The Jan Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare, and Baba Ramdev II

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 528807.cms

Team Anna on Saturday clubbed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee with 13 other Cabinet ministers, whom they accused of corruption, which the Congress dismissed as "unsubstantiated averments" that need not be responded to.

The anti-graft group, which has threatened to launch an indefinite fast from July 25, has picked up portions of a draft CAG report to make charges against Singh when coal ministry was with him. They had never made allegations against the Prime Minister before.

Besides Singh and Mukherjee, the ministers against whom the Team Anna has demanded probe by an independent special investigation Team include P Chidambaram, Sharad Pawar, S M Krishna, Kamal Nath, S M Krishna, Praful Patel, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Virbhadra Singh, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, G K Vasan, Farooq Abdullah, M Alagiri and Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Dismissing allegations levelled by Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan and Kiran Bedi at a press conference, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said, "I do not need to give an answer to unsubstantiated averments."

He said this is not the first time such things have been said and answered.

"It is not necessary that every unsubstantiated averment needs to be responded to."

Tiwari also referred to a report in a newspaper that Bedi has written to Hazare complaining against NGO led by Kejriwal not using funds properly.

The team, some of whose members have been accused of financial misconduct, denied the report.

Hazare and his close aides sent a letter to Singh seeking setting up of an independent special investigation team with three retired judges as it members to probe the charges.

They suggested that the government could select the judges from a panel of Justices Sudarshan Reddy, A K Ganguly, A P Shah, Kuldeep Singh, J S Verma and M N Venkatachellaiah.

In the letter, they said the SIT should investigate charges against the 15 "corrupt" ministers as well as those against party chiefs Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Jayalalithaa.

They also said that the SIT can investigate charges against Team Anna.

"We will wait till July 24. If the government does not take steps to (set up SIT), we will go on an indefinite fast from July 25," activist Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.

[RoyG]

^^What about Sonia?

[Pranav]

^^What about Sonia?

Need some basis, such as a CAG report.

[Pranay]

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/left-r ... eststories

Prashant Bhushan elaborates on their (Team Anna's) charges against the Prime Minister and other senior ministers...

[Pranav]

^^What about Sonia?

The best way to nail the Mainos would be to slap Criminal Breach of Trust cases against the top ministers. That can carry a life sentence. When they realize they are looking at spending the rest of their life behind bars, they will turn approver and squeal on the Mainos.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 645033.cms

ONBOARD PM'S SPECIAL AIRCRAFT: Strongly rebutting Team Anna's allegations of corruption against him, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today offered to quit public life and face any punishment if charges on coal block allotments are proved.

"Let the people of India decided as to what crime the Prime Minister has committed for which such hard and harsh words are being used against him.

"If I have indulged any such misdeed, then my entire public career, be it as finance minister, leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha or as Prime Minister ... whoever levels allegations in this regard should substantiate it," Singh told reporters on his way back from Myanmar.

He said it was unfortunate that irresponsible allegations relating to irregularities in allocation of coal blocks are being made without confirming facts.

"If there is even an iota of truth in it, then I will give up my public career and the country can give me any punishment," he said, adding his public life has been an open book.

Singh deprecated use of harsh words against him by Team Anna. "To use such words, which have been used without reason or rhyme, I think, the public in India should make up its mind whether this sort of politics will rule the roost in the country," Singh said.

This is Prime Minister's first reaction to Team Anna members Prashant and Shanti Bhushan's allegations last week accusing him of corruption for the first time when they referred to a draft CAG report on allocation blocks when he held charge of coal ministry.

He also termed as "unfortunate and irresponsible" the corruption allegations levelled against him and 14 of his ministerial colleagues by Team Anna.

RSS disapproves of Team Anna comments

Meanwhile, the RSS in Nagpur on Tuesday disapproved of Team Anna's comments against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue of corruption. Decency in language should be maintained while criticising the Prime Minister, who holds the highest office in the government, RSS joint general secretary Dattatraya Hosbale told reporters here.

Key aides of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare have levelled corruption charges against Singh and some of his ministers. The charges against the PM related to allotment of coal blocks when he was in-charge of the coal ministry. Hosbale ridiculed Hazare for distancing himself from the Sangh, saying the veteran social activist had addressed its volunteers in the past.

Nagpur-based RSS had also organised programmes in Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare's native village in Ahmednagar district, he added.

[ramana]

So that is how the Anna team folds itself and the corruption issue.

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=764092

PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today stressed on the need to form Lokpal and added that it should have an independent investigating wing to probe corruption-related cases.

"What is the dispute? The Lokpal should be formed with consensus...Lokpal should be there. We believe that the Lokpal and Lokayuktas should not only be concerned about the chief minister and the prime minister, but it should also cover the officers on field," Mufti said at a conference organised on the role of NGOs in eradicating corruption.

The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said that campaigns, like the one by Anna Hazare, should continue.

"I believe what Anna Hazare and other groups, who have run a campaign against corruption, should continue it. Corruption has destroyed our country, what can we do?"

The Lokpal should have an independent investigating agency so that there can be fair probe, he said.

[Pranay]

So that is how the Anna team folds itself and the corruption issue.

The charges as brought forward by Team Anna need to be thoroughly investigated, not only by investigating agencies but also by credible journalists.

Mr. Bhushan already claims that let there be a point by point rebut to the charges that they have held out, rather than this subjective whining about "harsh language", "I will leave public office", etc.

The credit/discredit of all individuals concerned stands on publicly airing these charges and a point by point rebuttal.

Team Anna's credibility would take a severe beating if the charges turn out to be frivolous and motivated, but, their track record so far proves otherwise, not withstanding all the dirty tricks that have been utilized against them.

On substance, Team Anna has stood on firm ground so far, though they may be guilty of overreach at times in their zeal to bring in this much needed legislation.

[Pranav]

So that is how the Anna team folds itself and the corruption issue.

MMS is putting on a pathetic show of fake outrage. Let him agree to the SIT proposal if he is so sure.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 669025.cms

NEW DELHI, With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declaring that he will quit public life if corruption allegations are proved against him, Team Anna on Wednesday demanded an independent probe into the charges, saying they will be most happy if these are proved wrong.

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said it was not they who came up with charges against him but it was in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on coal bloc allocations.

"We will be most happy if the allegations levelled against the Prime Minister are found false. But how will it be proved? For that we need to have an independent investigating agency to probe it," he told reporters.

"The Prime Minister has said that the allegations levelled against him were baseless, unfortunate and irresponsible. We want to tell him that it was not we who levelled these allegations but the CAG, which is a Constitutional body," he said.

Kejriwal said he would like to ask the Prime Minister whether he considered "irresponsible" the CAG report which is pegging a loss of Rs 1.80 lakh crore to the exchequer in the allocation of coal blocs.

Team Anna's reaction came following Singh's remarks that he will quit public life if corruption allegations are proved against him.

"If there is even an iota of truth in it, then I will give up my public career and the country can give me any punishment," the Prime Minister had said, adding his public life has been an open book.

Another Team Anna member Justice Santosh Hegde said it is "extremely difficult" to believe that allegations raised by Team Anna against Singh could exist but demanded an inquiry if there are documents to suggest that some wrongdoing was done.

"It is extremely difficult for me to believe, having seen the Prime Minister all these years, to say that such an allegation could exist. But at the same time, if somebody has said it is in documentary form, I think an inquiry should be held," he said.

On Singh's remarks that the public should make up its mind whether Team Anna's kind of politics will rule the roost in India, Kejriwal said they do not do politics.

"We are just common people who are affected by corruption and price rise. We oppose the kind of politics prevailing in the country. Today's politics is snatching the food from the children, forcing farmers to commit suicide when some ministers are given permission to indulge in scams and get more richer," he said.

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, however, attacked Team Anna claiming that they had accused Singh of corruption and want him to be prosecuted but alleged that they have not specified under which section of Prevention of Corruption Act is he prima facie guilty.

He asked Anna Hazare to leave the group which is in the grip of "Naxalite-minded crazies" and join him and Ramdev in the fight against corruption.

Kejriwal refused to respond to Swamy's allegations saying they will not reply to such remarks.

In his comments, Hegde said, "if there are materials that are there, I think an inquiry should be held."

However, he said, he had not seen any of the documents Team Anna had sent to Singh seeking inquiry. "With regards to the charges made by Team Anna, I don't have the facts with me," he said.

Bhushan said Singh should have gone through the documents accompanying the 'charge sheet' before terming them as "irresponsible allegations...He should respond to them on a point-by-point basis, fact by fact basis."

Another Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said, "PM is first among equals. If his equals are under a cloud as a leader of the team it is good leadership to set up an SIT to know the truth. If PM is clean, he can come out clean. Please submit to investigation. It shall be the lawful way to disprove CAG's deductions," she said.

[Pranay]

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/manmo ... 25352.html

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has responded with a tone of injured innocence to Team Anna’s direct charge accusing him of having “abused his position to give huge pecuniary benefits to private parties” in the allotment of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009.

Singh has offered to withdraw from public life if the allegations made against him are proved. “It is unfortunate,” he said, “that irresponsible allegations relating to irregularities in allocation of coal blocks are being made without confirming facts.”

At the most fundamental level, it is easy to empathise with Singh’s sense of aggrievement. He is a man who prides himself on his personal integrity, and even his staunchest critics have testified to his personal probity. Mega scandals may swirl around him, but thus far, none of the corruption charges have adhered themselves to the “teflon Prime Minister” – even though, as happened in the 2G telecom scam, his wilful failure to intervene at critical stages of the policymaking process allowed the scam to be perpetrated.

Injured innocence is a poor shield against the specific charge directed at Manmohan Singh. Yet, in the case relating to the allotment of coal blocks, Singh’s sense of anguish – and his staking his personal integrity on the line – is an inadequate response to the nature of the charges against him.

The case is fairly complex, and it didn’t help that an initial draft report from the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) perhaps vastly overstated the “loss to the exchequer” arising from such allotment of coal blocks to private parties. The CAG’s draft report, which was leaked to The Times of India in March, flagged the loss to the exchequer at a monstrous Rs 10.67 lakh crore – or six times as much as the Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss from the 2G spectrum allocation.

Firstpost had also noted (here) – in the context of the Supreme Court’s observation on the merits of auction of national resources – that a judgement on whether to opt for an auction process ought to be made in the context of the policy objectives that were sought to be met. There are times when resources are deliberately offered cheap – or even free – to parties because the objective then was to expand the market. The only critical consideration is whether it was done in a fair and transparent manner.

So, to reiterate, the mere fact that coal blocks were allotted to private players at dirt-cheap rates does not in itself amount to a “scam”. It all depends on the policy objectives that were sought to be met – and the transparency of operations. To that extent, the Prime Minister is on a strong wicket.

The critical question – beyond estimations of the “loss to the exchequer” – is whether the allocation of coal blocks was done in a fair and transparent manner and, if not, who benefited from the process, and who facilitated it.

As another Firstpost article had noted (here), citing a BusinessLine report, the coal block allotment process during 2004-09 was handled by a screening committee presided over by the coal secretary, but “all was far from well in this highly subjective selection process.”

What was worse was that the coal block allocation may have been riddled with the same flawed processes as in the 2G spectrum allocation – where (as with Swan Telecom and Unitech) foreign stakeholders were roped in for huge premia in the name of stake dilution even before the licence holders had begun to invest and roll out mobile services.

As the BusinessLine report had noted, in the coal block allotments to, “a host of fly-by-night operators used the process to make easy money. Once allotted a coal asset, they sold their ‘project plan’ at a premium. An upcoming private power project in a western Indian location has followed this route. The price of the asset was pocketed by the original beneficiary and the country will now pay a higher price for electricity than envisaged.”

In other words, the fact that a “scam” was perpetrated in the coal allotment is not in dispute – even if the Rs 10.76 lakh crore tag originally affixed to it by the CAG was an overstatement.

But why has it come to haunt Manmohan Singh? Partly because during the period between 2006 and 2009, when the allocations were made at a furious pace in comparison to earlier times, Manmohan Singh personally headed the Coal Ministry – and the Prime Minister’s Office played a particularly active role in the shaping of the policy on coal block allotment at that time. (For more details, see the ‘charge-sheet’ filed by Team Anna here, and the draft CAG report here.)

And even beyond the controversial coal allocations of those times, even as late as in March this year, the PM or the Prime Minister were in the thick of actions that would directly benefit private power producers at the cost of Coal India, which is 90 percent owned by the government of India. (More on that here.)

Team Anna’s ‘charge sheet’ alleges that “Dr Singh abused his position to give huge pecuniary benefits to private parties, which is an offence under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.”

Under Section 13 (d) (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, “a public servant is said to commit the offence of criminal misconduct if he, while holding office as a public servant, obtains for any person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest.”

In other words, under this provision, it isn’t necessary for a public servant – in this case, Manmohan Singh – to have personally benefited for his action to be construed as “criminal misconduct”: all that is required is for “any person” to obtain “any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest.”

In this case, private parties did reap “undue benefits” – and public interest was ill served – from policy decisions that were taken during the time when Manmohan Singh headed the Coal Ministry and the PMO was actively involved in the coal allocation mechanism process.

Prima facie, all the provisions of the specific section of the Prevention of Corruption Act appear to be well met in this case – which is why Team Anna has sought a thorough independent investigation into the matter to establish the extent of Manmohan Singh’s involvement in the actual decision-making.

For Manmohan Singh, therefore, to claim that his personal honour has been slighted by the allegation is an irrelevance. It is not his personal integrity that is being questioned – but whether his actions as a public servant had the result of benefiting private parties at the cost of public interest.

And in that sense, despite all the clarifications that the Coal Ministry has offered (here and here), he and his office have much to answer for in the coal allocation process. The honest way to address Team Anna’s very specific charge is to appoint an independent investigation into the allegation.

Injured innocence sure makes for good political theatre, but it is a poor shield against – and a diversion from – the serious and very measured charge that has been levelled against him.

[Pranay]

https://www.box.com/s/334d38f4b80aa20f0ba1

The "charge sheet" by Team Anna re: Coal Block Allocation vs. PM...

[Pranay]

http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-Divide-in ... 403185.cms

http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-Divide-in ... 403186.cms

http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-Divide-in ... 403187.cms

Rejecting Team Anna's allegations of corruption against him, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday (May 29) declared he will quit public life if the charges on coal block allotments are proved. It is unfortunate that irresponsible allegations relating to irregularities in allocation of coal blocks are being made without confirming facts." TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami debates the issue with Prashant Bhushan, Core Committee Member, Team Anna; Justice Santosh Hegde, Core Committee Member, Team Anna; Shazia Ilmi, Core Committee Member, Team Anna; Siddharth Bhatia, Columnist; Shahid Siddiqui, leader, SP and Arati Jerath, Senior Journalist.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 674050.cms

"If the Prime Minister is an honest man, then he should be ready to face a probe. Inquiry into charges against him should be headed by a former judge," Anna Hazare told a TV channel.

Hazare said he needed needed more time to study allegations levelled against the Prime Minister by his team.

Another Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said it was not they who came up with the charges but it was in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on coal bloc allocations.

"We will be most happy if the allegations levelled against the Prime Minister are found to be false. But how will it be proved? For that we need to have an independent investigating agency to probe it," he told reporters.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid ruled out setting up a Special Investigation Team of retired judges as demanded by Team Anna. "We are not going to cowdown," he said.

"I don't think we can have for anybody, forget about ministers and certainly Prime Minister, media trials. We can't have street trials. We are in the country where rule of law prevails," he said.

Team Anna said Khurshid's reaction was like the accused himself ruling out the investigation.

Stepping up attack on Team Anna, Congress also dared it go to police and court instead of making allegations through media.

[nagesh]

What happened to MMS's quip ''Caesar's wife should be above suspicion''.

[Pranay]

What happened to MMS's quip ''Caesar's wife should be above suspicion''.

This has bothered me for a while now.... Why are Indians reduced to using Italian/Roman/Western iconography as in "Caesar's wife..." to make a point???

Don't we have our own, as in "Ram/Sita" to make the same point??

The majority of Indians, i believe - i may be wrong, relate more to the the subtleties/nuances of the Ram-Sita story than in a Caesar Salad...

[Agnimitra]

FWIW, a petition for US-based desis

Anna Hazare: Request Financial Accountability, Transparency in India Against Corruption

[Pranay]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/cbi-r ... eststories

The country's premier investigating agency, the CBI, has been asked to conduct a preliminary investigation on whether there was a scam in how coal fields were allotted to private companies during 2006-2009. During this period, the Prime Minister had direct charge of the coal ministry. The CBI has been asked to give its report within three months to the Central Vigilance Commission or CVC. The trigger for the inquiry is a complaint given to the CVC, reportedly by BJP leader Prakash Javadekar. Sources say the complaint does not name any person.

Allegations about Coal-Gate are based largely on a preliminary inquiry by the government's auditor which calculated in a draft report that by not following an auction for coal fields, the government lost in the range of 1.8 lakh crores.

The activists who work closely with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare have said the PM appears responsible; they say documents show that he over-ruled advice to auction coal fields and have said that unless an independent investigation is commissioned by the PM by July 24, they will begin an indefinite fast. The Prime Minister has said he will quit public life and the country could give him "any punishment" if the accusations are proven.

The BJP has said that the Prime Minister is honest but is surrounded by corrupt ministers. "(Dr Manmohan Singh is) an honest PM, who heads a dishonest government," said BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy. "His ministers go to jail...he becomes a suspect, because of situations," Mr Rudy also said. The BJP has also supported the demand for an investigation into the alleged coal swindle.

As a detailed rebuttal of Team Anna's charges, the Prime Minister's Office yesterday issued a seven-point statement. The press release emphasised that the government's focus on the allocation of coal fields was to ensure that the infrastructure and other needs of industry and a surging economy were met, and that imports were kept low. The statement said that coal fields were allocated with complete transparency, and that bids were invited through ads placed in newspapers.

[Pranay]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/coal- ... ply-220260

Here comes the government's point by point rebuttal...(in the interest of fairness)...

In response, the Prime Minister's Office released this evening a detailed explanation on how coal fields were allocated from 2006-2009, when the Prime Minister had direct charge of the Coal Ministry.

Here is the full text of the clarification:

A Clarification Regarding Allotment of Coal Blocks During the Period of 2004-2009

Doubts have been raised in certain quarters regarding allocation of coal blocks to private companies for captive use during the period 2004-2009. As per media reports letters have also been written purportedly to the Government raising similar issues. Clarifications in regard to these issues had already been placed on the website of the Ministry of Coal on 17th May, 2012. However, certain issues are reiterated and further clarified as below:

Allocation of coal blocks to private companies for captive use commenced in the year 1993 after the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 was amended. This was done with the objective of attracting private investments in specified end uses. Initially there was not much demand for such allocation and the applicants themselves used to identify the coal blocks and seek allocation. As the economy grew in size, the demand for coal also grew, particularly due to expansion in the energy sector. It was felt that Coal India Ltd. alone would not be able to meet the growing demand and, therefore, the option of giving a bigger role to the private sector was explored. It is in this background that we should appreciate the reasons for allocation of coal blocks to private parties for captive use during this period.

2. While allocation of coal blocks began in 1993, it was only in 2004 that for the first time, the idea of making allocations through competitive bidding was mooted and in 2005 the government initiated a proposal to amend the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act. The delay of three years between initiating the process of legislative changes and introducing the amendment Bill in the Parliament was mainly due to time taken in consensus building among divergent views of the various stakeholders. State governments such as Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Rajasthan were opposed to the amendment as they felt that it would increase the cost of coal, adversely impact value addition and development of industries in their areas and would dilute their prerogative in selection of an allocatee. Ministry of Power, too, felt that auctioning of coal may lead to enhanced cost of coal. Legal issues of whether amendment was required in the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act or Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act (MMDR Act) were to be carefully examined. It was only through multilayered consultations and discussions that these issues were finally resolved and the amendment Bill could be introduced in the Rajya Sahba in 2008. The central government was always keen to quickly push through the changes. However, it could not have moved ahead without duly considering the concerns of various stakeholders.

3. In the meanwhile, keeping in view the increase in applicants for coal blocks, the government evolved a consolidated set of guidelines to ensure consistency in allocation. In September 2005 the system was further improved bringing in greater transparency. In the improved system applications were invited through open advertisements against an identified list of coal blocks.

4. Even as the process of switching over from Screening Committee procedure to competitive bidding was initiated, it was felt that the required legislative changes would be time consuming. On the other hand, imperatives of economic growth required massive capacity addition and this issue was deliberated at length in the meetings of the Energy Coordination Committee that had recommended allocation of coal blocks to prospective power producers. It would not have been prudent to disrupt the momentum of accelerated investments in coal sector, especially as it was felt that it would take time in bringing about the required legislative and the consequent procedural changes. If the coal blocks were not made available between 2005 and 2010, it would have resulted in higher imports causing outflow of foreign exchange and would have had deleterious effect on large investments in crucial sectors like power and steel. These were the main reasons for continuation of allocation of the captive coal blocks. Moreover, it may also be noted that no coal block was offered for allocation after introduction of the Amendment Bill in the Parliament. Whatever allocations have been made after 2008, are as a result of culmination of the process initiated before the introduction of the Bill.

5. It may be stated that the allocation of coal blocks was never looked upon as a potential source for generating revenue for the Central Government. The intent of the government was to induce rapid development of infrastructure which was so very essential to keep the economy on a high growth trajectory. Hence the question of maximizing revenue does not arise at all. The idea of introduction of bidding cropped up only in the wake of increasing demand for captive coal blocks and the consequent necessity of putting in place a process which is demonstrably more transparent.

6. The intent of the government was to involve the private sector to invest in identified infrastructure sectors in the interest of the country and its economy and, to this end; this developmental process was resorted to. The allocation of coal blocks to private sector companies is only for captive use and not for sale or commercial use of coal. Since the blocks are allocated to private companies only for captive purposes for the specified end-use the question of linking the blocks to the market price/CIL price of coal does not arise at all.

7. It may be pointed out that the coal blocks for captive end use were allotted on the basis of recommendations of a Screening Committee which followed a fair and transparent procedure giving equal opportunity to all applicants. The Screening Committee was a broad based body with representation from State Governments at the level of the Chief Secretaries, concerned Ministries of the Central Government and the coal companies. The procedure adopted for allocation involved wide consultations with all stakeholders. The parameters and the guidelines for allocation were duly notified and followed by the committee while evaluating the applications. Comprehensive details about the applicant/the group, performance of the group, financial strength, readiness of the end-use plant, etc. were placed before the committee enabling it to assess the comparative merits of the applicants and make fair and just recommendations. Details of each application were shared with the concerned state government and the line ministry. The applicant was also provided an opportunity to present his case before the screening committee. The Screening Committee assessed the applications having regard to the matters such as techno-economic feasibility of the end use project, status of preparedness to set up the end use project, past track record in execution of projects, financial and technical capabilities of the applicant companies, recommendations of the state governments and the Administrative Ministry concerned. The process of allocation of blocks was equitable, fair and just which is borne out of the fact that there has never been any serious allegation against the working of the screening committee. The move to introduce competitive bidding is to make the selection process demonstrably more transparent.

[ramana]

Looks like Team Anna has changed the tactics. They are going after MMS himself for his Nelson's eye* to 2G scams. It was willful negligence. Being honest and not partaking the spolis is not sufficient.

OTH he might have got the go ahead from the 2Gs!

* Sorry Pranay for the comparison.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 701011.cms

RATNAGIRI/GHAZIABAD: Anna Hazare, who a couple of days ago described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an honest man, today sang a different tune saying he "does not have faith" in him and demanded an independent probe into coal bloc allocations made by him as minister in charge of coal.

His team also stepped up attack on the Prime Minister alleging that the CBI probe into coal bloc allocations and alleged misuse was meant to give a "clean chit" to him.

During his visit to Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Hazare said one has to select persons having good character and send them to Parliament, then only the expected change will take place.

"I had a strong belief in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but now I do not have faith in him," Hazare said.

On the Central Vigilance Commission decision to refer alleged irregularities by some private companies with regard to coal bloc allocation to CBI, he said, "CBI is under government. What will CBI investigate? A third party should investigate."

His remarks came as his team last week clubbed the Prime Minister with 14 other Union Ministers whom they alleged were corrupt and demanded a probe by a panel of retired judges who are honest.

Hazare had earlier sought to distance himself from his team's efforts to target Singh and described him as an honest man. He had said he would like to see documents regarding allegations against him before talking about Singh.

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal, meanwhile, alleged that the CBI probe was meant to give a clean chit to the Prime Minister.

"The CBI is under the CBI. Here the Prime Minister is accused. How will the CBI investigate the Prime Minister? It is laughable, it is an eye-wash. We know the outcome of this probe. It will say that the Prime Minister has not done anything wrong. It will give a clean chit to Singh," he said.

Kejriwal said why is the Prime Minister afraid of a probe if he is sure that he has not done anything wrong. "We have said that we are ready to be probed. Then why is the Prime Minister afraid. So there is nothing wrong, if people suspect that there was something wrong in this."

Referring to Law Minister Salman Khurshid ruling out a probe as demanded by Team Anna, he alleged that "corrupt" ministers are deciding on whether to investigate corruption charges. "This is the kind of anti-corruption system that currently exists in our country. This is what we are challenging," he said.

Alleging that the CBI is a "complete puppet" in the hands of the government, Kejriwal said disproportionate asset cases were going on against Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Yadav, Mayawati and many other politicians for several years.

"However no worthwhile investigation has taken place. But Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is a political foe of the ruling UPA has been arrested in a very short period. This shows that CBI rather than acting as anti-corruption body is being used to serve the Centre's political agenda.

"Can such CBI ever do an honest and independent investigation into Coalgate scam in which PM himself is accused? Can such a CBI do an honest investigation against the other 14 ministers?" he said, adding this is why they were demanding a probe by a Special Investigation Team.

He said they would not approach Supreme Court if their demand are not met. "This is a political issue," he said.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 706642.cms

"Can such CBI ever do an honest and independent probe into Coalgate scam in which PM himself is accused? Can such a CBI do an honest investigation against the other 14 ministers?" Kejriwal said, adding this is why they were demanding probe in the case by a Special Investigation Team.

He said they would not approach Supreme Court if their demands are not met. "This is a political issue," he said. Allegations of corruption were made by Team Anna in the allotment of coal blocks especially during the period 2006-09 when Singh was handling the charge of Coal Ministry.

Reacting to the Coal Ministry rebuttal to the charges, he claimed the arguments were misleading and factually incorrect.

"While up to 2005, a total of 75 coal blocks were allocated, this number went up to 145 from 2006 to 2009. Surprisingly, only one coal block has been allocated.

"Is the PMO saying the demand for coal was limited before 2005 and it increased suddenly between 2006 and 2010 and again came down to negligible after that. What are the factors that can explain such a trend in the economy?" he asked.

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=764409

The CBI today initiated a preliminary enquiry in connection with the alleged irregularities in the utilisation of coal blocks allocated to private companies between 2006 and 2009.

The agency has registered the PE, which is the first step of initiating the CBI probe, against unknown persons in connection with a complaint referred to it by the Central Vigilance Commission.

Senior CBI officials made it clear that probe would primarily focus on the alleged irregularities in utilisation of coal blocks by the allottee companies between 2006 and 2009.

The Commission had forwarded the complaint of BJP leaders Prakash Javadekar and Hansraj Ahir who had alleged that first-come-first-serve basis was adopted by the government to benefit some private companies.

The CBI top brass met yesterday and decided to start the probe in connection with the case although it found that reference received from the CVC are general allegations in which names or individual companies are not mentioned.

The orders to register the preliminary enquiry were issued today, CBI sources said.

"We are happy that CVC has taken cognisance of our complaint. The CVC has written to us saying your complaints have been duly examined in the Commission having regard to the issues raised therein and the same has been forwarded to the CBI for a preliminary inquiry," Javadekar, who was accompanied by Ahir, told reporters.

The complaint also alleges that there was a delay of nearly two years in auctioning process and claims that the ministry had done so to benefit some private players.

During the enquiry, if CBI finds any incriminating evidence it would register a regular case.

The complaint also alleged that allocation of blocks to 156 companies was not proper as they had handed over operations to other companies at a premium.

It is also alleged the allottees of coal blocks did not start production themselves and outsourced the operation to third parties at a premium and pocketing the benefit.

In his complaint, Ahir had alleged that the price of 1,700 crore metric tonne of coal worth Rs 51 lakh crore was given almost free to private companies.

In a statement last year, the BJP had alleged revealed that 51 companies were allotted coal blocks in 2006, 19 companies in 2007, 41 companies in 2008 and 32 companies in 2009, at a rate of Rs 50 per metric tonne.

[ramana]

Looks like Team Anna has changed the tactics. They are going after MMS himself for his Nelson's eye* to 2G scams. It was willful negligence. Being honest and not partaking the spolis is not sufficient.

OTH he might have got the go ahead from the 2Gs!

* Sorry Pranay for the comparison.

tie this with niran's remarks in Assy Elections thread.

Its a covert war going on many fronts.

[Pranay]

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?281093

It’s insulting enough for anyone to be described as Shikandi, given the connotations of impotence the name carries on its own; it’s even worse for a man who has been caricatured as a yesman, but wears his character and integrity as badges of honour. Deeply hurt by the comparison foisted upon him by senior advocate and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, prime minister Manmohan Singh offered to quit public life if any of the charges levelled against him by the anti-corruption crusader were proved. The specific charge is of wrongdoing in the allotment of coal blocks for mining, based on a preliminary CAG report—a scam that has come to be known as Coalgate.

So far, Team Anna had shied away from targeting the prime minister; even at the height of Anna Hazare’s campaign, it was the government that was targeted—not Manmohan. But although Bhushan’s fellow-campaigner Arvind Kejriwal has since apologised for the former’s caustic tongue, Anna Hazare’s team maintains the charges need to be investigated. No one can tell why Manmohan wasn’t referred to as Dhritrashtra, the blind king in the Mahabharata who symbolised blindness to corrupt ways. But Bhushan’s unfortunate comparison caught on; a day after, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha too used it for the prime minister.

Team Anna is standing by the charges levelled against Manmohan. Not just that, 13 cabinet ministers too have been named in an attempt to shame them. After a brief lull, when the movement against corruption appeared to have lost steam, Team Anna is fighting back—but minus Anna. Bhushan and Kejriwal seem to have taken over the reins of the crusade to give Anna some rest.

Behind this is also perception that Anna, given his age, is vulnerable to pressure from politicians, specially those from his native Maharashtra. Hence the movement now will be channelised and spearheaded by Bhushan, a man whom the government fears and loathes in equal measure. Kejriwal, often referred to as the crowd mobiliser-cum-media planner and strategist, says, “Anna needs rest, given his age and health.”

It seems the movement is undergoing a change. What is now being planned is an aggressive attack on the government, more agitations and a fast beginning in the last week of July. “We will fast again,” says Kejriwal. The recent attack on the prime minister and his cabinet, one is told, is just the beginning. Gone are the vague attacks on the entire political class and the government. Instead, the attack is sharp and targeted. Says a source from the movement, “It was important for us to let people know the names of the corrupt in the government. While corruption struck a chord with people, it was also important for us to identify the corrupt in the political class. All of them, it would seem, are above the law.”

It is also not surprising that the team is not speaking of the Lokpal bill—which, for all practical purposes, has been shelved. While the Budget session has gone by without a discussion, it is learnt that the bill has been slated for discussion in the last week of the monsoon session in July. Even then, there’s no guarantee that the bill will come up for discussion. “We are going to adopt an aggressive strategy after July,” says Kejriwal.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 751508.cms

BJP Lok Sabha member Hansraj Ahir, whose complaint have led the Central Vigilance Commission ( CVC) order the CBI to hold a preliminary enquiry (PE) into the allocation of coal blocks between 2006 and 2009, had been writing regularly to the PM since 2009 on the issue, but only got acknowledgements for reply.

According to Ahir, while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself regularly acknowledged his letters, the government took no action on the "irregularities" regarding allocation of coal blocks to various private entities.

Though there is no evidence yet of a criminal conspiracy in allocation of coal blocks, there is an eerie parallel between 2G scam and this case, especially the studied silence of the government to persistent complaints by an Opposition leader.

In the case of 2G scam, Dr Subramanian Swamy and others wrote regularly to the PM and others, but there was no response. Later, the Supreme Court blamed the PMO for sitting on the repeated requests to Dr Singh for prosecution of former telecom minister A Raja. The SC had said, "Unfortunately, those who were expected to give proper advice to Prime Minister and place full facts and legal position before him failed to do so...We have no doubt that if the Prime Minister had been apprised of the true factual and legal position regarding the representation made by the appellant, he would have surely taken appropriate decision."

[RamaY]

^ Why the team Anna is not going after the die-nasty family, the root cause of all ills?

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=764489

In their first joint appearance on a public platform in the past one year, Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev will sit on a day-long fast here tomorrow in a bid to intensify their anti-UPA protests.

Tomorrow's protest at Jantar Mantar is also likely to see Ramdev announcing his strategy with regard to the 2014 General Elections.

The one-day fast to demand bringing back black-money stashed away abroad and against corruption and corrupt system will have its echo in the state capitals as well with Ramdev's Bharat Swabhiman Andolan organising protests.

Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai are expected to join Hazare and Ramdev in the fast.

It will also be keenly watched whether retired Army chief Gen V K Singh, who had locked horns with the government on various issues, would attend the protest.

The association with Ramdev had in the past created ripples in Team Anna with a section remaining opposed to have any truck with the yoga guru as he is facing corruption charges.

Ahead of the fast, both Hazare and Ramdev have stepped up their attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Hazare had said that Singh has lost faith in government while Ramdev alleged that the Prime Minister was not "politically honest".

Before sitting on the fast, both the activists will go to Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.

A senior police official said they have made elaborate arrangements. Besides Delhi Police personnel, 20 companies of paramilitary forces will be deployed in the area.

[Pranay]

^ Why the team Anna is not going after the die-nasty family, the root cause of all ills?

What one sees here is a measured approach and calibrated tightening of the screws by Team Anna.

Anything else, without any credible supporting evidence, would only look like personal vendetta, terminally denting their collective credibility and aborting their endeavor for a strong Lokpal Bill.

[RamaY]

Thought so. More over any direct attack on the family will bring multi-dimensional pressure on team-anna.

In other words, team anna can get manipulated in the process..

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 777768.cms

Former Karnataka Lokayukta and Team Anna member Santosh Hegde has said no government would like to bring in a strong Lokpal Bill in the country as the government does not have the intent.

"The government should bring in a strong Lokpal bill, but I don't think any government will want to bring a strong Lokpal bill. The government does not have the intent", Hegde told reporters as he joined in the protest by Karnataka Chapter of India Against Corruption at the Freedom Park here on Sunday.

He expressed happiness that Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev had come together over the issue of corruption.

Anna and Ramdev began their day-long fast in the national capital, their first joint appearance on a public platform in the past one year, against the UPA on corruption.

The one-day fast is to demand bringing back black money stashed abroad and against corruption and corrupt system.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 775247.cms

Attacking the UPA government and threatening a fight to the finish by August on the issue of black money, Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev sat on a day- long fast on Sunday protesting against corruption.

In their first appearance on a public platform after a year, Hazare and Ramdev arrived at the protest venue of Jantar Mantar together this morning after visiting Mahatma Gandhi's memorial and Shahid Park.

Ramdev began his campaign by issuing a warning to the government to get ready for "fight to the finish" by August and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make his Cabinet "corruption-free."

"You (the Prime Minister) are an honest person personally. People respect you for that. But you hold the high constitutional post. You have to take care of the political, constitutional and democratic responsibility.

"Your personal honesty is not enough. You have to be politically honest too. You have to keep your Cabinet honest. Then people will respect you (more)," Ramdev told his supporters, who were waiving the tricolour.

[RamaY]

Anna-Ramdev fast: Differences in Team Anna too visible to ignore

Just after Kejriwal finished speaking, Baba Ramdev cautioned him against naming ministers as it diverted attention from the core issue.

Anna did not violate , what Ramdev later termed later protocol for the day- not naming any politician or leader. Anna’s speech was timid. He did not take any names and spoke about the struggle against corruption in general. ...Just after Anna finished speaking, Ramdev hugged him.

This was the first time that Hazare spoke at Jantar Mantar in the absence of Kejriwal.

Around 4500 people gathered at Jantar Mantar, the venue of the fast which was guarded by 500 policemen and 20 battalions of paramilitary forces.

At 10.30, Baba Ramdev, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi reached the fast venue with their supporters.

Sunday’s fast came exactly a year after Baba Ramdev was forced to end his demonstration against black money at Delhi’s Ramlila ground. “Hamne Ramlila mein Ravanlila dekhi,” he said, referring to the handling of last year’s episode, of which many said, worked against the ruling government.

The fast came at a time when a section of Team Anna is believed to be against the association with the yoga guru.

Why is it that when we talk of corruption, the government directs all its forces on us, asked Ramdev.

[Pranav]

In a system in which everybody is corrupt to some degree, perhaps because the electoral system leaves no other way, one has to distinguish between the "nationalist corrupt" and the "subverted corrupt".

Systemic change can be achieved only by using the "nationalist corrupt" as a stepping stone. PV Narasimha Rao can be an example of that category. He laid the foundations for economic revival.

On the other hand BJP stalwarts like Brajesh Mishra and the windbag lobby are examples of the "subverted corrupt".

Nations like South Korea show how tremendous progress can be made even with leaders that are not 100% clean.

Kejriwal probably has not thought through such issues.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 815217.cms

Citing corruption as the biggest problem of the country, former army chief general VK Singh has said that there is nothing wrong in the movement launched by social activist Anna Hazare and Yoga guru Baba Ramdev. He also said that the issues of corruption and black money raised by Anna and Baba are related to the development and honour of the country. Corruption hits the common man the most and should be tackled in an appropriate manner, he said.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 812544.cms

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday backed Baba Ramdev's movement against black money, with the yoga guru meeting party president Nitin Gadkari at his residence here.

"Baba Ramdev's fight against black money is very important. We as the party support Baba Ramdev in this 'andolan' (movement). This is an agitation above party lines; this is for the benefit of the country," Gadkari said after the meeting on Monday.

The BJP president also bowed down to touch Ramdev's feet. He later said it was a gesture of respect and he was following Indian culture.

The two, however, ruled out any political motive behind the meeting.

"This movement is not against any political party. It is for the benefit of the nation," Ramdev said.

He said he had also sought time from Congress president Sonia Gandhi and leaders of 10 other political parties.

"I will be meeting A B Bardhan ( Communist Party of India) on 15th (June), Prakash Karat (Communist Party of India - Marxist) day after tomorrow, Sharad Yadav (Janata Dal - United) on 7th, and have also sought time from Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Uddhav Thackeray ( Shiv Sena)," Ramdev said.

The meeting comes a day after Ramdev, along with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, sat on a day-long fast at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

Meanwhile, Gadkari said Sonia Gandhi should "rise above politics" and support the civil society's anti-corruption movement.

"I will request Sonia Gandhi ... she should understand that this movement is not against any political party ... She should rise above politics to save the country and support this movement. Bringing black money back is in favour of the nation," Gadkari said.

Earlier, Sonia Gandhi, at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on Monday morning, defended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the opposition and the civil society were conspiring with anti-Congress elements to undermine the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the prime minister and senior ministers.

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=764675

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today rejected the charges of Team Anna that the government had "swindled unbelievable amounts" of money and hit out at yoga guru Ramdev for claiming that "astronomical" sums of black money can be brought back from other countries in one stroke.

Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here, he said "canards and falsehood" were being spread by "disparate" and "desparate" elements and asked the party cadres to effectively tackle the "misinformation".

In an apparent reference to yoga guru Ramdev and Team Anna, Singh said, "Every day one hears of astronomical sums of black money that can be brought back in one stroke. It is alleged that in every area of its activity, our government has swindled unbelievable amounts of money. Nothing can be farther from the truth."

The assertive statement by the Prime Minister came a day after Ramdev and Anna Hazare held a day-long protest here, with the yoga guru attacking the government over black money.

The truth is that our government is fully committed to tackle the menace of corruption in public life and bring about transparency and accountability in the work of government authorities. And we have proved this by taking action on multiple fronts," Singh said.

"The legislative and administrative action we have taken in this area speaks for itself," he added.

The Prime Minister said, "the misinformation being spread by disparate, desperate elements, unified only by their opposition to our government, needs to be tackled effectively."

[Pranay]

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=764647

Team Anna met here today amid a rift between them and yoga guru over the treatment meted out to Arvind Kejriwal in public and differences within them over attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Anna Hazare and Justice Santosh Hegde, who had earlier expressed reservations about targeting the Prime Minister, attended the meeting which is expected to reassess its strategy.

Kiran Bedi, Gopal Rai and Sanjay Singh are the other prominent members attending the meeting. Prashant Bhushan is not attending the meeting as he is out of the country.

Sources said the meeting is likely to discuss the emergence of rift between the Team Anna and Ramdev in public during yesterday's joint fast after the yoga guru snubbed Kejriwal for taking names.

Though both the sides have downplayed the incident, sources said the meeting will review the relationship with the yoga guru.

A section of Team Anna had reservations about Ramdev as he faces charges. They were also miffed at his "one-upmanship".

The issue of attacking the Prime Minister is also likely to figure prominently during the meeting.

Kejriwal has been insisting that taking names of politicians, including the Prime Minister, is necessary to keep the pace of the movement.

The meeting will also strategise on the proposed indefinite fast from July 25 in New Delhi.

[Agnimitra]

Ex-army chief General VK Singh has thrown his lot behind the anti-graft agitations led by social activist Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev, terming them "timely and valid".

Nothing wrong with Ramdev, Anna agitations: Gen VK Singh - Hindustan Times