The Jan Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare, and Baba Ramdev

[vijayk]

Did any one hear PEP? Poltically Exposed Persons? Under Basel Act, most European Union and US banks are supposed to check the customers for PEP list and disclose to the Govt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politically_exposed_person

I want to find if we can set up a group which can work with people like Subramanian Swamy gather the evidence from India about people like Hasan Ali, Ahmed Patil and force the banks in the US/European Union to investigate Sonia G and Rahul G.

Let me know if any one has thoughts on this.

[darshhan]

Did any one hear PEP? Poltically Exposed Persons? Under Basel Act, most European Union and US banks are supposed to check the customers for PEP list and disclose to the Govt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politically_exposed_person

I want to find if we can set up a group which can work with people like Subramanian Swamy gather the evidence from India about people like Hasan Ali, Ahmed Patil and force the banks in the US/European Union to investigate Sonia G and Rahul G.

Let me know if any one has thoughts on this.

The main issue is funding.An effort of this kind needs some sort of funding.What are your plans for getting funding?

[vijayk]

Did any one hear PEP? Poltically Exposed Persons? Under Basel Act, most European Union and US banks are supposed to check the customers for PEP list and disclose to the Govt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politically_exposed_person

I want to find if we can set up a group which can work with people like Subramanian Swamy gather the evidence from India about people like Hasan Ali, Ahmed Patil and force the banks in the US/European Union to investigate Sonia G and Rahul G.

Let me know if any one has thoughts on this.

The main issue is funding.An effort of this kind needs some sort of funding.What are your plans for getting funding?

How much are we talking about?

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?728319

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today threw his weight behind Anna Hazare's campaign for a strong Lokpal saying the ombdusman should not be under government's control but accountable to the people of the country.

Though he supported the view of bringing Prime Minister, judiciary and MPs under Lokpal's purview, the actor differed with both Team Anna’s and Govt’s views on the selection of Lokpal.

He said no politician should be in the panel and suggested that it should have four judges and four independent constitutional authorities.

The Team Anna's Bill proposes selection committee of 2 politicians, 4 judges and 2 independent constitutional authorities while government's draft has a selection team which consists of six out of ten members directly from the ruling establishment.

He was responding to a questionnaire sent by the Anna Team on key issues on Lokpal Bill, which was sent across to 250 people.

On the model and structure of Lokpal, he said the same bill should provide for Lokpal at Centre and Lokayukta at state level while anti-corruption branch of CBI should be merged with Lokpal.

[kmkraoind]

Narayana Murthy: Legalize bribe-giving to check graft, IITs have lost sheen - TOI

NEW DELHI: Infosys chairman N R Narayana Murthy on Wednesday said he fully supported proposals from economist Kaushik Basu to make paying bribes legal because this would help members of the public blow the whistle on corrupt officials. Under Basu's proposals receiving a bribe would remain illegal.

"If bribe giving, and not bribe taking, is made legal then the bribe giver shall indeed cooperate with the authorities to expose the bribe taker," Murthy said. "This seems to be an interesting idea and I think it should be implemented," he added.

[somnath]

Did any one hear PEP? Poltically Exposed Persons? Under Basel Act, most European Union and US banks are supposed to check the customers for PEP list and disclose to the Govt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politically_exposed_person

I want to find if we can set up a group which can work with people like Subramanian Swamy gather the evidence from India about people like Hasan Ali, Ahmed Patil and force the banks in the US/European Union to investigate Sonia G and Rahul G.

Let me know if any one has thoughts on this.

PEP is simply a category of clients whom a Bank needs to do additional KYC checks and additional monitoring on...Not sure what you mean by "disclose" to govt...Disclose to which govt? The local regulator (eg, FSA in UK, RBI in India) has full access to the details of ALL accounts (not just PEP) in a branch within the country (and theoretically, all overseas accounts of banks incorporated within the country - so RBI for Indian banks)...There is no automatic obligation for banks to share PEP a/c details with foreign governments...

Further, what do you mean by getting "banks to investigate Sonia etc"? One, do you know which bank (and branch) she has money in? Two, if the answer to #1 is yes, do you have prima facie evidence that the money is "illegal"? Three, the investigating authority is the local Central Bank, so if the money is alleged to be in Switzerland, it will be the Swiss central bank...Four, the Swiss govt needs to be convinced that there is prima facie case for it to allow an "investigation"...

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 310510.cms

Seeking to galvanise public opinion in favour of its version of Lokpal Bill, the Anna Hazare team on Thursday initiated a "referendum" on the law in Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency represented by HRD minister Kapil Sibal.

The volunteers of 'India Against Corruption' (IAC) visited ten localities in Chandni Chowk and distributed a two-page questionnaire having eight questions to voters in the constituency.

The Hazare team expects to cover the entire constituency by Sunday.

Activist Arvind Kejriwal said they will be approaching around seven lakh house-holds in Chandni Chowk constituency from where Sibal had won. "He is the government's face of Lokpal. So we decided to hold the referendum in his constituency.

"Our volunteers will visit houses, leave the questionnaire and collect it two days later. There will be eight questions, including whether the Prime Minister should be brought under Lokpal," he said.

If the people, he said, votes for the civil society version, then they will ask Sibal whether he will go by the party high command or people's wishes.

He said they expect to publish the results by July 27. Kejriwal said the survey sheets will be "optical mark recognition (OMR)" sheets which will be tabulated using computers.

[chetak]

What's so special about this slime ball that he merits a safe trip along with his cohorts or are they using this trip to plan strategy??


CWG scam: Kalmadi and others to be transported in separate van

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has allowed sacked Commonwealth Games OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and others arrested for alleged irregularities in awarding a contract to a Swiss firm to be transported to the court in a separate van after they expressed fear of being attacked by other undertrials.

[Pranay]

What's so special about this slime ball that he merits a safe trip along with his cohorts or are they using this trip to plan strategy??


CWG scam: Kalmadi and others to be transported in separate van

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has allowed sacked Commonwealth Games OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and others arrested for alleged irregularities in awarding a contract to a Swiss firm to be transported to the court in a separate van after they expressed fear of being attacked by other undertrials.

Unfortunately, in an India so enamored with it's VIP culture, such characters are not equal to the rest of its citizens. A regular "Joe Schmuck" would be laughed out of the court if they made such a request.

[joshvajohn]

Access to black money in Swiss banks by April, says Pranab
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Access-to ... 23932.aspx

Swiss treaty on black money by September
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110722/j ... 272597.jsp

Pranab pooh-poohs reform fatigue, policy inaction
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ind ... epage=true

[ShauryaT]

I think Pratap Bhanu Mehta started out as being critical of the methods and aims of this movement, and probably still is but I think he now sees a larger point.

The great churning

Democracy ought to be described as a government where some people can fool some people all the time, all the people for some time, but no one can fool all the people all the time. The messiness of democracy, its adversarial character, its pluralism of interests, its thicket of checks and balances will create conditions where perfidy will be exposed. Governance norms were premised on the idea that secrecy and hierarchy will prevail for ever. But this is colliding with the new realities of India: society will reassert itself, and secrecy and hierarchy are no longer default premises of institutions. A whole range of actors will hold your feet to the fire. This is not a dispiriting, but a potentially game-changing moment. The critique of civil society is not that it protested. It is that the solutions it proposes must not be inconsistent with institutional proprieties and structures of power appropriate to a vibrant democracy. Just as government policy must not take away all presumptive trust in individuals, civil society must not take away a presumptive trust in democracy.

India is in the midst of a great churning, unleashed by economic reform. In the myth of Neelkanth, when asuras churned the sea in search of amrit, a lot of poison came out. We are perhaps wondering, which Neelkanth will absorb this poison? But it is important to recognise the character of this churning and the transformative possibilities it contains. Liberalisation was fundamentally about creating self-belief. Don’t follow this government in destroying that self-belief.

[a_bharat]

Rajiv Gandhi's Swiss Bank Account

Somebody posted this link in one of the internet fora claiming it to be from Swiss Magazine Schweizer Illustrierte in (November 1991). Does anybody have access to this magazine and confirm whether the magazine did publish this?

[Sanku]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a ... 292957.ece

Supreme Court to view video of Ramlila ground swoop

Expressing concern over the incident, the bench said, “Innocent persons should not be beaten up by whosoever. “We must ensure that such incidents do not occur again.”

[joshvajohn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Op3TUY ... dded#at=46
Lokayukta report: BJP may ask Yeddy to step down

It seems all the political parties are corrupt and they do not want to take actions when their politicians are found corrupt. This is why lokpal is neede very much.

[Aditya_V]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Op3TUY ... dded#at=46
Lokayukta report: BJP may ask Yeddy to step down

It seems all the political parties are corrupt and they do not want to take actions when their politicians are found corrupt. This is why lokpal is neede very much.

Whoa - equal eqal here Heh, There are different levels of corruption here,and read it all started in 2000 when One SM Krishna was the Karanataka CM, THere is also massive corruption in Mahrastra and AP which is going below the Radar.

Yes all Indian Parties are corrupt, I have seen on the ground in CHennai Slums that the majority of people who vote dont want a guy who follows the law but gives them what they want, in some cases violence, in anther case 1 biryani Packet and 1 quater. A guy following the rules will not get elected.

But in order to reduce corruption we have to punish the extermly corrupt today, the lesser corrupt by a better alternative tomorrow. The Media narrative that all out corrupt and only difference is one group is Secular and hence is the best and we have to live with it cannot be accepted, we will never get out the rot if we continue to follow this narrative.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 390061.cms

In keeping with the government's promise to bring Lokpal legislation to Parliament in the monsoon session, the Cabinet will consider a bill to set up the anti-corruption ombudsman at its meeting on Thursday.

The draft bill, framed by five ministers, who were on the joint drafting committee with the Anna Hazare-led group of representatives, does not contain the references to the prime minister, higher judiciary and actions of MPs in Parliament as demanded by the activists.

Sources said the bill is expected to be taken up by the Cabinet and some of the contentious issues could come up for discussion. On July 22, HRD minister Kapil Sibal had announced that the bill would be ready for the Cabinet at its next meeting. There are differences between activists and government and even among political parties about the structure and selection process of the Lokpal.

The bill once introduced in Parliament is almost certain to be referred to a standing committee, where it is likely to be subjected to intense discussion. The debate in the panel is expected to further shape the bill as Opposition parties, also some regional outfits, favour inclusion of PMO with safeguards. Conditions include keeping national security and foreign policy outside the purview of the Lokpal.

Although Hazare is not likely to be deflected from his fast, the government is firm about keeping the bill outside the domain of activists and within the political process and is banking on this view being shared across party lines.

[vbedekar]

Anna Hazare should be carefull about his associates. Following link gives more details.

http://www.satyashodh.com/Anna%20Hazare_NTR_180511.pdf

[sanjeevpunj]

Rajiv Gandhi's Swiss Bank Account

Somebody posted this link in one of the internet fora claiming it to be from Swiss Magazine Schweizer Illustrierte in (November 1991). Does anybody have access to this magazine and confirm whether the magazine did publish this?

Bharat ji, check this link, it is on the website.This is the closest I can get.
http://www.schweizer-illustrierte.ch/si ... -38-41.pdf

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 394983.cms

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the draft of the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill that is to be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session.

The Prime Minister and the judiciary have been excluded from the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.

According to this draft, the body will have a chairperson and eight members, including four judicial members.

Information minister Ambika Soni said the chairperson would be a serving or retired Supreme Court judge. She said the Cabinet had approved the draft with minor changes.

The decision to review the Lokpal Bill comes as social activist Anna Hazare continues to pitch for a stronger version of the law to be presented for consideration of Parliament, contending that the official version falls "far short" of people's expectations.

"Congress claims 'Congress ka haath, aam admi ke saath (Congress hand is with common man). We sincerely hope that aam admi's corruption will also be addressed through Lokpal Bill," the Times Now television channel quoted Hazare, as saying on Wednesday.

He said that the government is being given a rare opportunity to change the history of India and the nation would be indebted to it if they present a strong Lokpal Bill.

He reiterated that the current Lokpal Bill "falls far short" of the expectations of the people, and added that it was "too weak and ineffective and had a very narrow jurisdiction."

Arvind Kejriwal, another activist opposed to the current Lokpal Bill, said there was "nothing for a common man and added that the issue of corruption has been completely left out of it.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said: "The government claims that it first wants to tackle high-level corruption."

However, none of the large scams of recent times like the Adarsh Housing scam, the Commonwealth Games scam, the Reddy brothers scam, mining scam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha scam, Cash for vote scam, fodder scam, Taj corridor scam none of these scams are covered by government's Lokpal. So, what is covered under Government's Lokpal?"

Kejriwal argued if the government presents a Bill with faulty structures, then even the Standing Committee will not be able to do much.

"Parliament and the Standing Committee have their limitations. The Standing Committee may negate a law or it may suggest some amendments, but the standing committee does not have the jurisdiction to rewrite a law. It cannot completely replace a law. It cannot change the basic structure of a law," said Kejriwal.

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?729229

Three months after the civil society initiated a movement, the Union Cabinet today approved the Lokpal Bill keeping the office of Prime Minister outside its purview during his term in office and also excluded higher judiciary and conduct of MPs inside Parliament.

The bill, which has included some of the provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill proposed by Team Anna Hazare, gives permission to Lokpal to probe any Union Minister or officials of Group A and above without any sanction.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh insisted that his office be included in the legislation, but the Cabinet decided otherwise, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after the meeting.

She said the Prime Minister was heard with "great respect" but the ministers discussed the "pitfalls" of such a proposal including its possible adverse effect on the stability of a government and creation of uncertainty.

Claiming credit for bringing in the much-debated legislation, Soni said the issue was part of the manifestos of the Congress party and the UPA-I government as was the Right to Information and the rural employment guarantee scheme. "With this, another major commitment is being fulfilled".

To questions on a section of the civil society rejecting the bill approved today, Khurshid said there were several points in the government bill which were as suggestions made by Team Anna Hazare, with Narayanswamy saying these were accepted as they were "good for the nation".

"But I am surprised that they don't recognize the good work they have done themselves, but criticize us," Khurshid said, adding that 34 of the 40 principles suggested by them were accepted.

Asked why their draft was also not placed before the Cabinet, he said "all members knew what they wanted. What we presented (to the Cabinet) was the government draft". The Law Minister also lamented the "way in which they (Hazare and others) ended their relations with us".

To questions, Khurshid said some "fine-tuning" of the draft bill was done in consultation with some Opposition leaders like BJP leader Arun Jaitley. Several civil society organizations and many individuals also "agreed with us".

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?729252

The Anna Hazare team today described the Lokpal Bill cleared by the Union Cabinet as a "deceit on the nation".

"It is a deceit on the nation," activist Kiran Bedi told PTI.

She said the bill, once passed, would have a cascading effect as those states which plan to set up the institution of Lokayukta will now plan to exclude Chief Ministers from it.

"This bill will have a cascading effect," she said.

Karnataka Lokayukta and a member of joint Lokpal Bill drafting committee member Santosh Hegde said the bill does not have provisions the civil society asked for.

"I don't think it will be a very strong Lokpal Bill. For 44 years, they have not brought the Lokpal Bill and now they want to bring a bill which may not be a strong bill at all," he said.

Bedi said the government has lost a golden opportunity.

[a_bharat]

Rajiv Gandhi's Swiss Bank Account

Somebody posted this link in one of the internet fora claiming it to be from Swiss Magazine Schweizer Illustrierte in (November 1991). Does anybody have access to this magazine and confirm whether the magazine did publish this?

Bharat ji, check this link, it is on the website.This is the closest I can get.
http://www.schweizer-illustrierte.ch/si ... -38-41.pdf

Thanks Sanjeevji. Is that German? Can anybody translate the part relating to Rajiv Gandhi? Did this thing come up in Indian media in 1991?

Using the current exchange rate the amount mentioned was about 3 billion dollors in 1991 -- a lot of money.

[Pranay]

http://live.indiatimes.com/default.cms?timesnow=1

Lokpal Bill Debate (Anna Hazare) coming up in 2 minutes on Times Now with Mr.Arnab Goswami... for those interested.

[jagga]

Documentary on Ramlilla ground crackdown

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 406808.cms

... and such is the "Democracy" practiced in India. Shows the deep insecurity of the power structure...

Delhi Police on Friday denied permission to veteran social activist Anna Hazare to hold an indefinite hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 16.

The Delhi Police referred to the Supreme Court's 2009 order to deny team Anna permission for the indefinite strike anywhere in Delhi, the Times Now channel reports.

The police, in its letter to Hazare, said that as Parliament would be in session, no group could be allowed to capture the entire space at Jantar Mantar, as many groups come out for protests during that period.

The letter further states that if team Anna wished they could hold their strikes in Delhi's outskirts, or give a definite time limit during which they would be allowed a sit-in protest.

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?729364

Government has said that people who are not satisfied with the Lokpal Bill approved by Cabinet can approach the Standing Committee of Parliament and persuade it to make changes.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who was part of the joint committee to draft the Bill, said the government has already reconciled taking into account a number of provisions suggested by the civil society.

"People who want amendments to the Bill are free to go to the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee will ask for public comments. They can come and try and persuade the Standing Committee.

"The Standing Committee represents Parliament in every measure. We will then take into account whatever the suggestions are and give a recommendation to the government which in turn will in turn either accept or not accept or partly accept or partly reject or accept wholly and introduce it back for passing in Parliament," he told PTI.

... and how does the Honorable Minister expect the common people of India to approach the Standing Committee?? Have they setup a separate website to gather feedback? Have they published office hours and a designated place for people to approach the Standing Committee?? The lack of transparency is self evident in such pronouncements. Let actions speak louder than words...

To a question on reconciling the demands of the civil society, Sibal said, "we have already reconciled. It is our Bill. After reconciling, we have reached this position. We have taken into account and this is the position we feel is right."

He said the government has taken a lot from the civil society draft like separate prosecution wing, separate investigating agency and no sanction required to prosecute minister.

All officers from Group A and above will come under its ambit, he said adding the budget will be funded like the budget of Supreme Court.

"No sanction required for prosecution of minister or government official unlike now," he said.

He said the discussions with the civil society are over and "we will not inform civil society. It will come up in Parliament. We will hopefully introduce it as soon as possible and get it passed in Winter session hopefully."

He said the matters relating to disciplinary proceedings of government servants has been kept out. "Lokpal can recommend but LP not take disciplinary action," he said.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 412555.cms

Makes one wonder...

Goof-up by Delhi Police: No prohibitory orders at Jantar Mantar
PTI | Jul 29, 2011, 10.09PM IST

An inadvertent error committed by a middle-level officer, who imposed prohibitory orders at Jantar Mantar days ahead of Anna Hazare's proposed fast there, has put Delhi Police under a tight spot, leading to the withdrawal of the order.

The order issued by Hareesh H P, assistant commissioner of police of Connaught Place Sub Division, put India Gate, Central Vista lawns, Rajpath, Jantar Mantar and Connaught Place under prohibitory orders from July 30 to September 9.

However, Jantar Mantar does not come under Connaught Place Sub Division but under Parliament Street Sub Division.

The Connaught Place ACP issued the orders on Thursday. A fresh order was issued on Friday by ACP Parliament Street Vijendra Singh Pundir which excluded Jantar Mantar from the list of areas under prohibitory orders.

A senior police official said the Connaught Place ACP cannot issue a notice with regard to Parliament Street Sub Division.

The order issued from Connaught Place Sub Division evoked strong protest from the Hazare camp.

Hazare said in Ralegaon Siddhi that such a measure was like "strangulating democracy. Constitution has given the right to citizens, if any injustice happens then anyone can protest," he said.

Activist Arvind Kejriwal said if government stops them from protesting by imposing Section 144, it will be "murder of democracy and they will oppose it in the harshest possible words".

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 413146.cms

.... and now this!

Wary of attracting the charge of being "authoritarian", Delhi Police has stopped short of banning Hazare's protest outright. Instead, it said Hazare can hold his protest at Jantar Mantar -- launch pad for the first agitation by the Gandhian which forced the government to speed up the drafting of the Lokpal -- only for a day and on the condition that the turnout does not exceed 2,000. The conditions were unacceptable to civil society activists who have conceived the fresh Anna fast as a tactic to get the government to accept its suggestions on Lokpal bill. Police also said they would take action to enforce orders.

Although Delhi Police cited security concerns in the light of the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament and said the Gandhian could move his protest to Burari on the outskirts of the Capital or to Ajmal Khan Park, the Hazare camp reacted with indignation to what it called the "undemocratic" move of the government. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the move was unconstitutional and in violation of people's fundamental rights.

Team Anna is now weighing options on whether to launch "civil disobedience" and court arrest on August 16 or move the courts against the decision.

Political reaction was swift too. The BJP attacked the government for allegedly seeking to suppress dissent, but Congress said the law permits government to impose prohibitory orders.

[devesh]

^^^
I wonder, aren't the elite interests seeing what they are doing? aren't the INC coterie and assorted chamchas not realizing that they are essentially barricading themselves in Delhi. we are seeing an elite that increasingly feels alienated from the masses for whatever reasons. if the masses try to get the elite to notice, then the "security" forces are used to disperse any such events. so basically they are saying "we are not interested." this seems remarkably like what happened in France before the Revolution. the elites are on the path to a "fortress" mentality. they are building a bastille, forgetting that Bastille was stormed and all its defenses defeated and the inhabitants "freed."

[dnivas]

Amazing. when will the killings start?

[sanjeevpunj]

^^^^Interested parties may want to perch themselves on high rise buildings around the bastille! Great view from tall buildings across Yamuna, you might see smoke billowing from the bastille soon.

[Dhiman]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 413146.cms

.... and now this!

Wary of attracting the charge of being "authoritarian", Delhi Police has stopped short of banning Hazare's protest outright. Instead, it said Hazare can hold his protest at Jantar Mantar -- launch pad for the first agitation by the Gandhian which forced the government to speed up the drafting of the Lokpal -- only for a day and on the condition that the turnout does not exceed 2,000. The conditions were unacceptable to civil society activists who have conceived the fresh Anna fast as a tactic to get the government to accept its suggestions on Lokpal bill. Police also said they would take action to enforce orders.

Although Delhi Police cited security concerns in the light of the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament and said the Gandhian could move his protest to Burari on the outskirts of the Capital or to Ajmal Khan Park, the Hazare camp reacted with indignation to what it called the "undemocratic" move of the government. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the move was unconstitutional and in violation of people's fundamental rights.

Team Anna is now weighing options on whether to launch "civil disobedience" and court arrest on August 16 or move the courts against the decision.

Political reaction was swift too. The BJP attacked the government for allegedly seeking to suppress dissent, but Congress said the law permits government to impose prohibitory orders.

I like Anna's style: he is recursively tackling one issue of bad governance after another. He immediately turned "right to protest" into an issue as soon as GoI abused it's power to block Ramdev's protest. More power to you Anna. Challenge and question the government at each step and needless to say the path is hard as one issue of bad governance (for example corruption), leads to another issue of bad governance (right to protest, role of police, etc). Challenge them at each step. That is the only way to clean up the system. Everything is interconnected after all.

Need five more people like Anna and Ramdev and rest assured this government will start convulsing naked on the streets.

[sanjeevpunj]

^^^Yes, indeed.Anna will continue to rise in stature despite the setbacks, in fact the more the obstacles,the more his success.

[Vashishtha]

chandan mitra's article on lok pal...... An interesting read towards the end..... http://www.dailypioneer.com/357119/Its- ... k-Pal.html

[Pranay]

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/p ... gde/206660

Justice Santosh Hegde - on NDTV Your Call.

[devaraj_d]

Thanks Sanjeevji. Is that German? Can anybody translate the part relating to Rajiv Gandhi? Did this thing come up in Indian media in 1991?

Using the current exchange rate the amount mentioned was about 3 billion dollors in 1991 -- a lot of money.

a_bharat, my German is as good as a one year child's, but I will still try as I do not see others stepping in.

The comment below our former PM Rajiv Gandi says: Dead. 2.5 Billion Francs in Indian secret accounts in Switzerland.

[devaraj_d]

^^^Yes, indeed.Anna will continue to rise in stature despite the setbacks, in fact the more the obstacles,the more his success.

This time he will have the support of the best planet as well. So let us see..

[RamaY]

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/p ... gde/206660

Justice Santosh Hegde - on NDTV Your Call.

+ 1008

A must watch for it asserts two key points.

1. Sri Santosh Hegde confirms what I said at the beginning of this thread. That the bureaucracy (2nd India) colluded with legislature (1st india) hurting Bharatiya interests. If we can make the 2nd india to be loyal to 3rd india, no one can stop Bharatiya raise. One should watch the behavior of external interests in this equation.

2. Answers the point Harbansji raised in whines thread regarding Somnathji. Justice Hegde explains the difference between the democracy as presented by people like Somnathji and Manish Tiwari and the democracy most of us are talking about in this thread.

[suryag]

Your Call with Justice Santosh Hegde

Does he say insha allah at 35.something ?

[chetak]

Received by email

The DDM press has been selective, vindictive and suffers from amnesia.

Hegde has been showboating and very clearly has delusions of grandeur and very high hopes of high office, quid pro quo.

Not holding a candle for yeddy, who has successfully buried the BJP in the south for ever.

I found the following interesting!!



[quote]_______________


BS Yedyurappa, in short BSY, has built BJP and its earlier avatars,
meticulously in Karnataka from ground up for nearly 4 decades. He achieved
something impossible to even imagine just 25 years back.. a majority
government headed by a 'north Indian' BJP, in a south Indian state! Kudos to
him as well as the marvelous list of achievements his government has pulled
off over the past three years.



You can listen to *a very long list of achievements* of Yedyurappa
government, from the horse's mouth itself here:
http://yeddyurappa.in/news-and-events/t ... velopment/



Since, I am not writing this to present Global Investor's meet, or 20-point
implementation or the dozens of awards the state won on development efforts,
lets get back to the mining part. If you followed Delhi based 'national'
media, you might have only heard of 3 things: a) land scams. b) illegal
mining. c) why isn't he resigning.



Here we go with some thought provoking questions, not in any particular
order, while leaving the conclusion to yourself ...

1. How many channels screaming Karnataka,Karnataka, told you
that Sonia Gandhi won from the same mine district Ballary? Has anyone
bothered to investigate who supported on the ground with manpower and
finances?After all mining in Ballary didn't start yesterday.... even in
1999, Ballary had nearly 25% of India's iron ore deposit and all political
parties had close mine connections.

2. Did NDTV or Times Now inform that Karnataka Lokayukta might
be indicting Anil Lad, based on leaked portions of the reports? Anil became
a RS MP with Sonia's blessing. If never heard of Lad family, please check this
out from Congress4India
website<http://www.congress4india.com/story/200 ... 14311/5295>
.

3. Amazing NDTV! They talk about politicians mining
Ballary<http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/bella ... ans-121063>-
But Sonia Gandhi, who became an MP from the same Ballary, isn't even
mentioned How 'neutral'!

4. It's so funny that media channels talk about BJP's double
standards on corruption, while they ignore Delhi Lokayukta's damning reports
against a sitting CM and her government. We will cover that a bit later
right here.

5. What Times Now or NDTV wouldn't tell is that, Hegde's report
might show Rs.20000 crores of loss (per leaked reports) since the year 2000.
In that Yedyurappa government's tally during the past 14 months might be
Rs.1827 crores. Simple maths tells me that Congress and Janata Dal Secular's
portions might be as high as 90% in that case. Why aren't they being slammed
on national channels? You guess..

6. If Yedyurappa has to resign, don't you bet that he should
take Deve Gowda family MPs, Congress MP Dharam Singh, UPA minister SM
Krishna? By the way where is that Rameshwar Thakur who allowed plenty of
mining licenses as a governor during president's rule? Hmn... I don't know
if any other 'Presidents' rule ever allocated so many licenses, so
'urgently'

7. Now you want some numbers? Here we are: Mining licenses
recommend by CMs versus granted by Government of India: Dharam Singh (CON):
43/33; HD Kumaraswamy (JDS) 47/22; UPA government headed by Sonia Gandhi
(during President's Rule) 22/14; and Yedyurappa (BJP) 22/2. What? So
Yedyurappa, the big bad boy, *only got two mining licenses* in the entire
decades of super busy mining industry of Karnataka? Numbers are making a bit
more interesting now.

8. Now to some very thorough & hard reading exercise: The same
Karnataka Lokayukta, Santosh Hegde, had published his first report in
December 2008<http://www.scribd.com/doc/46850946/Part ... on=3055282>.
See Page 161 from that very detailed original report copy, for which the
link was just provided. Congress CM Dharam Singh was held *responsible* for
causing a big *loss of Rs.23,22,11,850* to the exchequer. Nice... I didn't
see any 'national' TV channels going ballistic on Dharam Singh even today,
while he is prettily sitting as a Lok Sabha MP in the parliament!

9. Getting unnerved by numbers? Don't worry, here's is a short,
but very factual summary of what Karnataka illegal mining saga is all
about<http://vickynanjappa.blogspot.com/2010/ ... about.html>.
Must read if you didn't get a full flow of what's happening till now - by a
self professed 'vertebrate' journalist, Vicky Nanjappa.

10. Are we missing a big fish over here, while focusing too much on
the 'evil' BJP government? Let's see.. In May 2008, BJP came to power on its
own. Right after 3 months, in August of 2008, Karnataka High Court quashes 36
mine licenses sanctioned by a 'former' Chief Minister from
2003<http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/12/stories ... 610100.htm>.
So who could that 'former' CM be? Even Mr. Hegde skipped the one and only
one, Mr. S.M. Krishna

11. How could Hegde not have ONE mention of SM Krishna's name in
2008 or 2011 mining reports (per leaked info), when High Court quashed 36
Krishna sanctioned licenses? Aha.. now you are asking the questions..

12. I wanted to ask at this point: Dear Mr. Hegde, 128 out of 152
Karnataka mining lease
recommendations<http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articl ... 209914.cms>were
sent by SM Krishna, HD Kumaraswamy, Dharam Singh and Governor Thakur.
Were they all 100% "pristine" & law-abiding in terms of execution? We know
you might name one or two of them, but why not ALL?

13. Are we forgetting someone else? Let's see.. Oh yeah, in fact, it
was then mining minister V Muniyappa under SM Krishna's government in
2003<http://www.hindu.com/2003/10/15/stories ... 410400.htm>,
who allowed quarrying *even in forest areas*! Jairam Ramesh would have tore
his hair in the public if it was in 2010:)

14. You thought that was extreme? You have more fun, just in
Karnataka: It's not just in 2003, but much earlier in 2000, the same
Muniyappa and SM Krishna combo had allowed
<http://www.blogger.com/goog_1919740010>private
parties<http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2000 ... 3160l1.htm>mine
in forest areas! Hello Mr.Jairam Ramesh

15. Now that you have heard about some 'partners in crime', how many
told you that Yedyurappa was the first CM of India who banned iron ore
exports? (Incidentally, it was the Congress Rajya Sabha MP & Spokesperson,
Abhishek Manu Singhvi<http://barandbench.com/brief/2/1237/kar ... kh-amp-cos>,
who was the lawyer for anti-ban teams!) Also, it was him, who ordered the
Lokayukta investigation to go beyond the year 2008 duration? I guess not
many.. Oh.. did you at least know, that when Karnataka banned ore export
from 9 ports under its control, Manmohan Singh's UPA government didn't
bother to ban the 10th port, under central control, even after repeated
pleading?

16. After 15 questions, your head might be spinning.. So we were
told that Yedyurappa was the 'baddest' guy occupying a CM's seat in India by
the English media. Let's see how does the same media treat others?

17. First, our dearest Sheila Dikshit. The other side of Indian
media immediately pops up. Four months after the Shunglu report, protests,
arrests<http://www.newsnetindia.com/index.php?o ... &Itemid=41>,
this Delhi Congress CM is 'Surf Excel' clean

18. Not just that, do you know that even an ordinary minister of
this Congress CM has guts to hit back at a hapless
Lokayukta<http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_pw ... re_1567436>?
You must be wondering by now, why is Karnataka Lokayukta is 'special' for
media, while that hapless Delhi Lokayukta never comes to prime time TV shows
to hit at his state's CM?

19. Not just corruption, but do read Kanchan Gupta's blog on how the
same Sheila Dikshit & her MP son, shamefully washed hands off 66
deaths<http://kanchangupta.blogspot.com/2010/1 ... ciety.html>
:

20. Aha.. is it dawning to you by now that if you are in the good
book of 'some' dynasty, even the President of India will give you a clean
chit herself<http://winnersdelhinews.com/2011/06/pre ... shit-govt/>,
no matter what the Lokayukta screams!

21. That's enough on Delhi's CM and that state's Lokayukta. How
about a couple of other cases, specifically focusing on illegal mining? It
has been *one year *since the late Congress CM YSR's son-in-law &
brother-in-law's<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/andhr ... in/645316/>huge
illegal mining issue in AP came up in the state assembly. Has the
'national' media done even one prime time show on this?

22. If I have to start writing on the *famous* Reddy brothers of
Ballary, where they came from in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh, what
was their connection for a long number of years with the then Congress
strongman YSR, I might need another blog for itself.. For this blog, its
enough to mention that, Karnataka politics knew for long time who might have
shielded Reddy brothers<http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/29/stories ... 140400.htm>,
from the other side of the border!

23. Even as late as 2008, large scale illegal mining was happening
in Haryana<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/illeg ... te/367041/>,
despite the ban. Did the media bother to do any investigation by itself?

24. Here's the most notable thing: While a big portion of Indian
media's efforts were to lose sleep on why Yedyurappa hasn't resigned, Time
magazine published a list of the worst abuse of power in the entire world,
cutting across generations. Surprise.. surprise.. Sonia Gandhi's greatest
achievement as the chairperson of UPA, just happened to be 'crowned' the all
time 2nd WORST abuse of power in the world!- *TIME: Top 10 Abuses of Power
: India's Telecoms Scandal - By Ishaan Tharoor Tuesday, May 17,
2011<http://www.time.com/time/specials/packa ... 66,00.html>
* . Ironically, that page was written by none other than Kerala Congress
MP's Shashi Tharoor's son, Ishaan [quote]

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