Subramanian Swamy: From Sonia to Sangh

He can put even the Sangh’s loony fringe to shame with his unabashed Hindutva rant and embarrass the BJP still cagey about its core ideology. Taking on the high and mighty across the political spectrum with chilling regularity, Subramanian Swamy may now just be a breath away from merging his one-man Janata Party with the Modi-fied BJP.

And he has a blueprint ready for BJP to storm back to power. Recently Swamy expounded his strategy, which is both intriguing and bone-chilling — consolidate the Hindu vote, divide the Muslims.

"India is 80% Hindu. If we rally the Hindu vote and wean away 7% of the Muslim population to our side, we will win the elections. There are sharp divisions in the community. The Shias, Barelvis and Ahmadis are already aligned with the BJP. There’s nothing called a consolidated Muslim vote-bank. Look at the brutal persecution of Shias in Pakistan. The strategy should be clear. Unite the Hindus under one flag and divide the Muslims."

But, the NDA cannot capture power on its own. With a polarizing figure like Modi at the helm, BJP remains an untouchable for its former allies — BJD, Trinamool Congress and TDP. Swamy is quick to rebut this theory. “Don’t forget, Naidu, Mamata and Patnaik joined the NDA bandwagon just after the Ayodhya movement and the Babri demolition. It’s all about coming close to the magic figure. The wind is blowing in NDA’s favour.” he said. And while party president Rajnath Singh does a deft balancing act on Hindutva, Swamy minces no words on espousing the Ayodhya plank. “If Modi becomes PM, the Ram temple will definitely be built in Ayodhya. There’s no going back on this issue. We will take the legal route and convince Muslims. The temple was always on BJP’s agenda and Ayodhya was a rallying point for the NDA in 1998.”

Swamy may now be a darling of the Sangh, but he remains a political paradox, having swiftly switched political allegiances in the past.

Netas will get the boot if convicted in criminal case – Really!

It will be termed as historic judgment of the Supreme Court. But the question is will a ‘real’ neta ever get convicted in a criminal case? The fact: The Supreme Court in a landmark verdict ruled that a lawmaker convicted in a criminal case will lose the membership of either Parliament or state Assembly as the case may be the moment he or she gets convicted.

The Truth: The irony is our netas would hardly get convicted in non-criminal case, so a criminal case is out of the question. Corruption/disproportionate income cases against many netas are languishing in various courts across the country without any end in sight. And to get conviction in a criminal case – like rape, murder, kidnapping, smuggling - is rather difficult. Sanjay Dutt got conviction in Bombay bomb blast full 21 years after the bloody attack on the megapolis. Mind you that the case was followed by the media all throughout, the world was watching it and it had the imprint of country’s most wanted terrorist – Dawood bhai. And the fact of the matter is he got into jail for possessing weapons illegally not for terrorism or the actual bomb blasts. When Vikas Yadav and company couldn’t get a conviction in the Jessica Lal murder case, the model who was killed in a full blown party attended by even top cops, does it look like that the courts can do it.

Theoretically speaking, it’s a good judgment of the apex court. However, not being cynical, only the weak netas or who would be caught napping or would not be able to bribe their way through or one who has run out of luck, would be impacted by this landmark judgment. It wouldn’t stop the neta fielding his wife or daughter of son or daughter in-law.

What it does – the court gets browine points, the netas will have to shell more in criminal cases and the press will get something to write home about. What we need is killing of so many evils and million lacunae plaguing the system and removing the rotten apples that we may not see the country bloom during my life time. I hope I die early.

PS: The Government is likely to appeal against the Supreme Court order as it feels the ruling will lead to political witch hunting. Political parties, too, have been resisting change on the ground that ruling dispensations bring false charges out of political vendetta to keep rivals out of election process.

Box office: 1448 MPs/MLAs have criminal cases pending against them.

641 MPs/legislators have ongoing criminal cases like rape, murder etc against them.

6 MPs/legislators have declared rape charges in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

141 MPs/legislators have declared murder charges in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

352 MPs/legislators have declared attempt to murder charges in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

145 MPs/legislators have declared theft charges in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

90 MPs/legislators have declared kidnapping charges in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

75 MPs/legislators have declared dacoity charges in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

162 MPs in Lok Sabha have criminal cases pending against them.

75 MPs have serious criminal charges against them.

Source: National Election Watch & ADR

Terrorists earn a peon’s wage

What motivates a young man to take up terrorism, enrol himself at a training camp in Pakistan, infiltrate India, fire atthe Army and possibly never return home? It is a small pay package that equals the wage of a peon or driver. The lure of a mere Rs 3,000 per month ensuresthat the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) meets its manpower requirements. However, not every terrorist gets Rs 3,000. Payments relate directly to performance, area of operation, number of casualties the terrorist has inflicted upon Indian security forces, motivation level and other HR criterion. In short, the ISI maintains dossiers and gives annual marks to its cadres very much like the Pakistan Army does for its regular employees.The pay scale is not rigid as it varies depending on the risks one is willing to take and his commitment to the cause. Some of the more ‘enthusiastic’ Kashmiri youth get around Rs 5,000. With the number of years one puts in, the annual increment increases. A Kashmiri company or battalion gets from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. A district commander gets around Rs 20,000. Nevertheless, one thing is clear that Kashmiri youth get a raw deal compared to the Pakistani or foreign counterpart. The Kashmiri mujahideen is paid less by the ISI than a Pakistani terrorist.The rank and file from Pakistan or Afghanistan or any other country gets a starting salary of Rs 5,000 that can goup to Rs 7,000. Commanders get much more. A commander starts at anything above Rs 25,000. The higher they go, the heftier the pay package and the more discreet it becomes. Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) Doda district commander Mohd Shahzad, a 184 Pakistani national, captured by the Armyafter a fierce encounter in September 2003, said he came to Jammu & Kashmir to be a jehadi and was paid nearlyRs 20,000 per month but that limit was waived off as a special case.“Money didn’t matter. I could get as much as I wanted,” Shahzad had said. However, he remained silent when asked what was the amount his parents were getting in Pakistan. But it is sure that the money Shahzad got was for operations in his area and his logistical support. His monthlyemoluments were being directly sent to his home in Pakistan.The main attraction in joining the ISI is the initial offer. A Kashmiri gets Rs two lakh as one-time payment to join.There is a catch. One must go over to Pakistan to get the complete four to five month training and then work hisway back into India from the 120 launch pads.The basic training at the 85 training camps is the same and involves handling small arms (AK-47) and explosives,small unit tactics of raid and ambush and radio communication. The second term involves training of specialoperations-explosives.The fidayeens (soldiers on a suicide mission) get highly sophisticated training but their emoluments remain a mystery, since naturally none survive to tell their tale.“Poor economic conditions in the Valley force some to cross over to Pakistan for their training. The amount is too tempting for anyone to say ‘no’,” explains an official. There are other factors too at work. Competition and style for instance drive most youth into the realm of the AK-47. “It has become a style. If you don’t have a gun you don’t get good girlfriends and nobody respects you,” a militantsaid to an army officer serving in the Valley. Sources also point to the presence of foreign militants who come to the Valley after sessions of intense motivation and psychological drills. LeT’s Shahzad said he came to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) to fight jehadis as he was told harrowing stories of atrocities being committed on the Muslims in the Valley.I felt I had to take revenge but now after fighting the army for more than three years I realize the futility of this‘freedom’ movement,” he said in a heart-to-heart talk.However, the ISI makes sure that those who help recruit while on the job are not neglected. It rewards handsomely. “If a militant motivates and enrolls another youth, he can make upto Rs 1.5 lakh,” explained a source. However, initially the ISI made sure the money was delivered to the militant’s parents but as the numbers starteddwindling, so did it the commitment.Though no one complains publicly, there have been reports of parents of the deceased militant not getting a singlepenny. Realizing this, Kashmiri youths are now averse to taking up the gun while recruitment from Pakistan remains high. http://web.mid-day.com/news/nation/2003/november/67781.htm Terrorists earn a peon’s wage By: M K Tayal November 2, 2003

Satyamev Jayate

Truth will always prevail. It will always be. And let us set the record straight: The country comes first and nothing else comes before the mother. Even if my religion comes in conflict with my country, my God will have to wait. Not that they are at cross purposes but this is what we have learnt and this is the belief and believe one grows up here. It is difficult to say what prompted the bigoted Aseem to cartooning into ‘corruption will always prevail’. Pessimists should also talk with refrain when addressing the nation thru mass media. They should not forget that the country needs more than cynicism which is abundance in private conversations. Plain speaking is essential but with regard and restrain. Yes, corruption is all around us and its omnipresence threatens the very fabric of ones existence. The people have got into this rotten system and turned the system more rotten that can possibly exist anywhere in the world. It will take a lot before we can hold our heads high, with respect and dignity. No amount of ‘motivated’ kranti can undo the so-called India as a nation. It will take more, much more that. Perhaps neo-naxal kind of civil mindset that is setting the agenda of the nation will have its say and then hopefully will be done with. These breeds of movements are also essential for a far greater and more mature awakening of the people. We will rise and we will shine. Pray that it not too late for that. But hold your horses, time will come.

A tale of two ministers

Amidst the plethora of disturbing news on Coalgate, Quota mess and subsequent logjam in the Parliament, it was really heartening to see Sachin Pilot join the OG. Mind you, the young minister didn’t need to wear the uniform and march in the Army Headquarters to get his face published in the newspapers. He is a minister in the Government. And he is a very popular eloquent leader in his scheme of things. Why he joined as a lieutenant is still a mystery. Nevertheless he earned a lot of respect from many quarters. He could have easily become a Lt Col, but Pilot preferred to join the forces at the starting level of officers. It is not everyday that a minister joins the Army. If I happen to bump into the hon’ble minister I would certainly communicate a word of praise to him, but even if I don’t, he gets the pat from someone who hung his boots long time ago. Keep it up Lt Pilot – a thinking, doing minister. In the same vein, Pilot’s senior should learn from him. Its time Manmohan Singh quit the government and save the nation from the shame and corruption he brings to his office. MMS is silently self-serving-highly ambitious PM clutching onto the seat that doesn’t belong to him. He has no proven track record as a leader, having lost a single election he contested from South Delhi Lok Sabha seat. And is RS member from Assam, a state he has no connection with. A lot of criticism is heaped from within the country but he objected only when a firangi paper wrote a few lines of mild observations. Perhaps he got perturbed because the paper was from the country that paid his salariy when serving international financial organisations. MMS is a spent force, having made mota maal as Coal and Space Minister and even as PM. Who said anything about the episode of two girls and a pimp driving into his official residence? Perhaps an orgy was not out of the order. It is time that a rubber stamp, debase, taint-contaminated, rudderless, “dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government (Washington Post)” is shown the door.

Please allow them to sort it out

MPs tussle in Rajya Sabha: Roll up your sleeves! They are going to create such a big ruckus for just inconsequential shoving and pushing. Oh yes – Samajwadi Party RS member Naresh Agarwal was grabbed by the collar by BSP member Avatar Singh Karimpuri to prevent him from jumping into the ‘Well of the House’ and raising issues of reservations in promotions. Well if you have issues like as sticky as these, passions are bound to soar. The Congress cleverly defused the heat of the Coalgate scam by introducing quota bill. The Samajwadi Party – No matter what you may say but it’s a party with spunk – objected to the highly controversial provisions of an outmoded and motivated bill. So when Agarwal got up to speak his party’s mind, Avtar Singh stood to impress Mayawati. And TV channels got a day full of masala, newspapers columnists got material for politicians bashing, and common guy on the street was left wanting for more. It wasn’t even a full fisted blow – Phew! We should allow them once in a while or once in a day to roll up their sleeves and sort out matters.

For the record - CBI FIRs: Allegations of irregularities against following Pvt .Cos. & their representatives/pvt persons: The cases have been registered in connection with the allegations related to getting coal blocks allocated on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims in the applications, presentations and connivance/lack of due diligence on part of public servants. Promoters of some of these companies have allegedly sold their stakes in an irregular manner after allocation of coal blocks. FIR M/s AMR Iron & Steel Private Limited, Nagpur Directors: Shri Arvind Kumar Jayaswal, Shri Manoj Jayaswal, Shri Ramesh Jayaswal, Shri Devendra Darda. M/s JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited,Nagpur Directors: Shri Vijay Darda, Shri Rajendra Darda, Shri Devendra Darda, Shri Manoj Jayaswal, Shri Anand Jayaswal, Shri Abhishek Jayaswal M/s Navbharat Power Private Limited, Hyderabad Directors: Shri P.Trivikrama Prasad, Shri Y.Harish Chandra Prasad. M/s Vini Iron & Steel Udyog Limited, Kolkata Directors : Shri Sanjeev Kumar Tulsyan, Shri Prashant Tulsyan, Shri Vaibhav Tulsyan, Ms.Nisha Tulsyan, Shri Vimal Kumar Tulsyan, Ms.Nirmala Tulsyan, Shri Hemant Kumar Aggarwal; Shri Navin Kumar Tulsyan, Chartered Accountant JAS Infrastructure Capital Private Ltd., Kolkata Directors: Shri Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, Shri Abhishek Jayaswal, Shri Anand Jayaswal, Unknown public servants

CBI raids coal compaines - Wow

Coalgate A very interesting news item appeared in the TOI today – that the CBI would ‘formally raid’ various companies involved in the coalgate. The word here is formally raid. And rightly so, soon after, TV channels were flashing that the agency has raided five companies across the country – Delhi, Kolkatta, Patna, Nagpur, etc… The raids come as a surprise to an unsuspecting reader. Its months after scam surfaced, around a fortnight after CAG tabled the report in Parliament, daily uproar by the BJP, (demanding resignation of Prime Minister and cancellation of coal blocks), hundreds of screaming headlines. Naturally so, the raids were to be formal in nature too. Imagine any company or millionare waiting for the CBI to knock its doors to give out details of how much ‘mota mall’ they paid Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (Coal Minister 2006-09 also), Coal Ministry officials, or even the Congress party (Read Ahmed Patel/Sonia Gandhi) and a host of middlemen. Any company in the right sense would even change the computer and recreate fresh books of accounts and not merely delete or erase files. Now it is surprising that the CBI is raiding just five companies and not 150 companies or hundreds others involved in the scam. Many CEOs/officials of the companies had not even turned up by 11 am. So what the agency doing raiding the premises since 6 am. Circa – 2017: The courts send a deputy secretary, then a peon to jail for the Coalgate. The PM, (Modi/Mulayam Singh/Priyanka Gandhi/Prashant Bhushan) says justice will be done and law of the land will prevail. Circa 2012: PM Manmohan Singh says why should I resign.

When you rejoice in beauty, the entire creation rejoices with you. The very purpose of so much variety in creation is to somehow bring you back to yourself - that you are beautiful, that you are beauty! And nothing happened in the last year which I can say 'I am'. Existence! Who am I? Who am I? So many questions. And I will find my answers.

Stop paying bribes

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...

Anna Hazare with M K T on Aug 17 at 10.30 pm

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.