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

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 06 Jun 2012 13:05

Xposting:

Has anyone seen this list of Swiss Bank account holders? Is it authentic?

http://ramanan50.files.wordpress.com/20 ... ccount.png

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 06 Jun 2012 16:41

Illegal mining in Karnataka: Ex-governor, Santosh Hegde under scanner; 3 former CMs may face CBI probe

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 864962.cms

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 07 Jun 2012 07:37

Sanku in 2G thread wrote:Must watch report from times now.

Key Aid of Madhu Koda of 4000 Cr Mining scam lives in Indonesia, gets his passport stamped twice from Indian embassy and claims that ED has his phone number.

In India the man is declared a fugitive for last three years and missing and has a NBW against him.

Also information is revealed that a Congress Cabinet minister goes to Jharkhand and asks people to go easy on Koda as recently as duing elections.

To remind everyone, Madhu Koda was one person party and also the CM for a govt supported by Congress and RJD (Lalu)

Saw a part of it live - not on the website yet. What was the fellow's name?

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 07 Jun 2012 09:09

A convenient fire?

Fire in Finance Ministry office, documents destroyed - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fire-in-fina ... 719-3.html

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 07 Jun 2012 10:55

Very Very convienient fire, NO coalgate NO 2G scam papers and other inconvienient papers available now.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 09 Jun 2012 08:34

Pranav wrote:
Sanku in 2G thread wrote:Must watch report from times now.

Key Aid of Madhu Koda of 4000 Cr Mining scam lives in Indonesia, gets his passport stamped twice from Indian embassy and claims that ED has his phone number.

In India the man is declared a fugitive for last three years and missing and has a NBW against him.

Also information is revealed that a Congress Cabinet minister goes to Jharkhand and asks people to go easy on Koda as recently as duing elections.

To remind everyone, Madhu Koda was one person party and also the CM for a govt supported by Congress and RJD (Lalu)
Saw a part of it live - not on the website yet. What was the fellow's name?

This is amazing ... it turns out the guy's name is Anil Bastawade and the story has been almost universally ignored by the media. Even on the times now website, the video has not been uploaded. Searching for "Bastawade" turns up a blank.

Here is the only mention I found in the entire media -

The mystery of ToI ignoring Times Now’s Koda exclusive

What’s up with this story? Times Now reports that one Anil Bastawade, supposedly a key contact of Madhu Koda and a ‘missing link’ in the investigation into a Rs 4,000 crore Jharkhand mining scam, has been tracked down to a small mining town in Indonesia, living the life of ‘a tycoon.’

Times Now has sent a senior editor to Indonesia for the story, and the channel has been repeatedly playing out the story in prime time.

What is curious is the absolute silence of its sister news product The Times of India. The video of the story is not available on Times Now’s website. A search for ‘Koda’ or ‘Bastawade’ on Google news fails to throw up a result with a reference to Times Now or The Times of India.

You can watch a recording of the show here, though.

Is Bastawade indeed a critical element in the alleged scam? If he is, why is The Times of India not playing it up – as it is the TV channel owned by Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL), which has exclusive visuals and conversations which pertain to the story?

It is the fact that The Times of India is ignoring the story that flummoxes. In an era when news media continuously chase one another in breaking news, the story, thanks to the fact that Times Now has exclusive footage, would have been an exclusive for newspaper as well.

Another curious fact – what is the opposition doing? Why isn’t the BJP demanding that the government responds to the claims of Times Now?

Equally, why isn’t the Congress baying for blood as well?

Or is it, simply, that the Bastawade story is a non-story, utilised only to fill up the prime time with seemingly important and exclusive news on Times Now? Or is every politician afraid of opening another can of worms right now?

http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-myst ... 36358.html

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 09 Jun 2012 09:14

A deleted video from Times Now -

48 hours after TIMES NOW expose, the missing link Anil Bastawade makes a 13 minute appearance in the Indian Embassy in Indonesia but no action by authorities - http://www.timesnow.tv/48-hours-after-T ... 403873.cms

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 09 Jun 2012 20:27

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 970609.cms

Team Anna on Saturday criticized the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for rejecting its accusations against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on allocation of coal blocks, and said it was behaving as if "there was no corruption in the country".

"The content of that letter is trying to prove that there is no corruption in the country and all the ministers and officers are working honestly, and we are unnecessarily creating a ruckus on the issue of corruption," Team Anna member Manish Sisodia told reporters here.

Slamming the government, he said that on one hand, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was investigating the case and on the other hand the government has already declared that there was no irregularity in the allocations and all the rules were followed.

"So, in a way, the government already knows what the outcome of the CBI investigation would be and it has made it public," he added.

Fellow activist and Team Anna member Kiran Bedi tweeted: "PMO's Prise (sic) to Annajee on allegations made on PM+14 Ministers is absolutely wishywashy! On Camera admission by Fr (former) Coal Sect (Secretary) supports CAG! (Comptroller and Auditor General)".

The PMO refused to accept Team Anna's demand for an independent probe, saying the manner in which "loose" allegations have been levelled was not acceptable.

PMO's letter to Anna Hazare

Dear Shri Anna Hazare,

This refers to the letter dated 26.5.2012 addressed to the Prime Minister purported to have been signed by you and several others. I have been directed to make the following submissions to the issues raised:

The Government has tabled a strong Lokpal Bill in Parliament which has features that are more progressive than in any Bill tabled before. This Bill has been prepared after extensive discussions with you and your colleagues and all suggestions that were considered to be feasible have been incorporated. This Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha. Government is of the opinion that Parliament has to take a final view on the Bill and the passage of the Bill should be a Parliament-led process. To this end, Government is open to suggestions from all parties. In fact, many suggestions have been accepted by the Government in the course of the discussions on the Bill and two all-party meetings have been held in an effort to build consensus. The Bill has now been referred to a Select Committee which will be open to receive and examine all relevant suggestions.

In addition to the Lokpal Bill, Government has taken a slew of measures, both legislative and executive, to curb and reduce corruption. The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of International Organisations Bill, the Citizens' Right to Grievance Redress Bill and the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill have been brought forward. India has also ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. A comprehensive public procurement law has been approved by the Cabinet. The National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms has been set up.

A Group of Ministers set up by the Government to consider measures to tackle corruption has approved a large number of measures as given in the annexure. These are being implemented by the various Ministries and a monitoring mechanism has been set up to track progress.

To fight the menace of black money, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act and amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act have been passed. A special committee has been set up to examine measures to strengthen laws to curb black money generation. Independent agencies have been commissioned to assess the quantum of black money and make recommendations. New Income Tax Overseas Units have been set up and new Tax Information Exchange Agreements and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements have been signed to contain generation and outflow of illicit funds.

Agencies like CBI, ED, CAG and CBDT continue to function independently as per their mandates. In fact, the term of this Government has been especially marked by zero interference in the functioning of these agencies. CAG has functioned in an unfettered way in conducting audit of various departments.

The Government continues to welcome suggestions from all segments of civil society, including the one represented by you, on measures to bring greater probity in governance and public life. The Government is committed to make all efforts to reduce corruption and bring in greater transparency. The Government is also determined to ensure that baseless and uninformed allegations made against public servants are not allowed to create fear that can lead to paralysis in decision-making and slow down growth and development.

We have noted from your letter that you have previously addressed communications to all the Ministers conveying the allegations made against them for their views.

As regards the allegations made against the Prime Minister, they seem to be based on a leaked draft of the CAG on coal block allocations and on media stories. You have provided no evidence to back up these allegations and you have yourself said that you are not making these allegations. All details of the policy and procedures followed for coal block allocations have been placed in the public domain by the Coal Ministry and can be seen by all by going to the link http://coal.nic.in/welcome.html. All decisions were taken in public interest on the basis of legal provisions and relevant policy in force.

The final report of the CAG has not yet been tabled in Parliament. When it is tabled, the Government will submit detailed responses before the Public Accounts Committee as per Constitutional procedure. It is also understood that the CVC, in exercise of the powers vested in it, has recently directed the CBI to carry out a Preliminary Enquiry on a complaint on coal block allocations filed by an Opposition MP and some others. CBI will carry out the enquiry fairly and independently. Your insinuations and allegations against the CBI are unwarranted and unjustified.

I must regret that your statement that "top most institutions of the country like the Supreme Court, High Court, CAG etc. have leveled these allegations [against the Ministers] from time to time", is not only vague but unacceptable.

The tone and tenor of your letter and the broad and sweeping nature of the statements made are also unacceptable.

Your demand for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team has been considered, as also the terms of reference suggested by you. Having regard to the fact that the existing legal and statutory framework has adequate and sufficient provisions for addressing the issues raised by you, your demand cannot be acceded to.

The allegation that an understanding has been reached by the Government with Shri Mulayam Singh to hush up ongoing CBI enquiries is baseless and untrue. It is unfair to the Government, Shri Mulayam Singh and the CBI and an insult to the judicial system.

As regards allegations leveled against what you have termed as 'team Anna', these too would be subject to due investigation by concerned agencies if and when reports are filed. There is no provision under law to subject anyone to twice the penalty allowed under the relevant law.

Finally, with regard to the special fast track courts suggested by you to deal with cases of allegedly tainted MPs, the matter has been considered but cannot be acceded to since Government and the judiciary both monitor the pendency of cases in various courts.

Annexure

Key measures approved by the GoM to tackle corruption

>Fast-tracking of all cases of public servants accused of corruption -

*Competent authority to take decision within 3 months on requests from investigating agencies for sanction of prosecution (orders issued since).

* Competent authority to decide within 3 months all requests for granting/denying permission under Section 6(a) of DSPE Act, 1946. The competent authority for officers of the level of JS and above in GoI will be the Minister-in-Charge. (orders issued since).

>Electoral Reforms -

*Ministry of Law & Justice directed to come up with specific proposals for initiating reforms expeditiously. (These are awaiting political consensus).

*Relinquishing discretionary powers enjoyed by Ministers at the Centre-

*DoPT directed to issue a general advisory to all Ministries/Depts. to carry out an exercise for putting in place regulatory parameters for exercise of discretionary powers and putting them in public domain. (instructions since issued by DoPT).

>Introduction of an open and competitive system of exploiting natural resources-

*Most of the recommendations of the Ashok Chawla Committee accepted. DEA directted to monitor the implementation of the same by the respective Ministries/Depts.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 09 Jun 2012 20:31

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 964196.cms

Former Army chief V K Singh today said he is yet to make up his mind on joining any anti-corruption movement.

"I have not decided anything yet. I am still working on my own. I have come here in my own area. This is my mother's place. We will see what happens," Singh, who had locked horns with the government, said here.

He was asked if he had made up his mind on either joining Team Anna or Ramdev's anti-corruption movements.

The former Army chief's statement contradicts the claim of yoga guru Ramdev's spokesperson that Singh is set to join their anti-corruption movement over the next few weeks.

"Yes," Ramdev's spokesperson S K Tijariwala had said yesterday when asked about the possibility of Singh joining the movement over the next few weeks.

Reacting to it, Llaw minister Salman Khurshid had said yesterday that "V K Singh can don any role now after he has finished his term with the Army. I hope he gives his right date of birth before joining the movement. Any officer is free to take up any role after his tenure is over in the Army."

This "Law Minister" has no class...

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 09 Jun 2012 20:48

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 962165.cms

Launching a vitriolic attack on Team Anna, Union minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday charged that Anna Hazare was surrounded by "anti-national elements" and those supported by "foreign forces".

"Anna is a simple man, but he is surrounded by anti-national elements and people who have been supported by foreign forces," the minister of state in PMO told reporters at Chennai airport.

He criticised Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, seeking to know "what happened to the huge sums of money collected during last year's (anti-corruption) agitation."

"Bedi herself was facing some allegations (over bloated travel receipts), he said.

Narayanasamy alleged that a set of "self-proclaimed" leaders with no public support and those who had not faced elections wanted to destabilise the government, targeting Team Anna and yoga guru Ramdev, who have teamed up to launch a fresh offensive against government on corruption and black money.

He insisted the Centre was taking all steps to bring back black money and had come out with a white paper recently.

Its a "long process" since it involved working with the governments of the respective countries and certain other procedures, he said and questioned the reputation of Ramdev and other Team Anna members.

On allegations of irregularities of coal mining blocks, he said the Manmohan Singh-led government was "transparent".

"Our government is transparent. The Prime Minister wanted to have a transparent form of coal block allocation in 2004."

He alleged there was no transparency during the NDA regime and claimed the then BJP chief ministers Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan) and Raman Singh (Chattisgarh), besides the West Bengal government, had opposed the government decision to auction coal blocks.

Bids were invited based on advertisements and the Prime Minister was not to be blamed as he had followed a transparent method, he said, adding CBI was looking into the matter.

The allegations regarding the PMO are "politically motivated," he said.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 10 Jun 2012 02:53

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/truth- ... eststories

Truth vs Hype of Coal-gate: Part I

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 12 Jun 2012 20:21

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 064075.cms

Trashing allegations that his movement against corruption is foreign funded, Anna Hazare today hit back at the UPA daring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to spell out which are the external forces behind it.

"It is wrong to call me anti-national. The government says I am a traitor. If I am, then put me in jail," he said.

Addressing a press conference here, Hazare said allegations against his team were to divert attention from the demand for a strong Lokpal Bill and that if anti-corruption crusaders are viewed in this way, it is unfortunate.

"They (ministers) said that there are foreign powers behind Team Anna. They blame us but who are these foreign powers. They did not tell. What foreign power, which country, they did not tell. Such false accusations are not right," he said.

"If the Prime Minister sees the anti-corruption activists as anti-nationals, that is unfortunate for the country. If the Prime Minister feels that foreign powers are behind Team Anna, then it is necessary that he clearly tell the citizens who are those forces," he said.

Hazare said a common person levelling allegations was a different matter but when PMO levels such charges it is serious. "You have such a huge network of intelligence, why don't you work on it," he said.

VKumar · Post by **VKumar** » 13 Jun 2012 05:09

yesterday afternoon, Times now TV was showing an extremely powerful attack by Anna on the PM & PMO. Amongst the points he made
1. PMO says that foreign powers are supporting me, why don't they name these powers instead of making wild allegations?
2. PMO says that accounts for my andolan are not avaialble, when the audited accounts are put up on our website. where are their accounts for election expenses?
3. He then said that PMO says that the coal ghotala is a figment of CAG, but if you see then 334 coal fields were given out during the time when PM was in charge of coal whereas only 1 field has been given in the years after he left charge of coal.

at this point Anna was really tearing into the PMO and Time now couldn't take it any further and switched over to CEC talking about Presidential elections.

Really worth reading or watching if on youtube

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 13 Jun 2012 18:49

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/265672/pun ... s-pmo.html

Punish me if I am anti-national, Anna to PMO - Video - Anna Hazare.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 13 Jun 2012 23:47

Looks like the KKNPP attack which was supported by many on this board including Admins has come full circle as I said it would. By the very same VN no less.

Next up harassment, random deportation or two, CBI raids, some more skulls cracked and finally mental hospital re-education campaign.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 14 Jun 2012 17:59

http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.c ... break-free

The Coal-gate saga, the “scam du jour,” is fast being lost like every other scam, as the media revels in motives, allegations and counter allegations. In the midst of this, the most revealing piece of news on the Coal-gate saga was the pronouncements made by Mr. P.C Parikh, former Coal Secretary, who was at the center of all the action when these decisions regarding the coal allocations were made.

“I had written to the PMO way back in 2004 that coal blocks should be given through an auction. But the policy has been implemented now in 2012 and till date, not even a single coal block has been allocated through auction. The government lost a lot of money by giving coal mines using the existing system.” Mr. Parikh said that the committee was always under tremendous pressure from MPs, state governments, ministries and other players to allot coal blocks. “Any system which is based on a subjective decision is open to pulls and pressures, and this is precisely what happened,” he remarked.

These statements reveal several serious flaws in our current system. Firstly, there is way too much left to the discretion of those in power. The bulk of our scams can be traced down to ministers using their discretion to make decisions that are often arbitrary. The reality of coalition politics is that the PM could feign helplessness if the likes of Raja chose to do as they please. It’s hard to argue that a tough, no-nonsense PM would make a huge difference as opposed to an affable, yet purportedly clean PM.

Next, Parikh’s statements highlight the sheer helplessness of our babus. “As the chairman of screening committee, and as a secretary, you can't put your foot down. You can just suggest. In fact, I had put the screening committee meeting on hold hoping this system will fall in place. But then, the PM himself advised that instead of waiting indefinitely, it is better we go ahead (with the allocations)," he said. This automatically raises a number of questions. Are such decisions made because they benefit ministers personally or their political party? Why would people in positions of power not prefer an auction in the case of the coal-gate saga?

Most Indians believe that the PM is not corrupt. But if Parikh is to be believed, the PM was in a position to set the right course in the case of coal-gate but chose not to. The question then arises as to what was the justification for the actions of our “honest” PM? Was he forced by others into this decision? Did he proceed because he thought some decision was better than no decision at all? The fact is that even if “Harischandra” found himself at a crime scene, he would have to be treated as a suspect, especially if he could have done something to prevent the crime.

“When I joined in 2004 as the Coal Secretary, I had proposed the process of bidding. My minister at the time, Shibhu Soren, was not keen enough.” (Given Soren’s track record, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.) “But after the PM took over as Coal Minister, I had a meeting with him and he was very keen," Parikh said. The icing on the cake when it comes to the limitations of babudom lies in his next statement. "I got a Cabinet note prepared after getting his clearance. Some ministries, however, were not in favour of the auction process. I had wanted a meeting of all Cabinet secretaries but the meeting didn't happen ... I retired.."

After all this, you have ridiculous pronouncements by those in the ruling party that everything is hunky-dory with the UPA government and that Team Anna is comprised of “anti-national” elements. While it’s ok to defend your point of view, there is no excuse for coming up with ridiculous, laughable, counter allegations. If anything, Team Anna is obsessed with saving the nation from corruption, and their charges involve the UPA government doling out the country’s natural resources to their friends in the industry. It begs the question as to who is really anti-national!

Clearly, we have plenty of flaws in our current system and our “honest” PM should be aware of every bit of this. Our activists can only express their views through protests and allegations. It’s up to those in power to accept these deficiencies in our system and take steps to address them. Stone-walling, casting aspersions on the activists, waiting to see how much momentum their protests gain, and taking advantage of weak opposition is a betrayal by those entrusted with power by the people. Besides, this has simply gone on for too long. Even if Team Anna were wiped off the surface of this earth, these corruption charges are here to stay, and the onus is on the government to get to the bottom of every one of these corruption scams.

Our “honest” PM has to wake up to this reality sooner or later. Hopefully, given that this is most certainly his last innings as PM, he’ll break free one of these days, have an epiphany of sorts, extricate himself from the vice-like grip of the corrupt, take matters into his own octogenarian hands, and expose the country’s ills before a shell-shocked, yet rapturous nation, a la Bollywood style! At present, this seems like the only hope.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 15 Jun 2012 08:15

^^^

This is laughable.

A direct comparison can be made to water, which is another natural resource that is provided nearly free in India. There have been any number of representations made as to the need to charge the appropriate money for this resource from users. With limited to no success. Can we argue that all these government bodies that are choosing to not charge for this resource are doing so for corrupt reasons?

IMO, Anna & co are a distraction. The government should find the b@lls to ignore them and get on with the business of governing.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 15 Jun 2012 08:31

the gov doesn't govern. this is the problem.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 15 Jun 2012 10:20

vera_k wrote:^^^

This is laughable.

A direct comparison can be made to water, which is another natural resource that is provided nearly free in India. There have been any number of representations made as to the need to charge the appropriate money for this resource from users. With limited to no success. Can we argue that all these government bodies that are choosing to not charge for this resource are doing so for corrupt reasons?

IMO, Anna & co are a distraction. The government should find the b@lls to ignore them and get on with the business of governing.

^^^ invalid comparison.

What we are talking about here is the enrichment of a tiny coterie of Netas and crony capitalists through the plunder of natural resources. The wealth being duly stashed away in places like the Channel Islands and Lichtenstein. The poor got nothing.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 17 Jun 2012 01:21

The poor got cheaper electricity, cheap cell phone calls, cheap to free water.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 17 Jun 2012 01:55

vera_k wrote:The poor got cheaper electricity, cheap cell phone calls, cheap to free water.

No, the coal was sold at high prices. So much so that power companies had to resort to coal imports.

And the billions stashed away in the tax havens, resulting from corrupt distribution of natural resources, also belong to the poor.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 17 Jun 2012 02:48

Interview: Baba Ramdev

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 17 Jun 2012 17:41

^ from above link

Baba Ramdev: Acharya Chanakya has said that life begins with dharma because every human wants well-being, happiness, pleasure, whether it is bhog or yog. I haven’t developed my own philosophy. Dharam is incomplete without arth and since arth is regulated by politics, the government decides all policies and hence the meaning. So it is not a move to protest and oppose, but dharma and arth are complementary.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 18 Jun 2012 05:45

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 221133.cms

A new front opens in a multi-pronged war against corruption...

Fresh from clinching his party's nomination for the post of president, finance minister and presidential hopeful, Pranab Mukherjee found himself in the corruption crosshairs of Team Anna. Arvind Kejriwal, Team Anna's most vociferous member, on Sunday demanded an independent probe into graft allegations against Mukherjee before elections to the country's highest office are held.

Kejriwal claimed the inquiry should be completed before the presidential elections as once Mukherjee is elected as the country's first citizen, he will enjoy immunity, which would serve as major blow to the probe.

In Jodhpur, as part of Team Anna's ``Jan Jagaran Abhiyaan'', Kejriwal made the demand while interacting with the media. ``The probe should be conducted by an independent agency, not the CBI. The post of the President is the most dignified and anybody considered for the post, should carry a clean image. Whatever be the allegations against Mukherjee, they must be probed,'' he said.

Kejriwal first referred to the 2007 scam revolving around the export of rice to Ghana when Mukherjee was the external affairs minister. ``Mukherjee's name was involved in the controversy surrounding the scam. This was a huge scam to the tune of Rs 2,000- Rs 2,500 crore, in which the then commerce minister Kamal Nath was also involved. Twenty lakh tonnes of rice was exported to a third country under the pretext of supplying it to African nations as part of hunger alleviation projects,'' said Kejriwal.

"The Ghana government itself had recommended an inquiry against Mukherjee and Kamal Nath by writing a letter to the Indian government then. But nothing happened".

Turning to the Rs 18,798-crore Scorpene submarine project, inked between India and France in 2005, when Mukherjee was the defence minister, Kejriwal alleged 4% commission was received on the deal. But Mukherjee did not order any investigation, despite voices being raised in protest, he added.

"Mukherjee is also involved in the infamous Navy war room leak scam (of mid-2005), in which three key persons were saved. But, in what can be termed as an eyewash, three Navy commanders were sacked. In this case, a pen drive carrying important strategic information had disappeared from the Navy war room and was later found with an IAF wing commander, which was shared with three persons, including Abhishek Verma (an accused in the war-room leak case) associated with the Scorpene submarine deal,'' he alleged.

Kejriwal said it was ironic that Mukherjee on one hand denied that pen drive contained any information of serious or strategic nature, whereas CBI had admitted it had information of sensitive nature. "It will be injustice to this apex post if a tainted person sits on the seat of the President", Kejriwal said, demanding an unbiased inquiry against Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, on his part, had then strongly denied in Parliament that middlemen had played any role in the Scorpene project, or that it was linked in any way to the naval war room leak case. The Scorpene project, under which six submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Docks, incidentally, has witnessed a huge cost escalation — the overall project cost now stands at Rs 23,562 crore — and is also running three years behind schedule.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 18 Jun 2012 05:48

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 222617.cms

A day after supporting APJ Abdul Kalam as the presidential candidate on Facebook, Mamata Banerjee on Sunday raised her voice against "corruption and back-room dealings" on the social networking site. Her latest post on Facebook hinted that the last two days' hectic political activities over presidential poll had something to do with "money, power and scams".

The Trinamool Congress chief thanked people for their response to her first FB post and wrote: "I'm sure this united voice will take public issues to the next level." She asked people "to raise their voices and fight against corruption and back-room dealings".

Her posts suggest that Mamata is now using the social networking site to reach out to a larger constituency and stress on a "conspiracy theory" that there is something more other than politics that played a role in Mulayam Singh Yadav's decision to endorse Pranab Mukherjee's candidature.

"It is most unfortunate that politics in our great nation has become murky and values, public interest have been compromised through the use of money, power and scams. Ethical and principled politics has eroded today... this decay has to be reversed at all costs to return to the great traditions of this country. That is why we should raise our voices and stand by principles. Conviction, values and integrity," wrote Mamata.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 18 Jun 2012 09:11

After MMS, now Kejriwal tries to snipe pranab. Guess Italian isn't in style.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 19 Jun 2012 07:02

BJP bats for Pranab on corruption, warns Team Anna - http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news ... na/963466/

BJP today hit out at Team Anna for seeking an independent probe into allegations made by it against UPA presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee before he contests the poll, saying it should not try to become a “super constitutional authority”.

“No one should attempt to become a super constitutional authority by compelling anybody before contesting election to take a no-objection certificate from them. It is unfortunate that such type of sweeping statements are given, which do not bode well for their cause,” BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here today.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 19 Jun 2012 07:46

Good call by team Anna. Perhaps PM (not the clean image PM) should prove his credentials before sitting on RP seat.

This is the Indian tradition. Even Bhoja raja had to face 32 sala-bhanjikas before he could sit on Vikramaditya's throne.

Looks like current BJP parliamentary team is firmly in D4 hands.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 19 Jun 2012 08:56

What is D4

Vikas · Post by **Vikas** » 19 Jun 2012 14:50

Sometimes I wonder whose side BJP is on ?
Why can't Kejriwal call out the FM if he believes that FM indulged in corruption or atleast turned a blind eye while someone was looting the exchequer.
The fear is genuine that once he becomes the president, he will be out of reach of the law not that he is in the reach now. Just like MMS will be declared a saint "who let the Ferrari be looted on his watch" once he is thrown out by the voters of India.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 19 Jun 2012 17:25

Delhi four Acharya-san

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 20 Jun 2012 18:12

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 295734.cms

Core member of Team Anna, Arvind Kejriwal alleged that Rs 100 crores had been spent to split their team; however he refused to reveal who had spent this money. "I don't want to name anyone, but all of you know very well who is doing all this," said Arvind Kejriwal. He was in Indore to drum up support for their up coming campaign against corruption.

Kejriwal said that there is persistent effort to create chasm between members of Team Anna. "But there is no difference among us and all of us are committed and united to fight against corruption till our last breath," clarified Kejriwal adding that they have nothing to hide and open to any investigation.

"After failing to find any fault with us, now they are trying to create an atmosphere of mistrust. But they will not succeed and we will continue with our fight," said Kejriwal. He said that it is not movement of team Anna but a movement of common man who is facing the brunt of corruption.

He also takes a hit at CBI and questions its credibility to inquire cases against politicians. "In last 50 years CBI had managed to get convicted only three light weight politicians. It is mainly because they are under the political leadership," said Kejriwal stressing on the need to have an independent agency like Lokpal which can inquire cases against politicians and ministers.

They also demanded that cases being investigated by CBI for more than five years against the president of political parties like Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Laloo Yadav and Jayalalita should be transferred from CBI to SIT. Lastly they demanded to form enough number of fast track courts in different parts of the country to trail the cases against 162 members of Lok Sabha and 39 members of Rajya Sabha.

15 ministers who are under scanner are:

Prime minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherji, Sharad Pawar, S M Krishna, Slaman Khurshid, G K Wasan, Farooq Abdullah, M K Alagiri, Sushil Kumar Shide, Kamal Nath, Praful Patel, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Virbhadra Singh and Kapil Sibbal.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 26 Jun 2012 08:00

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 400176.cms

Emboldened by the Shimla court order slapping charges of conspiracy and corruption against Union minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife, Team Anna demanded his resignation from the Union Cabinet. The group also saw this as a vindication of its demand for an independent probe into corruption allegations against the PM and 14 Cabinet ministers.

"Verdict of Shimla court framing charges against former Himachal CM vindicates the stand of India Against Corruption (IAC). We demand his immediate resignation," a Team Anna statement said.

Team Anna also said Singh should not be made Congress's chief ministerial candidate in the forthcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh.

"This verdict also shows that the evidence presented by IAC against the 15 ministers is credible and actionable,'' the statement said. Referring to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the group said she had termed their allegations baseless while the verdict had proved otherwise.

"PM has categorically refused to get any independent investigation done in these cases. This is unfortunate. We are confident that if independent investigations were done in these cases, most of these 15 ministers would be in jail," the statement said reiterating its intention to sit on anshan from July 25 at Jantar Mantar.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 26 Jun 2012 08:29

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=766758

Union Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife were today slapped with charges of conspiracy and corruption in a 23-year-old case by a special court which held that there was sufficient evidence to proceed against them, sparking demands for his resignation.

Charges were framed against 78-year-old Singh, Union Minister for Small, Micro and Medium Industries, and his wife Pratibha Singh under Section 120 B (conspiracy) of IPC and Sections 7,11 and 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) dealing with bribery and criminal misconduct.

Special Judge B L Soni, who had reserved orders on June 6, said sufficient evidence existed for framing of charges against Singh and his wife.

The case against Singh goes back to 1989 when he was Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. The charges are based on an audio CD that purportedly contains a conversation with IAS officer Mohinder Lal and some industrialists regarding monetary transactions for them to invest in the state.

They were booked in the case on August 3, 2009, on the basis of the CD released by his arch rival in the Congress and former minister Vijay Singh Mankotia in May 2007 and the prosecution filed the case in the court of special judge in October 2010.

Singh rubbished the allegations. He said the case was "totally fabricated" by the BJP government in the state which is "after my blood".

"This is a concocted, totally fabricated case. The CD is not authenticated. They have not compared my voice. I don't care for my office at all. I don't want to embarrass my party and my Prime Minister," he told reporters in Shimla when asked about the court order.

Congress reacted guardedly to the court order, saying it has to go through the charges against Singh, party general secretary Janardan Dwidedi said the

The trial in the case would not start immediately as a case filed by Singh in the high court, seeking quashing of the FIR or transferring the investigations to the CBI, is pending.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said, "the forensic science laboratory has verified that the CD is not doctored and the voice is that of Virbhadra Singh."

Mankotia said that it was victory of justice and truth and demanded the minister's resignation. "I have been fighting a lone battle and finally justice has been done," he said.

He said that Singh should have resigned on moral grounds when the CD was made public but he did not reign and even the Prime minister did not drop him from union cabinet but now there was no reason for him to stay in the cabinet.

The CD pertaining to graft case against Singh was also played in the court during the hearing. Singh was also purported to have demanded more money during his talk with the IAS officer.

archan · Post by **archan** » 26 Jun 2012 10:28

VikasRaina wrote:Sometimes I wonder whose side BJP is on ?

Their own. If such anti-corruption forces get too powerful, even some their own might not be spared. 400% dangerous onlee. Who is whashed in milk (doodh ka dhula) hainji?

Kaun hai jisne mai nahi pi,
Kaun jhooti qasam uthaata hai,
Maiqade se jo bach nikaltaa hai,
Teri aankhon mein doob jaata hai.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 27 Jun 2012 15:09

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... ire-within

This fire states the obvious. What the Maharashtra Government needs (like the Central one) is either a total overhaul of its ministers, some of whom are renowned crooks, or if that’s not possible because of coalition compulsions, the usual excuse, an urgent overhaul of its imagery.

A corrupt, ugly, brutal and incompetent gang of old men cannot hold back a young nation desperate to move ahead. It can only delay the process.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 29 Jun 2012 20:54

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 504954.cms

In reply to a question as to whether he considered Modi to be corrupt, Kejriwal said, "I don't have evidence which shows that Modi is corrupt, but at least Modi is protecting his cabinet colleagues, by not granting sanction for prosecution of his ministers against whom allegations were made, and also by not appointing Lokayukta for nine years. For the past nine years, government has not appointed Lokayukta in the state but only indulged in politics over the issue. If Modi government was serious about creating a corruption-free state, it would have appointed Lokayukta," Kejriwal alleged at a press conference here.

"If a minister or principal secretary in Gujarat has been indulging in corruption, who will investigate or inquire into it? There is no authority. This is a very dangerous situation that there is no authority to investigate corruption of ministers, high-ranking officials; and that too for the past nine years. It seems that BJP government of Gujarat has no priority for corruption in the state. It is free for all," he said.

"We have only two demands from the Gujarat government. One is to introduce Uttarakhand-type strong Lokayukta Act and appoint the Lokayukta promptly, and (second is) give back grazing lands to people of villages," Kejriwal said. "Land is a prime area where large-scale state corruption takes place. Government will aquire land, mostly grazing land and give it to big industries," he added.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 29 Jun 2012 21:14

Looks like AH movement was told to establish its psec credentials for starters.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 06 Jul 2012 05:13

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=767789

Delhi Police today refused permission to Team Anna to hold an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar here from July 25, contending that the timing coincides with the Monsoon Session of Parliament when it has to provide space to other outfits.

Activists did not buy the argument and said they will hold the protest only at the same spot or in jail while accusing Home Minister P Chidambaram for not being allowed to hold the fast.

In a letter to Team Anna, Delhi Police said during the proposed period of the fast, the Monsoon Session of Parliament will be on and Jantar Mantar will see a huge rush of various organisations coming to hold dharna or demonstrations who all will have to be accommodated there.

"This place has a limited capacity to hold people, and keeping in mind equitable distribution of space for everyone, each organisation will be permitted to bring only a very limited number of supporters. A gathering larger than the capacity is vulnerable to stampede and other security-related issues which will come up," it said.

"Keeping in view the position explained above, the permission to hold a fast at Jantar Mantar continuously from 25.07.2012 to 08.08.2012 cannot be acceded to," the letter said, adding Team Anna can contact police for a mutually acceptable venue.

Reacting to the police letter, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "official reason (to deny permission) -- Parliament in session. Are MPs scared of people of India? How far do they want people to stay away from them?"

"It is dangerous for democracy if Parliament and MPs start getting scared of people...Real reason is that Chidambaram is behind denial...Anshan (fast)will take place -- either at Jantar Mantar or in jail," he said.

member_23367 · Post by **member_23367** » 06 Jul 2012 23:52

Alas,such patriotism is not to be seen anymore. Wish we had such aggressive kids.