS Vishwanathan who tuned it lost their intellectual property rights as well? If we proceed this way, one day someone might say that our national anthem "Jana Gana Mana..." is the intellectual property of the late PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Well, that is the progression of "progressive rationalism" for you.