122 Reasons To Cheer

I had read somewhere that every afternoon about 7 members of the Congress media department meet to discuss the day’s issues and plan a media response. That would normally be a healthy practice in any political party. On February 1 the same group would have had an extended meeting discussing their response to the much-awaited SC verdict on 2G that was slated for February 2. What if P.Chidambaram was indicted? What if an SIT was set up to monitor investigations into the scam? And maybe a few more questions. But not in their worst nightmare would they have expected that the SC would quash the 122 licenses issued by the govt. Now that was something they hadn’t planned for probably. So once the verdict came out at around 10.30am the Congress spinners went into a huddle and not until 3pm did they come out with a response. That’s Okay! It takes time to come out with the worst spin; especially when most of them claimed they hadn’t read the full judgement.

So it was left to Zero specialist Kapil Sibal to break the good news to the media. And true to his established tradition of stupid utterances Sibal stated the SC endorsed the govt policies, blamed the previous NDA govt, led by BJP, for the whole mess. Why? It’s because the UPA followed the same ‘first come, first serve’ (FCFS) policy established by the BJP. So according to Sibal, the indictment of his govt was basically an indictment of the NDA which should apologise to the nation. Oh well! Let’s just say the BJP invented the Hammer and the UPA used that Hammer to commit murder so the BJP is culpable. True, the SC had faulted the FCFS policy but the clever spin by Sibal takes away from the real issue: That the cause for the reported 1.76 lakh crores was because 2001 prices were used for issuing licenses in 2008. The UPA had not just abused the FCFS policy but also used the wrong pricing. But that is all that the faithful poodles in the media needed to brighten their day, a spin from Sibal.

The second aspect of Sibal’s nonsense is that only A. Raja was responsible for the 2G scam and neither the PM nor P.Chidambaram were responsible. Imagine, the sales manager of a company concludes an extra-ordinarily huge transaction and neither the Finance manager nor the MD is aware of such a transaction. Normally, even a Chairman who doesn’t involve himself in day to day operations would know of such a transaction. But to expect our PM, then FM or UPA head Sonia Gandhi to be aware of the 2G skulduggery is supposedly far-fetched.

So, from 3pm onward the MSM on TV, online media and elsewhere kept playing the allegation of Sibal against the NDA and happily buried the issue of the loss of 1.76 lakh crores somewhere in their dustbins. Where the question of responsibility came up, the discussions focused on Raja. And the usual suspects who defend the govt even on the indefensible were on the panels all evening. Here are some interesting observations:

On the question why PM, PC or Sonia (or High Command) were unaware of what Raja was up to Vinod Sharma of Hindustan Times had this to offer (on NDTV): Raja’s High Command is in Chennai and not in Delhi. That’s a reference to DMK bosses and inference is that Raja, as a minister, did not have any accountability to the PM or the Cabinet. That’s how stupid media morons like Vinod Sharma can get.

Okay, the next one is from K.Tulsi, a lawyer with Congress sympathies, who suggested (again on NDTV) the PM and FM cannot be aware of everything. Everything? Haha! This is not some small-change we are talking about, this is a Himalayan transaction. To this nonsense Arun Shourie responded by asking Tulsi if the PM and FM don’t even read newspapers. That’s true, since 2009 the 2G scam has been in the news and some newspapers, particularly The Pioneer, were reporting it and yet PM and FM were unaware? Any idiot who reads newspapers would be aware of something brewing as a scam in the 2G licenses, yet the head of the Indian govt. was ignorant. Brilliant! This, when every man’s wife, children, relatives and dogs and cats knew about the scam.

Now, the best spin and deflection comes from none other than Rajdeep Sardesai, the devil on TV and preacher by night kind of journalist. He cleverly asks a panelist: So the NDA is not to blame and Raja has to be blamed for the whole scam? Journalism? Nope, Latinos might call this 'Whorenalism'! This little question would normally be missed by a viewer but if you read carefully he gives you a choice in deciding who’s guilty, its either NDA or Raja. The Congress, UPA, PM, Chidambaram are all exonerated in one single stroke. This is the same Rajdeep whose channel tried to tar and poke holes in the CAG report and claimed internal squabbles. That the loss in 2G was a mere 2645 Cr. and not the CAG figure of 1.76 lakh Cr. Motivation for the “Whatever it takes” channel!

Alright, notwithstanding all of that there is one important question that nobody is asking. What could be the motive for such a scam? Surely, behind every crime there has to be a motive. If Sibal feels the SC verdict finds fault with the NDA policy why is it that the govt chose to go for an auction of 3G licenses instead of continuing the FCFS route? Obviously, by early 2010 the govt was aware that the FCFS was misused and could have taken remedial action. It did not. Quite simply, the govt, as in many other scams, believed they could get away with it. They did not expect such a severe dressing down from the SC. The words the court used would shame any govt: “Illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and capricious”, but not the Congress. Which is why Sibal brazenly accuses NDA and defends PC, PM and by implication Sonia Gandhi too. And the media parrots that line.

Subramanian Swamy who fought the 2G case all along has stated many times over that there were kickbacks to the tune of 60000 crores and some of it has gone to Sonia Gandhi and family and some to DMK. But it is hard to believe that people who already have huge wealth would want to amass such further draconian amounts for personal gains. And there seems to be only one probable answer: Elections! The 2G licenses were given out in early 2008 with the general elections just over a year away. This was also a time when the Congress was in constant conflict with the Communists over the nuclear deal. Hanging on to alliances and allowing crimes to stay in power is not new in India. Elections are an expensive affair. Come general elections in May 2009 and both, the Congress and the DMK, return with a good number of seats. The Congress even manages to score higher than in the previous election. That is amazing considering the elections came in the backdrop of the worst terrorist attack on India in November 2008. Swamy’s allegations about the kickbacks have been around for quite some time yet not one single media outlet has talked about it, much less willing to investigate and report on it. Given the turn of events Swamy naturally commands a higher trust than any media house.

Narendra Modi during his Sadbhavna mission in September 2011 made an important statement: That some political parties come to power and their main agenda is not governance or development but has always been how to win the next election. In the last parliament session Ram Jethmalani quoted the improvised version of “Power corrupts..” as “Power corrupts, but the prospect of losing power corrupts even more”. That should explain the whole 2G scam. While political parties can battle over the value of 1.76 lakh crores of loss there cannot be any doubt that some of that would have been bribes and kickbacks to political outfits from the ruling coalition. Does the media have a stake in it? Maybe not directly but the Radiatapes exposed the media-politician-2G nexus so dirty secrets still abound. Also elections are a big bonanza for the media and consider all the Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, anniversaries and all the ‘Gandhi-Nehru’ schemes that get advertised. No other govt formation would benefit the media in such huge amounts. So why investigate a scam of this proportion and where the kickbacks went and bite the hands that feed them? The media’s sympathies for PM or Chidambaram apart, their motivation for trying to cover up the misdeeds of Congress is not very hard to see.

Any govt that takes a decision leading to the cancellation of 122 licenses by a court in a major policy issue should resign. The Congress and UPA have been brutally exposed over and over again for abuse of power and major scams and yet go around pretending they are fighting corruption. This is also a welcome blow to the corrupt corporate-political nexus which is slowly poisoning the nation. This is not an issue for mindless debates which the media indulges in. This is time for honest journalists to tell the UPA that it’s not about 122 licenses, these are 122 reasons why the UPA must die. For the nation these are 122 reasons to cheer.

2G Scam – More ‘Si-BalShit’

After the sacking of Spectrum Raja one would have thought the induction of Kapil Sibal as Telecom Minister would bring in some sanity to the ministry. Most people have known Sibal to be knowledgeable, sensible and a straight-talking person. Being a top grade lawyer, he has usually chosen his words carefully in the past. Adversity and calamity bring out the best in a man or the worst in a man. Far from his best, it seems to have brought out the worst in Kapil Sibal. I am now tempted to say ‘Si-Bull in a china shop’. (Or 'Si-Bull in a mobile shop?)

Si-Bull In A Mobile Shop?

First, the uncalled for attack on the CAG when he stated: “We are extremely pained at the methodology adopted by the CAG for arriving at the [allocation loss] figures that have no basis. The “presumptive losses” had embarrassed the government and the nation, he said, and this “resulted in a kind of sensationalism, which has allowed the Opposition to spread utter falsehood among the people.” Falsehood? The CAG then stood by its report.

Later, in January,  in an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Sibal was unusually combative and almost militant. He even mentioned that all the letters to and from the PM that were being referred mostly didn’t exist and that the ‘Aam Aadmi’ had actually benefited from the spectrum policies. In other words, the aam aadmi had benefited from the 2G Scam. Sardesai was so battered by the ‘Si-Bull’ that he couldn’t even ask proper questions or get answers.

In between, he appointed retired Justice Shivraj Patil as a one-man panel to look into the irregularities in spectrum allotment. The justice dishes out a report that suggests wrong polices existed since 2003, during the NDA regime. Quoting the report, Sibal said the committee found that original spectrum allocation was "bad" and procedures were not followed both during the NDA government till 2004 and the UP government up to 2008.  This comes today, a day after Raja’s arrest.

It’s time the press and electronic media told Mr. Kapil, “Enough of your (Si)Balshit please get on with the job”. Kapil Sibal has the job of cleaning up the mess and moving on to ensure better policies, more transparency, and do the best to recover any losses that the nation may have incurred under previous policies, previous ministers or previous regimes. It would be a disaster if a respected politician and lawyer such as Kapil Sibal drowns himself in petty politics to defend the UPA. Nobody is blaming Kapil Sibal for any mess but if he continues in this vein he will attract the same revulsion that A. Raja has.

The arrest of A. Raja has nothing more than drama value and some comic relief. It means nothing unless he is sentenced to prison after a proper court procedure. In the meantime, Mr. Kapil please spare us anymore ‘Si-Balshit’! We would not like to see you become Si-BULL in a mobile shop!

Is CNN-IBN Plagiarising From MediaCrooks?

Don’t let the title of this post surprise you in the least. The mainstream media is notorious for lifting pieces from blogs and passing it off as their own. Even fake  news and spoofs.  Here is what I wrote in my post titled ‘UPA Govt. May Not Have A Case Against Nira Radia’ on December 14.

“...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”.

This morning, reporting on the CBI raids on Nira Radia, CNN-IBN’s Bhupen Choubey asked the very exact question that I asked above. So why does it strike me? Because nobody, no one in the MSM had asked this question before. Who is the complainant? Is the complaint signed or is it anonymous? This was the exact question that Bhupen Choubey asked.  Picking up pieces from various journals or sites is no crime at all, as long as the source is mentioned. Let’s see if CNN-IBN refutes what I have called plagiarism.

Even if they did, I have no problems. This blog was any way meant to persuade the media to ask the right questions. And for once CNN-IBN, at least, has asked the all important question. Who was the person who filed the complaint against Radia? Was it anonymous? I believe the answer to this simple question will solve the entire drama surrounding the 2G Scam. The CBI raids, eye-wash as they are, on Nira Radia and others is bound to reveal absolutely nothing. With all the intelligence at their disposal it seems outright stupid for the government to be raiding Radia or others now.  Even the tape-leaks are nearly a month old. Everyone involved had enough time to cover their tracks and clean up. I am confident the CBI is working like an old dog that has lost the sensory effectiveness of its nose and smell (or should I say Congress’ ‘pet-dog’?)

Regardless, now that CNN-IBN has asked the question, others in the media should pick it up and pressurise P. Chidambaram to come clean.  The questions that the government should answer are:

1.   Who filed the complaint against Nira Radia that instigated the phone-tap?

2.   Was the complaint signed or anonymous?

3.   If the complaint was signed, was the complainant ever queried or questioned?

The media must now put pressure on P. Chidambaram to come clean. These 3 questions hold the key to the entire phone-tapping and 2G scandal. My personal bet is the complaint was anonymous and was probably fabricated once the Supreme Court got involved in the case.  Will the rest of the mainstream media now pick up the challenge and ask these questions? Even if PC can't reveal the name for some reason, he can definitely inform whether the complaint was signed or anonymous.

Radia Tapes Leak: Needle Of Suspicion Closer To Chidambaram?

Home Secretary G.K. Pillai has said that the leaked Radia tapes  just had "juicy elements" to "titillate" the media. The real details on the spectrum scam, he said, are in the remaining 5,000-plus recordings that haven't yet come out will assist investigators. All this in an interview with the Washington Street Journal on December 6. Thus, it would appear that the tapes that were released, involving journalists and businessmen, didn’t reveal anything concerning the real investigations. So why were those leaked? And who did? Pillai then went on to say  “Everything will come out. Then you can pick and choose”.

Following his interview and other reports that he may be somehow involved in the leakage of the tapes Pillai denied the suggestions and stated “Since I have neither heard nor seen the tapes, the allegations that I am leaking these tapes, at the behest of the Home Minister, is totally unfounded and false”. As I stated in another post, if the government denies something, it must be true. Is it so in this case?

Deepak Parekh, of HDFC, in an interview to Shekhar Gupta stated “You can’t have telephones tapped for two years...even if it’s a crook, does it take you two years?...You arrest that individual, you question that individual”. That sounds like simple common sense which seems quite elusive to our investigating agencies. As if the Congress stooges weren’t already a laughing stock, the CBI now raids A. Raja and others after allowing them a long time to wipe their footprints.

In a previous post I had suggested that ‘Chidambaram must come clean’ on the Radia tapes. It should be anybody’s guess that the probe or investigation or inquiry that the Home Minister keeps referring to is hardly likely to reveal who leaked the tapes. Welcome as the leaks were, it is clear that they were leaked to expose certain journalists and businessmen. It reeks of vendetta and a political one at that. Now who could possibly have a motive to do that? It seems unlikely for a ‘babu’ or some lower level official or some investigator to have the motives. 

Therefore, the leak has to come or should have been orchestrated at the very highest level. The one person who handled the two key ministries of Finance and Home during the period of phone tapping is Mr. P. Chidambaram. And having collectively plunged the nation into a sorry mess, the Congress (I) moralises on corruption. Their foul-mouthed spokesman, Manish Tiwari, calls the opposition ‘maoists and naxals’ for blockading the parliament. I for one don’t give a damn about the parliament right now. Parliament can wait. The JPC should be constituted and the first priority for the country has to be recovering black money and the scam money. The PM is very concerned about the ‘future’ of the parliament. If this man had not silently presided over the biggest scam in the country and some more, then the country would not be in this situation.

I had quoted her earlier and do so again. Mobina Gupta writes at Kafila.Org: "One of the anecdotes doing the rounds among journalists at the moment goes like this: A certain politician-unfriendly journalist asks P Chidambaram whether the Congress is embarrassed by the SC’s observation about the PM’s inaction on the A Raja corruption issue. Chidambaram quips back: Are you in the media embarrassed about the tapes?" 

If Chidambaram does not come clean on the tapes and the leaks, the needle of suspicion will get closer to him each day. The media has the chance to put all the pressure on this man to come clean. One hopes they will not let him off the hook,  now that they have learnt their lessons.