A reminder for retrieval of black-money prior to clearing the impasse on Lokpal Bill
( Madan Menon Thottasseri)
__________________________________________________________________
The anti-corruption movements became too relevant now while the people of this country had reached a level of their maximum repugnance towards political parties, especially the traditional rulers- Congress and its corrupt leaders. The factor that overlapped on this extreme situation was nothing other than the advent of an anti- corruption movement by Anna Hazare. The timing was impetuously fitting while the entire nation fell in clasp of distress and resentment over the deceitful practices of all ministries of UPA., principally by the telecom ministry with the support of PMO and Finance ministries resulting in the colossal loss to the exchequer. By this time the whole country had already smelled the stench of scams after scams.
The law abiding common populace viewed this fluke as a mystical opportunity to come forward and support Anna Hazare for his premeditated campaign for an enactment of the anti-corruption bill. Of course later on Baba Ramdev came to the picture with his exclusive demand for declaring black money as a national asset.
Congress never expected that Baba Ramdev will put forth his agenda for the repossession of around 400 lakh crore black-money wedged in foreign banks! To arrive at a consensus on fishing out this much quantum of currency- chattels and insert into the exchequer is unimaginable for Congress though it cannot be avowed as an ‘impossible task’ if there is a concerted move for the same. Congress will certainly try to incorporate extraneous conditions to earmark quantum of money accumulated through various means as black-money and will salvage its resources from getting confined.
PM (Prime Minister) and Congress Party had been already pushed to the lowest level of political distinction and are unaware of the next course of action to refurbish the lost image and get exonerated from the telecom and other scams! All intrinsic details of the scam and siphon-off monies have been fished out while the authentic probes are getting the momentum. Swindle of huge money out of the telecom scam, had been recorded as a monumental corruption in our nation, as on date.
PM could not audaciously give any ample clarifications even if it may reveal malevolence done by his position. It was shocking to the whole nation when PM had proved that what he performed in Lok Sabha was only the trailer of his acting faculty! PM was scared to fix a higher limit for his revelations and of course it will be hypothetical, to what extent he can courageously come out with events that lead him to be part of all the iniquities in CVC appointment and especially on green signals given to A.Raja for the manipulations in the telecom regime that lead to the scam etc. etc, It is a shame that he had opted to get himself further diminished to the level of an average politician as he could not understand his obligation to do justice to his self-respect.
Let me quote at least one point of the CVC issue. Is it not unbelievable that PM was unaware of the charge sheet against P.J.Thomas until the eleventh hour but still opted to go ahead in appointment process on the good faith that there will be no barrier of vigilance clearance to the senior IAS officer who had served as Chief Secretary as well as Secretary to two popular departments in Centre government? The allegation that being the CVC, P.J.Thomas would have involved in the appointment of the new Director of CBI while his own appointment was at stake is still unresolved! Unfortunately, it was so trifling that the PM resorted to pass bucks to Prithviraj Chavan, the MoS.
It was bull-shit drama that P.M even voluntarily offered to appear before CAG knowing that it is only a dummy panel with no powers. He still expected the people of the country to forgive him for closing eyes to all the swindling of currencies in telecom ministry. He dared to violate constitutional procedure in the appointment of CVC and knowingly forwarded the letter of Dr.Subramanian Swamy seeking permission to prosecute the telecom minister A.Raja, to the tainted minister himself. While SG appearing for the P.M was forced to accept this flaw noticed by the SC bench, he and his congress party higher-ups openly criticised the SG. No other PM in this nation, had given this much an opportunity to the judiciary to use very strong words of admonishment to his position.
After the SC verdict of quashing the appointment of CVC, Sushma Swaraj, the leader of Opposition had protested on the missing of his expression of regret during the press meet in Jammu, while P.M was giving statements in Parliament. She was right in insisting PM to reiterate it though unexpected of him. PM swiftly responded saying that he had no hesitation in admitting that it was an error of judgment for which he takes full conscientiousness! Though he laid a new foundation for a factual acceptance of impiety happened in selecting CVC and attempted to revamp his lost self-esteem, he could not continue the stance afterwards as more intrinsic issues in respect of scams cropped up one after the other.
PM and his government could not hide face while the nation is entangled into a host of scandals which are being exposed in succession wherein there were siphoning off huge money otherwise would have gone into the exchequer. The whole nation came to know that the UPA government is at the clemency of mafia powers which were behind money deals still prepared to shelter corrupt ministers and officials. UPA had discounted the dignity of India amongst democracies of the world while India is expected to be a role model for upholding democratic doctrines and practices. Taking into account the magnitude of the scam and the sensitivity connected with it for the common people to worry on the plight of our democracy and its governance, there was no reason for the government to delay the declaration for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) which has super powers to summon even the Prime Minister if the situation warrants. A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is utterly an inexorable democratic necessity and the government was compelled to constitute the same.
Print media and TV channels had showed the people on the breeding scams. Many sub stories are being emerged out one after another parallel to the main scam stories. It looks like many script-writers developing the same twisted movie storey. Unfortunately many characters are still reluctant for manifesting their roles even after getting right ‘prompting’ from behind the scenes. It is evident from Radia tapes that our nation has a host of professional lobbyists doing high profile task of deciding the composition of a ministry in New Delhi or any states. There are different networks of business icons and media Kings (Queens too!) who can prevail on any top leader or a political group. Of course everything is a transaction for a Price while ultimately beneficiaries have to maneuver corruption to recoup cost and reap profits by engaging themselves in misfeasance.
UPA’s discomfiture on Lokpal Bill and retrieval of Black-money:
Probably we may have to wait for the anti-graft bill, which is expected to come out with provisions to clamp all fraudulent practices and tie-up responsibility with Ministers and bureaucrats for good governance in a corruption-free environment
When Civil society activists led by Anna Hazare had boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill protesting against the police crackdown at Ramlila grounds doubting the government’s intentions on the anti-corruption watchdog Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister, one of the members of the panel had spilled the beans that the administration had carried on and even finalized certain contentious issues( like including P.M in the committee, horse-trading of M.Ps etc.?) within the ambit of the Lokpal Bill depict the highhanded attitude. In fact the ardent comment revealed not only the audacity of the government’s astuteness to go ahead with the joint-drafting of the Bill as it thinks fit! Unfortunately the government deliberately created an imbroglio on Lokpal unknowing that it had aggravated the concern of the people against corruption and the integrity of the government in facilitating the passing of the bill. Anna Team was never consulted while the Bill Drafting Committee chairman Pranab Mukerjee had sent a questionnaire to Chief Ministers of states then!
As expected the official draft of the Bill no way matches the expectation of the civil society headed by Anna Hazare. It is evident that the government has no intention to collaborate with the civil society so as to arrive at a consensus on Lokpal Bill while the draft prepared by the government had precisely excluded the Prime Minister from its purview.
The question still unvaryingly looms at every nook and corner of our country that why government had deviated from an upright strategy and assented for the barbaric midnight attack at Ramlila grounds where Baba Ramdev was leading the campaign against corruption? Evidently Congress regime has become intensively twitchy and intolerable while trapped in the dilemma to record black-money fearing to get further exposed for corrupt practices. Thus it was not bothered to let police excesses and diminish democracy? Civil society activists will be justified in demanding even for the resignation of the muffled government of Man Mohan Singh. By this lamentable police action the government had indicated its lack of seriousness in containing corruption.
It is quite natural that the Opposition, mainly BJP is in an advantageous position by showing close support for the anti-corruption campaigns. The ruling Congress with tainted ministries who were submerged in fraudulent practices to deceive the democracy and the exchequer has no propriety to find fault on the consolidation of any political forces against corruption.
Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have no magic wands to entice people for joining with the war against corruption but their down-to-earth involvements could generate a confidence amongst citizens in all walks of life to imagine a corruption-free India provided proper legislations and monitoring systems are brought into the regime. At this time people wants to celebrate on the manifestation of a refurbished democracy around the corner for which it will be pertinent to consolidate their power for empowering anti-corruption movements. People may find the demand for repatriation of all black-money out of chests in overseas banks, into the domestic economy as national asset, a meaningful pre-requisite for passing the anti-graft bill.
Congress is just moving away from the smoldering issue of corruption and certainly has its own reservations on giving any sort of endorsement for declaring black money as a national asset for which a real thrust is given by the crusade of Baba Ramdev. No credible reply has come from the government and its yes-men on Baba Ramdev’s diatribe against corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and corporate business magnets, stating that they are directly responsible for the death of 70 lakh people per annum due to malnutrition and hunger. He was quite affirmative to advocate for death penalty to those involved in corruption.
Congress had brought time to cook conspiracies for dismantling the ongoing debates that are proactive for framing the anti-graft bill by Anna Hazare and the representatives of civil society. Simultaneously there will be a lot of deliberations inside the congress pergola to arrive at a sly-formula to mesmerize civil society that may gratify Baba Ramdev’s movement against corruption as well. The intentions are clear… Congress wants to create confusions during the process of deliberations in the Panel to facilitate for joint-drafting of a common text for the anti-graft bill and use the same in disguise for diluting all clauses in the proposed Bill. It is a pity that the government had seen the imbroglio on the Lokpal Bill as an opportunity to deviate from its commitments and schemed against the Bill proposed by the civil society.
P.M and his interface with media:
I should say that the P.M had won no new friends following the dramatized interface with media tycoons on 29th June,2011 wherein he could express nothing other than his annoyance while his regime is tagged as the most corrupt.
There is no deviation from the escapist game of Prime Minister and the UPA. Currently, the most ordinary People of this nation know the gravity of corruption and the reluctance of the government to co-operate with any enquiries. Congress wants to throw out CAG reports as garbage giving no chance for PAC or JPC to trail the same. The telecom scandal alone which was exposed through A.Raja and Radia tapes stands as real proof establishing the powerlessness of the P.M to contain corruption. There is every reason to believe that he is not so clean and was part of the conspiracies to the nation. He had shown all gesticulations of a corrupt politician and could easily take the strong unpleasant comments from SC bench discounting his image to the lowest level. P.M unworriedly encountered disgruntled comments from the judiciary, as he had no other go!
P.M had questioned the propriety and legality of the Comptroller and Auditor-General holding a news conference on its 2G report while he was ignorant of past precedents as well as the court rulings upholding the CAG's right to do so.Further he had complained against the media for creating “an atmosphere of cynicism” which he felt as unfair and unwarranted!
It is to be noted that while addressing the 150th anniversary of the CAG of India the P.M had declared that his government is committed to strengthening the institution of CAG, the country's top audit body, in order to improve transparency and accountability. Of course Prime Minister had shown some courage to express his stand then, despite the damage committed by him or his position while he and UPA had entangled into lot of constraints while trying not to displease the coalition partner DMK all these days, as he was not unaware that the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Lekha in her Press meet had clarified that CAG had not given any clean chit or absolved any other connected ministries inclusive of PMO. It seems CAG had based its report on the receipt of immediately available information and materials at disposal.
I really wonder how P.M will reshuffle the ministry while the whole govt. is submerged in corruption. Yet another mockery on democracy?
Is it not desirable that the government comes with concrete plans for retrieval of black-money prior to the clearing of the impasse in the Lokpal Bill?
************************
( Madan Menon Thottasseri)
__________________________________________________________________
The anti-corruption movements became too relevant now while the people of this country had reached a level of their maximum repugnance towards political parties, especially the traditional rulers- Congress and its corrupt leaders. The factor that overlapped on this extreme situation was nothing other than the advent of an anti- corruption movement by Anna Hazare. The timing was impetuously fitting while the entire nation fell in clasp of distress and resentment over the deceitful practices of all ministries of UPA., principally by the telecom ministry with the support of PMO and Finance ministries resulting in the colossal loss to the exchequer. By this time the whole country had already smelled the stench of scams after scams.
The law abiding common populace viewed this fluke as a mystical opportunity to come forward and support Anna Hazare for his premeditated campaign for an enactment of the anti-corruption bill. Of course later on Baba Ramdev came to the picture with his exclusive demand for declaring black money as a national asset.
Congress never expected that Baba Ramdev will put forth his agenda for the repossession of around 400 lakh crore black-money wedged in foreign banks! To arrive at a consensus on fishing out this much quantum of currency- chattels and insert into the exchequer is unimaginable for Congress though it cannot be avowed as an ‘impossible task’ if there is a concerted move for the same. Congress will certainly try to incorporate extraneous conditions to earmark quantum of money accumulated through various means as black-money and will salvage its resources from getting confined.
PM (Prime Minister) and Congress Party had been already pushed to the lowest level of political distinction and are unaware of the next course of action to refurbish the lost image and get exonerated from the telecom and other scams! All intrinsic details of the scam and siphon-off monies have been fished out while the authentic probes are getting the momentum. Swindle of huge money out of the telecom scam, had been recorded as a monumental corruption in our nation, as on date.
PM could not audaciously give any ample clarifications even if it may reveal malevolence done by his position. It was shocking to the whole nation when PM had proved that what he performed in Lok Sabha was only the trailer of his acting faculty! PM was scared to fix a higher limit for his revelations and of course it will be hypothetical, to what extent he can courageously come out with events that lead him to be part of all the iniquities in CVC appointment and especially on green signals given to A.Raja for the manipulations in the telecom regime that lead to the scam etc. etc, It is a shame that he had opted to get himself further diminished to the level of an average politician as he could not understand his obligation to do justice to his self-respect.
Let me quote at least one point of the CVC issue. Is it not unbelievable that PM was unaware of the charge sheet against P.J.Thomas until the eleventh hour but still opted to go ahead in appointment process on the good faith that there will be no barrier of vigilance clearance to the senior IAS officer who had served as Chief Secretary as well as Secretary to two popular departments in Centre government? The allegation that being the CVC, P.J.Thomas would have involved in the appointment of the new Director of CBI while his own appointment was at stake is still unresolved! Unfortunately, it was so trifling that the PM resorted to pass bucks to Prithviraj Chavan, the MoS.
It was bull-shit drama that P.M even voluntarily offered to appear before CAG knowing that it is only a dummy panel with no powers. He still expected the people of the country to forgive him for closing eyes to all the swindling of currencies in telecom ministry. He dared to violate constitutional procedure in the appointment of CVC and knowingly forwarded the letter of Dr.Subramanian Swamy seeking permission to prosecute the telecom minister A.Raja, to the tainted minister himself. While SG appearing for the P.M was forced to accept this flaw noticed by the SC bench, he and his congress party higher-ups openly criticised the SG. No other PM in this nation, had given this much an opportunity to the judiciary to use very strong words of admonishment to his position.
After the SC verdict of quashing the appointment of CVC, Sushma Swaraj, the leader of Opposition had protested on the missing of his expression of regret during the press meet in Jammu, while P.M was giving statements in Parliament. She was right in insisting PM to reiterate it though unexpected of him. PM swiftly responded saying that he had no hesitation in admitting that it was an error of judgment for which he takes full conscientiousness! Though he laid a new foundation for a factual acceptance of impiety happened in selecting CVC and attempted to revamp his lost self-esteem, he could not continue the stance afterwards as more intrinsic issues in respect of scams cropped up one after the other.
PM and his government could not hide face while the nation is entangled into a host of scandals which are being exposed in succession wherein there were siphoning off huge money otherwise would have gone into the exchequer. The whole nation came to know that the UPA government is at the clemency of mafia powers which were behind money deals still prepared to shelter corrupt ministers and officials. UPA had discounted the dignity of India amongst democracies of the world while India is expected to be a role model for upholding democratic doctrines and practices. Taking into account the magnitude of the scam and the sensitivity connected with it for the common people to worry on the plight of our democracy and its governance, there was no reason for the government to delay the declaration for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) which has super powers to summon even the Prime Minister if the situation warrants. A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is utterly an inexorable democratic necessity and the government was compelled to constitute the same.
Print media and TV channels had showed the people on the breeding scams. Many sub stories are being emerged out one after another parallel to the main scam stories. It looks like many script-writers developing the same twisted movie storey. Unfortunately many characters are still reluctant for manifesting their roles even after getting right ‘prompting’ from behind the scenes. It is evident from Radia tapes that our nation has a host of professional lobbyists doing high profile task of deciding the composition of a ministry in New Delhi or any states. There are different networks of business icons and media Kings (Queens too!) who can prevail on any top leader or a political group. Of course everything is a transaction for a Price while ultimately beneficiaries have to maneuver corruption to recoup cost and reap profits by engaging themselves in misfeasance.
UPA’s discomfiture on Lokpal Bill and retrieval of Black-money:
Probably we may have to wait for the anti-graft bill, which is expected to come out with provisions to clamp all fraudulent practices and tie-up responsibility with Ministers and bureaucrats for good governance in a corruption-free environment
When Civil society activists led by Anna Hazare had boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill protesting against the police crackdown at Ramlila grounds doubting the government’s intentions on the anti-corruption watchdog Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister, one of the members of the panel had spilled the beans that the administration had carried on and even finalized certain contentious issues( like including P.M in the committee, horse-trading of M.Ps etc.?) within the ambit of the Lokpal Bill depict the highhanded attitude. In fact the ardent comment revealed not only the audacity of the government’s astuteness to go ahead with the joint-drafting of the Bill as it thinks fit! Unfortunately the government deliberately created an imbroglio on Lokpal unknowing that it had aggravated the concern of the people against corruption and the integrity of the government in facilitating the passing of the bill. Anna Team was never consulted while the Bill Drafting Committee chairman Pranab Mukerjee had sent a questionnaire to Chief Ministers of states then!
As expected the official draft of the Bill no way matches the expectation of the civil society headed by Anna Hazare. It is evident that the government has no intention to collaborate with the civil society so as to arrive at a consensus on Lokpal Bill while the draft prepared by the government had precisely excluded the Prime Minister from its purview.
The question still unvaryingly looms at every nook and corner of our country that why government had deviated from an upright strategy and assented for the barbaric midnight attack at Ramlila grounds where Baba Ramdev was leading the campaign against corruption? Evidently Congress regime has become intensively twitchy and intolerable while trapped in the dilemma to record black-money fearing to get further exposed for corrupt practices. Thus it was not bothered to let police excesses and diminish democracy? Civil society activists will be justified in demanding even for the resignation of the muffled government of Man Mohan Singh. By this lamentable police action the government had indicated its lack of seriousness in containing corruption.
It is quite natural that the Opposition, mainly BJP is in an advantageous position by showing close support for the anti-corruption campaigns. The ruling Congress with tainted ministries who were submerged in fraudulent practices to deceive the democracy and the exchequer has no propriety to find fault on the consolidation of any political forces against corruption.
Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have no magic wands to entice people for joining with the war against corruption but their down-to-earth involvements could generate a confidence amongst citizens in all walks of life to imagine a corruption-free India provided proper legislations and monitoring systems are brought into the regime. At this time people wants to celebrate on the manifestation of a refurbished democracy around the corner for which it will be pertinent to consolidate their power for empowering anti-corruption movements. People may find the demand for repatriation of all black-money out of chests in overseas banks, into the domestic economy as national asset, a meaningful pre-requisite for passing the anti-graft bill.
Congress is just moving away from the smoldering issue of corruption and certainly has its own reservations on giving any sort of endorsement for declaring black money as a national asset for which a real thrust is given by the crusade of Baba Ramdev. No credible reply has come from the government and its yes-men on Baba Ramdev’s diatribe against corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and corporate business magnets, stating that they are directly responsible for the death of 70 lakh people per annum due to malnutrition and hunger. He was quite affirmative to advocate for death penalty to those involved in corruption.
Congress had brought time to cook conspiracies for dismantling the ongoing debates that are proactive for framing the anti-graft bill by Anna Hazare and the representatives of civil society. Simultaneously there will be a lot of deliberations inside the congress pergola to arrive at a sly-formula to mesmerize civil society that may gratify Baba Ramdev’s movement against corruption as well. The intentions are clear… Congress wants to create confusions during the process of deliberations in the Panel to facilitate for joint-drafting of a common text for the anti-graft bill and use the same in disguise for diluting all clauses in the proposed Bill. It is a pity that the government had seen the imbroglio on the Lokpal Bill as an opportunity to deviate from its commitments and schemed against the Bill proposed by the civil society.
P.M and his interface with media:
I should say that the P.M had won no new friends following the dramatized interface with media tycoons on 29th June,2011 wherein he could express nothing other than his annoyance while his regime is tagged as the most corrupt.
There is no deviation from the escapist game of Prime Minister and the UPA. Currently, the most ordinary People of this nation know the gravity of corruption and the reluctance of the government to co-operate with any enquiries. Congress wants to throw out CAG reports as garbage giving no chance for PAC or JPC to trail the same. The telecom scandal alone which was exposed through A.Raja and Radia tapes stands as real proof establishing the powerlessness of the P.M to contain corruption. There is every reason to believe that he is not so clean and was part of the conspiracies to the nation. He had shown all gesticulations of a corrupt politician and could easily take the strong unpleasant comments from SC bench discounting his image to the lowest level. P.M unworriedly encountered disgruntled comments from the judiciary, as he had no other go!
P.M had questioned the propriety and legality of the Comptroller and Auditor-General holding a news conference on its 2G report while he was ignorant of past precedents as well as the court rulings upholding the CAG's right to do so.Further he had complained against the media for creating “an atmosphere of cynicism” which he felt as unfair and unwarranted!
It is to be noted that while addressing the 150th anniversary of the CAG of India the P.M had declared that his government is committed to strengthening the institution of CAG, the country's top audit body, in order to improve transparency and accountability. Of course Prime Minister had shown some courage to express his stand then, despite the damage committed by him or his position while he and UPA had entangled into lot of constraints while trying not to displease the coalition partner DMK all these days, as he was not unaware that the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Lekha in her Press meet had clarified that CAG had not given any clean chit or absolved any other connected ministries inclusive of PMO. It seems CAG had based its report on the receipt of immediately available information and materials at disposal.
I really wonder how P.M will reshuffle the ministry while the whole govt. is submerged in corruption. Yet another mockery on democracy?
Is it not desirable that the government comes with concrete plans for retrieval of black-money prior to the clearing of the impasse in the Lokpal Bill?
************************
