Bal Thackeray asks why Arvind Kejriwal,Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan not on fast-unto-death. Why are they not fasting, Why only Anna. This is a dramatic/farce in the country happening in the name of fighting corruption, live on TV - 24X7. And this Lokpal Bill is not going to serve the purpose of eliminating corruption. Guys read the Bill before forming a view. You can be angry against corrupt babus and netas. But be reasonable about starting a revolution.
But what has come out of this is that WE are standing up against an issue which the politicians/media were thinking was a non-issue. We need to put the corrupt bastards in Jail. We need a better revolution that is honest and sincere. We need electoral reforms, judicial reforms, reservation reforms, political reforms, media reforms... phew!
We have enough laws.What we need is proper implementation of existing laws. This Lokpal will ruin the democratic structure we have. What we need is to give the CBI more teeth. Put Judiciary on the mat. Corruption is people specific. People will find ways to get around the law, any law or institution. Has anyone said that people should stop paying bribes. If you want to really join the fight against corruption, STOP BRIBING cops, tax, politicians, babus...
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
CWG Scam: Put MMS and Dikshit behinds bars too
Country Needs Action
The Comptroller and Auditor General report on the Commonwealth Games comes as no surprise. Corruption and mismanagement were hallmark of the Games that led to Pune MP and CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi landing in jail. The CAG report clearly establishes multiple failures at various levels of the Government of India and numerous agencies including Delhi Government involved in the execution of the mega sporting event. The systematic and blatant loot of the exchequer was evident much before the press started exposing the rampant corruption in execution of the Games. A budget of Rs 1,200 crore reached approximately Rs 18,532 crore excluding investments on allied infrastructure by agencies like the DMRC, AAI and DAIL. However, only blaming Kalmadi and his team for the mess would be entirely unfair. Kalmadi was just a part of the bigger scheme of things. The fountainhead of the unparalleled scam is non other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his team. By reportedly looking the other way, they were egging Kalmadi to go on regardless. Finance, Sport, Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting ministries played an equally important role in perpetuating the CWG scam. And Delhi czarina deserves a special mention. State Chief Minsiter Sheila Dikshit is the unofficial queen of the baton relay of corruption joining the various dots enjoying unbridled joy ride till the CAG stepped in.
All the CWG embezzlement actors should be exposed. The judiciary has been playing an exemplary role and the country expects that the law protectors would continue to serve the country with honesty and absolute integrity. But the aam admi feels that given the complexities involved in seeing the guilty behind bars, it may not be possible in this day and age. Now that the CAG report has indicted the PMO and the Dikshit regime, will the real culprits be ever booked. Ironically, the Government wastes no opportunity to run down the CAG. The classic example is the CAG report on 2 G scam being rubbished Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. After Raja was ousted from his job in the Sanchar Bhawan, Sibal addressed the nation and trashed the report of the national auditors by claiming zero loss in the scam. Will the Government throw the CAG report on CWG in the bin is yet to be seen but given the track record of the UPA regime probability is high. In any case, Dikshit’s aide Chief Secretary Tripathi has batted for his madam and claimed that the report was ‘totally wrong’. Thankfully, Tripathi is not the last word in the country today. The Congress party is already in no mood to relent and is backing her and Singh. The common man needs to see the CWG mess protagonist behind bars, for long. Very-very long, indeed. The judiciary and the law enforcing agencies need to repose the faith of the people.
The Comptroller and Auditor General report on the Commonwealth Games comes as no surprise. Corruption and mismanagement were hallmark of the Games that led to Pune MP and CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi landing in jail. The CAG report clearly establishes multiple failures at various levels of the Government of India and numerous agencies including Delhi Government involved in the execution of the mega sporting event. The systematic and blatant loot of the exchequer was evident much before the press started exposing the rampant corruption in execution of the Games. A budget of Rs 1,200 crore reached approximately Rs 18,532 crore excluding investments on allied infrastructure by agencies like the DMRC, AAI and DAIL. However, only blaming Kalmadi and his team for the mess would be entirely unfair. Kalmadi was just a part of the bigger scheme of things. The fountainhead of the unparalleled scam is non other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his team. By reportedly looking the other way, they were egging Kalmadi to go on regardless. Finance, Sport, Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting ministries played an equally important role in perpetuating the CWG scam. And Delhi czarina deserves a special mention. State Chief Minsiter Sheila Dikshit is the unofficial queen of the baton relay of corruption joining the various dots enjoying unbridled joy ride till the CAG stepped in.
All the CWG embezzlement actors should be exposed. The judiciary has been playing an exemplary role and the country expects that the law protectors would continue to serve the country with honesty and absolute integrity. But the aam admi feels that given the complexities involved in seeing the guilty behind bars, it may not be possible in this day and age. Now that the CAG report has indicted the PMO and the Dikshit regime, will the real culprits be ever booked. Ironically, the Government wastes no opportunity to run down the CAG. The classic example is the CAG report on 2 G scam being rubbished Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. After Raja was ousted from his job in the Sanchar Bhawan, Sibal addressed the nation and trashed the report of the national auditors by claiming zero loss in the scam. Will the Government throw the CAG report on CWG in the bin is yet to be seen but given the track record of the UPA regime probability is high. In any case, Dikshit’s aide Chief Secretary Tripathi has batted for his madam and claimed that the report was ‘totally wrong’. Thankfully, Tripathi is not the last word in the country today. The Congress party is already in no mood to relent and is backing her and Singh. The common man needs to see the CWG mess protagonist behind bars, for long. Very-very long, indeed. The judiciary and the law enforcing agencies need to repose the faith of the people.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Bridging the Divide
Bridging the divide
Delhi Metro is planning to stop traffic movement on Janpath for constructing a metro station on a line that would connect Central Secretariat and Mandi House station. This station would be just a kilometer away from Rajiv Gandhi or Patel Chowk stations or even Central Secretariat. Delhi is unarguably the most important city in the country because of its strategic importance. Being the national capital, hundreds and thousands of people who look for means of viable economic existence land in the city. From less than a crore of population it has grown one-and-half times in the last ten years. Perhaps the unofficial figures are much more. The city today has grown beyond its capacity and is engulfing suburbs in its fold. Noida, Ghaziabad or Gurgaon are almost Delhi, if not Delhi. The only difference being administration and development. Delhi is today the most over developed city compared with its counterparts across the country. The Commonwealth Games and Metro have completely changed the complexion of the megapolis in the last eight years. Commuting in the Capital had always been a problem. The Delhi Transport Corporation and the private buses could not provide a good system. Delhi needed a transport system. The Government then pumped in around Rs 20,000 crore for making the citizens of the city more comfortable. The metro project in Delhi was commissioned too late – perhaps 40 years or so. Nevertheless its various phases have been completed and the locals are criss-crossing the city making traveling a little bearable. Today the system is already facing problems. The trains have started becoming over crowded. The public address system still blare away instructions inside the metro trains. But these are lesser of the evils of an evolving system.
But the DMRC work is not stopping and they are continuing to pump more and more money. After connecting East-West and North-South of Delhi, Metro is now moving ahead and making a parallel line that may benefit a small section of a four-five kms. Some areas in Delhi are becoming over developed whereas other areas are just neglected. Development in the country is happening of only selected areas. There have been numerous arguments against developing Rs 20,000 crore Metro for Delhi alone. If this amount could have been utilised in connecting high speed trains from Delhi to say Chandigarh, Dehra Dun and Gwalior, it would have changed three cities and at the same time decongested Delhi. Imagine a clerk working in Central Secretariat, after finishing work, catching a train and walking in home in hills of Dehra Dun at the same his colleague would be reaching Dwarka, a distance of 22 kilometers.
Today the need of the hour is parallel development rather than highly concentrated and myopic injection shots. There is a need to bridge the development gap between the urban and rural centres. Unless that happens, future looks jumbled up and the government would be unable to stop large-scale migration thereby threatening the regional balance.
Delhi Metro is planning to stop traffic movement on Janpath for constructing a metro station on a line that would connect Central Secretariat and Mandi House station. This station would be just a kilometer away from Rajiv Gandhi or Patel Chowk stations or even Central Secretariat. Delhi is unarguably the most important city in the country because of its strategic importance. Being the national capital, hundreds and thousands of people who look for means of viable economic existence land in the city. From less than a crore of population it has grown one-and-half times in the last ten years. Perhaps the unofficial figures are much more. The city today has grown beyond its capacity and is engulfing suburbs in its fold. Noida, Ghaziabad or Gurgaon are almost Delhi, if not Delhi. The only difference being administration and development. Delhi is today the most over developed city compared with its counterparts across the country. The Commonwealth Games and Metro have completely changed the complexion of the megapolis in the last eight years. Commuting in the Capital had always been a problem. The Delhi Transport Corporation and the private buses could not provide a good system. Delhi needed a transport system. The Government then pumped in around Rs 20,000 crore for making the citizens of the city more comfortable. The metro project in Delhi was commissioned too late – perhaps 40 years or so. Nevertheless its various phases have been completed and the locals are criss-crossing the city making traveling a little bearable. Today the system is already facing problems. The trains have started becoming over crowded. The public address system still blare away instructions inside the metro trains. But these are lesser of the evils of an evolving system.
But the DMRC work is not stopping and they are continuing to pump more and more money. After connecting East-West and North-South of Delhi, Metro is now moving ahead and making a parallel line that may benefit a small section of a four-five kms. Some areas in Delhi are becoming over developed whereas other areas are just neglected. Development in the country is happening of only selected areas. There have been numerous arguments against developing Rs 20,000 crore Metro for Delhi alone. If this amount could have been utilised in connecting high speed trains from Delhi to say Chandigarh, Dehra Dun and Gwalior, it would have changed three cities and at the same time decongested Delhi. Imagine a clerk working in Central Secretariat, after finishing work, catching a train and walking in home in hills of Dehra Dun at the same his colleague would be reaching Dwarka, a distance of 22 kilometers.
Today the need of the hour is parallel development rather than highly concentrated and myopic injection shots. There is a need to bridge the development gap between the urban and rural centres. Unless that happens, future looks jumbled up and the government would be unable to stop large-scale migration thereby threatening the regional balance.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
When satyagrahis woke up to a nightmare
New Delhi, June 5
Using brute force, the Delhi Police cleared the Ramalila Grounds of satyagrahis by slapping, kicking, manhandling protesters and lobbing tear gas shells, amid unprecedented scenes. But for the calm and composed followers of yoga guru Baba Ramdev, the night could have been very different had they reacted with vengeance.
Past midnight on Sunday, at the yoga camp-turned-protest venue the followers of the Baba were fast asleep at their designated places in the dusty environs. The area was dimly lit and electric fans were adding to that sultry feeling.
Except for an odd worker discussing the state of the nation with scribes waiting for a bite as the UPA Government had sent a letter and a few policemen were hovering around the periphery, it was just an ordinary night.
Half-a-dozen volunteers at the reception were greeting walk-in visitors. “Please register. It will enable us to communicate,” said a girl, sitting at Delhi counter. Rajasthan, Haryana counters were empty.
“We are here to protest and express our anguish,” said a student from JNU armed with a chart paper and paint and slogans. “If they give permission, we can make some posters. But that will have to wait for the morning after the yoga,” he added.
But the Delhi Police had a lot different in store. And so did the UPA Government, after HRD Minister Kapil Sibal released a letter by the Baba’s spokesperson that smacked of a candid deal between the two warring sides.
Around 1 am, a large posse of cops marched in from the main gate of the Maidan. More cops swooned in from other gates. There was a lurking suspicion of impending danger. But it would expose the brutality of the police to such an extent was unimaginable.
The police had withdrawn permission for holding yoga camp and imposed prohibitory orders. The cops ascended on the stage but the Baba managed to slip from there and land amid his supporters. “I am here amidst you all and will be here till the end,” he said, climbing on the tough shoulders of his supporters.
A team of female supporters from Guru’s Ashram in Haridwar formed a human cordon around him. The voice on the public address system reverberated the grounds. “Say Om,” Baba chanted with the crowd responding in unison.
Hundreds of followers surrounded the Guru. The cops were faced with a daunting task and with rolling TV cameras, it was impossible to resort to harsh measures. But regardless, the police personnel started pulling and dragging the sea of humanity. Pulling one by one, angry cops started hitting the people unmindful of rolling cameras.
“Please do not hurt any cop. They are also our brothers and sisters. I am with you. Nobody will create any ruckus,” Baba Ramdev urged the congregation. But the cops wanted to end the agony fast. A young cop pulled a protester and threw him in the melee. Another one caught and hurled an old man carrying the Indian flag. “Leave the flag. This is not going to save you,” a cop said. But the old man did not give up. He was jostled away.
Meanwhile an ACP rank officer with an inspector and four policemen beat up a volunteer manning the public address system. A few others protested but the damage was done. There was utter confusion.
A TV cameraman filming the scene was pulled to a side by a police officer. “You go from here,” the official ordered the cameraman. Alone, he just withdrew from the scene. A police officer caught an arm of this reporter and pulled him away. Meanwhile the Baba again was taken on the stage. The cops trailing the Yoga guru started throwing people down.
But when things weren’t improving, the cops fired tear gas shells. The volunteers just crumpled like a pack of cards. There was dust and smoke all around. The Baba was last seen on stage by this reporter.
LNJP Hospital doctors were quoted as claiming 30 injured. Unofficially, the figure could have been more. Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said Baba Ramdev was detained as he was leaving the site. He was not leaving the site but was made to leave after the Government pulled him down forcing him to change his clothes possibility indicating the start of a long drawn battle.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Whose land is it anyway?
With divergent views emerging on the Land Acquisition Act, political parties ought to iron out differences
The National Advisory Council wants that the Government should acquire 100 per cent of the land for public purpose by offering very good compensation to landowners.
The thought is noble and comforting that the highest opinion making body under the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi is thinking about the plight of the farmers.
NAC on 'public purpose'.
The most important aspect of the suggestion of the NAC is the most controversial. The NAC talks about the public purpose which has been the bone of contention ever since farmers and landowners have realised that they were being duped by successive governments by citing this very clause. A through debate is needed on what constitutes public purpose and when do the governments have the last word on acquiring lands from the farmers.
A three-month old agitation in Noida grabbed the national attention only after four people were killed and a district official shot in the leg by agitating farmers. Bhatta Pasaul is now synonym with land acquisition and the various problems and issues associated with the boiling developmental issue.
The farmers in Uttar Pradesh have been left with very little option but seek justice as their lands were taken by the Mayawati regime at low prices ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 800 per square meter in the name of building Yamuna Expressway. Not going into the logic of developing the superfast highway when the existing highway is in a bad shape - bad roads, two-three toll points, inadequate emergency services, etc - the Uttar Pradesh government virtually gave a large tract of land to the Jaypee group to enable it construct a mall along the Expressway and also a part to construct residential quarters along the way.
When the farmers realised this, there was bound to be wide-spread resentment. The farmers have not only lost their source of livelihood, foodgrain production will also take a hit in the coming years. By the end of it all, the constructing company would be a couple of thousands of crore rupee richer.
Nevertheless, the public purpose in this case is a road connecting Noida to Agra. But what about the malls and residential quarters and also commercial complexes that would be built alongway the way, questioned the farmers.
This raises important questions. What will be the compensation for the land acquired? What will be the definition of ‘public purpose’? Will public purpose take into account alternate development routes and ensure best practices for current projects are being followed?
If the public purpose is being served by a private industry, then government will acquire land for them as well, the NAC opines.
This is certainly a loophole which the NAC is leaving which would enable governments to acquire lands for big industries and corporate houses who have the mullah to rake in mega projects. The farmers' precious land would open to be taken over by the corporates at throwaway prices. And even if prices match the market rate this is not going to serve the purpose in the larger context.
If public purpose is well defined, the governments should acquire 10-15 percent of land for the entire project and leave the rest to the private builders to purchase direct from the farmers. This too should come into vogue if the constructor faces any hurdle in a private project, the government should acquire that land to overcome that hurdle.
However, a higher percentage can create undesired interests of politicians heading the governments. The percentage should be clearly spelt out in the Land Acquisition Bill (LAB).
In addition, most important the amount of compensation the landowners or farmer should get for giving up their lands. In the present structure, the compensation is grossly inadequate. The UP government gave Rs 300-800 per square meter of land whereas the market rate in Greater Noida was to the tune of Rs 25,000-50,000 per square meter. The Haryana Government has offered even less compensation where as the Punjab Government fares much better on this score. This itself brings to the lack of uniformity in acquisition rules.
The NAC is recommending that landowners be given six times the price of plot purchases registered in that area. This sounds an attractive proposition for the farmers. If the registered rate in an area is say Rs 50,000 per sq meter, the private party acquiring the land would end up paying Rs 3 lakh per square meter. There are chances that it could make the project unviable.
There are other issues which need to be thought over. NAC wants participatory and full consultation with affected families on acquisition and at least 75 per cent should consent. An inter-linked issue to acquisition is whether some study has been undertaken to use barren, less fertile or wasteland before focusing on agriculture land.
The NAC and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congresss leader Mamta Banerjee, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh have divergent views on the LAB. If the Bill is to be passed in the Monsoon session of the Parliament as has been agreed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urgent steps need to be initiated at the earliest. There is hardly any time to kill today and all parties should iron out important issues.
The National Advisory Council wants that the Government should acquire 100 per cent of the land for public purpose by offering very good compensation to landowners.
The thought is noble and comforting that the highest opinion making body under the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi is thinking about the plight of the farmers.
NAC on 'public purpose'.
The most important aspect of the suggestion of the NAC is the most controversial. The NAC talks about the public purpose which has been the bone of contention ever since farmers and landowners have realised that they were being duped by successive governments by citing this very clause. A through debate is needed on what constitutes public purpose and when do the governments have the last word on acquiring lands from the farmers.
A three-month old agitation in Noida grabbed the national attention only after four people were killed and a district official shot in the leg by agitating farmers. Bhatta Pasaul is now synonym with land acquisition and the various problems and issues associated with the boiling developmental issue.
The farmers in Uttar Pradesh have been left with very little option but seek justice as their lands were taken by the Mayawati regime at low prices ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 800 per square meter in the name of building Yamuna Expressway. Not going into the logic of developing the superfast highway when the existing highway is in a bad shape - bad roads, two-three toll points, inadequate emergency services, etc - the Uttar Pradesh government virtually gave a large tract of land to the Jaypee group to enable it construct a mall along the Expressway and also a part to construct residential quarters along the way.
When the farmers realised this, there was bound to be wide-spread resentment. The farmers have not only lost their source of livelihood, foodgrain production will also take a hit in the coming years. By the end of it all, the constructing company would be a couple of thousands of crore rupee richer.
Nevertheless, the public purpose in this case is a road connecting Noida to Agra. But what about the malls and residential quarters and also commercial complexes that would be built alongway the way, questioned the farmers.
This raises important questions. What will be the compensation for the land acquired? What will be the definition of ‘public purpose’? Will public purpose take into account alternate development routes and ensure best practices for current projects are being followed?
If the public purpose is being served by a private industry, then government will acquire land for them as well, the NAC opines.
This is certainly a loophole which the NAC is leaving which would enable governments to acquire lands for big industries and corporate houses who have the mullah to rake in mega projects. The farmers' precious land would open to be taken over by the corporates at throwaway prices. And even if prices match the market rate this is not going to serve the purpose in the larger context.
If public purpose is well defined, the governments should acquire 10-15 percent of land for the entire project and leave the rest to the private builders to purchase direct from the farmers. This too should come into vogue if the constructor faces any hurdle in a private project, the government should acquire that land to overcome that hurdle.
However, a higher percentage can create undesired interests of politicians heading the governments. The percentage should be clearly spelt out in the Land Acquisition Bill (LAB).
In addition, most important the amount of compensation the landowners or farmer should get for giving up their lands. In the present structure, the compensation is grossly inadequate. The UP government gave Rs 300-800 per square meter of land whereas the market rate in Greater Noida was to the tune of Rs 25,000-50,000 per square meter. The Haryana Government has offered even less compensation where as the Punjab Government fares much better on this score. This itself brings to the lack of uniformity in acquisition rules.
The NAC is recommending that landowners be given six times the price of plot purchases registered in that area. This sounds an attractive proposition for the farmers. If the registered rate in an area is say Rs 50,000 per sq meter, the private party acquiring the land would end up paying Rs 3 lakh per square meter. There are chances that it could make the project unviable.
There are other issues which need to be thought over. NAC wants participatory and full consultation with affected families on acquisition and at least 75 per cent should consent. An inter-linked issue to acquisition is whether some study has been undertaken to use barren, less fertile or wasteland before focusing on agriculture land.
The NAC and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congresss leader Mamta Banerjee, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh have divergent views on the LAB. If the Bill is to be passed in the Monsoon session of the Parliament as has been agreed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urgent steps need to be initiated at the earliest. There is hardly any time to kill today and all parties should iron out important issues.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Big racket - MHA permits ULFA 'fund raising'
October 27, 2006
The United Liberation Front of Asom shot a Tinsukia businessman for his failure to meet the group’s extortion demand.
Businessman Jayanta Dey was shot at point blank range as he was entering his home at Nahorsapori.
The rebels had earlier served an extortion demand notice to Dey but he had failed to pay, resulting in two terrorists shooting the businessman on Thursday night.
This is the strategy of the ULFA – issue extortion receipts in advance and collect the money later. ULFA is the only terrorist organization in the world that extorts money from businessmen and issue proper receipts.
After the ceasefire agreement with the Centre, the ULFA issued hundreds of receipts to businessmen including tea estates to make the payments as mentioned in the receipts.
Though the ULFA used very mild language in the 'receipts', it actually means that the businessmen has to deposit the money with the couriers. After issuing
the fund-raising receipt, ULFA operatives subsequently communicate the time and
date when the couriers would collect the mentioned amount. The profile of ULFA courier has undergone a sea change to include known local politicians, union
leaders and even journalists, to reduce the risk of getting caught.
Some operatives, including journalists, are working in New Delhi also, according to sources. Few businessmen were asked to transfer funds
electronically to places as far as Hisar in Haryana and Anand in Gujarat, the IB reported.
ULFA operatives under fake identities collected the money in Haryana and Gujarat.
Signed by 28th Battalion commander Capt M Hazarika, the receipts ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh were sent to many business houses, politicians, tea garden owners, contractors, government employees and shopkeepers in various places in Assam. Some receipts have also been signed by the 'finance officer' of the battalion, responsible for raising and managing the funds, like any cooperate house.
According to the Intelligence Bureau note in the Home Ministry, "Since the commencement of ceasefire, the group is now issuing receipts in place of demand
notes as voluntary donations were permitted under the ceasefire ground rules."
The security and intelligence agencies were flooded with fund-raising demand notes issued by the ULFA.
However, security agencies were issuing warning to businessmen in Assam not to fall prey to fake extortion by youth and petty criminals for person financial benefits. Nevertheless, sources admit extortion in the state had gone up to unprecedented levels.
Though all terrorists organization in the North-East extort money, the ULFA is heading the list due to their cadre strength and reach throughout the Assam, according to sources.
Though the ULFA has six battalions on paper, only three battalions, 7th, 28th and 709 are fully functional. The remaining have depleted strength.
Ironically, for small amounts, the ULFA does not issue receipts. The ULFA is also collecting toll tax on selected routes from all commercial vehicles.
The most amazing part is that state government employees in Assam and other north-eastern states, have been paying two percent of their salary to the
terrorist organization with the Central government fully aware of the situation.
The Central government has been wooing ULFA middlemen to come forward for talks, much to the charging of the Indian army and security agencies.
Small amount donations from various groups
Wood cutters and smugglers - Rs 1,000 per trip
Commercial vehicles Rs 150 per vehicle
Government employee Rs 500 or two percent which ever is higher
Petrol pump owners Rs 5,000 per month
Musharraf's true lies
October 27, 2006
The book written by Gen Pervez Musharraf should have been titled 'A Bundle Of Lies' instead of 'In the Line of Fire'. It just presents a concocted image of Pakistan, deceit and treachery in his so-called memoir.
The lies from the serving president are so evenly spread out and logically explained that it just appears too convincing.
Lies
1 - It starts with the first page itself. The map of India and Pakistan is blotched with Kashmir being depicted as ‘disputed territory’. The commando wanted to hurt India sensibilities, which he did blatantly. Even according to the United Nations, Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and all international maps show valley as a part of India, including Northern Areas occupied by Pakistan. Diplomatically, the book tried to show Indian ‘occupation’ in poor light, something which has not gone down well with the Indian government.
2 - He blames the Indian army of fabricating encounters at Siachen glacier that none would believe.
He mentions that the Indian Army occupied Siachen without the clearance of the Indian government. How would Prevez Musharraf have known whether the Indian army occupied it without the consent of the government, questions an army official. Surely, Musharraf knows more about India than Indian establishment knows itself.
He writes that skirmish in Siachen on October 16-18, 1998 was fake. Naturally, Musharraf is taking a fig from the reported fake encounters last year which embarrassed the Indian army.
3 - The biggest lie is perhaps reason of the Kargil war and how the general tries to blame Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sherif. Citing threats of a possible attack by the Indian army in Northern Areas, Shaqma sector (near Kargil), frequent visits of then defence minister George Fernandes to the region, India buying snow equipment, Musharraf defends the occupation of Kargil heights.
After losing three wars to India, the Pakistan Army is desperate to take revenge against India at any cost. It has been a long dream project of the Pak army to take over Kargil. The Pakistani army has given proposal for occupying Kargil to Zia ul Haq and Benazir Bhutto in the 80s and early 90s.
But Musharraf got his say when he took over in October 1998 as chief of the army. The ambitious general for his nefarious designs gave a go ahead for operation Badr, as it was named in GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Musharraf says the troops had instructions not to cross the Line of Control, which is a true lie. The troops did cross over and occupied Indian territory.
The mendacious president writes that mujaheedin elements occupied the Kargil heights vacated by the army. It is a known fact that regular Pakistani troops also took part in the operation, in which SSG commandos also took part. It is widely known that Pakistani troops in the guise of mujahideen, were trained and deployed along the Kargil in the winter of 1999.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s disclosure that he was unaware of the plans, hugely embarrassed the general. In his book, he even carries a photograph of Sharif in which he is being briefed by army officials. By carrying the photographs of February 5, 1999 in which Sharif is seen Khel sector, Musharraf mischievously tries to convince the readers that Sharif was told about the Kargil war.
To mislead the readers, he edits Pakistani causalities in the Kargil episode in the English version of the book, while the Hindi edition mentions 357 casualties.
While Musharraf claims Kargil war as victory, Pakistani Lt Gen Ali Quli Khan Khattak. Said, "It was a disaster bigger than the East Pakistan tragedy".
More lies -
Rape victim Mukhtaran Mai was not allowed to travel to the US, even as Musharraf tires to paint a picture of women emancipation in Pakistan.
According to a report, Musharraf had told the editorial board of Washington Post last year that rape had become "a money-making concern" in Pakistan. "A lot of people say that if you want to go abroad and get a visa from Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped."
The kidnapping of Daniel Pearl
Musharraf neglects to mention that Omar Saeed Sheikh, the mastermind behind Pearl's kidnapping, turned himself in to Brigadier Ijaz Shah, the home secretary of the Punjab, a former spook of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and a bosom buddy of Gen Musharraf - a whole week before Sheikh's "arrest" was announced by the police.
Did Richard Armitage, the US deputy secretary of state, told ISI chief after 9/11 that the US would bomb Pakistan back into the "Stone Age" if it did not collaborate in the quest for Osama bin Laden. Sources say this is a pure work of fiction on the part of the general.
Famous omissions
How Pakistan ordered the attack on the Indian Parliament and details of Operation Parakram
Khandhar hijacking and release of Ghazi baba and his presence in Pakistan.
Activities and presence of Dawood Ibrahim and other terrorists organizations.
The presence of training camps in Pakistan and its role in fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.
Musharraf fails to explain how Zia ul Haq was killed as he would have access to any file in Pakistan and could easily have found out what happened to that fateful flight.
Whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar: Obliviously, he reiterates that he does not know where Osama is hiding even as ISI is in control of the terrorist situation in Afghanistan.
Weapon and drug trade in Pakistan
Army operations in Baluchistan and other tribal areas.
In Urdu version, the book mention that the CIA was paying money to the Government of Pakistan in exchange for the capture of Al-Qaeda suspects. "We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars," by handing over 369 Al Qaeda members to the US.
True lies
The Urdu translation of Musharraf's book "In the Line of Fire" has dropped the part about the CIA paying bounty money to the Government of Pakistan in exchange for the capture of Al-Qaeda suspects.
The Dawn reported that while the Urdu version keeps the part about capturing the suspects in the chapter called Taaqub or Manhunt, the bit about earning "millions of dollars" and the CIA prize money had been dropped.
When confronted with this controversial line from his autobiography by journalists in New York two days after launching his book, Gen Musharraf said he had made a mistake, that the money did not go to the Government and that he would rectify it in the next version.
No one in the Indian Army is taking the book seriously.
The book written by Gen Pervez Musharraf should have been titled 'A Bundle Of Lies' instead of 'In the Line of Fire'. It just presents a concocted image of Pakistan, deceit and treachery in his so-called memoir.
The lies from the serving president are so evenly spread out and logically explained that it just appears too convincing.
Lies
1 - It starts with the first page itself. The map of India and Pakistan is blotched with Kashmir being depicted as ‘disputed territory’. The commando wanted to hurt India sensibilities, which he did blatantly. Even according to the United Nations, Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and all international maps show valley as a part of India, including Northern Areas occupied by Pakistan. Diplomatically, the book tried to show Indian ‘occupation’ in poor light, something which has not gone down well with the Indian government.
2 - He blames the Indian army of fabricating encounters at Siachen glacier that none would believe.
He mentions that the Indian Army occupied Siachen without the clearance of the Indian government. How would Prevez Musharraf have known whether the Indian army occupied it without the consent of the government, questions an army official. Surely, Musharraf knows more about India than Indian establishment knows itself.
He writes that skirmish in Siachen on October 16-18, 1998 was fake. Naturally, Musharraf is taking a fig from the reported fake encounters last year which embarrassed the Indian army.
3 - The biggest lie is perhaps reason of the Kargil war and how the general tries to blame Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sherif. Citing threats of a possible attack by the Indian army in Northern Areas, Shaqma sector (near Kargil), frequent visits of then defence minister George Fernandes to the region, India buying snow equipment, Musharraf defends the occupation of Kargil heights.
After losing three wars to India, the Pakistan Army is desperate to take revenge against India at any cost. It has been a long dream project of the Pak army to take over Kargil. The Pakistani army has given proposal for occupying Kargil to Zia ul Haq and Benazir Bhutto in the 80s and early 90s.
But Musharraf got his say when he took over in October 1998 as chief of the army. The ambitious general for his nefarious designs gave a go ahead for operation Badr, as it was named in GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Musharraf says the troops had instructions not to cross the Line of Control, which is a true lie. The troops did cross over and occupied Indian territory.
The mendacious president writes that mujaheedin elements occupied the Kargil heights vacated by the army. It is a known fact that regular Pakistani troops also took part in the operation, in which SSG commandos also took part. It is widely known that Pakistani troops in the guise of mujahideen, were trained and deployed along the Kargil in the winter of 1999.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s disclosure that he was unaware of the plans, hugely embarrassed the general. In his book, he even carries a photograph of Sharif in which he is being briefed by army officials. By carrying the photographs of February 5, 1999 in which Sharif is seen Khel sector, Musharraf mischievously tries to convince the readers that Sharif was told about the Kargil war.
To mislead the readers, he edits Pakistani causalities in the Kargil episode in the English version of the book, while the Hindi edition mentions 357 casualties.
While Musharraf claims Kargil war as victory, Pakistani Lt Gen Ali Quli Khan Khattak. Said, "It was a disaster bigger than the East Pakistan tragedy".
More lies -
Rape victim Mukhtaran Mai was not allowed to travel to the US, even as Musharraf tires to paint a picture of women emancipation in Pakistan.
According to a report, Musharraf had told the editorial board of Washington Post last year that rape had become "a money-making concern" in Pakistan. "A lot of people say that if you want to go abroad and get a visa from Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped."
The kidnapping of Daniel Pearl
Musharraf neglects to mention that Omar Saeed Sheikh, the mastermind behind Pearl's kidnapping, turned himself in to Brigadier Ijaz Shah, the home secretary of the Punjab, a former spook of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and a bosom buddy of Gen Musharraf - a whole week before Sheikh's "arrest" was announced by the police.
Did Richard Armitage, the US deputy secretary of state, told ISI chief after 9/11 that the US would bomb Pakistan back into the "Stone Age" if it did not collaborate in the quest for Osama bin Laden. Sources say this is a pure work of fiction on the part of the general.
Famous omissions
How Pakistan ordered the attack on the Indian Parliament and details of Operation Parakram
Khandhar hijacking and release of Ghazi baba and his presence in Pakistan.
Activities and presence of Dawood Ibrahim and other terrorists organizations.
The presence of training camps in Pakistan and its role in fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.
Musharraf fails to explain how Zia ul Haq was killed as he would have access to any file in Pakistan and could easily have found out what happened to that fateful flight.
Whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar: Obliviously, he reiterates that he does not know where Osama is hiding even as ISI is in control of the terrorist situation in Afghanistan.
Weapon and drug trade in Pakistan
Army operations in Baluchistan and other tribal areas.
In Urdu version, the book mention that the CIA was paying money to the Government of Pakistan in exchange for the capture of Al-Qaeda suspects. "We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars," by handing over 369 Al Qaeda members to the US.
True lies
The Urdu translation of Musharraf's book "In the Line of Fire" has dropped the part about the CIA paying bounty money to the Government of Pakistan in exchange for the capture of Al-Qaeda suspects.
The Dawn reported that while the Urdu version keeps the part about capturing the suspects in the chapter called Taaqub or Manhunt, the bit about earning "millions of dollars" and the CIA prize money had been dropped.
When confronted with this controversial line from his autobiography by journalists in New York two days after launching his book, Gen Musharraf said he had made a mistake, that the money did not go to the Government and that he would rectify it in the next version.
No one in the Indian Army is taking the book seriously.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Grace marks for UPA
With a weak Opposition, the Congress party is having a field day
The United Progressive Alliance Government headed by Manmohan Singh is said be moving ‘progressively’, though the ‘alliance’ is a matter of opportunity and ‘united’ as long as it serves the purpose of each constituent. In the same vein even ‘progressive’ is subjective, given the shape the Congress-led Government has acquired over the last seven years of its existence post-Atal Bihari Vajpayee era.
The text of the report card of the Government reads pass marks but the subnotes are a little worrisome. What goes to the overall credit of the UPA is the passing of the Right to Information Act and Right to Education Act. But that was in the first term.
The transition from first term to the second dose of the UPA Government was relatively smooth despite the fact that 2G scam had happened and was already in the public domain.
The present-day Government is embroiled in scams – Commonwealth, Adarsh and 2G. The three have seen top officials and netas taking a hit, and some powerful MPs like Suresh Kalmadi landing in jail besides DMK MPs – A Raja and Kanimozhi. Ashok Chavan lost the chief ministership of Maharashtra.
The UPA has for the time being able to pacify the mass anger over corruption. Nevertheless after six months or a year, when these politicians would eventually move out of their prestigious quarters in Tihar by seeking bail from the courts, cynicism of the people would hardly subside as the UPA would by then not have tackled the core issue of corruption.
Besides corruption, what has affected the people the most is inflation. While the Government is spending a lot of its quality energy on reducing the figure of inflation, the cost of the items in the grocery shop are still the same or rather continue to go higher and higher.
On the alliance front, there is talk of DMK reportedly being unhappy with the Congress and is staying in the coalition as its options are limited. The Samajwadi Party is ready to move in just in case DMK walks out. At the fag-end of the second year of the second term of the UPA, the Home Minister and his team of officials including the Central Bureau of Investigation put the last nail in its performance before the anniversary dinner could start at 7 Race Course Road. The list of 50 most wanted incurred unwarranted cynicism of the people.
The health of a democracy is judged by its Opposition it has. The relative smooth sailing of the UPA Government is not only because of its crisis managers in proactive mode but also because of the lack of ‘Opposition’.
The seven years of UPA in power are also seven years of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeated journey. After tasting the ‘treasured’ juices, the party is still unable to come to terms with its rout.
The BJP presented over 800 candidates in the recent Assembly elections and won only five. The UPA got a taste of the 2G scam in Tamil Nadu. In Puducherry too, there were no takers of the Congress party. In Assam where the BJP was pinning some hopes, they got a blank note from the people. The party mandarins argue that West Bengal, Kerala and even Assam are not its core concentration area.
In 2009, ‘iron man’ LK Advani threw the gauntlet. Where is the BJP today? The party has still not go the message. It didn’t wake up to the 2G scam when it happened and during the general elections it was not an issue. Only when corruption became too glaring to ignore in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games did the BJP saw an opportunity to target the UPA Government. The party stalled Parliament proceedings after the CWG in October 2010 which then ultimately had been taken up by the judiciary. So Kalamdi, Raja and Kanimozhi in jail are not because of the UPA or its defunct constituent and country cousin sitting in the Opposition, the NDA.
The BJP has lost steam as the Games saw a BJP as a meek protester and so did Adarsh. When it wanted a JPC on 2G scam, MM Joshi was scoring brownie points by leaking the PAC report. What was the point in stalling Parliament for a JPC too late in the day? Why has the BJP not seen an opportunity in the Devas-Antrix deal to strike at the Congress party?
Power struggle between the BJP leaders is telling a different tale. When the BJP was hitting out at Rahul Gandhi for going to Bhatta Parsaul on a bike, Advani came out in support of the ‘Prince-in-waiting’.
The party is unsure if will ever pick up the issue of Ram Mandir again though hardliners still swear by its ideology. Advani has gone on record praising Jinnah, which became a sore point within the Sangh parivar.
Seniors in the party are senior to the party president and a succession war is simmering though no one likes to admit it upfront. Unlike the Congress party where the command structure is fairly defined and has no element of uncertainty, the BJP leaders see a vacuum after Advani. Vajpayee is reportedly unwell and is relegated from the party memory. The second rung leaders are vying for a pie which many may never get to see. Arun Jaitley sees himself as prime minister material and so do a host of other leaders. Are they spoiling the party?
The recent elections were a pan India test which failed the BJP. For a vibrant democracy, it is important that the Opposition should keep a check on the Government but the BJP miserably failed to fit the bill. In the absence of a strong Opposition, the UPA report card carries little weight.
The United Progressive Alliance Government headed by Manmohan Singh is said be moving ‘progressively’, though the ‘alliance’ is a matter of opportunity and ‘united’ as long as it serves the purpose of each constituent. In the same vein even ‘progressive’ is subjective, given the shape the Congress-led Government has acquired over the last seven years of its existence post-Atal Bihari Vajpayee era.
The text of the report card of the Government reads pass marks but the subnotes are a little worrisome. What goes to the overall credit of the UPA is the passing of the Right to Information Act and Right to Education Act. But that was in the first term.
The transition from first term to the second dose of the UPA Government was relatively smooth despite the fact that 2G scam had happened and was already in the public domain.
The present-day Government is embroiled in scams – Commonwealth, Adarsh and 2G. The three have seen top officials and netas taking a hit, and some powerful MPs like Suresh Kalmadi landing in jail besides DMK MPs – A Raja and Kanimozhi. Ashok Chavan lost the chief ministership of Maharashtra.
The UPA has for the time being able to pacify the mass anger over corruption. Nevertheless after six months or a year, when these politicians would eventually move out of their prestigious quarters in Tihar by seeking bail from the courts, cynicism of the people would hardly subside as the UPA would by then not have tackled the core issue of corruption.
Besides corruption, what has affected the people the most is inflation. While the Government is spending a lot of its quality energy on reducing the figure of inflation, the cost of the items in the grocery shop are still the same or rather continue to go higher and higher.
On the alliance front, there is talk of DMK reportedly being unhappy with the Congress and is staying in the coalition as its options are limited. The Samajwadi Party is ready to move in just in case DMK walks out. At the fag-end of the second year of the second term of the UPA, the Home Minister and his team of officials including the Central Bureau of Investigation put the last nail in its performance before the anniversary dinner could start at 7 Race Course Road. The list of 50 most wanted incurred unwarranted cynicism of the people.
The health of a democracy is judged by its Opposition it has. The relative smooth sailing of the UPA Government is not only because of its crisis managers in proactive mode but also because of the lack of ‘Opposition’.
The seven years of UPA in power are also seven years of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeated journey. After tasting the ‘treasured’ juices, the party is still unable to come to terms with its rout.
The BJP presented over 800 candidates in the recent Assembly elections and won only five. The UPA got a taste of the 2G scam in Tamil Nadu. In Puducherry too, there were no takers of the Congress party. In Assam where the BJP was pinning some hopes, they got a blank note from the people. The party mandarins argue that West Bengal, Kerala and even Assam are not its core concentration area.
In 2009, ‘iron man’ LK Advani threw the gauntlet. Where is the BJP today? The party has still not go the message. It didn’t wake up to the 2G scam when it happened and during the general elections it was not an issue. Only when corruption became too glaring to ignore in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games did the BJP saw an opportunity to target the UPA Government. The party stalled Parliament proceedings after the CWG in October 2010 which then ultimately had been taken up by the judiciary. So Kalamdi, Raja and Kanimozhi in jail are not because of the UPA or its defunct constituent and country cousin sitting in the Opposition, the NDA.
The BJP has lost steam as the Games saw a BJP as a meek protester and so did Adarsh. When it wanted a JPC on 2G scam, MM Joshi was scoring brownie points by leaking the PAC report. What was the point in stalling Parliament for a JPC too late in the day? Why has the BJP not seen an opportunity in the Devas-Antrix deal to strike at the Congress party?
Power struggle between the BJP leaders is telling a different tale. When the BJP was hitting out at Rahul Gandhi for going to Bhatta Parsaul on a bike, Advani came out in support of the ‘Prince-in-waiting’.
The party is unsure if will ever pick up the issue of Ram Mandir again though hardliners still swear by its ideology. Advani has gone on record praising Jinnah, which became a sore point within the Sangh parivar.
Seniors in the party are senior to the party president and a succession war is simmering though no one likes to admit it upfront. Unlike the Congress party where the command structure is fairly defined and has no element of uncertainty, the BJP leaders see a vacuum after Advani. Vajpayee is reportedly unwell and is relegated from the party memory. The second rung leaders are vying for a pie which many may never get to see. Arun Jaitley sees himself as prime minister material and so do a host of other leaders. Are they spoiling the party?
The recent elections were a pan India test which failed the BJP. For a vibrant democracy, it is important that the Opposition should keep a check on the Government but the BJP miserably failed to fit the bill. In the absence of a strong Opposition, the UPA report card carries little weight.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Is development lopsided?
Government machinery is commissioning new projects without improving or expanding the present infrastructure, incurring unwarranted expenditure
One thing that is permanent is 'change'. There is no denying that infrastructure is vital for progress of the country and the people. But it appears that the planners are establishing a parallel infrastructure rather than using or modifying the existing network.
There are many projects nation-wide that are being implemented without developing parallel infrastructure. Two new mega road projects are in the pipeline – one connecting Delhi to Jaipur and another Yamuna Expressway connecting Noida to Agra.
The argument is that both the proposed projects would be world-class as the present Delhi-Agra and Delhi-Jaipur National Highways are clogged due to heavy traffic movement on these sectors.
If you approach the projects with a little objectivity, you can effectively see that the proposed expenditure seems superfluous and create many problems rather than solve them.
Both these projects that aim at establishing parallel infrastructure are in the Rs 10,000 crore bracket are vibrant examples of government’s myopic development.
They are being implemented before giving a serious thought to utilising the existing infrastructure to the optimum level. Yamuna Expressway has landed in problem due to farmer’s agitation in Greater Noida which has claimed four lives.
Should not the government think of removing encroachments, making small under passes at clogging points on the existing highways, and also undertake a host of cost cutting activities rather than going in for constructing the expressways.
Have our babus realised that if they need to stay in 'business', they need to bring in the required 'change'? It appears the bureaucrat-contractor-politician nexus stands to gain from the commissioning new projects rather than improving and enhancing the present infrastructure.
With infrastructure drawing the big bucks, it is bound that a lot of money will exchange hands. If you break up hundred rupees of government expenditure, it is said that 15 per cent is genuine commission, which the contractors or builders pay to the babus-mantris. Presuming that an engineer/official is dead honest, the contractor carrying forward a project is obliged to offer 15 percent cut. However, there are the ones who are slightly more 'ambitious'. Fifteen percent could not be enough as the mantri may have to pass the buck to his boss in Delhi or if the chain of middlemen and traders is long, the percentage cut can get fatter.
Nevertheless, a normal contracting company would like to keep a profit of 15-20 percent. If all the variables are dead static, the project will get 70 percent of the government expenditure. But reality is different. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said hardly 20 paise of government expenditure out of a rupee reaches the intended target. So in the real world scenario, everyone involved will get a cut. The banker who gives loan or issues a guarantee, and so will those who will inspect the work, or accounting department who will clear the project… so on and so forth. Without a lengthy debate, you can safely assume on the conservative side, a 50-60 percent figure.
This is unpardonable and unacceptable. But given the rot in the system that has set in, it is unimaginable if the situation can be reversed under normal circumstances.
Minister or official wants to make a fast buck and thus come up schemes and projects that would change the lives of the citizens. Most often many of these projects are not required yet they are implemented with utmost gusto.
Take for instance Ghazipur flyover in Delhi, which is not on the same scale as Yamuna Expressway but has similar contours. There are no intersections on the stretch and there was no clogging of traffic when the project was initiated and when it was completed. The government then had plans to take Delhi chicken and fish market to one side of the road, which was done. It also took the MCD abattoir to the area and so also garbage dump. Another side of the National Highway 24, the government had planned to shift grain market. This has still not been done. Yet a flyover over has been build on a normal road. Why was the projected undertaken in the first place?
Similarly, during the Commonwealth Games, the costing and expenditure of the government was exposed, resulting in the Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi landing in jail. But even to this day, there are several projects that are being implemented or were completed only after sucking the national exchequer.
The Ring Road connecting Nizammuddin to Pragati Maidan in New Delhi is a good example. Government agencies would expand the road, construct footpath and then do the beautification drive by planting trees. In six months, they would be uprooting the whole construction and starting afresh. This they did thrice before the Games.
The most glaring example is that of flyover that was constructed on National Highway 24 to facilitate the players who would stay at the CWG village. It was imperative that the players got uninterrupted movement to various venues. A flyover was sanctioned and built. Now the CWG village is itself mired in a controversy. If those who bought (or will buy) the flats at the village move in, they will have a flyover exclusively to their advantage.
Now having transformed Delhi from three-lane to four-lane city, government agencies are making two huge arches on the same stretch, totally unwanted and out of sync with the rest of the Capital. Similarly, government agencies constructed many footover bridges and still are making many where the footfall per day is less than what a flop movie would get after a year of release.
But with tenures of ministers and babus shrinking along with pubic memory, lopsided development will continue to change the landscape.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Abbottabad, a long way from New Delhi
India, considered a soft State, has yet to evolve US-like hard hitting policy
The Americans have shown to the world that they are the leaders, who can avenge any wrong done on their soil or to them.
A small platoon of SEAL commandos barged into terror-infested military-controlled Pakistan, kill Osama bin Laden and coolly fly off. The 40-minute raid will be recorded in world history as an operation that changed the world’s power dynamics.
Apart from displaying US supremacy to the world, the Abbottabad operation exposed the true face of Pakistan led by bigots and fanatics.
It is not only shameful for the Pakistani military but also criminal on the part of Generals who call the shots in that part of the land where Kalashnikovs are as common as cell phones when they were just getting introduced ten years ago in India. Everybody who has an AK-47 flashes it, and those who don’t go to Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta to buy rifles and pistols off the shelf, just like they buy an aspirin in Islamabad.
Osama bin Laden was staying in luxury in the backyard of the military district with all the facilities at his command. He was reportedly suffering from kidney problems. He needed medical care. The Pakistani Army was unquestionably supporting, protecting and looking after Osama like it does with hundreds and thousands of Osamas who dot the landscape.
Terrorism is the mainstay of Pakistan, widely considered the most dangerous place on earth. Writer Salman Rushdie has called for it to be declared as a terrorist state. Former cricketer Imran Khan acknowledges that the situation in Pakistan has gone out of control.
Pakistan today is not a country that can to be trusted by the comity of nations. Governance is negligible. Pak-occupied-Kashmir and Gilgit are two separate entities. Balochistan, FATA, NWFP and Punjab (Pak side) are infested with guns. The Americans have been using drones to kill terrorists but bombs don’t know the difference between a jihadi and a peaceful citizen.
Sooner or later, some warlord, tribal chief or even army general is going to announce running away with a part of Pakistan to form his own country.
It is no wonder that Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani warns India not to even think of “any misadventure” as he said it would lead to a catastrophe. Gen Kayani is like a weakling, who gets slapped by a strong, muscled dada on the street, and looks at the non-intrusive watcher saying man you don’t mess with me. The tough dada is still standing there ready to slap!
Undoubtedly a neighbour who is on the path of destruction, has nothing to lose, or is controlled by terrorists who maintain a military-clad façade, is a very dangerous neighbourhood to live in. It is time to beware of men of Rawalpindi!
Anyway, the point is Gen Kayani need not spend sleepless nights over a possible American-like Abbottabad attack by Indian forces. His useless bravado is aimed at addressing a humiliated audience rather than scaring Generals in New Delhi.
General Saab, India is also not considered a soft state for nothing. She will not require Pakistan’s bombs and guns like in Kargil and repeated terror-strike. On the contrary, the more you, or ISI or LeT or JeM strike, the stronger India becomes. It brings people together, it unites regions and castes and religions.
Ironically, the problem is more of political nature in India juxtaposed by a consortium of intelligence babus mired by a rotten executive structure that is unable to deliver. The politico-intelligence-babus nexus is making the country a weak and soft nation.
Our exemplary track record underlines that our national interest is just kept outside the purview of South Block. Safety, security and welfare of the citizens are of virtually of less importance.
Indian politicians arm its revolt groups by getting guns dropped in Purulia. The Lativan crew were pardoned and released. Peter Bleach too was released by a presidential pardon, allegedly due to persistent British pressure.
Anti-India and Khalistan protagonist Jagjit Singh Chauhan has been living as a free Indian citizen in Punjab, after almost dividing the people into Hindus and Sikhs and breaking up the country.
After hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight, India let off three top terrorists one of whom went on to head the JeM. Attacking Kandhar was not even a viable option discussed by security mandarins on Race Course Road when the political leadership was discussing exchanging civilians with terrorists and ransom money.
Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir or North-East, who kill Army soldiers, are allowed to surrender and become respectable citizens, given Government jobs or even join the security forces. The Indian Government is in peace talks with NSCN and Ulfa, the two outfits that created havoc in the N-E. Chinese successfully ‘adventure’ into India and threaten Ladkahi farmers.
If India had to react, the military should have done after 7/11 Mumbai train blasts or after 26/11 strike by Kasab and his team. Or for that matter, India could have gone for hot pursuit and got Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi or hundreds of terror camps along the Line of Control.
But why Pakistan, India even failed to act against Paresh Baruah of Ulfa who was reported to be in Bangladesh for nearly two decades. India shares open borders with Bangladesh, who has been intermittingly treading Pakistan’s hostile path. What did the Indian military do?
Historically, India has never taken a tough stand except in Sri Lanka and that too when the Tamil Eelem leaders, trained by Indian military crossed the official brief.
Sadly, administratively, the country is on a sticky wicket also. So General Saab, fret not over India’s design, for it has not any.
The political will of a strong nation has yet to evolve. We are the land of Gandhi and not Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, who do not even get a national holiday on the respective Jayantis’. Till we celebrate January 23 or September 28 as national holidays, Pakistan be assured of no surgical strikes on the part of India. And if it happens, when it happens, God save Pakistan!
The Americans have shown to the world that they are the leaders, who can avenge any wrong done on their soil or to them.
A small platoon of SEAL commandos barged into terror-infested military-controlled Pakistan, kill Osama bin Laden and coolly fly off. The 40-minute raid will be recorded in world history as an operation that changed the world’s power dynamics.
Apart from displaying US supremacy to the world, the Abbottabad operation exposed the true face of Pakistan led by bigots and fanatics.
It is not only shameful for the Pakistani military but also criminal on the part of Generals who call the shots in that part of the land where Kalashnikovs are as common as cell phones when they were just getting introduced ten years ago in India. Everybody who has an AK-47 flashes it, and those who don’t go to Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta to buy rifles and pistols off the shelf, just like they buy an aspirin in Islamabad.
Osama bin Laden was staying in luxury in the backyard of the military district with all the facilities at his command. He was reportedly suffering from kidney problems. He needed medical care. The Pakistani Army was unquestionably supporting, protecting and looking after Osama like it does with hundreds and thousands of Osamas who dot the landscape.
Terrorism is the mainstay of Pakistan, widely considered the most dangerous place on earth. Writer Salman Rushdie has called for it to be declared as a terrorist state. Former cricketer Imran Khan acknowledges that the situation in Pakistan has gone out of control.
Pakistan today is not a country that can to be trusted by the comity of nations. Governance is negligible. Pak-occupied-Kashmir and Gilgit are two separate entities. Balochistan, FATA, NWFP and Punjab (Pak side) are infested with guns. The Americans have been using drones to kill terrorists but bombs don’t know the difference between a jihadi and a peaceful citizen.
Sooner or later, some warlord, tribal chief or even army general is going to announce running away with a part of Pakistan to form his own country.
It is no wonder that Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani warns India not to even think of “any misadventure” as he said it would lead to a catastrophe. Gen Kayani is like a weakling, who gets slapped by a strong, muscled dada on the street, and looks at the non-intrusive watcher saying man you don’t mess with me. The tough dada is still standing there ready to slap!
Undoubtedly a neighbour who is on the path of destruction, has nothing to lose, or is controlled by terrorists who maintain a military-clad façade, is a very dangerous neighbourhood to live in. It is time to beware of men of Rawalpindi!
Anyway, the point is Gen Kayani need not spend sleepless nights over a possible American-like Abbottabad attack by Indian forces. His useless bravado is aimed at addressing a humiliated audience rather than scaring Generals in New Delhi.
General Saab, India is also not considered a soft state for nothing. She will not require Pakistan’s bombs and guns like in Kargil and repeated terror-strike. On the contrary, the more you, or ISI or LeT or JeM strike, the stronger India becomes. It brings people together, it unites regions and castes and religions.
Ironically, the problem is more of political nature in India juxtaposed by a consortium of intelligence babus mired by a rotten executive structure that is unable to deliver. The politico-intelligence-babus nexus is making the country a weak and soft nation.
Our exemplary track record underlines that our national interest is just kept outside the purview of South Block. Safety, security and welfare of the citizens are of virtually of less importance.
Indian politicians arm its revolt groups by getting guns dropped in Purulia. The Lativan crew were pardoned and released. Peter Bleach too was released by a presidential pardon, allegedly due to persistent British pressure.
Anti-India and Khalistan protagonist Jagjit Singh Chauhan has been living as a free Indian citizen in Punjab, after almost dividing the people into Hindus and Sikhs and breaking up the country.
After hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight, India let off three top terrorists one of whom went on to head the JeM. Attacking Kandhar was not even a viable option discussed by security mandarins on Race Course Road when the political leadership was discussing exchanging civilians with terrorists and ransom money.
Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir or North-East, who kill Army soldiers, are allowed to surrender and become respectable citizens, given Government jobs or even join the security forces. The Indian Government is in peace talks with NSCN and Ulfa, the two outfits that created havoc in the N-E. Chinese successfully ‘adventure’ into India and threaten Ladkahi farmers.
If India had to react, the military should have done after 7/11 Mumbai train blasts or after 26/11 strike by Kasab and his team. Or for that matter, India could have gone for hot pursuit and got Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi or hundreds of terror camps along the Line of Control.
But why Pakistan, India even failed to act against Paresh Baruah of Ulfa who was reported to be in Bangladesh for nearly two decades. India shares open borders with Bangladesh, who has been intermittingly treading Pakistan’s hostile path. What did the Indian military do?
Historically, India has never taken a tough stand except in Sri Lanka and that too when the Tamil Eelem leaders, trained by Indian military crossed the official brief.
Sadly, administratively, the country is on a sticky wicket also. So General Saab, fret not over India’s design, for it has not any.
The political will of a strong nation has yet to evolve. We are the land of Gandhi and not Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, who do not even get a national holiday on the respective Jayantis’. Till we celebrate January 23 or September 28 as national holidays, Pakistan be assured of no surgical strikes on the part of India. And if it happens, when it happens, God save Pakistan!
Friday, May 6, 2011
PM should also be held responsible for 2G scam
Though the report of the Public Accounts Committee on 2G scam was subdued in the ruckus created by the parliamentarians on accepting the clear cut findings because they indict clean-image Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the message has been delivered.
Interestingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party member MM Joshi, who was on the receiving end by the Congress MPs assisted by its allies and foes-turned-allies like the BSP and SP, appeared to have had the last laugh.
Joshi was perhaps aware that the PAC report would be short-lived. The Congress party would in any case have turned it down had it been fully accepted. The party had been raising the questions of continuing with the PAC after the JPC had been constituted. But Joshi went ahead with his probe.
The PAC gained a lot of brownie points by summoning the likes of Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani. The PAC members went along with Joshi for sometime, only protesting in murmurs but as he become bold and daring enough to reach, what the Congress wants to protect - the Prime Minister, they had enough. As PMO officials were about to be called for giving their statements, Soz and his team of eight went on the rampage, forcing Joshi to shelve his plans of calling the PM for examination, which Singh himself had offered earlier.
And before the PAC term could end on April 30, the (draft) report hit the headlines.
The report is unlikely to be accepted. But the damage has been done.
The veteran leader was more or less successful in hinting who are the protagonists of the Rs 1.76 crore scam besides those already in jail, including former Telecom Minister A Raja. The name of PM had been dragged in the 2G scam.
The most vital question is what has been Manmohan Singh’s contribution in perpetuating the scam? How did he benefit from the mega scam?
Caesar wife should be above suspicion. So if there are fingers being pointed out, should it not be proper for the highest executive officer holder to come out clean, if he so desires to remain spotlessly taint-free.
Leaving aside the fact that Raja mislead the PM on more than a few occasions, the PMO too showed files to Singh after the scam had taken place. The PM with the RAW, IB at his command and so also all the senior babus who are supposed to keep him informed on important matters of the state, should have briefed Singh at some point about the scam taking place.
Given that the scam managers were able to hoodwink the PM, PMO, IB, ED… and Raja was able to “deliberately and dismindly mislead the PM in order to fulfill his nefarious design leading to a staggering loss of revenue which also tarnished the image of the country”, was the PM so self-contained or occupied or powerless that he could not spare time and stop what was happening right in front of his face. A newspaper was regularly writing about the scam since 2008, much before the 2009 general elections. Should not the PM have taken cognizance?
The questions being raised are:
Why did the Prime Minister give “indirect green signal” to former Telecom Minister A Raja?
“The PM’s “desire to keep the PMO at arm’s length indirectly helped the Communications Minister to go ahead and execute his unfair, arbitrary and dubious designs.” Why did the PM keep the PMO at arm’s length? How long was the arm?
Manmohan has recently said that revenue generation has never been a primary consideration. This contradicts his India Telecom 2007 statement that revenue generation must not be lost sight of. Why is the PM flip flopping on such important matters?
The PMO is “required to reconcile the two divergent views of the PM”.
Will Singh present himself to the Central Bureau of Investigation, like he offered to the PAC?
The onus is on the PM and not on the agency to come forward. The fact of the matter is CBI cannot move against the PM. Can a sleuth, no matter how gutsy or fool-hardy, question the man who inaugurates their swanky building? Can any file noting be ever made against the PM?
In any case, the CBI and other investigating agencies have to seek permission from the sanctioning authority, which sounds a very difficult proposition.
The CBI after filing the second chargesheet in the court indicated that it was as far as it could go, barring a supplementary. In fact the role of the premier agency has been that of a passive one, acting at the behest of the Supreme Court.
But Singh should take the lead and come forward and present what circumstances led to the scam, was he never aware of the scam taking place, why no officer briefed him and plethora of other questions. The chair of the PM has to be above board. Singh is King, and it should show.
Interestingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party member MM Joshi, who was on the receiving end by the Congress MPs assisted by its allies and foes-turned-allies like the BSP and SP, appeared to have had the last laugh.
Joshi was perhaps aware that the PAC report would be short-lived. The Congress party would in any case have turned it down had it been fully accepted. The party had been raising the questions of continuing with the PAC after the JPC had been constituted. But Joshi went ahead with his probe.
The PAC gained a lot of brownie points by summoning the likes of Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani. The PAC members went along with Joshi for sometime, only protesting in murmurs but as he become bold and daring enough to reach, what the Congress wants to protect - the Prime Minister, they had enough. As PMO officials were about to be called for giving their statements, Soz and his team of eight went on the rampage, forcing Joshi to shelve his plans of calling the PM for examination, which Singh himself had offered earlier.
And before the PAC term could end on April 30, the (draft) report hit the headlines.
The report is unlikely to be accepted. But the damage has been done.
The veteran leader was more or less successful in hinting who are the protagonists of the Rs 1.76 crore scam besides those already in jail, including former Telecom Minister A Raja. The name of PM had been dragged in the 2G scam.
The most vital question is what has been Manmohan Singh’s contribution in perpetuating the scam? How did he benefit from the mega scam?
Caesar wife should be above suspicion. So if there are fingers being pointed out, should it not be proper for the highest executive officer holder to come out clean, if he so desires to remain spotlessly taint-free.
Leaving aside the fact that Raja mislead the PM on more than a few occasions, the PMO too showed files to Singh after the scam had taken place. The PM with the RAW, IB at his command and so also all the senior babus who are supposed to keep him informed on important matters of the state, should have briefed Singh at some point about the scam taking place.
Given that the scam managers were able to hoodwink the PM, PMO, IB, ED… and Raja was able to “deliberately and dismindly mislead the PM in order to fulfill his nefarious design leading to a staggering loss of revenue which also tarnished the image of the country”, was the PM so self-contained or occupied or powerless that he could not spare time and stop what was happening right in front of his face. A newspaper was regularly writing about the scam since 2008, much before the 2009 general elections. Should not the PM have taken cognizance?
The questions being raised are:
Why did the Prime Minister give “indirect green signal” to former Telecom Minister A Raja?
“The PM’s “desire to keep the PMO at arm’s length indirectly helped the Communications Minister to go ahead and execute his unfair, arbitrary and dubious designs.” Why did the PM keep the PMO at arm’s length? How long was the arm?
Manmohan has recently said that revenue generation has never been a primary consideration. This contradicts his India Telecom 2007 statement that revenue generation must not be lost sight of. Why is the PM flip flopping on such important matters?
The PMO is “required to reconcile the two divergent views of the PM”.
Will Singh present himself to the Central Bureau of Investigation, like he offered to the PAC?
The onus is on the PM and not on the agency to come forward. The fact of the matter is CBI cannot move against the PM. Can a sleuth, no matter how gutsy or fool-hardy, question the man who inaugurates their swanky building? Can any file noting be ever made against the PM?
In any case, the CBI and other investigating agencies have to seek permission from the sanctioning authority, which sounds a very difficult proposition.
The CBI after filing the second chargesheet in the court indicated that it was as far as it could go, barring a supplementary. In fact the role of the premier agency has been that of a passive one, acting at the behest of the Supreme Court.
But Singh should take the lead and come forward and present what circumstances led to the scam, was he never aware of the scam taking place, why no officer briefed him and plethora of other questions. The chair of the PM has to be above board. Singh is King, and it should show.
India lacks precision for surgical attack
While the US commando troops swooped down the luxurious bungalow in military hill station Abbottabad in Pakistan, the Indian establishment does not have the wherewithal to lead such a precision attack inside the dangerous neighbourhood.
Though Army chief General V K Singh and Air Chief Marshal P V Naik say armed forces are "competent" to carry out an operation similar to the one conducted by the US in Pakistan against al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, Indian intelligence inputs required for such precision operation would be wanting, according to sources.
Though the elite commando troops of Army’s parachute units are highly trained and are armed with latest weaponry and communication gadgetry, the intelligence paraphernalia, including the Research and Analysis Wing has never been able to provide the military planners with precision data regarding hi-profile targets.
“Indian army special elite troops can operate in all theatres of war, including striking deep in enemy territory. But we never have high quality, actionable info even after 26/11,” says a senior military officer on condition of anonymity.
Military Intelligence lists over four dozen of mobile launch pads used by terrorists to enter Jammu and Kashmir besides nearly two dozen permanent terror training camps run by the Pakistan establishment including the notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Incidentally Abbottabad is listed as a permanent terror base camp run by the ISI but the army never crossed the Line of Control, even in Kargil war.
According to highly reliable sources, the Indian intelligence agencies have rarely given pinpointed inputs to security forces, due to which causality figure of specialised forces in anti-terror operations have been high.
At the launch of Operation Pawan, the codename assigned for Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the LTTE in late 1987, was a disaster primarily due to lack of intelligence available to the elite commando troops that swooped down Jaffna University, the then headquarters of Prabhakaran.
According to officials, three platoons of elite 10 Para Commandos were to spread in the the football field of Jaffna University, give covering fire for the subsequent group of commandos, barge the hostel and link up to main troops. The intel inputs given was that there could some minor resistance as LTTE cadre could be armed with a few assault rifles.
However, after the first helicopter had landed on ground, the commandos came under heavy semi-automatic and automatic fire from the hostel. The troops in the second helicopter barely managed to slither down. LTTE was armed with even rocket launchers and motors, which wasn’t part of the intelligence brief, which resulted in killing of nearly two dozen commandos and army officials.
The commandos were caught unaware inside enemy territory with heavy firing. They were fighting with limited ammunition for nearly 36 hours till an armoured regiment was ordered to blow and link up with the commandos. The Oct 12, 1987 operation had gone totally wrong due to poor intelligence inputs by the RAW and other agencies, according to sources.
Similarly intelligence inputs for even routine operations in Jammu and Kashmir are sketchy often endangering the lives of security forces.
The files maintained by the Intelligence Bureau, RAW and MI are generally of routine nature. Though each formation and branches maintain their own records, most intelligence is non-actionable.
An intelligence unit had a secret file on former President Pravez Musharraf, the intel was of routine nature include what liquor he drank or how he liked to socialise. The vital points including how he operated the Pakistan army or controlled the ISI were not listed, according to sources.
Interestingly, while India never has had the policy of hot pursuit, though it has actively been debated in war rooms South and North Block and intelligence headquarters in New Delhi, the troops are ready if ordered to conduct any operation in all war theatres.
However, post 26/11 after which a lot of emphasis has been stressed on rejuvenating the intelligence agencies are yet to bear fruits.
Though Army chief General V K Singh and Air Chief Marshal P V Naik say armed forces are "competent" to carry out an operation similar to the one conducted by the US in Pakistan against al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, Indian intelligence inputs required for such precision operation would be wanting, according to sources.
Though the elite commando troops of Army’s parachute units are highly trained and are armed with latest weaponry and communication gadgetry, the intelligence paraphernalia, including the Research and Analysis Wing has never been able to provide the military planners with precision data regarding hi-profile targets.
“Indian army special elite troops can operate in all theatres of war, including striking deep in enemy territory. But we never have high quality, actionable info even after 26/11,” says a senior military officer on condition of anonymity.
Military Intelligence lists over four dozen of mobile launch pads used by terrorists to enter Jammu and Kashmir besides nearly two dozen permanent terror training camps run by the Pakistan establishment including the notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Incidentally Abbottabad is listed as a permanent terror base camp run by the ISI but the army never crossed the Line of Control, even in Kargil war.
According to highly reliable sources, the Indian intelligence agencies have rarely given pinpointed inputs to security forces, due to which causality figure of specialised forces in anti-terror operations have been high.
At the launch of Operation Pawan, the codename assigned for Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the LTTE in late 1987, was a disaster primarily due to lack of intelligence available to the elite commando troops that swooped down Jaffna University, the then headquarters of Prabhakaran.
According to officials, three platoons of elite 10 Para Commandos were to spread in the the football field of Jaffna University, give covering fire for the subsequent group of commandos, barge the hostel and link up to main troops. The intel inputs given was that there could some minor resistance as LTTE cadre could be armed with a few assault rifles.
However, after the first helicopter had landed on ground, the commandos came under heavy semi-automatic and automatic fire from the hostel. The troops in the second helicopter barely managed to slither down. LTTE was armed with even rocket launchers and motors, which wasn’t part of the intelligence brief, which resulted in killing of nearly two dozen commandos and army officials.
The commandos were caught unaware inside enemy territory with heavy firing. They were fighting with limited ammunition for nearly 36 hours till an armoured regiment was ordered to blow and link up with the commandos. The Oct 12, 1987 operation had gone totally wrong due to poor intelligence inputs by the RAW and other agencies, according to sources.
Similarly intelligence inputs for even routine operations in Jammu and Kashmir are sketchy often endangering the lives of security forces.
The files maintained by the Intelligence Bureau, RAW and MI are generally of routine nature. Though each formation and branches maintain their own records, most intelligence is non-actionable.
An intelligence unit had a secret file on former President Pravez Musharraf, the intel was of routine nature include what liquor he drank or how he liked to socialise. The vital points including how he operated the Pakistan army or controlled the ISI were not listed, according to sources.
Interestingly, while India never has had the policy of hot pursuit, though it has actively been debated in war rooms South and North Block and intelligence headquarters in New Delhi, the troops are ready if ordered to conduct any operation in all war theatres.
However, post 26/11 after which a lot of emphasis has been stressed on rejuvenating the intelligence agencies are yet to bear fruits.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
CBI plays soft ball
Indian Olympic Association chief and former head of the CWG Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi has finally been arrested by the CBI for awarding Commonwealth Games contract to a Swiss company at an inflated rate of `141 crore and causing `95 crore loss to the exchequer.Kalmadi is allegedly accused of not only signing the contract as the head of the executive board of the OC, from which he was removed after the loot was widely reported in the media, but because of his pre-mediated and planned role much before the contract was awarded to Swiss Timekeeping.Kalmadi was instrumental in changing the specification for awarding the contract to the Swiss company and appointing personnel who toed his line. Kalmadi also removed officials who objected to the selection of the company on a single tender basis while ignoring MSL of Spain. For the Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) System, MSL had quoted `45 crore but Kalmadi awarded contract to Swiss Timekeeping thus causing `95 crore loss to the exchequer. Out of this loss, `23 crore was paid for non-execution of any service.“Kalmadi was arrested for awarding the contract in a planned and pre-mediated manner to the Swiss company,” a CBI official said after formally arresting the Pune MP at 3.30 pm on Monday."Kalmadi threatened and coerced tender evaluation committee members to disqualify other bidders," the CBI said. Agency spokesperson Dharini Mishra said further investigations are on.The CBI has so far registered 10 cases in the scam related to the organisation of the event.
Five of these are against the OC, three against NDMC and one against SIS Live.More than six months after the sports extravaganza and a month after arresting two officials, the agency has finally pounced on the big cat.The same slow pace and over-cautious approach of the agency is visible in the 2G scam probe. Though the agency has named DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter M Kanimozhi in the second chargesheet filed today, it has left out his wife Dayaluammal. After receiving Rs 100 crore on splitting with Sun TV, Dayaluammal along with daughter Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar formed Kalaignar TV. This television company got unsecured loan which is seen as an alleged ‘bribe’ of Rs 200 crore from Shahid Balwa’s DB Realty for getting spectrum licence. After it was discovered and reported in the media, the money was given back to Balwa’s company.The CBI says it did not make her an accused because “she does not know English”. The agency ignored the fact Dayaluammal has 60 per cent stake in Kalaignar TV and being a majority partner, she is legally responsible for all the actions that her company takes.“We did not name her as an accused because she did not know English. Even her statement was recorded with the help of a translator. She had no active role and her signatures are not on any company document,” the CBI official investigating the case said. Kanimozhi was made an accused because “she was an active stakeholder, effectively dealing with (former Telecom minister A) Raja, Radia tapes and she was pushing Kalaignar TV in Delhi,” an official said.By filing the second chargesheet, the CBI has effectively concluded the 2G scam probe except the Loop Telecom, where some senior officials have stakes in Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd (formerly Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd) and Loop Telecom through Mauritius-based companies. However, the agency would find it difficult to move against ADAG chief Anil Ambani and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata as Swan and Unitech involved in the 2G scam are alleged fronts of both the groups respectively. CBI officials admit that was as far as it could go but left little room depending on the circumstances. “We have to move according to each layer. If a layer leads to second layer we proceed. If we find no evidence leading to third level, we cannot proceed on the basis of presumed evidence,” a senior official handling investigation said. However, the CBI may file an additional chargesheet in the Loop case. The agency is moving slowly as it getting sanction against senior officials in a phased manner, according to sources. The high and mighty involved in both the 2G scam and CWG loot are actively involved in removing evidence. “This is what they are doing. What can we do about it,” admitted a CBI official.
Five of these are against the OC, three against NDMC and one against SIS Live.More than six months after the sports extravaganza and a month after arresting two officials, the agency has finally pounced on the big cat.The same slow pace and over-cautious approach of the agency is visible in the 2G scam probe. Though the agency has named DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter M Kanimozhi in the second chargesheet filed today, it has left out his wife Dayaluammal. After receiving Rs 100 crore on splitting with Sun TV, Dayaluammal along with daughter Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar formed Kalaignar TV. This television company got unsecured loan which is seen as an alleged ‘bribe’ of Rs 200 crore from Shahid Balwa’s DB Realty for getting spectrum licence. After it was discovered and reported in the media, the money was given back to Balwa’s company.The CBI says it did not make her an accused because “she does not know English”. The agency ignored the fact Dayaluammal has 60 per cent stake in Kalaignar TV and being a majority partner, she is legally responsible for all the actions that her company takes.“We did not name her as an accused because she did not know English. Even her statement was recorded with the help of a translator. She had no active role and her signatures are not on any company document,” the CBI official investigating the case said. Kanimozhi was made an accused because “she was an active stakeholder, effectively dealing with (former Telecom minister A) Raja, Radia tapes and she was pushing Kalaignar TV in Delhi,” an official said.By filing the second chargesheet, the CBI has effectively concluded the 2G scam probe except the Loop Telecom, where some senior officials have stakes in Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd (formerly Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd) and Loop Telecom through Mauritius-based companies. However, the agency would find it difficult to move against ADAG chief Anil Ambani and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata as Swan and Unitech involved in the 2G scam are alleged fronts of both the groups respectively. CBI officials admit that was as far as it could go but left little room depending on the circumstances. “We have to move according to each layer. If a layer leads to second layer we proceed. If we find no evidence leading to third level, we cannot proceed on the basis of presumed evidence,” a senior official handling investigation said. However, the CBI may file an additional chargesheet in the Loop case. The agency is moving slowly as it getting sanction against senior officials in a phased manner, according to sources. The high and mighty involved in both the 2G scam and CWG loot are actively involved in removing evidence. “This is what they are doing. What can we do about it,” admitted a CBI official.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Vedanta in a great rush to get Cairn deal through!
No one should be surprised why Vedanta Resources Plc is in a tearing hurry to take over Cairn India despite the issue being stuck in the Prime Minister's Office? The answer is simple: the LSE-listed firm of Anil Agarwal is eyeing mind-boggling profits by clocking an estimated revenue of $650 billion on an investment of mere $9.6 billion, where as the government should have the right of first option of purchase.
The oil discovered so far in the Barmer and Jalore districts, including Mangala region, is estimated to be over one billion barrels and further significant discoveries are expected to cross over 6.5 billion barrels in the entire state of Rajasthan. The value of the oil is over $650 billion given the average price of $100 per barrel that the company expects to make in a period of 30 years of the lease agreement.
A Bangalore-based lawyer Arun Agarwal has lodged a complaint with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers besides the CBI and the CVC alleging large-scale bungling in the whole deal.
On Tuesday, Vedanta bought 10 percent of Cairn India from Malaysian company Petronas which made a cool profit of $1.16 billion in four years. Vedanta paid a total of $2.1 billion for 14.94 percent of Cairn India.
“This clearly shows the profits Vedanta will make after it gets full control of the oil fields,” says Agarwal.
The direct cost of producing a barrel of oil, according to the website of Cairn India, is $5 and after meeting the financial charges etc it is $10 dollars per barrel. Cairn India owns 70 per cent of the oil producing fields while the state-owned ONGC owns 30 per cent. Cairn does not pay any royalty to ONGC.
There are pending disputes relating to payment of royalty and cess presently paid by ONGC and neither paid nor recovered as cost from Cairn. The excess liability (to be paid by Cairn) of ONGC on royalty alone is about Rs 12,000 crore. The deal also becomes cheaper to the extent that ONGC has to pay excess royalty.
“It therefore does not stand to reason as to why the oil reserves should be allowed by the government to be transferred for around seven billion dollars to Vedanta when it has the right of first option of purchase,” says Agarwal.
The matter of royalty is now with the CCEA headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Law Minister M Veerappa Moily and the Solicitor General of India say that the royalty ONGC pays on entire output from Cairn India's oifields is cost recoverable.
“Somehow the original deal got structured in a manner by which the entire liability of royalty and cess devolved on ONGC and not on Cairn. The matter needs to be investigated and responsibility fixed,” the lawyer said in the complaint to the PM.
The oil ministry in the Cabinet note has admitted that Cairn could later play difficult. The Cabinet note says that Cairn has alleged that the non-inclusion of cess in the production sharing contract was “either a mutual or a unilateral mistake by the Government by playing fraud by diverting (original operator) Shell's attention away from cess during the contract negotiations.”
Vedanta is buying 51 per cent of shares of Cairn India at a price of around Rs 400 per share which amounts to approximately Rs 43,600 crore or $9.6 billion. Hence, by investing $9.6 billion, Vedanta is looking at profits of $600 billion, if $50 billion are subtracted as operational costs and other expenditures, according to the complainant, who terms the deal as "national loot".
“Under the circumstances, it is the collective responsibility of all the Ministers… including the CVC and the CBI that there is complete pre deal signing transparency so that allegations of crony capitalism/ bribery,/sell out / economic blunder are not leveled later on after the government approves the deal,” the complainant alleges.
The oil discovered so far in the Barmer and Jalore districts, including Mangala region, is estimated to be over one billion barrels and further significant discoveries are expected to cross over 6.5 billion barrels in the entire state of Rajasthan. The value of the oil is over $650 billion given the average price of $100 per barrel that the company expects to make in a period of 30 years of the lease agreement.
A Bangalore-based lawyer Arun Agarwal has lodged a complaint with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers besides the CBI and the CVC alleging large-scale bungling in the whole deal.
On Tuesday, Vedanta bought 10 percent of Cairn India from Malaysian company Petronas which made a cool profit of $1.16 billion in four years. Vedanta paid a total of $2.1 billion for 14.94 percent of Cairn India.
“This clearly shows the profits Vedanta will make after it gets full control of the oil fields,” says Agarwal.
The direct cost of producing a barrel of oil, according to the website of Cairn India, is $5 and after meeting the financial charges etc it is $10 dollars per barrel. Cairn India owns 70 per cent of the oil producing fields while the state-owned ONGC owns 30 per cent. Cairn does not pay any royalty to ONGC.
There are pending disputes relating to payment of royalty and cess presently paid by ONGC and neither paid nor recovered as cost from Cairn. The excess liability (to be paid by Cairn) of ONGC on royalty alone is about Rs 12,000 crore. The deal also becomes cheaper to the extent that ONGC has to pay excess royalty.
“It therefore does not stand to reason as to why the oil reserves should be allowed by the government to be transferred for around seven billion dollars to Vedanta when it has the right of first option of purchase,” says Agarwal.
The matter of royalty is now with the CCEA headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Law Minister M Veerappa Moily and the Solicitor General of India say that the royalty ONGC pays on entire output from Cairn India's oifields is cost recoverable.
“Somehow the original deal got structured in a manner by which the entire liability of royalty and cess devolved on ONGC and not on Cairn. The matter needs to be investigated and responsibility fixed,” the lawyer said in the complaint to the PM.
The oil ministry in the Cabinet note has admitted that Cairn could later play difficult. The Cabinet note says that Cairn has alleged that the non-inclusion of cess in the production sharing contract was “either a mutual or a unilateral mistake by the Government by playing fraud by diverting (original operator) Shell's attention away from cess during the contract negotiations.”
Vedanta is buying 51 per cent of shares of Cairn India at a price of around Rs 400 per share which amounts to approximately Rs 43,600 crore or $9.6 billion. Hence, by investing $9.6 billion, Vedanta is looking at profits of $600 billion, if $50 billion are subtracted as operational costs and other expenditures, according to the complainant, who terms the deal as "national loot".
“Under the circumstances, it is the collective responsibility of all the Ministers… including the CVC and the CBI that there is complete pre deal signing transparency so that allegations of crony capitalism/ bribery,/sell out / economic blunder are not leveled later on after the government approves the deal,” the complainant alleges.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
‘Corrupt’ panel: Where is it headed?
The whole issue of dealing with corruption is getting tangled in unsavoury controversies. The fight against corruption will be so badly mutilated that is perpetuators wouldn’t know from which side they were hit. Riding high on the Jantar Mantar success, the civil activists will realise their folly after they will be forced to leave the battle ground by forces that are all-powerful and mean.
Given the political inclinations and the fierce opposition it has from the Congress party and the ministers, the committee will just end up becoming a place of drinking tea, exchanging pleasantries and getting good coverage on national television, if subsequent meetings are held.
And the manner in which the activists went around declaring war against the establishment and then sneaking in a weak draft, it appears that we are poised to lose the war on corruption.
The first sign of split emerged from within the dharna members. They started picking holes over naming the committee members. Baba Ramdev wanted Kiran Bedi, who herself didn’t want to be a part of the draft committee. But the more serious damage was because of the inclusion of father-son - Shanti Bhushan and Prashant – in the draft committee to frame Lokpall Bill.
Barely had Baba backed off that allegations against Anna started creeping up. One Hemant Patil from Pune went on the stage raking old charges against corruption. It was alleged that he was a crony of Maratha strongman and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Not many paid credence to Patil’s charges cause he couldn’t defend himself on being a crony of Pawar. The less said about Pawar, the better.
Since the daft notification, one thing has been consistent – people mistrust against the Bhushans. They are said to be taking up causes of public interest. Nevertheless the father-son is facing intense heat.
And all this is partly because Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh couldn’t see that a very good organized campaign could surpass the socialist’s fancy.
Then to add substance to the charges of their intention, Shanti Bhushan’s conversations with ‘dalal’ Amar Singh (Congress MP Raj Babbar has termed Amar Singh as a dalal) and Mulayam Singh were the centre of attraction once again. The timing of the repeated leak was purportedly to embarrass Hazare and company and even the Bhushans. Anna Hazare is unnecessarily batted for lawyer Shanti Bhushan. Anna should have realised that Shanti Bhushan has been the law minister and knows the tricks of the trade.
In the tapped conversations, Amar Singh is fixing deals with industrialists, transferring judges and bureaucrats and even talking about the legs of Jaya Prada and actresses like Bipasha Basu expressing their desire to meet up with Singh after having met him only once.
Why should the taped conversations become a topic alongwith corruption? Is Amar Singh looking at getting ban on the explicit conversations? The point is that Amar Singh will always allege that the taped conversations are doctored. The point is that the 2006 phone calls of Amar Singh present a birds eye view on the way the corruption happens in the country.
Given the laws in the country, Amar Singh and Shanti Bhushan, if the tapes are found to be genuine, have never had to explain how they could fix postings of judges. Perhaps, given the legal power they enjoy, it is likely that the taped conversations are buried in court cases for a very long time.
In the end, the society members who launched the anti-corruption agitation between cricketing break, may end the stir and walk out with a dignified face. At present, the civil society committee members are on the backfoot.
They presented a diluted draft to the ministers. WHY? Will Anna managers explain why they cheated the nation by presented a different draft to the ministers? After circulating a draft of the Bill, they went to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and gave a changed version. Arvind Kejriwal claims that he is updating the versions on the internet after incorporating suggestions from the people. Is that how they are going to make laws in the country and fight corruption? Is he going to make laws for the people?
Given this kind of drafting and changing of law points, some very angry people are not going to appreciate personal ideas of this civil society group.
In all probability, many people are already moving the courts against the selection of committee members and choices before the Supreme Court could be limited. So even before June 30, we could have the courts intervening and staying the drafting, because the left out group of civil society members are going to argue on the manner of the selection of the five members.
Certainly this raises questions why are we going in for another government-appointed body or law when those implementing it will be the same class of people. Given the fierce opposition, the Hazare campaign has faced it doesn’t look that the committee will be able to see the June 30 deadline. Anna himself has come to realise that he may not be able to push for the Bill dateline of August 15. Will this exercise come to a naught?
Given the political inclinations and the fierce opposition it has from the Congress party and the ministers, the committee will just end up becoming a place of drinking tea, exchanging pleasantries and getting good coverage on national television, if subsequent meetings are held.
And the manner in which the activists went around declaring war against the establishment and then sneaking in a weak draft, it appears that we are poised to lose the war on corruption.
The first sign of split emerged from within the dharna members. They started picking holes over naming the committee members. Baba Ramdev wanted Kiran Bedi, who herself didn’t want to be a part of the draft committee. But the more serious damage was because of the inclusion of father-son - Shanti Bhushan and Prashant – in the draft committee to frame Lokpall Bill.
Barely had Baba backed off that allegations against Anna started creeping up. One Hemant Patil from Pune went on the stage raking old charges against corruption. It was alleged that he was a crony of Maratha strongman and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Not many paid credence to Patil’s charges cause he couldn’t defend himself on being a crony of Pawar. The less said about Pawar, the better.
Since the daft notification, one thing has been consistent – people mistrust against the Bhushans. They are said to be taking up causes of public interest. Nevertheless the father-son is facing intense heat.
And all this is partly because Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh couldn’t see that a very good organized campaign could surpass the socialist’s fancy.
Then to add substance to the charges of their intention, Shanti Bhushan’s conversations with ‘dalal’ Amar Singh (Congress MP Raj Babbar has termed Amar Singh as a dalal) and Mulayam Singh were the centre of attraction once again. The timing of the repeated leak was purportedly to embarrass Hazare and company and even the Bhushans. Anna Hazare is unnecessarily batted for lawyer Shanti Bhushan. Anna should have realised that Shanti Bhushan has been the law minister and knows the tricks of the trade.
In the tapped conversations, Amar Singh is fixing deals with industrialists, transferring judges and bureaucrats and even talking about the legs of Jaya Prada and actresses like Bipasha Basu expressing their desire to meet up with Singh after having met him only once.
Why should the taped conversations become a topic alongwith corruption? Is Amar Singh looking at getting ban on the explicit conversations? The point is that Amar Singh will always allege that the taped conversations are doctored. The point is that the 2006 phone calls of Amar Singh present a birds eye view on the way the corruption happens in the country.
Given the laws in the country, Amar Singh and Shanti Bhushan, if the tapes are found to be genuine, have never had to explain how they could fix postings of judges. Perhaps, given the legal power they enjoy, it is likely that the taped conversations are buried in court cases for a very long time.
In the end, the society members who launched the anti-corruption agitation between cricketing break, may end the stir and walk out with a dignified face. At present, the civil society committee members are on the backfoot.
They presented a diluted draft to the ministers. WHY? Will Anna managers explain why they cheated the nation by presented a different draft to the ministers? After circulating a draft of the Bill, they went to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and gave a changed version. Arvind Kejriwal claims that he is updating the versions on the internet after incorporating suggestions from the people. Is that how they are going to make laws in the country and fight corruption? Is he going to make laws for the people?
Given this kind of drafting and changing of law points, some very angry people are not going to appreciate personal ideas of this civil society group.
In all probability, many people are already moving the courts against the selection of committee members and choices before the Supreme Court could be limited. So even before June 30, we could have the courts intervening and staying the drafting, because the left out group of civil society members are going to argue on the manner of the selection of the five members.
Certainly this raises questions why are we going in for another government-appointed body or law when those implementing it will be the same class of people. Given the fierce opposition, the Hazare campaign has faced it doesn’t look that the committee will be able to see the June 30 deadline. Anna himself has come to realise that he may not be able to push for the Bill dateline of August 15. Will this exercise come to a naught?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Anna campaign cost Rs 31 lakh
Moved by Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption, corporate houses, various social and religious organisations and individuals liberally donated the organization, India Against Corruption (IAC), to the tune of around Rs 1 core out of which it spent Rs 31 lakh.
IAC got a total of Rs 85 lakh (Rs 85,75,469) through cheques, cash and funds transfer from various organizations, corporate houses and individuals for launching the campaign to move the Lokpal Bill. And donations are still floating in, say officials.
And out of this, the IAC spent Rs 9,61,578 on tentage and public address system at the Jantar Mantar, the venue for the campaign that caught world-wide attention from April 5 to 9.
Transporting volunteers and worker for the agitation in taxis and private cars, cost the IAC nearly Rs 4,61,588.
One of the biggest support, the IAC got for the campaign was through the internet. Nearly 50,000 people had expressed support through the Internet and the IAC website was the hub of online activity. The website and internet cost Rs 8,93,938. For the entire printing material including pamphlets and banners, the campaigners have paid Rs 7,32,624.
Interestingly, the lowest expenditure for the campaign was towards food and beverages, as the agitation was a hunger strike. It just worked to Rs 81,751.
The costing admits Ashwati Muralidharan, spokesperson of the IAC which has its head office in Kaushambi in Ghaziabad, is not only for the five-day agitation at Jantar Mantar but from a period from January to March.
However, former IPS Kiran Bedi said the four main movers – Arvind Kejriwal, Agnivesh besides Bedi and Hazare had extensively toured India for five months preceding the New Delhi fast unto death. “We have traveled throughout the country for five months and attended hundreds of seminars to explain our viewpoints. It is because of the extensive touring that we have got such support.”
The expenditure however, does not include three-month expenditure of the tours of the four activists.
According to sources, the money involved could be much more as few corporate houses and even politicians had funded many activists and actors to stand up for the cause. Many Bollywood personalities had flown from Mumbai to Delhi to express their solidarity for the campaign.
IAC got a total of Rs 85 lakh (Rs 85,75,469) through cheques, cash and funds transfer from various organizations, corporate houses and individuals for launching the campaign to move the Lokpal Bill. And donations are still floating in, say officials.
And out of this, the IAC spent Rs 9,61,578 on tentage and public address system at the Jantar Mantar, the venue for the campaign that caught world-wide attention from April 5 to 9.
Transporting volunteers and worker for the agitation in taxis and private cars, cost the IAC nearly Rs 4,61,588.
One of the biggest support, the IAC got for the campaign was through the internet. Nearly 50,000 people had expressed support through the Internet and the IAC website was the hub of online activity. The website and internet cost Rs 8,93,938. For the entire printing material including pamphlets and banners, the campaigners have paid Rs 7,32,624.
Interestingly, the lowest expenditure for the campaign was towards food and beverages, as the agitation was a hunger strike. It just worked to Rs 81,751.
The costing admits Ashwati Muralidharan, spokesperson of the IAC which has its head office in Kaushambi in Ghaziabad, is not only for the five-day agitation at Jantar Mantar but from a period from January to March.
However, former IPS Kiran Bedi said the four main movers – Arvind Kejriwal, Agnivesh besides Bedi and Hazare had extensively toured India for five months preceding the New Delhi fast unto death. “We have traveled throughout the country for five months and attended hundreds of seminars to explain our viewpoints. It is because of the extensive touring that we have got such support.”
The expenditure however, does not include three-month expenditure of the tours of the four activists.
According to sources, the money involved could be much more as few corporate houses and even politicians had funded many activists and actors to stand up for the cause. Many Bollywood personalities had flown from Mumbai to Delhi to express their solidarity for the campaign.
Freedom fighter’s family gets help, too late, too little
Families of the martyrs who laid their life for the country are leading uncared and poor lives, ignored by the State and even the people.
Grand son of the national hero, Shaheed-e-Azam Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O Dwyer, Governor of Punjab when the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre was ordered in 1919, is living the life of a labourer earning meager amounts for his daily bread.
Till this day, Jeet Singh, grand son of Udham Singh, alonwith his family, is surviving on wages that he earns working at private construction sites in Sangrur district, carrying bricks on his head.
Promised help by former President Gaini Zail Singh besides a host of politicians and chief ministers of Punjab, Jeet had not found his fortune change. He was living a life in utter poverty and neglect.
But for writer, Shivnath Jha, who has written an explosive yet simple book, ‘Forgotten Indian Heroes and Martyrs: Their Neglected Descendants’, it was a sordid tale that brought tears to his eyes.
“I was really moved seeing Jeet Singh working as a labourer. When I set out in search for the families of our freedom fighters, I had never imagined that I would see this. As an Indian I felt ashamed that the families of the martyrs were so neglected,” says Jha at the launch of his untiring effort.
“I traveled from Mumbai to Punjab like a beggar. I had no money and yet I carried on. My life was like that of a dog. Have we stopped caring? Today, when I look back, I feel that India has really not cared about the families of the martyrs,” Jha said with tears rolling down. From a newspaper boy to a writer, Jha has come a long way as he penned his book.
However, Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda, moved by the plight of the families donated Rs 11 lakh to Jeet Singh.
Senior journalist Ajay Jha, who wrote the preface of the book says, “I hope people of the country and the government of India wake up to help the families of the martyrs and heroes.”
Jeet Singh, accepting the cheque from Darda, said, “I am thankful to all and specially Jha and Darda for helping us out. I have hope and will not have to work as a labourer to make my ends meet.”
Grand son of the national hero, Shaheed-e-Azam Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O Dwyer, Governor of Punjab when the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre was ordered in 1919, is living the life of a labourer earning meager amounts for his daily bread.
Till this day, Jeet Singh, grand son of Udham Singh, alonwith his family, is surviving on wages that he earns working at private construction sites in Sangrur district, carrying bricks on his head.
Promised help by former President Gaini Zail Singh besides a host of politicians and chief ministers of Punjab, Jeet had not found his fortune change. He was living a life in utter poverty and neglect.
But for writer, Shivnath Jha, who has written an explosive yet simple book, ‘Forgotten Indian Heroes and Martyrs: Their Neglected Descendants’, it was a sordid tale that brought tears to his eyes.
“I was really moved seeing Jeet Singh working as a labourer. When I set out in search for the families of our freedom fighters, I had never imagined that I would see this. As an Indian I felt ashamed that the families of the martyrs were so neglected,” says Jha at the launch of his untiring effort.
“I traveled from Mumbai to Punjab like a beggar. I had no money and yet I carried on. My life was like that of a dog. Have we stopped caring? Today, when I look back, I feel that India has really not cared about the families of the martyrs,” Jha said with tears rolling down. From a newspaper boy to a writer, Jha has come a long way as he penned his book.
However, Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda, moved by the plight of the families donated Rs 11 lakh to Jeet Singh.
Senior journalist Ajay Jha, who wrote the preface of the book says, “I hope people of the country and the government of India wake up to help the families of the martyrs and heroes.”
Jeet Singh, accepting the cheque from Darda, said, “I am thankful to all and specially Jha and Darda for helping us out. I have hope and will not have to work as a labourer to make my ends meet.”
Monday, April 11, 2011
Corruption: A long battle
Corruption is omnipresent in the country and Anna Hazare and even thousands of his likes cannot eliminate it. At best they just can stymie it, if ever they are more than successful. But if you start believing that it will be wiped out in one go, you could be sadly mistaken. Given the rot in our life, where corruption has become part of the system, it will take ages and a long fight, a very long fight indeed, to be free of the menace.
India is perhaps one of the most corrupt countries in the world. And we don’t need Transparency International to tell us so.
From getting a driving license to space spectrum, everything is up for grabs. Money is no more given and taken under the table but it is now the ‘system’. Clerks claim bribe money as their birth right. The passport verification officer who comes to verify, rightfully demands his share of doing you a favour by coming to your house and give you good marks that would enable you to get the document to travel out of the country.
Who will fix the beat constable, local clerk or even safai karmchari who comes to seek Diwali gifts?
And then we have prime ministers, ministers, bureaucrats, judges taking huge amounts as bribes at the higher levels.
Will the Lokpal be able to stop that?
Corruption has grown in size and intensity despite the number of agencies floating around. Today, the anti-corruption and policing paraphernalia floating around in abundance is unable to eliminate corruption. India has the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and several other watchdogs and policing organizations.
Each state police has an anti-corruption branch and each public organisation maintains vigilance group and department. In addition, India is burdened with Economic Intelligence Council with RAW, IB, CEIB (Central Economic Intelligence Bureau), DRI, DE, DGAE, CBEC, CBDT, customs… phew! These acronyms and abbreviations have even stopped making sense.
On top of it, the Income Tax Department maintains its own corruption wing and is scanning tax records and tapping phones. (Radia tapes are a boon because of this snooping around.) In the infamous 2G scam, the country knew the scam was happening. A newspaper was crying hoarse but the perpetrator, A Raja, was crowned telecom minister again in the UPA II. Only when the Supreme Court was critical of Raja did the shameless government wake up and asked him to go. Look at the way the 2G scam is being probed. Besides CBI, Income Tax, IB etc, it is being investigated by PAC and JPC of the Parliament. And even if Raja is nailed, is his boss who got the Rs 214 crore bribe amount even bothered that it could possibly put him in prison. The 2G spectrum loot is now an open secret.
Nevertheless the scams continue to grow. Today we are concerned with Commonwealth Games loot, Adarsh scam, money laundering, black money, Antrix scam...
Despite the plethora of agencies looking at these scams, people are still walking through the system, like in the case of Commonwealth Games. Suresh Kalmadi, Sheila Dikshit, Tajender Khanna. Manmohan Singh, no matter how innocent he may claim to be, has not owned up to the Antrix deal. The case of Singh is different. He claims to be innocent but various scams have taken under his guidance and chairmanship of leading the club. Ignoring or looking the other way or even outright inefficiency is also corruption.
The corrupt netas are still zipping around in beacon cars with impunity.
The moot question is will another anti-graft body with another fancy name, the Lokpal, be able to make the difference. It’s just not going to happen even if Lokpal Bill with tremendous powers becomes a functional authority.
What we require is ‘honest’ people not organisations and more rules and laws. It’s anyway complicated out there. What we need is better implementation of existing laws. And if it comes to that, certain modifications in a few rules will help. Like for instance, the powers of the CBI to go after administrators above the rank of joint secretaries. The agency is impotent when it comes to probing ministers and secretaries and needs nod of higher ups.
Even if the Lokpal comes into existence, from where will the people come to change the system?
The top bosses of investigating agencies will still be appointed by corrupt political leaders who become ministers. We need resilience of the people against corruption. Let us promise to ourselves that we are not going to bribe our ways through even if means waiting for licences or delayed Government clearances.
We, the people of India, need to change to stand up to corruption – at every level. Let us take a pledge today that no matter what, we are not going to pay the babus and netas. Can we stop seeking favours? Can we start waiting in long queues?
To weed out corruption, we need concerted effort. While we support Anna Hazare in getting a Lokpal, let us change ourselves.
India is perhaps one of the most corrupt countries in the world. And we don’t need Transparency International to tell us so.
From getting a driving license to space spectrum, everything is up for grabs. Money is no more given and taken under the table but it is now the ‘system’. Clerks claim bribe money as their birth right. The passport verification officer who comes to verify, rightfully demands his share of doing you a favour by coming to your house and give you good marks that would enable you to get the document to travel out of the country.
Who will fix the beat constable, local clerk or even safai karmchari who comes to seek Diwali gifts?
And then we have prime ministers, ministers, bureaucrats, judges taking huge amounts as bribes at the higher levels.
Will the Lokpal be able to stop that?
Corruption has grown in size and intensity despite the number of agencies floating around. Today, the anti-corruption and policing paraphernalia floating around in abundance is unable to eliminate corruption. India has the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and several other watchdogs and policing organizations.
Each state police has an anti-corruption branch and each public organisation maintains vigilance group and department. In addition, India is burdened with Economic Intelligence Council with RAW, IB, CEIB (Central Economic Intelligence Bureau), DRI, DE, DGAE, CBEC, CBDT, customs… phew! These acronyms and abbreviations have even stopped making sense.
On top of it, the Income Tax Department maintains its own corruption wing and is scanning tax records and tapping phones. (Radia tapes are a boon because of this snooping around.) In the infamous 2G scam, the country knew the scam was happening. A newspaper was crying hoarse but the perpetrator, A Raja, was crowned telecom minister again in the UPA II. Only when the Supreme Court was critical of Raja did the shameless government wake up and asked him to go. Look at the way the 2G scam is being probed. Besides CBI, Income Tax, IB etc, it is being investigated by PAC and JPC of the Parliament. And even if Raja is nailed, is his boss who got the Rs 214 crore bribe amount even bothered that it could possibly put him in prison. The 2G spectrum loot is now an open secret.
Nevertheless the scams continue to grow. Today we are concerned with Commonwealth Games loot, Adarsh scam, money laundering, black money, Antrix scam...
Despite the plethora of agencies looking at these scams, people are still walking through the system, like in the case of Commonwealth Games. Suresh Kalmadi, Sheila Dikshit, Tajender Khanna. Manmohan Singh, no matter how innocent he may claim to be, has not owned up to the Antrix deal. The case of Singh is different. He claims to be innocent but various scams have taken under his guidance and chairmanship of leading the club. Ignoring or looking the other way or even outright inefficiency is also corruption.
The corrupt netas are still zipping around in beacon cars with impunity.
The moot question is will another anti-graft body with another fancy name, the Lokpal, be able to make the difference. It’s just not going to happen even if Lokpal Bill with tremendous powers becomes a functional authority.
What we require is ‘honest’ people not organisations and more rules and laws. It’s anyway complicated out there. What we need is better implementation of existing laws. And if it comes to that, certain modifications in a few rules will help. Like for instance, the powers of the CBI to go after administrators above the rank of joint secretaries. The agency is impotent when it comes to probing ministers and secretaries and needs nod of higher ups.
Even if the Lokpal comes into existence, from where will the people come to change the system?
The top bosses of investigating agencies will still be appointed by corrupt political leaders who become ministers. We need resilience of the people against corruption. Let us promise to ourselves that we are not going to bribe our ways through even if means waiting for licences or delayed Government clearances.
We, the people of India, need to change to stand up to corruption – at every level. Let us take a pledge today that no matter what, we are not going to pay the babus and netas. Can we stop seeking favours? Can we start waiting in long queues?
To weed out corruption, we need concerted effort. While we support Anna Hazare in getting a Lokpal, let us change ourselves.
Poll reforms next in line
Taking the war against corruption to the second level, crusader Anna Hazare said citizens must have the right to reject candidates during elections as part of electoral reforms after completing the Lokpall fight.
A victorious Anna, after successfully making the UPA Government bend down to set up a committee to draft the Lokpall Bill, asserted that it was the right time in the country to bring in the required changes and weed out corruption.
"If we talk of removing 100 percent corruption, we can achieve 90 percent by the Lokpal. Rest 10 percent would be achieved when we are able to change the way elections are fought in the country. We should be able to reject undesirable candidates. The election system needs a change," Anna said at a press conference at the Press Club of India on April 10, 2011.
Ruling out contesting elections himself, Anna said elections in the country had become a very expensive affair. "It takes Rs 6-7 crore to fight elections these days. Votes are bought for Rs 100 or a bottle of liquor or giving a saree. I cannot even think of doing that," he said and added that he would indeed float an organisation that would work for public awareness.
As for the composition of the draft committee on Lokpal Bill which had raised several heckles, Anna sought to clear the air saying the members were selected after much deliberation.
The committee has lawyer father-son duo, Shanti and Prashant Bhushan, besides Anna's think-tank, former IPS officer Kiren Bedi and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.
The Baba had wanted inclusion of former IPS officer Kiran Bedi on the panel while voicing concerns over nepotism.
Anna, who still stays in a temple in his village in Maharashtra, said that Bhushans were included as the committee needed some legal bend also as each clause of the present legal system had to be dealt in detail. "I talked to Baba Ramdev and told him that Bedi herself did not want to be on the committee. All the minor differences will be sorted out," Anna said. He ruled out any change in the membership of the committee.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal and Bedi did all the explaining at the much-awaited press conference. While agreeing to declare their assets, the draft committee member said that views of other members would be sought before the committing but added, "That should not be an issue. We will declare all our assets," Kejriwal said.
Bedi urged the media not "to smell a rat in everything" while Kejriwal said the media should not see "conspiracy in everything".
The committee is expected to meet on April 16 and the draft would be prepared in full public glare.
The hard copies ought to be sent to each Gram Sabha so that everybody's suggestions are incorporated, Anna, a former Indian army soldier, said.
The Bill would be presented in the Monsoon session of the Parliament and if the political leaders fail to pass it by August 15, "we will again resort to this blackmail, if it is being termed so," Anna added.
While Chief Ministers Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar got a pat from Anna for their efforts on rural development, Modi fell short of getting 100 percent marks from the Pune crusader. "The way the Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Bihar have worked in their states, this should be adopted by other chief ministers. The chief ministers of other states should also work like this. I will accept Modi as 100 per cent ideal when he brings Lokpall in the state," he said.
A victorious Anna, after successfully making the UPA Government bend down to set up a committee to draft the Lokpall Bill, asserted that it was the right time in the country to bring in the required changes and weed out corruption.
"If we talk of removing 100 percent corruption, we can achieve 90 percent by the Lokpal. Rest 10 percent would be achieved when we are able to change the way elections are fought in the country. We should be able to reject undesirable candidates. The election system needs a change," Anna said at a press conference at the Press Club of India on April 10, 2011.
Ruling out contesting elections himself, Anna said elections in the country had become a very expensive affair. "It takes Rs 6-7 crore to fight elections these days. Votes are bought for Rs 100 or a bottle of liquor or giving a saree. I cannot even think of doing that," he said and added that he would indeed float an organisation that would work for public awareness.
As for the composition of the draft committee on Lokpal Bill which had raised several heckles, Anna sought to clear the air saying the members were selected after much deliberation.
The committee has lawyer father-son duo, Shanti and Prashant Bhushan, besides Anna's think-tank, former IPS officer Kiren Bedi and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.
The Baba had wanted inclusion of former IPS officer Kiran Bedi on the panel while voicing concerns over nepotism.
Anna, who still stays in a temple in his village in Maharashtra, said that Bhushans were included as the committee needed some legal bend also as each clause of the present legal system had to be dealt in detail. "I talked to Baba Ramdev and told him that Bedi herself did not want to be on the committee. All the minor differences will be sorted out," Anna said. He ruled out any change in the membership of the committee.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal and Bedi did all the explaining at the much-awaited press conference. While agreeing to declare their assets, the draft committee member said that views of other members would be sought before the committing but added, "That should not be an issue. We will declare all our assets," Kejriwal said.
Bedi urged the media not "to smell a rat in everything" while Kejriwal said the media should not see "conspiracy in everything".
The committee is expected to meet on April 16 and the draft would be prepared in full public glare.
The hard copies ought to be sent to each Gram Sabha so that everybody's suggestions are incorporated, Anna, a former Indian army soldier, said.
The Bill would be presented in the Monsoon session of the Parliament and if the political leaders fail to pass it by August 15, "we will again resort to this blackmail, if it is being termed so," Anna added.
While Chief Ministers Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar got a pat from Anna for their efforts on rural development, Modi fell short of getting 100 percent marks from the Pune crusader. "The way the Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Bihar have worked in their states, this should be adopted by other chief ministers. The chief ministers of other states should also work like this. I will accept Modi as 100 per cent ideal when he brings Lokpall in the state," he said.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Fight corruption
This is no time to celebrate as it is no real victory. At present we
are just ensuring that the committee that drafts a ‘Lokpal Bill’ will
have voices like that of Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan besides
that of Anna Hazare.
Even if we get the Lokpal Bill passed in the Assembly till August 15,
are we ready to boot corruption from the country.
Unless we can get rid of corruption and uproot the corrupt elements
from politics and bureaucracy (including not only top babus but to the
last chaprasi or traffic cop), we should not sit back.
We should continue to resorting to the Boot it campaign.
I urge you to stop paying bribes. Unless we come forward and take
initiative, we will not get a foothold.
I urge my brothers and sisters to join Bharat Rakshak, a organisation
that fights corruption and works for the country.
are just ensuring that the committee that drafts a ‘Lokpal Bill’ will
have voices like that of Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan besides
that of Anna Hazare.
Even if we get the Lokpal Bill passed in the Assembly till August 15,
are we ready to boot corruption from the country.
Unless we can get rid of corruption and uproot the corrupt elements
from politics and bureaucracy (including not only top babus but to the
last chaprasi or traffic cop), we should not sit back.
We should continue to resorting to the Boot it campaign.
I urge you to stop paying bribes. Unless we come forward and take
initiative, we will not get a foothold.
I urge my brothers and sisters to join Bharat Rakshak, a organisation
that fights corruption and works for the country.
Friday, April 8, 2011
SC issues notice to Rahul, others in 'rape case'
New Delhi, April 6
Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi will perhaps face the toughest question of his political career as the Supreme Court today issued notice to Rahul Gandhi and five others on a petition filed by former MLA Kishor Samrite challenging Allahabad High Court order in an alleged gang rape case.
Apex court Bench of justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur while staying the HC order of Rs 50 lakh fine and a CBI probe against Samrite, gave Rahul, Uttar Pradesh government and others four weeks to file their replies.
Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Samrite, had sought to find out victim Sukanya and her family, which he alleged have been missing since the infamous rape incident, as was reported in website www.indybay.org and other portals.
According to reports, on December 3, 2006, Rahul Gandhi along with seven friends including four foreigners (two each from Italy and Britain) had “gang raped Sukanya Devi” in a VIP guest house in Amethi. Sukanya later with her mother went to the Amethi police station and even approached the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women to seek justice but to no avail. However, the victim and her parents were untraceable from January 4, 2007.
Samrite had alleged that Sukanaya and her parents were held captive by Rahul and sought directions to the police for producing them in court. Videographer Dhrupad and a cameraman from a news channel, who later recorded statement of Sukanya are also reported missing.
In the High Court, a girl did present herself in the court and said her actual name was Kirti Singh and that Balram Singh and (Sumitra alias Mohini Devi) Sushila are her parents and their identification was done by Amethi police station in-charge.
Kirti told the court that neither she nor her parents were under illegal detention of any person nor has she any information regarding the news item being displayed by the
website.
However, Samrite maintains that the girl and her parents were “implants”. UP director general of police Karam Veer Singh in an affidavit in the High Court “admits that particulars of the girl produced in the Court only partially matches with Sukanya”.
“No documentary evidence was provided by Kirti and her parents in the High Court to prove their identity,” says Samrite.
On the basis of deposition made by girl, the high court imposed Rs 50 lakh fine on Samrite and ordered a CBI probe. Samrite moved the apex court.
However, after the Supreme Court issued notice on Wednesday, Samrite was called to the CBI headquarters by DIG Rajiv Sharma. The former MLA, in the apex court, has alleged that the agency is “hounding him” and “trying to arrest him by exercising harassing tactics upon the old and aged parents”.
Lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a Congress leader, had sent a legal notice to the website, Hinduunity.org. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said he would “check the facts”.
Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi will perhaps face the toughest question of his political career as the Supreme Court today issued notice to Rahul Gandhi and five others on a petition filed by former MLA Kishor Samrite challenging Allahabad High Court order in an alleged gang rape case.
Apex court Bench of justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur while staying the HC order of Rs 50 lakh fine and a CBI probe against Samrite, gave Rahul, Uttar Pradesh government and others four weeks to file their replies.
Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Samrite, had sought to find out victim Sukanya and her family, which he alleged have been missing since the infamous rape incident, as was reported in website www.indybay.org and other portals.
According to reports, on December 3, 2006, Rahul Gandhi along with seven friends including four foreigners (two each from Italy and Britain) had “gang raped Sukanya Devi” in a VIP guest house in Amethi. Sukanya later with her mother went to the Amethi police station and even approached the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women to seek justice but to no avail. However, the victim and her parents were untraceable from January 4, 2007.
Samrite had alleged that Sukanaya and her parents were held captive by Rahul and sought directions to the police for producing them in court. Videographer Dhrupad and a cameraman from a news channel, who later recorded statement of Sukanya are also reported missing.
In the High Court, a girl did present herself in the court and said her actual name was Kirti Singh and that Balram Singh and (Sumitra alias Mohini Devi) Sushila are her parents and their identification was done by Amethi police station in-charge.
Kirti told the court that neither she nor her parents were under illegal detention of any person nor has she any information regarding the news item being displayed by the
website.
However, Samrite maintains that the girl and her parents were “implants”. UP director general of police Karam Veer Singh in an affidavit in the High Court “admits that particulars of the girl produced in the Court only partially matches with Sukanya”.
“No documentary evidence was provided by Kirti and her parents in the High Court to prove their identity,” says Samrite.
On the basis of deposition made by girl, the high court imposed Rs 50 lakh fine on Samrite and ordered a CBI probe. Samrite moved the apex court.
However, after the Supreme Court issued notice on Wednesday, Samrite was called to the CBI headquarters by DIG Rajiv Sharma. The former MLA, in the apex court, has alleged that the agency is “hounding him” and “trying to arrest him by exercising harassing tactics upon the old and aged parents”.
Lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a Congress leader, had sent a legal notice to the website, Hinduunity.org. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said he would “check the facts”.
Not just off-season masala
Immediately after cricket frenzy, social activist Anna Hazare has helped in cementing the bonds between the people in a lean season.
Anna by going on a fast unto death has given a little to everybody, from 'somebodys’ to nobodys’.
He has given TV channels and media enough corruption masala to keep the TRPs high and viewers glued to a cause which is the topic of platitudes after two large Patialas.
Social activists, civil right citizens and nukkad and small time organizations have got a platform to express their presence. Have you heard of a group Unemployed Computer Teachers Association with a membership of 3,000? This group exists and was present in full strength of motley two dozen shouting slogans in front of rolling TV cameras.
And this has happened across the country – from Pune to Patna from Lucknow to Ladoo Sarai.
Then Anna got support from actors, doctors, engineers, scientists, students, teachers, employed or otherwise, political and non-political, non-criminals… to even criminals. Pappu Yadav, in Patna’s Beur jail facing a life term in CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar murder case, is also on a fast unto death against corruption.
Netizens and mobilites have been flooded with SMS and e-mails seeking support for the cause of the Pune crusader. An example – Candle march by Trans-Hindon Residents Welfare Association in Vaishali and Indrapuram in Ghaziabad, UP or Life Care Foundation, Varanasi, is taking out a candle march for a corrupt-free Bharat in support of Anna Hazare. Wont you like to join in and become a concerned citizen?
Anna is demanding a 50:50 representation for civil society activists and government
representatives on a joint committee for drafting an anti-graft bill. The government is more than ready to accept the demands, but only at an informal level.
In an election season - Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, Kerala and even Assam - where the Congress party is eying to win at least 4 out 5 elections, Sonia Gandhi and her managers would be highly disturbed with the developments kicking off from Jantar Mantar. No wonder she said she was disturbed and backed up cause of the aam admi.
One wonders why that the activists Agnivesh and Arvind Kajriwal are in talks with minister Kapil Sibal, who has on record publicly defended his predecessor, A Raja, who is now in jail for the 2G scam that is anything between Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 1.76 lakh crore. They are in talks with the wrong minister for a right demand, which the government was ready to accept. The minister said the present committee would be an informal one to which the activists were not sure how to react.
Bring a law or setting up a Lokpal immediately is not feasible, even if the Prime Minister or President of India personally promise to do so today. Laws are made and for that the Parliament has be in session.
There are hundreds of dharnas that take place at Jantar Mantar, but no group gets so much hype. We need to think positive ways of encashing this before it becomes too late or it goes into the wrong hands. But the big question is – will corruption ever stop.
One thing is important, we are united against corruption. Let us be frank… Anna Hazare will stop someday but corruption will go on and on. But the fight must go on.
Anna by going on a fast unto death has given a little to everybody, from 'somebodys’ to nobodys’.
He has given TV channels and media enough corruption masala to keep the TRPs high and viewers glued to a cause which is the topic of platitudes after two large Patialas.
Social activists, civil right citizens and nukkad and small time organizations have got a platform to express their presence. Have you heard of a group Unemployed Computer Teachers Association with a membership of 3,000? This group exists and was present in full strength of motley two dozen shouting slogans in front of rolling TV cameras.
And this has happened across the country – from Pune to Patna from Lucknow to Ladoo Sarai.
Then Anna got support from actors, doctors, engineers, scientists, students, teachers, employed or otherwise, political and non-political, non-criminals… to even criminals. Pappu Yadav, in Patna’s Beur jail facing a life term in CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar murder case, is also on a fast unto death against corruption.
Netizens and mobilites have been flooded with SMS and e-mails seeking support for the cause of the Pune crusader. An example – Candle march by Trans-Hindon Residents Welfare Association in Vaishali and Indrapuram in Ghaziabad, UP or Life Care Foundation, Varanasi, is taking out a candle march for a corrupt-free Bharat in support of Anna Hazare. Wont you like to join in and become a concerned citizen?
Anna is demanding a 50:50 representation for civil society activists and government
representatives on a joint committee for drafting an anti-graft bill. The government is more than ready to accept the demands, but only at an informal level.
In an election season - Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, Kerala and even Assam - where the Congress party is eying to win at least 4 out 5 elections, Sonia Gandhi and her managers would be highly disturbed with the developments kicking off from Jantar Mantar. No wonder she said she was disturbed and backed up cause of the aam admi.
One wonders why that the activists Agnivesh and Arvind Kajriwal are in talks with minister Kapil Sibal, who has on record publicly defended his predecessor, A Raja, who is now in jail for the 2G scam that is anything between Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 1.76 lakh crore. They are in talks with the wrong minister for a right demand, which the government was ready to accept. The minister said the present committee would be an informal one to which the activists were not sure how to react.
Bring a law or setting up a Lokpal immediately is not feasible, even if the Prime Minister or President of India personally promise to do so today. Laws are made and for that the Parliament has be in session.
There are hundreds of dharnas that take place at Jantar Mantar, but no group gets so much hype. We need to think positive ways of encashing this before it becomes too late or it goes into the wrong hands. But the big question is – will corruption ever stop.
One thing is important, we are united against corruption. Let us be frank… Anna Hazare will stop someday but corruption will go on and on. But the fight must go on.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The magic of being Mr Sharad Pawar
Did you enjoy the game? Well in all the hulla buloo and glory of the balls, it seems we have forgotten the man behind the greatest cricket show on earth. Sharad Chandra Govindrao Pawar. We have forgotten to honour Mr Sharad Pawar.
And it’s not for cricket alone that he deserves the distinction of being given a standing ovation. He is one of the few politicians who has seen it all, been there and done that without getting involved in any scam or any corruption case.
Man of many seasons, he has walked across various tides without a scratch. The wind blows in his face and he couldn’t care less much like a camel walking the Thar desert facing sand dunes.
Like him nor not, but you cannot ignore Mr Sharad Pawar, agriculture minister of the country and chairman of International Cricket Council and ‘National’ Congress Party president.
Latest doing the round is that Pawar flew with Shahid Balwa to Dubai. Does it matter that he flew with the 2G scam accused (Yes Balwa and Pawar flew together to Dubai - on a date...). Hardly! Of course, Mr Pawar couldn’t have remembered the 37-year-old budding business honcho. Balwa’s company got Rs 1.32 crore from the NCP for flying him around during 2008 elections. This was the time Balwa was trying to get the 2G spectrum from A Raja. Eventually, Balwa is alleged to have paid Rs 214 crore bribe through a net of three companies that landed at Mr M Karunanidhi’s doorstep.
But what is the connection with Pawar. Nothing, if you believe Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil. However, there is an interesting twist to the Pawar-Balwa link apart from aircraft usage by the NCP strongman.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan has sought to link Swan Telecom promoter Balwa to a Central Minister (Pawar). Interestingly, CBI joint director YP Singh, who was handling the 2G scam case, took voluntary retirement from the primer investigating agency to join the ICC. There is a possibility that Singh could have given all the good tips to ICC to benefit the cricketing body. Mr Pawar still is out of focus. When NCP boss says that he is not friends with Balwa, who is just too young, it fails logic why no one is ready to buy the argument.
Is there just too much coincidence!
In fact people have always let Pawar beep off the radar and who has never really got bowled.
Abdul Karim Telgi, accused for making printing and selling fake stamp papers, landed in police net for stealing government stamps worth Rs 23,000 crore from railway wagons between 1997-2003. In a narco test, Telgi specically named Mr Sharad Pawar, as the man who was involved in the racket.
The Telgi clip was repeatedly aired by the news channels without any impact on Pawar. An accuse in a case can name his conspirators but if the law allows him to escape scrutiny, it doesn’t augur well for a prudent and balance legal system like ours.
And even social activist’s Anna Hazare’s campaign against Pawar didn’t pay any dividends. Hazare and other Maharashtra leaders have to the extent of pointing fingers at Pawar for his close releationship with underworld don cum terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. Not much has come out on that score though people would like to believe otherwise.
Pawar, a Sagittarius born on December 12, 1940, is considered to be one of the richest politicians of India, though on paper he hardly worth a couple of crores. Pawar has deep-rooted sweet interest in sugar industry in Maharashtra. No wonder that sugar prices in the UPA regime under his excellent guidance had reached a record-high. Ditto for all the commodity items like wheat, onion…
He now has ventured into education and real estate, albeit through the back door. Lavasa is just a case in point, which is being linked to the agriculture minister.
Off the record, people in Baramati are ready to explain what all Pawar owns, runs or has interests in. The figures can be astounding.
There are no permanent friends or foes in politics and no one knows it better than Pawar.
Ambitious Pawar branched out from the Congress party as he could not digest the idea of Italy-born Sonia Gandhi leading the nation. He formed the NCP, which is now an ally of the UPA.
And politics alone could not have captured the fancy of the Maratha strong-man. His foray into cricket should not be surprising. He became the chief of the cricketing organization, the BCCI, the richest sporting body in the country. After three-years, Pawar had enough of national cricket and ventured into the big league, the ICC. And since then its been smooth sailing, despite the fact the Indian Premier League fiasco also happened during this phase. Lalit Modi, the man who the IPL muck has been unloaded, is refusing to come to India. Is it the Pawar-factor at work?
Now Balwa has come out and openly told a court and CBI officials that nothing will happen in the 2G case or the aircraft linking to NCP. Pawar has always been controversial and yet managed a thriving political career sprinkled with scams taints. The beauty is that sahib, as he is fondly called by his admirers, has had a fairly good track record.
Pawar’s power, reach and craftsmanship are unimaginable. And what Balwa says is not without reason. There is a strong underlined message and the script is being rewritten as it tends to spoil the cricketing party. Is the underlining by Balwa being taken too seriously?
And it’s not for cricket alone that he deserves the distinction of being given a standing ovation. He is one of the few politicians who has seen it all, been there and done that without getting involved in any scam or any corruption case.
Man of many seasons, he has walked across various tides without a scratch. The wind blows in his face and he couldn’t care less much like a camel walking the Thar desert facing sand dunes.
Like him nor not, but you cannot ignore Mr Sharad Pawar, agriculture minister of the country and chairman of International Cricket Council and ‘National’ Congress Party president.
Latest doing the round is that Pawar flew with Shahid Balwa to Dubai. Does it matter that he flew with the 2G scam accused (Yes Balwa and Pawar flew together to Dubai - on a date...). Hardly! Of course, Mr Pawar couldn’t have remembered the 37-year-old budding business honcho. Balwa’s company got Rs 1.32 crore from the NCP for flying him around during 2008 elections. This was the time Balwa was trying to get the 2G spectrum from A Raja. Eventually, Balwa is alleged to have paid Rs 214 crore bribe through a net of three companies that landed at Mr M Karunanidhi’s doorstep.
But what is the connection with Pawar. Nothing, if you believe Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil. However, there is an interesting twist to the Pawar-Balwa link apart from aircraft usage by the NCP strongman.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan has sought to link Swan Telecom promoter Balwa to a Central Minister (Pawar). Interestingly, CBI joint director YP Singh, who was handling the 2G scam case, took voluntary retirement from the primer investigating agency to join the ICC. There is a possibility that Singh could have given all the good tips to ICC to benefit the cricketing body. Mr Pawar still is out of focus. When NCP boss says that he is not friends with Balwa, who is just too young, it fails logic why no one is ready to buy the argument.
Is there just too much coincidence!
In fact people have always let Pawar beep off the radar and who has never really got bowled.
Abdul Karim Telgi, accused for making printing and selling fake stamp papers, landed in police net for stealing government stamps worth Rs 23,000 crore from railway wagons between 1997-2003. In a narco test, Telgi specically named Mr Sharad Pawar, as the man who was involved in the racket.
The Telgi clip was repeatedly aired by the news channels without any impact on Pawar. An accuse in a case can name his conspirators but if the law allows him to escape scrutiny, it doesn’t augur well for a prudent and balance legal system like ours.
And even social activist’s Anna Hazare’s campaign against Pawar didn’t pay any dividends. Hazare and other Maharashtra leaders have to the extent of pointing fingers at Pawar for his close releationship with underworld don cum terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. Not much has come out on that score though people would like to believe otherwise.
Pawar, a Sagittarius born on December 12, 1940, is considered to be one of the richest politicians of India, though on paper he hardly worth a couple of crores. Pawar has deep-rooted sweet interest in sugar industry in Maharashtra. No wonder that sugar prices in the UPA regime under his excellent guidance had reached a record-high. Ditto for all the commodity items like wheat, onion…
He now has ventured into education and real estate, albeit through the back door. Lavasa is just a case in point, which is being linked to the agriculture minister.
Off the record, people in Baramati are ready to explain what all Pawar owns, runs or has interests in. The figures can be astounding.
There are no permanent friends or foes in politics and no one knows it better than Pawar.
Ambitious Pawar branched out from the Congress party as he could not digest the idea of Italy-born Sonia Gandhi leading the nation. He formed the NCP, which is now an ally of the UPA.
And politics alone could not have captured the fancy of the Maratha strong-man. His foray into cricket should not be surprising. He became the chief of the cricketing organization, the BCCI, the richest sporting body in the country. After three-years, Pawar had enough of national cricket and ventured into the big league, the ICC. And since then its been smooth sailing, despite the fact the Indian Premier League fiasco also happened during this phase. Lalit Modi, the man who the IPL muck has been unloaded, is refusing to come to India. Is it the Pawar-factor at work?
Now Balwa has come out and openly told a court and CBI officials that nothing will happen in the 2G case or the aircraft linking to NCP. Pawar has always been controversial and yet managed a thriving political career sprinkled with scams taints. The beauty is that sahib, as he is fondly called by his admirers, has had a fairly good track record.
Pawar’s power, reach and craftsmanship are unimaginable. And what Balwa says is not without reason. There is a strong underlined message and the script is being rewritten as it tends to spoil the cricketing party. Is the underlining by Balwa being taken too seriously?
Netas big Tikaits of reservation
After the courts cracked the whip, the Jat after blocking trains and traffic in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for nearly a month squirmed. However, the indomitable community, which is filled with colours of nationalistic fervour was swayed by small time Tikaits, who are bound to bounce back ...
Picture of a village in Western Uttar Pradesh is that of prosperity and wealth. Jats have slogged it out, bargaining hard for the sugarcane crops and making it big. Today a tractor in a house in Chaprauli or Kasana village in Uttar Pradesh does not sound out of place. In fact, it fits in the rural environ in the cow belt but not in a village in Andhra Pradesh or Assam. Normally, a Jat farmer is affluent and also powerful in his village.
Would he require reservation in a Central Government job? The bigger question is should we be doing away with this whole bogey of reservation, which is dividing the society rather than bridging the gap? Has reservation outlived its purpose? Has the Constitution overdone it? We need honest answers to these questions, not poodle faking responses.
President Pratibha Patil says the Constitution has served its purpose and fulfilled the aspirations of the people as desired by the founding fathers. With no offence meant to the first lady, I beg to state here that Patil's assertions are far from reality. And it's not without reason. The truth is that the Constitution has served the purpose of politicians and ruling elite and certainly not fulfilled the aspirations of the people in general as the President wants us believe. The founding fathers had themselves made it a point that certain provisions need a time-bound honest review. Perhaps, the statute book did the trick for the first ten years or so.
But an honest review has never happened. Reservation is one of the sore point that has been allowed to fester for far too long. It’s time we take worthwhile steps and resolve the vexed issue which is aggravating by the day and instilling resentment and bitterness among different communities.
Dalits, Backwards, (scheduled) castes and tribes… all have got some sort of surety with reservation in place. Education, jobs and even legislature, reservation breeds differences between communities. The other day, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh sought reservation for Muslims in Parliament and state assemblies. Quota is here to stay from 27 percent in education to 50 percent in jobs. The so-called suppressed people have now become privileged class as they are reserved for some reason or the other. Even though the Supreme Court has capped the upper limit at 50 percent, states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are under litigation where caste-based reservation fraction stands at 69 percent.
So a Dalit, who has been suppressed for hundreds and hundreds of years, after Independence, got a job in the Central services. Fine, so far. Then he or she got promotion after promotion, and retired from the top-level of government service. The same Dalit's son or daughter now gets the same treatment. The system continues and spreads out. From 5 to 7.5 percent reservation, successive governments instead of reviewing the policy judiciously, saw the vote-bank advantage of extending and increasing the percentages.
Instead of extending reservation benefits to economically backward or geographically disadvantaged people, politicos of various shades have mindlessly been pushing for caste-based reservation.
Naturally, there are many communities which have been left out of the race of getting plum government jobs or seats in educational institutes. More importantly, a few wannabe netas of these communities find a short-cut to success by raking up 'reservation' bogey and whipping up passions. Tikaitism is gripping Bainsalas and the likes of Yash Pal Malik, the latest neta on the block.
Malik extensively toured northern states in the last couple of months to garner support for the agitation and then launched it on one fine sunny March morning. The march was slow. Trains were the easy target. Hundreds of train services disrupted. Initially, authorities ignored the plight of lakhs of people caught in cross fire due to the unwarranted agitation. They woke up to the problem only when the newspapers started highlighting the problem.
The Jats had arrived. A handful of them had done in days what Gujjars managed to achieve in months.
The news became a talking point. Uttar Pradesh chief minister behen Mayawati saw a god sent opportunity in the agitation and tried tow exploit the situation to her advantage by wooing the Jats away from her arch rival Chaudhary Ajit Singh and his Rashtriya Lok Dal party. However, the Uttar Pradesh Government lent a passive support to the agitation, while Haryana CM bhai Bhupinder Singh Hooda activelty backed the Jat stir. Train routes from Delhi to Lucknow, Jaipur and Hisar were blocked. By doing so they might have scored a point but lost the argument. Later, the Allahabad High Court had to step in directing the Government to restore train services. Yet the agitation went on unstinted. What is more, the agitators even went on to threaten to choke Delhi. Now the Supreme Court has stepped in pulling up both the CMs for their unprincipled support to the agitation.
Nevertheless, the Jats are losing ground. Not many are falling for the reservation demands of the community. In the Army, the Jats have a whole regiment dedicated to their community. The regiment has got all the recognition due to it for its valour and sincerity. In the agricultural fields, they toil like none else and make the moola. The 1857 Mutiny against the British had started from Meerut and so did the agitation for reservation. But both are poles apart. Today, the Jats are on a sticky wicket that can be bowled or even stumped if they try and score too many points with this one.
Picture of a village in Western Uttar Pradesh is that of prosperity and wealth. Jats have slogged it out, bargaining hard for the sugarcane crops and making it big. Today a tractor in a house in Chaprauli or Kasana village in Uttar Pradesh does not sound out of place. In fact, it fits in the rural environ in the cow belt but not in a village in Andhra Pradesh or Assam. Normally, a Jat farmer is affluent and also powerful in his village.
Would he require reservation in a Central Government job? The bigger question is should we be doing away with this whole bogey of reservation, which is dividing the society rather than bridging the gap? Has reservation outlived its purpose? Has the Constitution overdone it? We need honest answers to these questions, not poodle faking responses.
President Pratibha Patil says the Constitution has served its purpose and fulfilled the aspirations of the people as desired by the founding fathers. With no offence meant to the first lady, I beg to state here that Patil's assertions are far from reality. And it's not without reason. The truth is that the Constitution has served the purpose of politicians and ruling elite and certainly not fulfilled the aspirations of the people in general as the President wants us believe. The founding fathers had themselves made it a point that certain provisions need a time-bound honest review. Perhaps, the statute book did the trick for the first ten years or so.
But an honest review has never happened. Reservation is one of the sore point that has been allowed to fester for far too long. It’s time we take worthwhile steps and resolve the vexed issue which is aggravating by the day and instilling resentment and bitterness among different communities.
Dalits, Backwards, (scheduled) castes and tribes… all have got some sort of surety with reservation in place. Education, jobs and even legislature, reservation breeds differences between communities. The other day, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh sought reservation for Muslims in Parliament and state assemblies. Quota is here to stay from 27 percent in education to 50 percent in jobs. The so-called suppressed people have now become privileged class as they are reserved for some reason or the other. Even though the Supreme Court has capped the upper limit at 50 percent, states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are under litigation where caste-based reservation fraction stands at 69 percent.
So a Dalit, who has been suppressed for hundreds and hundreds of years, after Independence, got a job in the Central services. Fine, so far. Then he or she got promotion after promotion, and retired from the top-level of government service. The same Dalit's son or daughter now gets the same treatment. The system continues and spreads out. From 5 to 7.5 percent reservation, successive governments instead of reviewing the policy judiciously, saw the vote-bank advantage of extending and increasing the percentages.
Instead of extending reservation benefits to economically backward or geographically disadvantaged people, politicos of various shades have mindlessly been pushing for caste-based reservation.
Naturally, there are many communities which have been left out of the race of getting plum government jobs or seats in educational institutes. More importantly, a few wannabe netas of these communities find a short-cut to success by raking up 'reservation' bogey and whipping up passions. Tikaitism is gripping Bainsalas and the likes of Yash Pal Malik, the latest neta on the block.
Malik extensively toured northern states in the last couple of months to garner support for the agitation and then launched it on one fine sunny March morning. The march was slow. Trains were the easy target. Hundreds of train services disrupted. Initially, authorities ignored the plight of lakhs of people caught in cross fire due to the unwarranted agitation. They woke up to the problem only when the newspapers started highlighting the problem.
The Jats had arrived. A handful of them had done in days what Gujjars managed to achieve in months.
The news became a talking point. Uttar Pradesh chief minister behen Mayawati saw a god sent opportunity in the agitation and tried tow exploit the situation to her advantage by wooing the Jats away from her arch rival Chaudhary Ajit Singh and his Rashtriya Lok Dal party. However, the Uttar Pradesh Government lent a passive support to the agitation, while Haryana CM bhai Bhupinder Singh Hooda activelty backed the Jat stir. Train routes from Delhi to Lucknow, Jaipur and Hisar were blocked. By doing so they might have scored a point but lost the argument. Later, the Allahabad High Court had to step in directing the Government to restore train services. Yet the agitation went on unstinted. What is more, the agitators even went on to threaten to choke Delhi. Now the Supreme Court has stepped in pulling up both the CMs for their unprincipled support to the agitation.
Nevertheless, the Jats are losing ground. Not many are falling for the reservation demands of the community. In the Army, the Jats have a whole regiment dedicated to their community. The regiment has got all the recognition due to it for its valour and sincerity. In the agricultural fields, they toil like none else and make the moola. The 1857 Mutiny against the British had started from Meerut and so did the agitation for reservation. But both are poles apart. Today, the Jats are on a sticky wicket that can be bowled or even stumped if they try and score too many points with this one.
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