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.

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.

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!