Vir Sanghvi - In Defense Of The Corrupt

By Ram Valmiki

It’s very important to know the personal opinions of journalists as that is what influences how they report events or news.  There are many in Indian MSM who are incapable of reporting without their personal biases. Vir Sanghvi is just one of them. It is not a big secret, at least among netizens or as they put it “Internet Hindus” that VS is biased towards Congress and Government. In his recent posts on his blog titled “Don’t blame media, Mr. Kejriwal” and “How the govt lost its way, and its face” he so openly defends the corrupt government and tries to peddle the lie that it’s actually the government that brought out the scams into public. The title chosen for his second post is very misleading.

“I am prepared to agree with Kejriwal when he says that the Shanti Bhushan CD was part of a conspiracy. We know now that the CD was faked and the refusal of the Delhi Police to recognise that it was a cut-and-paste job suggests a certain level of official complicity even if the CD itself was made by non-governmental sources”

Yes Mr VS, it does suggest government conspiracy but how many from your MSM has really taken on government about this issue. The very idea that there exists possibility that a government can conspire against the citizens is disturbing. VS and MSM should have concentrated on this area rather than going behind the Team Anna. Just because CD was made by non-governmental sources does not in any way lessen the sin if those sources were prompted to do so by government?

“ Unless Arvind Kejriwal can somehow convince us that the government hypnotised Kiran Bedi into filing fake reimbursement claims, it is hard to see how this is part of an official conspiracy. The most he can suggest is that official agencies helped in unearthing the evidence. But if this is proof of a government conspiracy then surely he is also a co-conspirator with the government when he makes statements based on reports issued by such government bodies as the CAG. Just because the government digs up accurate information – as the CAG did in the telecom scam – and this information is used by the media and concerned citizens it does not follow that there is any conspiracy”

I could have never imagined an experienced editor and journalist would be able to dole out crap logic ever if I had not come across these posts. It’s really amazing that though “official agencies helped in unearthing the evidence”, what is more surprising is these “official agencies”  one fine day had a dream and then went on to dig stuff of selected people who happen to be criticizing the government.  I am not aware of any complaint against Bedi that led to “official agencies” to investigate and dig up the mess of Bedi. If VS is aware of any such complaint, I would like to know because it’s really frightening to know that “official agencies” can unearth evidences just to please the political masters.  In lay man’s language that would be termed “witch hunting”.

CAG providing his report is NOT similar to “official agencies unearthing evidence” in case of Bedi. It’s the duty of the CAG to audit and provide report of government expenditure. CAG did his routine job and fortunately for India, CAG is a very honest and upright gentleman unlike MMS. Comparing CAG’s job with “official agencies” is totally out of context. As per the law “official agencies” require governmental permission or formal complaint or court order to “unearth evidences”. In Bedi’s case media has not reported any complaint or court order that prompted “unearthing” exercise and hence we have no choice but to believe the government conspired.  CAG does not take orders from executive branch of the government (ministers) where as “official agencies” do.

VS continues his new found CAG argument in his next post as well. We will look into that but before that, let’s just LOL at the statement by him: “On the other hand, you could argue that in the UPA’s second term, the scandals that have emerged have all been uncovered only as a result of the government’s own efforts.” Either VS thinks all his readers have no IQ or VS thinks by vomiting such crap will make him an intellectual journalist.  I mean, how in the holy god of secularism’s name he concludes that a government involved in scandals will uncover its own corruption. On second thoughts, has govt promised him Padma Bhushan next year?

“Let’s take 2G. The scandal only broke as a result of a report by the CAG. You may or may not agree with the CAG’s computation of the loss caused to the exchequer (and it is now clear that even within the CAG’s office, there were disagreements), but you cannot dispute that if there had been no CAG report, there would be no 2G scandal.” This is such a blatant lie that VS is trying to sell here. The scandal was in public even before the CAG report. PILs were filed and Subramanian Swamy moved SC long before the CAG report was tabled. If anything, the CAG report only confirmed the monstrous size of the scandal.  Here is the list of events and timeline as per Wikipedia. Yes Wikipedia is authentic reference, as it constructs the time line based on media reports.

…May 4, 2009: An NGO Telecom Watchdog files complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on the illegalities in the spectrum allocation to Loop Telecom.

….May 19, 2009: Another complaint was filed to the CVC by Arun Agarwal, highlighting grant of spectrum to Swan Telecom at throwaway prices.

….May, 2010: NGO Centre for Public Interest litigation moves the Delhi High Court seeking investigation into the scam by SIT or CBI.

….Sept 13, 2010: SC asks government, Raja to reply within 10 days to three petitions filed by CPIL and others alleging there was a Rs 70,000 crore scam in the grant of telecom licences in 2008

….Sept 24, 2010: Swamy moves SC seeking direction to the PM to sanction prosecution of Raja.

The SC has numerous times pulled up CBI for shoddy investigation. If not for active role of SC and petitioners like Swamy, the scandal would have been easily buried by the government. Saying government uncovered the scandals is nothing but a joke. “The current CAG, an honest and upright bureaucrat called Vinod Rai, got the job because the UPA Cabinet chose him. His candidacy was strongly pushed by the former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram who knew Rai from his career in the finance ministry.” Justice Santosh Hegde was appointed by the government headed by Yedurappa. This is similar to Vinod Rai being appointed by the UPA government. Fortunately both of them have done justice to their assigned duties. This in no means absolves the governments of their sins. How would have VS responded if BJP claimed that it was their government that uncovered mining scam? It cannot get funnier than that. “So it is with the arrests. Who would have thought it possible that Spectrum King A. Raja would spend so many months in jail. Who would have imagined that the CBI would have the guts to arrest the daughter of M. Karunanidhi, an important Congress ally at a time when the government depended on the DMK’s support for its survival?”

CBI had no choice after being pulled up by SC. With various petitions that Swamy filed with documents he possessed, CBI had to act. Let us ask counter question. If Swamy did not really have possession of documents he claims he has, is he insane to move SC to seek permission to prosecute Chidambaram and also showing intention of even inducting MMS? “In the end, all of the uncovering of the scandal, all of the investigating and all of the arresting has been done by branches of the government. And yet, nobody believes that this government has any interest in uncovering the truth or in fighting corruption. The credit is given to the courts (who can only act once the CBI brings cases to them), to the media and to the opposition. The government itself gets no credit at all.” I don’t understand why VS is so hell bent on using illogical arguments in proving government is anti-corrupt. Is not this the most corrupt government yet? A government that indulges in corruption can no way uncover its own corruption. VS is either acting innocent or its time he took sanyas. I would prefer second option for him for his own good as well as the country.

 “So here’s what the truth is. No, this is not the most corrupt government is history. It is headed by a decent and honest man. And his government has uncovered most of the corruption cases we read about. But this is a government without a visible leader. The Prime Minister has made the mistake of sitting back and watching while his allies have made money. And now, while he should be associating himself with the clean-up, he cowers silently at Race Course Road.”

Well yeah you are right VS. Seriously, if PM was silent when his allies made money, he is as much responsible. That only means for him more than national interests, saving government was important. It’s not surprising though. We are already aware that to save itself, congress can indulge in horse trading. It is an art it has mastered. Cash for votes scam is another hot topic now.

With the title of his second post he misleads the reader to believe he is criticizing the government whereas all he does is mindlessly defend the government. Then he ends with questioning leadership of the government. It is clear where he is heading with his arguments. With Clown Prince rumoured to be made party president and Diggy already announcing in public that it’s high time sycophants like him are ruled by Clown Prince, it’s an attempt to create grounds for MMS to exit and Clown to claim Gaddi. After all, it’s not surprising if Congress realizes that they may not return to power in 2014 and Clown prince would have to wait god knows how many more years to sit on gaddi.

Shekhar Gupta - Doctoring & Nursing The Congress

The title might seem a bit harsh on Shekhar Gupta. Well, there are many sporting events and matches which are inspiring. There are individual and team performances that simply stun and overawe us as a miracle. Above all, there is nothing more enjoyable than an underdog turning the tables on a favourite. That is how Shekhar Gupta analyses UPA-2in his article ‘Decide on the Doctor’in IE, October 1. It sounds like Gupta wants to nurse the UPA back to health. Hmmm, playing nurse, eh?

Okay, so he starts with an analogy and theory of Test Cricket with a team following-on and facing defeat. Miraculously the team following-on wins, and that’s the probability that Gupta applies to UPA2 to put it back together. So here’s his honest theory (Quotes in blue):

“A recovery is not impossible. Some of the most stirring fightbacks in cricket history have come after follow-ons. But team managements and captains have to do something bravely different to make that happen. Like, for example, changing the batting order. Or threatening some irresponsible batsmen with the sack. Is the UPA (or rather Congress) management capable of doing that?”

I completely agree with Gupta there. But first, let me bring him up on some facts about Cricket. As of date, there have been over 2000 test matches played. A team following on has won only on 3 occasions. Alright, so if you think that is not a fair look into the facts then here’s more: there are over 290 matches where follow-on has been enforced and the number of victories by the team following-on still remains 3. So while the possibility cannot be denied, Gupta doesn’t  really examine the theory of probability or past experience in any way.

Two of the greatest victories after follow-on were in 1981 and 2001. In the first, Eng V Aus, an out of form Ian Botham had been removed from captaincy in an on-going series and in the first innings had scored a fluent 50 while his team crumbled. After follow on, even when his team was slipping he scored an amazing 149. In the second match at Eden Gardens, India V Aus, V.V.S. Laxman scored a fluent 50 and then went on to score 281 in the second after following on.  That is as much for statistics. Now let’s really examine how his theories pan out.

One of the most brilliant minds of our times has to be the scientist, Richard Feynman and here’s what he had to say:  “In general we look for a new law by the following process. First we guess it. Then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what would be implied if this law that we guessed is right. Then we compare the result of the computation to nature, with experiment or experience, compare it directly with observation, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is. It does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is - if it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. That is all there is to it.” That was said in quite a different context but can fairly be applied to any major theory like the one of Gupta. It is not ‘decide on the doctor’.. In fact Gupta IS playing the “doctor” himself.

“First of all, the Congress has to decide whether it wants to continue with Manmohan Singh as its prime minister.” Aha! So who exactly does Gupta mean by Congress? The party? The CWC? The Congress parliamentary party? Shekhar Gupta feigns ignorance of the basic qualification required to be a Congress PM, and WHO decides it! The unwillingness or inability to identify the exact person/captain who must make the decision is the first flaw in his theory. Of course, that is easier in Cricket, isn’t it?

“Next, tell Chidambaram, who has been keen to get back to Finance, to wait just a bit, that he will move sideways into his preferred half in North Block as Pranab moves into Rashtrapati Bhavan. That will settle the issue with — and between — these big two.”  So Dr.Gupta’s advice is to gently get rid of Pranab and get the unartful Chidambaram back into finance. Well, this clearly reflects the concern not of a journalist opining but that of a politician playing games. Hmmm! It is exceptionally dishonest not to admit that PC not only needs to be kicked out but also faces serious trouble with the SC sword hanging over him on 2G and a court case on election fraud. Even discounting those issues PC has simply failed as a performer both as a Finance minister and as a Home minister. It has to take an extraordinarily bad captain to retain him unless the merit is ‘loyalty and protecting family jewels’! Ambitious as he may be Pranab is still the one who has fought many battles for the Congress successfully on many fronts. Even L.K. Advani is on record stating in the parliament that he wouldn’t know how Congress would face all its troubles without Pranabda. No mean compliment that! No matter how thorny he might be, only a bad captain would throw him to the Rashtrapati Bhavan just yet. But Dr. Gupta would.

“Who will then replace Chidambaram in Home? Start now, by bringing Sheila Dikshit into the cabinet. S.M. Krishna, one of the nicest, most gracious people you’d meet in politics, has to be most respectfully offered a Raj Bhavan. Sheila Dikshit’s induction will achieve several things. One, you will bring an experienced, true-blue Uttar Pradesh politician, with experience and thick skin, in the cabinet. See how skilfully she handled the CAG report on CWG compared to how many other Congressmen blundered. She would be the first woman in the Cabinet Committee on Security since the passing away of Indira Gandhi, and she would also be the first member from the Hindi heartland in this most powerful body in UPA 2. By next year, she can be a deserving replacement for Chidambaram in Home. Of course, the second benefit would be the end of blood-letting between her and Ajay Maken, provided he is appointed Delhi chief minister. The challenge of winning Delhi for the fourth time in 2013 will keep him busy and quiet."

Okay, I was already under the impression that Krishna was brought into the cabinet from a Raj Bhavan and Gupta wants to send him back to one. Reason? Unclear! So I have to assume that of all in the cabinet he has been singled out as a non-performer and should be rewarded with the Raj Bhavan. Pretty much Congress style isn’t it? And cleverly, Sheila Dikshit must be promoted because she has handled the taints of CAG and CWG smartly. And that itself is supposed to have cleared her of all the taint. Bravo, Dr. Gupta! And no matter what, Chidambaram must return to the ‘old boys club’ as Finance Minister. He has failed as Home Minister and wanting PC as Finance Minister is like asking a bad wicket-keeper to open the bowling.

The rest of Gupta’s article is dedicated to how these shuffles and foot work might help win the general elections in 2014 or 2012, whenever they happen. This is where Dr.Gupta’s analogy with the cricket follow-on fails miserably. He forgets, the follow-on happens in a ‘current’ match and winning it and not about winning or losing the next match. A strong political leader recently said in a rousing speech that most political parties on coming to power get busy with how to win the next election instead of focussing on good governance. I wonder if Gupta heard that speech. I suppose not, but he falls into the same category of politicians who is very concerned about the next election and not the current match on hand. The current match is about returning to good governance, punishing the corrupt and getting rid of the tainted and accused. The one thing Gupta doesn’t dare to question or answer is – should Manmohan Singh remain or not. He leaves that to the ‘party’.  He has recommendations for all others. That’s the perfect doctor prescribing shoulder surgeries for brain tumours.

If you carefully go through his whole article the names of Sonia and Rahul are mentioned only once. That is in reference to the CWC as their being LS members. This is servantile journalism at its best. Dr.Gupta does not dare to even estimate what should be the new role for Sonia or what decisions she must take. He does not dare to question or decide whether Rahul Gandhi should be in the team or the water-boy. Frankly, any discussion on changes, shuffles and foot work in Congress is at best disingenuous if it does not include a discussion on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Rahul has, by his own stupidity, proved beyond doubt that he is no PM material. Dr. Gupta won’t recognise that or even deal with the question who should be the PM if not MMS. As for Sonia Gandhi, she is untouchable and out of bounds for him. So for all that his ‘doctoring’ is worth his article only yearns to see Congress remain in power. Politics maybe a game, Dr. Gupta, good governance and country are not.

Chidambaram - The Unartful Dodger

September 24, 2011 Update: Following the case against him by Subramanian Swamy and recent revelations on the 2G scam PC simply has to quit. The man who simply romanced power all these years has reached his nadir. The sooner he leaves in grace the better for him.. That's all I have to say!

All the years of carefully cultivated poise, smooth-talking and intelligence can be brought down in a few minutes of insanity. P. Chidambaram is now feeling the heat from the fire he had hoped would never come to singe him. Congress spokespersons have repeatedly dismissed A. Raja’s allegations against PC and the PM as those of a man accused of a crime and cannot be taken seriously. So what should we take seriously? The utterances of people like Digivijay Singh and P. Chidambaram? Wait, Raja didn’t make these statements to NDTV, CNN-IBN or Headlines Today whose everlasting love for both DS and PC is unflinching. He made those statements in a court of law in his defence.  The court is not a place for allegations but a place where facts would count. If it were a media courtroom PC would have been already declared not guilty. Raja may be crooked and that implies he is smart enough to know what he is throwing around. The bad news for PC is that Raja also happens to be a lawyer himself and should know what perjury means. This is the same Raja that the PM had so strongly defended for a long time.

So what is PC's response? He finally gets the inspiration from his one-time adversary Digvijay and delivers the answer that would make DS proud. He invokes ‘saffron terror’! So after almost a year PC pulls the ‘saffron terror cheap trick’ again.

"I think they know that there is no connection to the so called scam in 2G. I think they are targeting selected ministers for other reasons in this case. What I suspect is that we have quickened the investigations into a number of bomb blast cases where right-wing fundamentalist organisations are involved. We have quickened....we have persuaded the court to hear two Ayodhya cases on a more or less day-to-day basis" he said. Oh yeah, we can all, of course, see the very clear connection between the 2G scam and right-wing terror cases. Don't we? His statement to Times Now some days back was delivered in quite an agitated tone. The artful dodger finally ran out of artful defences and smooth-talk. This was now the unartful dodger at work.

Did we know all this before? Many have written about it but the mainstream cacophony media circle believed in continuously glorifying a man who kept building his own grave. Where do we begin? Let’s start with Radiagate itself.

In the post Radia Tapes, PhoneTapping - Chidambaram Must Come Clean (December 2010) I have quoted Subramanian Swamy’s serious allegations against PC. Any other man with any self-respect would have dragged Swamy to courts over these allegations. Response from PC – nothing! That post also mentioned: “Spectrum shares being resold to a mid-east company called Etisalat should have raised the eyebrows of anyone concerned with national security. But any word ever from PC? Not to my knowledge. I am confident some story about Etisalat will soon be out in the open.”

There is still no case or charge sheet against Nira Radia. I wonder why not. Let’s go back again to another post UPAGovt. May Not Have A Case Against Nira Radia ... (December 2010) This is what that post stated: “…..The phone tapping was started precisely for that reason – spying…..one can safely assume the complaint to the then Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, on the basis of which the phone tapping commenced might as well be fabricated. Else, Chidambaram can and should reveal who the complainant was. That is neither a matter of national secrecy nor a matter of grave danger. I wonder if the complaint was signed by anyone or was an anonymous one.” Well, the media still isn’t asking that all important question – who filed the complaint based on which the phone tapping was ordered? PC can surely tell us if it was a person, an organisation or an anonymous complaint. That little piece of information may well hold great secrets.

What next? In an alarming revelation Subramanian Swamy has now alleged PC has received 5000 crores in an interview with Asian Tribune (July 26). “I think he got Rs. Five thousand crores as a cut from Mr. Raja.” said Swamy. (In another 2G related development, the Enforcement Directorate has slapped a Rs 7,000-crore penalty on Etisalat-DB for alleged FEMA violations.) PC sent a legal notice to Reliance for remarks made by K R Raja (RIL employee) to corporate lobbyist Nira Radia which suggested that Chidambaram was a beneficiary in the 2G spectrum scam. RIL promptly apologised. Being a business unit RIL would hardly like to cross swords with the Home Minister or his government. Quite understandable! But the allegation by Swamy is similar and even puts a number to it and is far more serious. No response yet from PC. Wait and watch!

In another case concerning Intelligence Bureau, although unrelated, R.N. Kulkarni, who served in the IB for over three decades and retired as joint assistant director, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court questioning the agency’s legitimacy. Outlook magazine reports on that development that the IB, RAW and other Intelligence agencies are not accountable to parliament. They’re practically extra-constitutional. Not surprisingly politicians use these organisations for political purposes. I didn’t say that. That these agencies are being used for spying on political rivals comes from none other than former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai (IndiaToday). Guess who is in charge of the intelligence agencies? And make another wild guess what our intelligence sleuths might be overburdened with rather than crime and security issues.

In the worst pasting anyone would have recently given PC, Ram Jethmalani writes a mini biography of the man. In a piece in The Sunday Guardian titled “Friend, father & philosopher of black money is Chidambaram” Jethmalani showers an honour on PC that no politician would ever want. After chronicling what would appear to be a political career tainted throughout, Jethmalani ends on the following note:

“Chidambaram's record as Home Minister has been disastrous. Neither has he made any impact on internal security, with the worst massacres of his own paramilitary forces taking place in his time, nor on terrorism, which carries on in complete complacency because there are neither effective preventive or punitive systems in place, nor political will and national legislation to combat terrorism…….What a laughing stock we must be before the world. It is almost as if India is determined that it shall not combat terrorism, shall not have enabling legislation as enacted by the US, such as the Homeland Security Act 2002, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 of UK and similar legislations in European governments. India is determined not to have an effective national agency on the lines of the Homeland Security Department of the US. The ramshackle National Investigation Agency showed itself as a complete failure during the recent Mumbai attacks. Understandable, because its only mandate appears to be to investigate "Hindu terror", the last refuge for failed and hopeless Congressmen like Chidambaram. The CCTNS, JIC, ARC, NTRO (presently in another scam), and NCTC remain effete, scattered and unmonitorable, even by the Home Ministry. With such an unequivocal determination by the UPA government not to address terrorism effectively, I can only grieve for my country.”

I’m too optimistic to grieve for my country yet. But I do grieve having such a former Finance and now Home Minister. He’s been reduced to an ‘unartful’ dodger.

Skeleton Singh - The Closet Prime Minister

Sometime in June 2011 following frequent demands that the “PM break his silence” and speak up on various scams and issues confronting the nation Manmohan Singh held a press meet with five carefully handpicked print media editors. This was supported by the announcement that he would hold such a press meet every week. That done, there were no subsequent press meets. The weekly Malamal lottery of handpicking editors to meet ended with the first and only one. Our “friendly-fire” media is happy too, since the noise had died down on this promise of ‘weekly press-meets’ and the PM could go back to his closet.

Come the monsoon session of the parliament and suddenly MMS comes out all-guns blazing like Rambo (or should I lately say Singham?) and breaks his silence again by delivering one stupid sound bite. “There are skeletons in the Opposition’s cupboard too” he effectively said. Silence is not too great for a Prime Minister, but surely stupidity has to be even worse. I find it hard to believe MMS can come up with that line on his own so I wonder who tutored him. Perhaps Harish Khare or the ministers who manage the media keep feeding him these lines. I guess MMS finally got tired of being Caesar’s wife and now sees skeletons.

Ironically, the first new skeleton to tumble out as the parliament commenced a new session was directly from his own closet. A CAG report is cited as stating that the PMO overlooked a GOM decision to appoint Suresh Kalamadi as CWG-OC Chairman. That Singham video has since has been taken off following threats by Congress goons. But it’s unlikely the CWG and other scams are going to be shut down in a hurry. In an article, FirstPost, even questions the alteration of the minutes of meeting of the GOM that led to the appointment of Kalmadi.

While Ajay Maken, the current Sports Minister, is desperately trying to pin the blame for Kalmadi’s appointment to the previous NDA government there cannot be any doubt now that the PMO has been involved in not only this but was in full knowledge of many other scams too. A. Raja’s statements in court have clearly established the PM was in the know and had even approved the spectrum transactions.

People are now sick and tired of the media’s and the Congress’ attempt to continue to stick the “honesty and integrity” tag to this PM. It now appears that far from the imaginary honesty and integrity, he has wilfully allowed the scams to flourish. He has allowed and overseen the greatest loot of this nation ever in its history. For an economist he has also overseen the economic slide of India, the growth story is grounded and India’s international standing has corroded. The terrible lack of political leadership is starting to affect every sphere of endeavour in this nation.

None of the above is new. MMS has a history to it. Here are excerpts (in blue) from an article from April 2009 by Surajit Dasgupta titled ‘The Manmohan Singh Chronology’. I repeat, these are random excerpts from a very long article and I would strongly recommend that the full article be read:

There is a paradox in the thought process of onlookers. On the one hand, ask a loser why he couldn't make it big in life. Chances are high, he has an alibi of honesty. On the other, point out to him the illustrious growth of a known personality in society and he exclaims, "Wow!"

That the Indian Prime Minister is the epitome of honesty and integrity is a notion not even his biggest detractor in politics dares to challenge. ……. Also, if beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, it must be noted that most journalists in the country are either Bachelors of Arts (pass course) or hold MA in history, not embellished further by an MPhil, let alone a PhD. As for business scribes, a sizeable number of whom are postgraduates in economics and commerce, we know how they conduct their routine business. They pick up information from corporate communication heads of companies, published brochures, leaflets, pamphlets and uploaded website content of those firms, besides sound-bytes of the CEOs…… without ever trying to explore the darker alleys of the business houses by befriending executives from the purchase, sales, accounts and human resource departments.

In the evening of 5 February 2006, I edited an article by Ajoy Bose for The Pioneer, "Manmohan, doctor of politics"….. Bose wondered how Singh "managed to flourish so well under different political masters through the turbulent 1970s and '80s". Then, the silence of the Congress turned deafening when on 21 May 2006, The Statesmanpublished an article by Subroto Roy with several facts that cast aspersions on the character of Manmohan Singh, the economist and bureaucrat. Titled "The politics of Dr Singh", the article presented a chronology of events in Singh's career since his days as a student in University of Cambridge. For systematic reading, let us look at the contents of Roy's article in a bulletised format:

As a student -
(England onwards)
Greatest influences among teachers: Joan Robinson & Nicholas Kaldor (both communists)
Mao Zedong's "Little Leap Forward" followed by "Great Leap Forward".
Curiously, Mao himself apologised to the Chinese people subsequently for both.

As a bureaucrat -
March 1971: Seeks 'blessings' of PN Haksar, who had followed his model of protectionism to help Indira Gandhi's regime nationalise banks, to join bureaucracy
Haksar's background:
• In London, protégé of R Palme Dutt and Krishna Menon
• IFS under Jawaharlal Nehru's regime
• May 1967 onwards, Indira Gandhi’s adviser

Haksar's feats:
• Nationalisation of India’s banks
• The Congress split and creation of the Congress(I)
• Politicisation of the bureaucracy including the intelligence services
• Highly placed civil servants became politically committed pro-USSR bureaucrats
• Beginning of courtier culture and durbar politics

As a politician (almost) -
22 March 1991: Rajiv Gandhi prepares documents for liberalisation. Singh had nothing to do with the origins of the 1991 reform and never interacted with Rajiv Gandhi in the last months of the latter's life…. It was Subroto Roy's encounter with Rajiv Gandhi that led to the Congress's change of economic thinking in 1990-1991.

Mission unaccomplished:
• Continuing deficit finance
• No measure to check corruption
• No enforcement of clean accounting
• No strict audits

Skipping 11 years…
May 2002: Congress passes a resolution saying the ideas of India’s liberalisation had originated with neither Manmohan Singh nor Narasimha Rao! The account was too damning and the newspaper that carried it too credible to be ignored. But ignore Singh's party did. Why? Was it out of the fear that any action, legal or otherwise, would turn the article or its writer more popular and more people might revisit and perhaps revise their opinion about the current prime minister?

As the "honesty" and "integrity" of our prime minister has turned almost into an electioneering slogan of the Congress, it's time to dig deeper….

After the Narasimha Rao era began, in August 1991, the rate of inflation rose to more than 17 %; the BoP crisis had already turned critical with India left with forex reserves just about enough to pay for three weeks’ imports. Under these circumstances, why did Rao summon Singh’s predecessor at RBI, IG Patel, and request him to accept the post of finance minister in his cabinet? Why was Singh the second preference?

Certain notions are so deeply set in the public psyche, even hindsight many years later cannot rectify the myths. That India embarked upon a path to a free market regime in the period 1991-96 is one such notion. Reforms should mean competitive prices for the consumer, but almost all infrastructure projects at that time were pursued without competition, Enron and Cogentrix being two prime examples. …..While to its credit, the Rao-Singh regime could boast of successively increasing growth rates – Corruption in all public-private partnership deals became the order of the day. And the Great Indian Securities Scam unfolded.

……When advised by admirers to leave the Congress in 1996 and concentrate again on propounding economic philosophies, he had dismissed the plea with his signature feeble voice, thus, "But I am in politics!" It seems somewhere in his subconscious he fancied his chances in a possible second innings in the future. Soon after the 1996 elections at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, he quoted the "Caesar's wife" proverb. the insinuation was clear; he was distancing himself from Narasimha Rao. But he knew his future would be in the Congress.

If it was not a bureaucrat being dictated by his political master(s) (1971-91), or a minister being given ideas by a prime minister (1991-96), or a prime minister being told what to do by his party's head, it is an ally telling him what to do, more importantly, what not to do (2004-2009). If nationalisation of wholesale trade in foodgrains was Indira Gandhi's idea, if increasing corporate taxes in 1979 was Charan Singh's or HM Patel's idea, if mortgaging the country's gold was Chandrashekhar's idea, if liberalisation and globalisation were ideas of the IMF-Narasimha Rao combine and, finally, reforms with a human face was Sonia Gandhi's idea with too much of facial massage (read NREGA) added by the left, what, for heaven's sake, is Manmohan Singh's idea?

To conclude, Manmohan Singh has but two words that sum up all his ideas: "Yes, boss!".

The Real CABINET Meeting

The mainstream media for a long time has been hounding lesser ministers and crooks. The root of the entire disaster that confronts India lies at the top of the pyramid and not at the bottom. It is the honourable Prime Minister with a great deal of skeletons to protect who must be held responsible. Not far behind is the UPA chairperson. If a Chief Minister can be forced to resign by leaked reports and an activist Lokayukta then the closet PM is guilty of far larger crimes. The honesty and integrity crap doesn’t wash anymore. It is time for a real leader to step in.  Skeleton Singh, the closet PM, must go.

Also Read:  "Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi Should Be Held Criminally Liable..."

This Dog Bites!

Not so long ago Ninong Ering, Congress MP from Arunachal Pradesh, reportedly called him an ‘Indian Dog’! That was because Baba Ramdev had raised the issue of black money and the corrupt Congress leaders in one of his meetings. Digvijay Singh of the Congress then wanted Ramdev to certify that every donation received by him was not black money. In the drama that unfolded today, there were ministers rushing to welcome Baba Ramdev in an attempt to persuade him to call off his indefinite hunger strike scheduled to start from June 4. I wonder where Digvijay Singh is now and why he didn’t prevail upon his party’s ministers to not accord a red carpet welcome to a man he implied was receiving black money as donations.

Well whatever it was, the media had a great day with all the drama surrounding Ramdev. Not a single channel failed to remind us that Ramdev had made a U-turn on his previous statement. He had made comments about including the PM and CJI under the Lokpal’s jurisdiction but nothing that can be seriously called a conflict with Anna Hazare but the media had a field day describing events as a clash between the Ramdev group and the Hazare group. The media was seeking sound bites from Kapil Sibal and Ramdev to report something dramatic after their 2-hour meeting at the airport.

The sixties and seventies had great gold smugglers in India. Among the famous ones were Haji Mastan and Sukur Narayan Bakhia. In most movies the smugglers were the villains. All that changed starting the late seventies. The politicians started being portrayed as villains in the movies. Smuggling, murders, kidnappings, bribery, you name it and there was some politician or the other involved. Contesting elections was not just to seek power to rule a constituency or a state or to make laws. It became an exercise in acquiring more and more illegitimate wealth to fight more elections and generate more wealth. Wealth here obviously means black money. With economic reforms being brought in since 1991 the opportunities to generate black money grew exponentially. As did our GDP. Much of the wealth, of course, stayed in the hands of a small percentage of the population. Despite all the laws, the RTI and so on, black money generation and transactions came to be accepted as normal. The first to start the major black money revolution has to be the real estate business. Naturally, there had to come a time when the dam would break. This is that time.

Raja, Kanimozhi, Kalmadi and many more are behind bars being denied bail. Media celebrities were indulging lobbyists and planting stories and even meddling in cabinet formation. The Congress and UPA government have brought corruption and black money transactions to its pinnacle. The black money figures today far exceed the loot the Britishers got away with. And instead of having acted, or still acting on disclosing names, putting offenders behind bars and recovering the money stashed in foreign banks the government seeks to mollify people like Baba Ramdev to call off his hunger strike. As of today, even Dayanidhi Maran, the former telecom minister, is reportedly involved in illegitimate money transactions. Telecom being the most growth oriented industry it almost looks like it was outsourced as a domain to one party to loot and make a killing as part of 'coalition dharma'.

So what is it about Baba Ramdev that scares the Congress so much?  Here’s a list:

1.   Ramdev is no Anna Hazare, he has a very large base and following and has the potential to mobilise crores of people just like Jaiprakash Narayan once did.

2.   He wears ‘saffron’ clothes. And that is a bad omen for the Congress.

3.   Unlike Hazare, Ramdev can generate a lot of funds to battle the Congress.

4.   Ramdev is headquartered in Uttarakhand but has tremendous influence in UP as well which goes to polls next year.

5.   Any misadventure can lead to Congress playing into the hands of a bumbling BJP.

6.   He is not burdened with any sidekicks like Anna Hazare who can be manipulated or targeted.

7.   His demands genuinely echo the sentiments of the people – they want the names of black money hoarders disclosed, no amnesty, funds stashed abroad declared national assets. What is wrong with these demands?

Under the UPA not one area of public responsibility has been corruption-free. Sure, there are good things that have happened. But this UPA will surely go down as the most corrupt government in the history of India. All the queen’s men may not be able to put the kingdom back together if they do not act now. Even areas like IPL and cricket, headed by none other than the likes of Sharad Pawar, have featured in the domain of corruption and black funds.

The UPA had promised to act on black money within 100 days of its office. Far from acting, the skeletons just keep tumbling out on various scams. The extra-constitutional body called the National Adversary Advisory Council is busy making communal laws in the guise of Communal Violence Bill. Laws are being proposed to suppress voices on the internet and the press.

The audacity and stupidity of Digivijay Singh asking Baba Ramdev to certify that each of his donation isn’t black money was the height of Congress arrogance. This was preceded by arrogant statements from Kapil ‘Zero Loss’ Sibal and the Manish Tiwaris and Abhishek Singhvis. They should have strongly condemned the incident where one of their members called Ramdev a Dog and shown greater humility in attending the scams that were popping up everywhere.

The Congress MP Ninong Ering and Digvijay Singh have never learned one important lesson in their life. Let sleeping dogs lie! Unfortunately, they woke him up and now he’s gonna bite!

MPs Have The Responsibility To Make Laws, Not The Right!

The fast unto death by Anna Hazare has been in the news on all the channels. Corruption has reached such dizzying heights in the nation that it now needs a war to be waged against it. Particularly against the very people who are supposed to make laws. Against the very people who have institutionalised corruption.

In particular, the response to this issue by Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi merits some response. First, he refers to Hazare’s actions as pressuring the government and second, calls it ‘holding a gun to the government’s head’. I am sorry Mr. Singhvi, the time to just hold a gun has passed, it is time to shoot! Over 4 decades of inaction doesn’t call for a gun, it really calls for the whole army at your doorstep. And the people’s army will arrive finally at the Congress’ doorstep.

The stupid arguments put forth by Singhvi once again expose the shamelessness of the government and instead of holding his feet to fire, the discussion in the media is whether the tactics of Hazare & Co. are depriving the right of the MPs to make laws.

It is important in a democracy not just to reject unfair and improper laws but to also force our MPs to pass appropriate laws that are necessary. Lobbyists have time and again have had laws passed by these very people to suit their own ends. Lobbying may not be legal in India but it is definitely practiced and our MPs and ministers are often slaves to these vested interests. So what exactly is wrong in Anna Hazare demanding a law and changes in the draft to the Lokpal bill? Manu Singhvi’s argument is that it’s the exclusive right of MPs and Parliament to pass laws and that this cannot be forced by people. Utter nonsense! MPs and parliament have the responsibility to pass laws not the right!

The laws that do need to be passed by parliament are definitely meant to reflect not just the will of the people but also serve justice. The current draft of the Lokpal bill, as reflected in the discussions on news channels is nothing but another rotten egg. It is therefore the right of Anna Hazare and every citizen to reject the draft and demand necessary alterations that will satisfy the will of the people and also justice.

Anil Kejriwal rightly showed indignation and anger at Singhvi (on CNN-IBN’s Face the nation on April 5) and reminded Singhvi who his masters are. Let MPs, the Prime Minister and the parliament never forget that in a democracy the rulers shall rule with the consent of those who are ruled and not the other way around.  If the current draft of the Lokpal bill does not have the consent of the people, they have the right to protest and demand changes in the draft. Mr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, despite being an eminent lawyer, needs to read the idiot’s guide to the democratic process. Power to the people does mean power to the people and not a bunch of ministers who can decide such laws. Especially, when the group of ministers consist of some very tainted persons.

MPs have the responsibility to enact laws. However, this is not their BIRTHRIGHT. This birthright is that of the people. The rulers shall rule only with the consent of the ruled. Our freedom was achieved by rejecting, disobeying and breaking laws that were unjust, unfair and anti-people. Therefore, the war against corruption is essentially another freedom struggle. It not only means unjust and wrong laws should be rejected and disobeyed, the right laws must be demanded by people and MPs must be forced to pass those laws. So the Manu Singhvis and Manish Tiwaris and the Congress better start acting and not wait for the tanks and heavy artillery to arrive.

2G Scam: There Will Be Blood

Newer scams, Wikileaks, Cricket, other crimes have helped push the Nira Radia case to the back-burner. This would, of course, come as a relief for the Congress which is still embattled on many other issues. As days pass the 2G scam cases get more curious coupled with the even more strange case of Hasan Ali in the black money scandal. The black money case is an entirely whole topic for a separate post but let me start with a refresher of my previous posts.

Nira Radia was considered central to the 2G scam case. The ED followed up with raids, interrogation etc. So let’s look at this post I made in Nov. 2010:

Nira Radia – A Real Hero : Who’s Behind The Tapes Conspiracy? (Nov. 28, 2010)

"Nira Radia has to be considered a real unwitting hero of sorts. The public has long suspected a politicians–corporate houses–media nexus in the ongoing season of scams. In one single stroke, with a partial release of her tapes, she has inadvertently exposed the powerful and the corrupt in the nation......... I can’t help imagining Ram Gopal Verma rubbing his hands in delight. He would have liked some blood, of course. And who knows, that might even follow."

Sure enough, there is blood. First is that of Sadik Batcha, a former aide of A. Raja. His death is reported as suicide. Only time and proper investigation (if any at all) will reveal if this was indeed a suicide. One does not know how many such Batchas are involved in various transactions or how many more will die in the course of the investigations and possible trials. It may sound far- fetched but it may be safe to assume Nira Radia herself may be in danger.

The phones of Nira Radia were reportedly tapped on a complaint to the Finance Ministry. Who indeed is that mysterious complainant? That single piece of information can solve a lot of puzzles surrounding the 2G scam. Is anyone in the media following up on that? Let’s go back to another post I made in December 2010:

UPA Govt. May Not Have A Case Against Nira Radia ... (December 14, 2010)

"Hasty to call Nira Radia a spy. Thus spake Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister. The phone tapping was started precisely for that reason – spying.  If Pranab Mukherjee, the man in the middle of everything could say that, one can safely assume the complaint to the then Finance Minster, P. Chidambaram, on the basis of which the phone tapping commenced might as well be fabricated. Else, Chidambaram can and should reveal who the complainant was. That is neither a matter of national secrecy nor a matter of grave danger. I wonder if the complaint was signed by anyone or was an anonymous one.......It is extremely probable that the phone tapping was initiated and meant to be used by the Congress to embarrass, expose or even blackmail some businessmen, media-persons and political allies or enemies.  It seems more and more likely that the government may have no real case against Nira Radia. The exposures are welcome, but the motives remain suspect. Will the media now push Chidambaram for facts?"

In developments so far there has been nothing against Nira Radia. No FIR, no evidence of any conspiracy, no indication of an international spy ring. Nothing! The last report in January 2011 according to Rediff: “A top official of the Central Bureau of Investigation, currently investigating the 2G spectrum scam under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court of India told this correspondent in an informal conversation that the bureau has not registered an FIR against lobbyist Niira Radia, because "there is no case against her....Asked why the CBI had then raided Radia's offices and residence, the official said, "The agency had conducted the raids in a bid to look for evidence in the 2G scam." The official, however, refused to answer questions relating to the kind of evidence the agency was looking for or whether they were able to pick up evidence that would prove useful to in proving its case in a court of law”.

Recent publication of the Justice Shah Commission reports (about the Emergency) also show Pranab Mukherjee in a very dark light. 2G, black money and other scams may well turn out to be a serious conspiracy of dangerous proportions. The likes of Nira Radia, A. Raja may just be small pawns in a much larger and dangerous conspiracy. Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee have a lot to answer for.

Among other things the JPC is looking into, it must reveal who lodged the complaint against Nira Radia that initiated the phone-taps. It may not be good reading, but there will be more blood.

The PM’s Con-furtherance

The meet apparently started with Eid greetings. I could only laugh. This may be a different Eid, but it may be fair to call the PM an ‘Eid Ka Chand’ where his press meets or addresses to the nation are concerned. Harish Khare, the PM’s media advisor, welcomed the TV editors as “masters of the universe” and allotted ‘one question to everyone’! Take that for rationing. So effectively, once in a few years a media editor will get to ask the PM one question. Yes, we are a 'functioning democracy'!

After some mild praise for the media for taking the scam reports to people the PM mentioned that it’s a disservice to project the country as ‘scam-driven’. The PM can rest safely assured that the media hasn’t taken all the scams to the people. They themselves may be involved in many. Now why in the world would anyone get the impression that India is ‘scam-driven’? Are the ordinary people to blame? Is the media to blame? Singularly, the UPA has bestowed this inglorious reputation to India and it will be difficult to remove that tag very soon.

This video on Youtube and doing the rounds in emails is a 'scammy-image' of India that the UPA can claim much of the credit for. 

Manmohan Singh did not nothing more than refer to the enormous scams as ‘irregularities’ and offer the same worn out defences that his party and UPA have been offering all these months. Far from addressing issues of corruption his own Congress morons were busy raking up all issues of Hindu terror in their own plenary session and at every public meeting.

It is a sad comment on the state of the nation that corruption has taken such a front seat in the discussion ring. If we were free of the major scams we would have been talking about the non-performance of people like Sharad Pawar, Kamal Nath, the loot of the Aviation industry and so much more. And what do you know? If you were a TV editor given one important question to ask you would ask the PM about cricket! That’s right. Ask him about his favourite cricketer and India’s prospects at the ICC world cup.

Sometime back the Congress clown prince, Rahul Gandhi, blamed coalition politics for corruption and inflation. Now you’ve heard it from the PM himself. That coalition dharma requires comprises. Why didn’t we know that? That compromises really mean corruption and loot of the nation?  And if you were looking to really hear anything from the PM – all you got was ‘Raja said..and Isro said..’.  He said, she said and they said...and I still say nothing new.

The journalists had questions on Egypt, Telengana but nothing about defence or security issues and hardly much on black money. Only recently we had Pakistan asking for information on Samjhauta blasts etc. when that country is yet to act on anything. Our media had no questions on that at all. And, of course, you can expect Prannoy Roy to soften the blows for the PM. He asks the PM about next elections and anti-incumbency and whether he will still be a PM candidate in 2014. I guess it will take NDTV a long time to come back to the realities of today. After all didn’t they just conclude another sham award ceremony for entertainers and one politician?

The most significant thing that the PM said, according to me, was that “this time the corrupt won’t get away” ! Well, at least that is a clear admission that so far the corrupt have gotten away. Other than that, Manmohan Singh increasingly comes across as nothing more than a blundering, muttering babu. He should honourably quit and spare this nation any more embarrassment.

And if all that is not enough, you then have  Manish Tiwari telling the world that instead of appreciating the PM inviting the media and talking to them, the media and opposition are criticising him. Yeah and “India is a functioning democracy” according to the PM. Maybe in your next life. With journalists not allowed to press the PM further and limiting the questions this wasn’t a press conference. More like a Con-furtherance on behalf of the Con-gress party.