Chidambaram A Descent and an Honest Man

P Chidambaram is being criticized extremely by the BJP for having been responsible for the 2G scam. Although there is no direct involvement of the then finance minister in the scam, the BJP claims that he had it within his power to stop the sale of the spectrum at low rates. Based solely on this allegation the BJP has gone a step further with their boldness and has demanded the arrest of the Chidambaram.

Yet the truth still stands to tell a different tale. Only yesterday during a hearing in the Supreme Court of India, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) defended the accused based on proofs and logic. The CBI clearly denounced the possibility of the claim that Chidambaram had not done enough to stop the sale of the licenses in 2008. They even highlighted how such a move could have been accomplished only with the joint effort of the entire government, and could not have been taken forward solely by the then Finance Minister, Mr. Chidambaram.

The CBI did not leave it at this blanket yet true statement. They provided certain facts to the Supreme Court to support their claim in his defense. Firstly, senior counsel K.K. Venugopal appearing for the CBI, made the following statement in front of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly, “It is easy to attack the then Finance Minister as it will get them headlines and [it is] politically fruitful for them. Attacking the then Finance Secretary [D. Subbarao] will not get them headlines.”

Secondly, they mentioned that the consistent stand of the Finance Ministry and Mr. Chidambaram on entry fee, licenses and spectrum was that they should be auctioned. But the sale was channeled outside the regular route by A Raja. The then telecom minister, who postponed a Full Telecom Commission meeting, scheduled for January 9, 2008, where the issue of auction was to have been discussed, to January 15, 2008. In the meantime he also issued Letters of Intent to telecom companies on January 10, 2008. The then Finance Minister could not have cancelled the licenses by himself as it had to be a major policy decision by the government. 

Thus based on these facts it is more than obvious that P Chidambaram had no direct hand or gain from the under priced sale of the 2G spectrum. It also clearly shows that the accusation of not having done enough is a mere theoretical one, because in practicality there was nothing that could have been done by him single handedly. The CBI’s Mr. Venugopal clearly stated the preceding in the following words, “It is not an easy matter to take a decision when litigation was also involved [as a result of cancellation] and you cannot attach criminality against the [then] Finance Minister.”

 
I urge the masses of the nation to see objectively where the errors was, and where all it can be suggested to have been, yet never proven.

The Story of Reddy; Bellary to Chanchalguda Jail

Gali Janardhana Reddy and Srinivasa Reddy were arrested on Monday under the prevention of corruption act. Their homes were raided by CBI in Bellary, and massive quantities of gold and cash was discovered.

On Tuesday, the two accused and their kin filed petition for bail in the court, which is likely to be heard this week. Both have been charged in relation to a report on illegal mining that was carried out by the Obulpuram Mining Co which is owned by the Reddy family. This particular report was registered against their company in 2009.

Despite of the timely recognition of illegal activity and official allegations, they still retained Crores in cash, and about 30 Kg in gold within their residences. This clearly shows the level of confidence they had, in terms of their societal presence and connections. Rarely have people had the courage to possess black money in proximity despite of having been issued a notice against illegal activity.

Both are as of now in the Chanchalguda jail, and are sharing a cell with three other inmates. Reports reveal that they are being treated like normal prisoners and have not been facilitated with any special treatments.

It will only be after their hearing that the final decision on their punishment will be carried out. As of now they are under judicial custody till the 19^th of September. Within which the legal processing has to be carried out by the CBI and by the local court.  

Read about their bail petition and CBI functioning in the case here:

http://in.news.yahoo.com/high-flying-janardhana-reddy-now-ordinary-prisoner-050733469.html

Goal less, Directionless and Leadership less; BJP

The simple idea of having a precise direction and a well established leadership is an absolute necessity for any political party in India. The reason for such a need is the demographics of our nation. In the current times when scams have popped up in all corners of the country, and the nations backing is being pushed behind anti corruption crusaders. BJP has been lacking a firm stance and action.

The reason is the friction between the leadership of BJP. Another factor which is leading to a consistent downfall of the party’s repute and hold over the masses is their absent minded functioning, and their random decisions that are lacking a main theme or objective to be achieved, both as a party and as an act for the masses.

The top leaders of the party are busy contradiction each other, like Jaitley has been contradicting Gadkari on whether there will be a unified face or a single individual based on whom the 2014 elections will be contested. Then there is Mr. Advani, who is not realizing that copying a movement that worked with the masses is not the way to raise his own national presence. There is also the confusion and dialogue within the BJP, on whether the Rath Yatra is for the party or for Advani alone. To make matters worse, the allegation of stupidity and failure of the Yatra is coming from nowhere else but from within BJP itself.

The image that the common man of this nation is seeing is of disorder and chaos in the largest opposition to the ruling party. There are no clear notions or objectives that they have highlighted. For the past few months, they have only been jumping from one track to another, based on wherever the bandwagon is headed. No individual efforts or perceptions have been highlighted. It seems as if the BJP has no head to think with, or maybe there are too many heads thinking without consistency. Either ways, the image of a malfunctioning and vague party is not going to help BJP in any manner.

To make matters worse, the legislative elections are on next year. It leaves too little time for a party like BJP to create an agenda and goal oriented approach to offer the people. Leave aside the possibility of preparing and acting on the agenda. If members like Advani, Gadkari and Jaitley continue to be hap hazarded with their own image and messages to the public. Then there is no point in even considering that the party will ever be able to regain its footing.

One cannot point out exactly where things went wrong. What one knows for sure is that, things are indeed going wrong. The chariot of BJP has been taking turns without planning; the swaying has often led to the wheels lifting off the ground. If not checked with absolute urgency, the overturning of their wagon will not come as a surprise to many.

Rahul Gandhi - His Time has come

Rahul Gandhi has been a prompt responder to the masses. Whenever a calamity strikes or unrest appears he is known to have made his presence as soon as possible in the disturbed regions.  Once again he has followed this positive pattern of reaching out to the people, and seeing the ground realities of the disturbances and the agonies that politicians are supposed to be curing.

Very recently there was an earthquake in the North East region. This incident happened on the 18^th of September 2011. He made his arrival in the region on the 21^st of the same month. After taking a tour of the most affected regions he went to various hospitals to meet the individuals who had suffered losses or injuries due to the natural calamity.

He also took this opportunity to convey a few words of encouragement and relief to the people of North East. He talked about their positive culture along with how the youth from the region must start playing an active role in politics, to expedite the development of the area. He even confirmed the proper aid of the government that will be provided to the calamity hit areas.

There are numerous such instances if one goes over the past decade with Rahul Gandhi in mind. Whenever there has been a problem that has affected the masses at large, or often even in small measures. He has made his presence and has understood, interacted and conveyed his honest message to the people. One can easily compare a major shade of difference in this particular politician, because most of the other ministers are only prompt in giving statements in front of cameras. Not many of them have ever ventured into troubled areas even in their own state, leave aside doing so all over the country.

There is no political bias that I am trying to generate in the mind of the reader. My objective is merely to highlight the methodology of one member of our political community, who has been doing what is really required, rather than doing what might be required. The initiative and the mass reach speak for themselves when it comes to Rahul Gandhi. One cannot claim that there is no vested interest behind all this. But the point being, he has at least chosen a noble method to further his interests. A method that brings real relief and accessibility to the people of this country, rather than conveying messages of aid and acts that are being carried out via the media, as is the case with most politicians within our country.  

The Complete Story of Kejriwal and the IT Department

A week before the Anna protests began; Arvind Kejriwal was issued a notice by the Income Tax department in lieu of 9 Lakh rupees that were due as a payment from his side. After keeping quiet on the issue for about a month, Kejriwal shrewdly spoke about it 3 days back. It was a distorted version of the entire scenario to bring the final blame on the government, and to hide the real truth. Day before yesterday he alleged that the government was putting pressure on the IT department to create these hurdles for him. He also claimed that this was an act of vendetta by the central government. The IT department on the other hand responded by clarifying that the dues were actually existent, and Kejriwal had been informed about them in time. The department went further to clarify that the dues had resulted out of a breach of contract. This contract when signed by Kejriwal had clearly highlighted that he needed work for the department for a minimum of two years, once he returned from his study leave. He did return in 2002, post which he worked for a year till 2003 and then took an Extra Ordinary Leave (EOL) to go back to his RTI work. He never returned to his job, he did file a resignation but never waited for the confirmation of acceptance in context of the resignation letter.

Day before yesterday Arvind Kejriwal had clearly mentioned in his statement to the media that he had committed no violation of the contract and was being cornered by the ITD on purpose. What came as shocking news to the media and the masses of the nation was the revelation of a letter, written by Kejriwal himself on June 26^th, 2007. The letter which has been procured by the Indian express, proves that not only was he aware of the violation of the contract, he had also agreed to it, and had filed a request with this particular letter to demand a waiver on three grounds. First reason being that his efforts were for the public, second reason being the recognition of his work at the international and national level and the third reason  being his lack of capacity to pay the dues, because he claims he has already donated all that he had earned from the few awards and earnings he made. The grounds for a waiver are outright ridiculous, because by this logic all public servants can leave work mid way of their tenure. Join some or the other public service venture, and yet continue to claim benefits of being a government servant.

More than the grounds, what is unacceptable is the lie that has spoken to the entire country. 72 hours earlier he claims that he has not participated in any breach of contract and tries to call the entire thing a politically guided vendetta issue. And today it is discovered that he had complete knowledge of his short comings, despite which he filed for a waiver on naïve grounds. This comes as a shock to all the citizens of the country, because the same man has been part of the Anti Corruption battle that was launched to bring about a greater share of transparency in our country. And today we realize that he himself is not transparent, and at the same time is also capable of shrewd acts for a vested interest. It also demoralizes all of us, to see an appearing to be righteous man with a double face. I wonder if Kiran Bedi was aware of her colleague’s reality, before she called the MPs in the parliament, people with multiple masks. We hope that Kejriwal does clarify the situation by paying his dues, and apologizing to the nation, for pretending to be unaware of the breach of contract in front of the entire nation.