Two-G (2G) Spectrum Scam Tapes and follow-up

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 21 Feb 2013 10:10

ramana wrote:The joke is the arms agents are small minnows. The real whales are the politicians. And not one finger has been pointed to them.

He is son of former Congress MPs Shrikant Verma and Veena Verma

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 21 Feb 2013 15:17

How Robert Vadra made a killing in the Rajasthan sun

In this desert state, Vadra picked up piece by piece of wasteland that was strategically located near power sub-stations in Bikaner and elsewhere. And from the few examples at hand, he is raking it in. A plot of 30 hectares costing Rs 4.45 lakh bought two years ago now fetches nearly Rs 2 crore!

Not only that, but in some places he is practically a monopoly seller of the land. In Kolayat, for example, Vadra calls the shots. His companies own nearly 90 percent of the wasteland there.

Through his agents and companies, he directly bought hundreds of acres of land from small and big farmers in areas with solar power potential. According to sources, Vadra owns over 10,000 acres of land in the state today.

Only the state government – and the central government – knew that land around power sub-stations would be valuable once they announced plans incentivise solar power generation. So, logically, the state should have bought land first.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 21 Feb 2013 19:26

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Feb 2013 05:57

So Hyd blasts have chopped the chopper scam details? No more news?

nawabs · Post by **nawabs** » 22 Feb 2013 11:05

Chopper scam: CBI seeks joint probe under UN mandate

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ch ... te_1802867

The CBI team in Italy is exploring possibilities of a joint probe by Italian and Indian investigators into VVIP choppers deal under United Nations Convention Against Corruption treaty. The CBI has met officials of Italian external affairs ministry in Rome to discuss this issue.

A joint team of CBI and defence ministry is currently in Italy to gather evidences into the controversial deal.

“In an attempt to push for a joint probe or sharing of investigation details under the UNCAC treaty, of which India is also a signatory, the CBI team on Thursday met foreign affairs department officials of Italian government,” said a CBI official here in New Delhi.

The CBI team is also contemplating filing a review petition in Milan court after it rejected application to shareprobe details with India. Two law firms — Chiomenti and Grippo — have been roped in by the CBI to help in coordinating with the Italian authorities for getting documents and other relevant material pertaining to the deal.

Meanwhile, the CBI team also met top officials of Finmeccanica including its new CEO. During the meeting, the CBI officials requested the firm to hand over the report of its internal probe to them so that it could be examined in India and a proper investigation conducted, sources said.

It is learnt that the team was assured of complete assistance by the Italain-government controlled company.

The joint team, which is likely to return on Sunday, also met senior officials of the Italian judiciary including the judge in the case to request for assistance in probing the role of Indians in connection with alleged kickbacks in the Rs3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.

This was not forthcoming as they were told that the probe in that country was in a preliminary stage and the arrest of Giuseppe Orsi, chairman of the firm, and Bruno Spagnolini, chief executive officer of AgustaWestland, was more of a preventive nature so that they did not tamper with evidence.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 23 Feb 2013 09:01

Faking News
‎"There was intelligence that scam would happen, but information was not specific about the department" - Manmohan Singh.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 25 Feb 2013 07:25

I'm still waiting for these BRF NACxalite Aam Aadmi drones to actually call out dumb (Hazare) and dumber (Kejriwal). Those two haven't opened their mouths at all during this entire vvip scam episode.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 25 Feb 2013 23:55

I guess INC decided to Tyagied (sacrificed) the ACM like accidented!

CBI names ex-IAF chief as suspect and registers case

its like Gabbar Singh,"Thakur ye haath mujhe dede!"

INC "Tyagi thum tyaagana padega mere liye!"

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 26 Feb 2013 00:09

ramana wrote:I guess INC decided to Tyagied (sacrificed) the ACM like accidented!

No, no he will be let off after a decent interval. Like A Raja who was in jail for a bit but is now prancing around again. Tyagi may have got reassurances from the highest level, to stop him from singing in public.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 26 Feb 2013 09:15

RoyG wrote:I'm still waiting for these BRF NACxalite Aam Aadmi drones to actually call out dumb (Hazare) and dumber (Kejriwal). Those two haven't opened their mouths at all during this entire vvip scam episode.

While we don't hear from the commie Kejriwal, Baba Ramdev is being harassed by congress party.

His request to conduct a rally in HP is declined. It was declined even when they changed the venue. When a private party came forward to give his hall for the meeting, police sent him away.

In the early pages of this thread I explained the difference between BR and AH.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 27 Feb 2013 21:55

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 28 Feb 2013 21:06

Interesting the last journey of pope ( as pope)
is in white Augusta Westland VVIP helicopter
I think there are Italians behind that choice tooo

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 04 Mar 2013 22:04

Update on AP scams...

Man! This YSR family is termite++ of CONgi batch. Man! We need a honset, nationalist Govt. to untangle these dangerous forces and clean up the system.

http://tolivelugu.com/bjp-allegations-b ... 11813.html

Looks like Anil/Sharmila used benamis to 3 companies: Rakshana, Amoda, Benita.

Sharmila uses Audi Q5 car owned by Bendita.

The BJP made these allegations now provided proof also.

Ramadevi who is the owner of the car is also MD of Benita.

Ramadevi's husband Kondala Rao also MD of Rakshita, Amoda and Miracle Iron ores. All these companies are under the same address.

The GM of Benita Veerabhra Rao died suspiciously on Feb 25.

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 04 Mar 2013 23:11

Jab goberment gan$u tho kya krega pandu?
We are screwd man

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Mar 2013 08:28

Sagar G wrote:Fishermen's killing: Our naval guards will not return to India, Italy says

ROME: The two Italian naval guards charged in India with killing two fishermen while on anti-piracy duty will not return from a special home visit granted to allow them to vote in last month's general election, the Italian foreign ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said that India had not responded to Italian requests to seek a diplomatic solution to the case and there was now a formal dispute between the two countries over the terms of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea.

"Italy has informed the Indian government that, given the formal initiation of an international dispute between the two states, the naval guards Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone will not return to India at the end of their home leave."

This is pro quid quo for the Chopper scam bribes. India returns the Italian murderers and Italy does not release any more chopper scam details that indict the UPA bribe takers.

And UPA/GOI will pretend to be injured party with Indian media singing along.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 13 Mar 2013 19:35

Surprisingly this fascinating development has not been discussed or commented on, in the forum...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 939346.cms

Coal scam: CBI contradicts Centre's stand in SC

NEW DELHI: The CBI on Tuesday contradicted the Centre's claim that procedures were scrupulously followed in the allocation of coal blocks under UPA-1, inflicting a major embarrassment on the ruling coalition and leading the Supreme Court to direct the agency to insulate its probe into 'Coalgate' from interventions by the executive.

But the bench said the CBI had said in its status report that "there was no system in place for verification of vital factors like claims of applicant companies, their financial strength and capabilities before allocation of coal blocks to them".

Hinting at possible conspiracy in the allocation of coal blocks, the bench said the CBI also mentioned that "some companies have obtained coal extraction licences by misrepresenting their strength and capabilities".

When the bench said the CBI's prima facie view was that the allocation criteria was neither uniform nor based on a specified rationale and indicated criminal conspiracy, the AG said the government has filed a detailed affidavit meeting every question posed by the court and lamented that it was easy to allege criminal conspiracy. {we see the same sort of spin on this forum as well }

The bench said, "Much water has flown down the bridge since the six questions posed by the court initially. The Centre's counter affidavit raises more questions than it answers. A new dimension has been added to the issue by the CBI's status report. Even if we assume that the government has acted according to the rule, the CBI finds no rationale in the allocation of coal blocks."

But the bench asked, "If a decision was taken in 2004, why did it take eight years to implement it?" It also said that there were over 2,100 applicants for coal blocks but only 151 were given 68 coal blocks between 2006 and 2009.

"How were the 1,950 others found ineligible? Your (government's) counter affidavit is neither here nor there. Was there any short-listing of applicants, or it was just pick and choose and horses for courses approach," it asked.

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 129_1.html
Coal scam: SC asks CBI not to share probe details with govt

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government appears to be headed for a trouble similar to the one it faced in the telecom scam. The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to share the details of its coal scam findings with politicians or the executive.

The court is also set to examine the legality of coal block allocations to see if the declared policy was followed and if no criminality was involved. “If we find the procedure was not followed, the entire allocations will go,” the court warned, echoing the proceedings of the 2G spectrum case, in which 122 licences were cancelled last year.

CBI has been investigating coal block allocations to private- and public-sector firms over the past three decades. The judges referred to its report and remarked the investigating agency could not find a uniform policy in the matter. The scrutiny of files containing minutes of 34 meetings of the screening panel that allotted the blocks did not follow any rationale. Even assuming the allocating authorities had the competency to do so, the way it was done was “irrational and arbitrary”, the judges said.

I hope Man mohan is sent to Jail for this along with Jaiswal and others.

Such a judgement will go a long way in redeeming India.

rajsunder · Post by **rajsunder** » 13 Mar 2013 21:31

Sanku wrote:
I hope Man mohan is sent to Jail for this along with Jaiswal and others.

Such a judgement will go a long way in redeeming India.

you forgot the name of dasari narayana rao who was state minister for mining during the first UPA
rumour is that(available on various sites such as greatandhra.com) that he made quite an amount of money in the form of bribes.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 18 Mar 2013 07:44

This gives an eerie feeling that either MMS is being dumped or actually Pranab Da is trying for an armegeddon of the C-system.

New papers show PMO analysed and agreed with Raja’s actions before 2G scam

Will Manmohan distance himself from PMO officials as he did from Raja?

New evidence shows that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, far from being “at arm’s length” from ex-Telecom Minister A. Raja’s controversial 2G decisions, had directed officials in the PMO to “examine urgently” Mr. Raja’s letters outlining his intended decisions which eventually led to the 2G scam on January 10, 2008. Investigation now reveals that senior PMO officials had supported several of Mr. Raja’s acts on file, well before the 2G scam.

These very same 2G decisions of 2008 were later, in February 2012, declared by the Supreme Court to be “wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest apart from being violative of the doctrine of equality.” Mr. Raja, his senior officers and industrialists were accused by the CBI of entering into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the exchequer of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore of revenue, as per the CAG’s estimates.

Examine urgently: PM
A set of hitherto unseen documents emerging from PMO File No 180/31/C/26/OS.ESI, Vol. IV, in the possession of The Hindu, shows that the Prime Minister, after receiving written intimations from Mr. Raja on December 26 about his plans to manipulate the first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy, directed on December 29, 2007 that the letter be “examined urgently.” Based on the PM’s directions, the then Principal Secretary, PMO, T.K.A. Nair and Secretary, PMO, Pulok Chatterji analysed Mr. Raja’s letter, discussed the implications and listed suggestions — while agreeing in writing with at least four of his actions ahead of the 2G scam.

The new set of documents is at variance with the popular belief that Dr. Singh made weak attempts to caution Mr. Raja against his multiple illegal moves, but eventually failed to restrain him. File notings demonstrate not just agreement with Mr. Raja’s written intimations — but even a discussion on these specifications, between Mr. Chatterji and “the new Secretary DoT,” Siddharth Behura — nearly a week before the 2G scam.

On the Prime Minister’s directions, a detailed analysis on 2G was placed on file along with Mr. Raja’s six-page letter to the PM and a “Top Secret” note by the then External Affairs Minister (EAM) and Chairman of the GoM on Spectrum, Pranab Mukherjee, both coincidentally dated December 26, 2007. Mr. Chatterji, then a senior official in the PMO, on December 31, 2007, wrote on page 1/N of the file, in a “Confidential/Internal” note: “As desired by Pr. Secy., I have gone through the note of the EAM and the letter of Minister C&IT and an earlier note on the telecom issues. All these documents are placed below. I have prepared a comparative chart at F/X that gives various recommendations on each issue. The last col. gives certain suggestions. Pr. Secretary may like to see this.”

The PMO’s four-page “comparative chart,” which specifically deals with “Issues of new licenses,” establishes that the PMO was in agreement with the decisions for which Mr. Raja stands accused in the CBI charge sheet of April 2, 2011, the CAG report of November 16, 2010, and the Supreme Court judgment of February 2, 2012, which cancelled 122 licences.

PMO agreed with Raja
The PMO was in agreement that startup spectrum — called “threshold” in the file — be allocated at “normal” rates. This implies no revision in entry fee, a crime for which the CBI charge sheet accuses Mr. Raja. A related note by Mr. Chatterji, after his discussion with Mr. Nair, goes on to recommend that auctions only be held beyond “threshold” (startup) level. This supports Mr. Raja’s refusal to revise the entry fee or resort to auctions in his letters to the Prime Minister of November 2 and December 26, 2007, which were written in response to the PM’s letter of November 2, 2007.

Thirdly, the file notings endorse Mr. Raja’s proposition that the FCFS policy should continue, despite acknowledging on file that over 570 applications were pending, with a caveated admission by Mr. Chatterji on page 3/N Section 14, that, “Ideally, in a situation where spectrum is scarce, it should be auctioned.”

Finally, the documents not only accept Mr. Raja’s manipulation of the FCFS definition which changed the priority from “date of application” to time of compliance with the Letter of Intent (LoI) — “payment of fee, etc” — but document this illegal change in Column 6 of the “comparative chart” as a 3-stage process, mirroring the 3-stage process outlined in Mr. Raja’s last letter to the Prime Minister of December 26, 2007. The Supreme Court, the CAG and the CBI have held this to be a violation of the then existing FCFS process.

The PMO files do not comment on the illegal advancement of cutoff date though Mr. Raja had specifically informed the Prime Minister about the advancement in his earlier letter D.O. No.20-100/2007-AS.1 of November 2, 2007. At the time of our going to press, the PMO had not responded to a detailed set of questions emailed by The Hindu.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 18 Mar 2013 08:05

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opi ... 014438.cms

Great opportunity for SCAM... Imagine all the wealth. The ITALIAN SCUM can send this all to SWISS bank.

Massive imports of oil and natural gasBSE -0.23 % have exacerbated India's big trade deficit, which is a hurdle to the acceleration of economic growth. Light at the end of the tunnel comes from a technological breakthrough last week by JOGMEC (Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corporation ). It succeeded in extracting natural gas from sea-bed deposits of methane hydrate, popularly called " fire ice" because it is a white crystalline solid that burns. India has some of the biggest methane hydrate reserves in the world. It will reap a bonanza if technological progress allows gas to be extracted from hydrates economically and safely.

JOGMEC says it is contemplating commercial gas production maybe as early as 2016. Meanwhile China and the US have major programmes for exploration and experimental extraction. India, alas, is nowhere in the picture.

Estimates of global reserves are sketchy, but range from 2,800 trillion to 8 billion trillion cu.metres of natural gas. This is several times higher than global reserves of 440 trillion cu. metres of conventional gas. However, only a small fraction of hydrate reserves will be exploitable.

Methane hydrate is a mixture of natural gas and water that becomes a solid in cold, high-pressure conditions in deep sea-beds (where the temperature falls to 2 degrees centigrade). It is also found in onshore deposits in the permafrost of northern Canada and Russia. Heating the deposits or lowering the pressure (the technique used by JOGMEC) will release gas from the solid. One litre of solid hydrate releases around 165 litres of gas.

India has long been known to have massive deposits of methane hydrate. These are tentatively estimated at 1,890 trillion cu.m. An Indo-US scientific joint venture in 2006 explored four areas: the Kerala-Konkan basin, the Krishna-Godavari basin, the Mahanadi basin and the seas off the Andaman Islands. The deposits in the Krishna Godavari basin turned out to be among the richest and biggest in the world. The Andamans yielded the thickest-ever deposits 600 metres below the seabed in volcanic ash sediments. Hydrates were also found in the Mahanadi basin.

Formidable economic and environmental challenges lie ahead. Nobody has yet found an economic way of extracting gas from hydrates. Industry guesstimates suggest the initial cost may be about $30/ mmBTU, double the spot rate in Asia and nine times higher than the US domestic price. JOGMEC is optimistic that the cost can be cut with new technology and scale economies.

The environmental challenges may be greater. Hydrates have to be heated or depressurised (or both) to extract gas, and in the process a lot of gas may leak into the atmosphere. That will have climate repercussions : natural gas traps 15-20 times more heat than carbon dioxide does. Fears of gas leakage have blocked the development of shale gas in many countries , and environmentalists will strongly resist gas extraction from hydrates too. Controlling leaks from shale gas is not difficult. It remains to be seen whether the same holds true of gas from hydrates.

Way back in 2006 Mukesh Ambani asked for a national policy on gas hydrates. No policy is in place yet. Much research is in progress in the US, Japan and China, but very little in India. The first National Gas Hydrate Programme marine expedition to explore deposits, with US collaboration, took place as long ago as 2006. A second expedition has long been talked about, but has yet to happen.

Hoping that India can simply buy hydrate extraction technology after it is developed in Japan and the US will not do. Some of the biggest Indian deposits, notably those in the K-G basin, have been found in fractured shales, whereas deposits in Japan and the USA are found mostly in sandstone. So, the exploratory techniques being developed in the US and Japan may not be usable in India without modification. We must develop our own technical capabilities.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has long pleaded for the establishment of a National Gas Hydrate R&D Centre. This must not be a purely government outfit: private sector must be involved too. Simultaneously, joint ventures must be established with Japan and the US to further explore and establish hydrate deposits in Indian waters.

Today, even the few geological core samples of hydrates from drilling are being sent to foreign laboratories for examination and analysis. This is pathetic . India's oil companies have been forced to dish out lakhs of crores by way of consumer subsidies, but have not been allowed to spare even a few crores for a national R&D centre. That represents a terrible distortion of priorities, and must change.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 18 Mar 2013 08:15

WoW - Now Moily that is number 2 on this Monday. Now MMS is culpable in 2G scandal. Here is the Karnataka stalwart.

RAM TERI GANGA MOILY!

Union Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily could be in the dock for raising funds for his family controlled trust from a corporate giant when he was Corporate Affairs Minister.

Moily faces another serious case of conflict of interest as a top official of Reliance Industries is advisor to a company controlled by Moily’s son Harsha Moily. Even earlier, the Minister has faced charges of favouring Reliance in the KG basin case.

Veerappa Moily has been president of Kissan Sabha Trust (KST), which received huge funds from ITC from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget in September 2012. His son Harsha Moily’s email message to his partner Sudhir P clearly showed that Moily himself managed the fund from the ITC for his private trust.

“Sudhir — Dad just called and confirmed that ITC has approved the funding the operating expenses of KST (Kissan Sabha Trust) for the next five years. Therefore, for ITC to process the payments, we have to immediately furnish ITC all OpEx bills for Karkala & Chikaballarpur for the academic year 2011-12. Request you to do the needful,” said the email message, which was also forwarded to Moily’s official email vmoily@ kar.nic.in.

The subject of the message was Capital Budget for Kissan Sabha Trust for Funding. The Kissan Sabha Trust is a family-controlled trust of Moily. It was established decades ago and is running educational institutes and charitable organisations in Karkala and Chikaballarpur in Karnataka. In addition to Moily, his wife Malathy, son Harsha and daughter Sushma too are members of the trust.“

The total capital cost for Karkala school comes to Rs1.71 crore and for Chikkaballarpur school Rs3.10 crore. Total capital cost comes to Rs4.81 crore…. For operating the schools, our budget right now is Rs50 lakh for this year and will increase with PUC students getting admitted. Hence we may ask for a corpus fund of Rs6 crore to fund the day to day operations @ 8% per annum,” said an earlier email sent by Sudhir to Harsha Moily. The email messages between the duo talk about approaching the corporate sector for the requirements of the trust.

The person, Sudhir P, referred in this mail is Sudhir K Prabhu. He is also a Director in one of the companies run by Moily’s son and the Karnataka branch head of a Mumbai-based Chartered Accountant’s firm, which audits companies of Harsha Moily.

The documents available with The Pioneer show that Harsha Moily is/was Promoter and Director of four companies, whose business flourished after Moily became Cabinet Minister in May 2009. The account of one of his companies shows an unsecured loan of Rs6 crore from an unknown source. Moksha-Yug Access India Private Limited is one of the major companies run by Harsha.

The company which faced fund crunch after it was established way back in 2005, literally got “Moksha” after Veerappa Moily landed in Union Cabinet in 2009 as Law Minister, then moved to Corporate Affairs Minister with additional charge of Power, and finally shifted to the coveted Petroleum and Natural Gas portfolio.

The Moksha-Yug Access (MYA), started as a supply chain company of rural products, is currently concentrating on milk supply. The company, which was floated by Harsha and his sister Hamsa, handles more than one lakh litre of milk supply every day.

And here comes the Reliance connection. The website of the company claims that one Mr Ananth Ravi, President of Reliance Industries, is their Advisor.

“Mr Ananth Ravi advises MYA on finance related matters. He has led the Project Finance team of Reliance in the financing of billion dollar projects in telecom, petroleum and retail sectors. He was also instrumental in setting up the Reliance’s telecom venture, Reliance Infocomm operations in Karnataka. He brings to MYA, his vast experience in project management and finance,” says the company’s website.

Around 50 per cent of this company’s shares are held by US and Mauritius-based funds, while Harsha owns around 20 per cent stakes. Well-known companies like Bharat Forge and Jubilant Agro are stakeholders or Directors Board of this company.

MYA Financial Services Private Limited, Rural Crystals Educational Services Private Limited and MVH Holdings are the other three companies where Harsha and Moily’s other family members are Directors

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 18 Mar 2013 08:18

Muppala garu...

If you remember Moily was famous for asking/taking his own suitcase from YSR when he was AP observer for congress. He tried to help YSJ in the post YSR accidentation days.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 18 Mar 2013 08:20

birds belonging to same set.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 18 Mar 2013 08:29

This is like a movie or a soap opera
New evidence links Abhishek Verma to Sig Sauer's deals

Fresh evidence has been received against controversial arms agent Abhishek Verma suggesting that he bribed top military, police and Home Ministry officials as well as obtained secret documents to fix deals for leading US small arms manufacturer Sig Sauer.
The arms manufacturer allegedly employed him and his wife Anca Neacsu to procure deals for the Army, National Security Guard (NSG), Ministry of Home Affairs as well as state police departments.

While investigative agencies are still going through the evidence — received in the form of documents, e-mails and files last week by the Defence and Home Ministry, besides investigative agencies — sources said several files point to violation of the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Indian anti-corruption laws as well as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Sig Sauer did not respond to a detailed questionnaire sent by The Indian Express. The documents name several top officials, including of joint secretary level in the Home Ministry.

The new evidence also suggests that Neacsu shot secret videos from a hidden camera during visits to Home Ministry departments in the Capital and meetings with senior officials handling procurement of small arms as “proof” of their high connections.

Verma and Neacsu are already in jail facing charges under the OSA and of forgery. The new batch of information will add to the ongoing CBI probe into their dealings in allegedly receiving and paying commissions to swing arms deals.
The new allegations specifically are:

* The Sig group conspired with Verma and his associates to sell arms to India in violation of the FCPA and Indian laws. A JV called Sig Sauer Asia LLC was created with the sole purpose of paying 10 per cent commission on all arms deals made with the Defence and Home ministries in India.

* Home Ministry procurement officials, senior police officers and bureaucrats received favours to swing deals, in the guise of foreign tours, dinners and site visits.

* Illegal videography and photography was carried out by Neacsu and her associates in sensitive locations as “proof” of their high connections. This included the Home Ministry.

What a week to start for India. The weekend was beautiful with NaMo's fantastic speech. The soothing music is being replaced by the noisy ones.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 20 Mar 2013 05:09

For Kanimozhi, an ED chargesheet could mean a fresh jail term
The case against M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, who is among the accused in the 2G spectrum scandal, has so far been making slow progress, with the Enforcement Directorate yet to chargesheet her and former telecom minister A Raja under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

If and when that chargesheet is filed, Kanimozhi could potentially face a second jail term. It could also lead to attachment of her properties and those of DMK-backed Kalaignar TV, say ED officials. Once charged under the stringent act, getting bail is difficult and punishment severe: section 4 prescribes rigorous imprisonment of seven years. Besides, the ED can attach properties identified as "proceeds of crime".

With Karunanidhi having given the UPA until Thursday to adopt a resolution on Lankan Tamils in Parliament, sources predicted negotiations, and among the issues they expected to be discussed was the chargesheet. ED officials , meanwhile,say it is in its final draft and likely to be filed early next month.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/for-k ... rm/1090549

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Mar 2013 20:57

I think just like Habeus Corpus for criminal cases which demand a chargesheet within 72 hours of an arrest there is a need to extend the provisons to civil case also to preclude the non-chargesheeting of arrested politicians.
How come the active judciary does not take note of this grave lapse?

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 25 Mar 2013 20:14

Published on Mar 25, 2013
Chennai: Setback for DMK, CBI finally nails Karuna's family

Chennai, March 25: In a major setback for DMK and its supremo M Karunanidhi's family members, the investigative agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seems to have nailed its top leaders in connection with the illegal car import case.

After its massive raids in across Chennai and Tamil Nadu, the CBI reportedly have found evidence which shows that the officials of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) allegedly covered up the illegal car imports of different members of DMK first family members.

According to sources, CBI raids revealed that the accused DRI officials have been trying to hide information regarding the usages of luxury import cars by MK Alagiri, MK Stalin and his son Udayanidhi.

CBI raids reveals that while Udayanidhi has a Toyota Estima, Alagiri and Stalin also are suspected to be using illegally imported cars violating import duty rules.

Sources reported that the investigating agency is investigating a BMW X5, a Toyota Lexus and a Prado SUV being used by Alagiri, Stalin and their families.

The latest revelations in the case might have boost up the probe by the CBI which had faced tremendous criticism following its sudden raid at Stalin's house. The agency was criticised as the raid was conducted within 48-hours of DMK's move of pulling out support from Congress-led UPA government.

Beginning from Prime Minister Manmmohan Singh to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram slammed the CBI which later was forced to call off the raid. Now, with these new revelations against the DMK first family in Chennai, the CBI seems to have regained its lost position.

rajeshkathiriya · Post by **rajeshkathiriya** » 02 Apr 2013 12:56

Yashwant writes to PM, asks him to appear before JPC on 2G

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/ya ... 39004.html

Citing former Telecom Minister A Raja's communication to JPC on 2G scam, BJP member in the panel Yashwant Sinha on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to appear before the committee to "clear your name" following allegations levelled against him.

In his letter, Sinha said any hesitation on his part to appear before JPC will prove that he has "something to hide".

Sinha pointed out that when Parliament's Public Accounts Committee was examining the CAG report on the 2G scam, the Prime Minister had publicly offered to appear before it to enable the committee reach the "right conclusions".

"You have not made a similar offer to the JPC despite the fact that many members of the JPC have publicly demanded that you appear before the JPC," Sinha said.

He claimed that in his communications to the JPC, Raja has levelled "serious allegations" against the Prime Minister and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

"I think it is in your own personal interest to appear before the JPC and clear your name. You may also suggest the Finance Minister to make a similar offer," he wrote.

Sinha asked the Prime Minister to request JPC Chairman P C Chacko to call Raja as a witness before the committee.

"Any hesitation on your part will only confirm the feeling that you have something to hide," the BJP leader said.

In a separate letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Sinha recalled Raja's request to her to be called before JPC as a witness.

He said despite several letters, Chacko has not entertained the request.

"If you also remain indifferent to the goings on, then Parliament of India will undoubtedly suffer a great setback," he said.

Earlier in the day, Sinha hit out at Chacko for not calling Raja as a witness and alleged that the panel could be used to "conceal the truth" in the 2G scam rather than expose it.

He also dubbed the decision of not calling Raja as a "serious omission."

BJP and Left members in the Committee have been backing Raja's plea that he be allowed to depose before the panel.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Apr 2013 21:03

So INC's P Chacko is obstructing the JPC panel investigation by refusing to call witnesses and lead to this extreme step by Yashwant Sinha.

X-Post...

varunkumar wrote:
RamaY wrote:Whole AAP, not just Khuljiwala, looks like 100% commie outfit.
This whole AAP business should be studied as coup of left-wingers against right-wingers. It is about how an anti-corruption movement against a leftist-liberal-anti-Hindu Government started by right-wingers who were grounded in native nationalism (Baba Ramdev with support of RSS and BJP) was deftly hijacked midway by leftists-liberals-anarchists-NGO types hostile to native nationalism and fuelled by foreign funding.

The movement began as a popular expression of disgust against corruption, the right-wing leadership that organized it got beaten by police and fled, a benign personality in the form of Anna Hazare suddenly started a parallel movement of anti-corruption behind which people rallied, and when the movement got momentum, Hazare stepped back, and suddenly you found the leftist-liberal-NGO types thrust into leadership position.

It is a coup of leftist-liberals against right-wingers with the connivance of Congress, and the role of Anna Hazare in this transition has to be focused upon. I heard a Congressman boast how cleverly they managed to squander the energy of the people against Congress for corruption and put their own people in charge of the movement.

Add the Delhi gang rape and how it diverted the attention of Delhi people away from the 2G scam.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 03 Apr 2013 16:20

Phone tap reveals Raja told Radia PC got ‘a lot of money’

http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/pho ... t-of-money

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 10 Apr 2013 01:53

So Rajiv Gandhi's Swedish connections go long and deep even when he was not in politics. Wonder if his being an agent for Saab for Viggen deal for IAF in the 1970s for DPSA which went to Jaguar had something to do with the latter Bofors scam?

I think all the dilli-billi children go to Londonistan to get trained in scams and develop links.

And his brother Sanjay was representing the winner BAC's Jaguar! True the deal was closed later in 1978 but who knows.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 13 Apr 2013 17:02

CBI, Centre at loggerhead in SC over Coalgate scam findings

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 13 Apr 2013 21:36

How can CBI be at any variance with center? This is perhaps a new low at the cost of Indian exchequer even w.r.t. usually well known political twists and turns. So who is CBI working for other than the center? Italian Beehive?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Apr 2013 01:42

I think in controversial threads like this the content has to be posted for due to DDmitis there is confusion.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 14 Apr 2013 20:02

Coalgate: Congress abuse of CBI getting more brazen

The striking thing about the UPA government’s alleged “vetting” of the CBI report on the Coalgate scam is the sense that it conveys of how brazen the Congress has become in abusing the investigating agency to cover up corruption charges.

If the Law Minister and the Prime Minister’s Office can intervene so blatantly to vet the CBI’s probe status report that the agency filed before the Supreme Court, it points to a disquieting lack of concern about propriety in so serious a matter, virtually under the Supreme Court’s nose.

Of course, CBI director Ranjit Kumar Sinha, during his interaction with the media on Saturday, did not validate the news report of Saturday that made the sensational allegation. But neither would he deny the report.

“The reports are speculative,” Sinha told mediapersons. “We are yet to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court.” When he was pointedly asked if Law Minister Ashwani Kumar had summoned him and his team probing the Rs 1.86 lakh crore scam in the allocation of coal blocks to private companies, Sinha refused to comment, and said he would disclose everything before the Supreme Court.
Will Ashwani Kumar be made the fall guy? PIB

Will Ashwani Kumar be made the fall guy? PIB

Other news reports on Sunday suggest that the CBI is of two minds on what it will tell the Supreme Court, which has sought an affidavit on the matter.

The Times of India claims, citing unidentified sources, that Sinha has “refused to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court on April 26 to support (the) government’s claim that… Ashwani Kumar did not vet the report”. Such a move, it added, would give the UPA additional cause for concern.

The CBI chief, it claimed, had been resisting the suggestion from the UPA government that he should deny that he had been called to the Law Ministry to discuss the contents of the status report. If he had indeed been called to the Law Ministry – and the report had indeed been vetted – Sinha would be committing perjury if he denied it in his affidavit.

In March, the Supreme Court bench that is hearing the case of alleged corruption in the allocation of coal blocks to private companies had asked the government if there had been political interference in the CBI investigation. Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval had told the court, in a tone of self-righteousness, that the report was “meant for the eyes of the Judges only”, and that the “classified document” was intended only for the court to be informed of the progess of the investigation. Even so, the court had sought a personal affidavit from the CBI chief.

Already, an effort is under way to make Ashwani Kumar the “fall guy” in the episode in order to limit the damage to the UPA government, which is sure to face Opposition heat when Parliament reconvenes.

Media reports suggest that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was unimpressed by Ashwani Kumar’s defence of his conduct – that what he did was standard operating procedure – and was in fact livid at his “indiscretion”.

Other reports point out that Congress leaders are “perturbed” that the Law Minister chose to be involved in the drafting of the status report. One report quoted a senior government functionary of Ashwani Kumar as saying: “He should have kept a distance.”

All this reeks of an effort to ring-fence Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from the spreading fire of the corruption scandal. The scam has its roots in a time when Manmohan Singh was also handling the Coal Ministry portfolio, which is why the allegation that the Prime Minister’s Office too pre-screened the report is so easy to believe.

Of course, it didn’t need the latest revelation to know that the Congress uses the CBI as a political weapon – to turn up the heat (or turn it down) on corruption cases, depending on who is implicated, and in a manner that advances the Congress’ political interests. The most recent manifestation of the “Congress Bureau of Intimidation” at work came when the CBI ordered raids on DMK leader MK Stalin in Chennai the very day after the DMK withdrew support to the UPA government. And when it whipped up a furore, it called off the raids forthwith.

It was, in a sense, a double-fault, which indicated that the raids could be ordered and reined in depending on just political whim.

But even by the standards of such egregious abuse of the CBI, for the Law Minister and the PMO to intervene so blatantly in the investigation into one of India’s biggest corruption cases, directly under the Supreme Court’s eye, points to the brazenness that today characterises such action.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 18 Apr 2013 03:51

A picture is worth a thousand words

Sushupti wrote:Isn't it enough reason to dislodge UPA for next 30 years?

MMS is matching sub-Saharan Africa's poverty numbers.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 18 Apr 2013 07:20

^^^^
MMS is doing his bit as for the first time since 1981 there is a point drop. The worst is BJP government from 2002 to 2005 where there is 4 point upward jump in poverty. Their rabid massive capitalist mindset combined with their parorchial communal behavior is the reason for the upward jump of poverty.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 19 Apr 2013 04:35

Good chance Congress may flunk this coming election. First they exonerated Tytler for Sikh genocide and now JPC has cleared PM and PC of any wrongdoing in 2G.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 19 Apr 2013 10:54

I absolutely adore TVR Shenoy.

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/the-c ... 130418.htm

The CBI now has Dr Singh's ministry at its mercy

'In over 47 years as a journalist in Delhi [ Images ] I have never seen a Union Cabinet that is scared of the CBI, it has always been the other way.

But whether by happenstance or through deliberate design, the CBI now has the Manmohan Singh [ Images ] ministry at its mercy,' reveals T V R Shenoy.
...................................
The Union law minister has every right to talk to the law officers -- the attorney general, the solicitor general, the additional solicitor general -- in the course of his duties. But the CBI does not fall within his purview; it reports to V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the prime minister's office. So, why would the Union law minister want to talk to the CBI director?

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha played by the book. The CBI took an appointment with the Union law minister for eleven o'clock on the scheduled date. The concerned files, regarding the statement to be made to the Supreme Court, were registered in the logbook (a government regulation that is occasionally ignored). The CBI director did not go alone to the Union law minister's office, but was accompanied by other officers.

Whether it was done deliberately or if the CBI decided to go strictly by the rules is a matter of opinion. The intent is moot; all that is relevant is that there is a clear trail from Ranjit Sinha's office to that of Ashwani Kumar.
.......................................

There were, reportedly, two law officers present when their Lordships posed the question. The additional solicitor general, completely innocently, denied that any such meeting had taken place between the CBI director and the Union law minister.

But the attorney general was also present. And the rumour mill has it that this law officer had also been there in the Union law minister's office when the CBI director arrived with his colleagues.

If the attorney general were there his silence in the Supreme Court suddenly becomes a very serious matter. What happens if the senior law officer misleads the Supreme Court, even by silence?

Their Lordships reportedly did not question the attorney general on that occasion. Instead, they asked the CBI director for an affidavit stating that there had been no interference by the political executive.
..............................................

The real day of judgment is Tuesday, April 30, when the CBI director puts his affidavit before the Supreme Court.

Ranjit Sinha, according to his colleagues, is a 'go-by-the-book' officer. If true, he will not deny that the Union law minister ordered a meeting to discuss the Coal Scam investigation. He cannot deny it in any case; the appointment books and log files will tell their own tale.

The fact that files being taken out of the CBI office was registered in the logs suggests that a printed copy was taken to the Union law ministry. Did Ashwani Kumar, or anyone else present on the occasion, demand changes? If so, were notations made on the files? It is an important question because those written changes would be proof of political pressure.

The Union law minister -- possibly the attorney general too -- will be in the dock if the CBI director tells the Supreme Court that they met to discuss the Coal Scam probe. But the damage may not be limited there.

What happens if their Lordships ask the CBI to present both the report that it prepared on its own as well as the report carrying the changes, if any, suggested in that meeting with Ashwani Kumar? Those changes in themselves will point fingers
...................................................

Ashwani Kumar's blatant interference -- at whose directive? -- may bring down the ministry a little sooner than expected, and with the stigma of Coalgate rather than the halo of Karnataka around the Congress.

'The cover-up,' goes a saying from the Watergate scandal 40 years ago, 'was worse than the crime.' The Congress should ponder over that.

An earthquake has just shaken Delhi. Tremors of another kind will shake Parliament come April 22. And the quakes emanating from the Supreme Court on April 30 could bring this ministry down much sooner than anticipated.

Let us hope that the SC gets to the bottom of this and puts all the Koyla chors in the dock.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 20 Apr 2013 07:09

2G JPC: Will SP, BSP bail UPA out this time?

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 20 Apr 2013 13:05

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/karunanidhi-on-jpc-how-can-a-minister-mislead-the-pm-712562.html

DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Friday took a dig at the draft JPC report which accuses former Telecom Minister A Raja of “misleading” the Prime Minister on the 2G spectrum allocation issue.

“How can one believe that a Minister misled the Prime Minister?” Karunanidhi said reacting to reports in this regard.

Asked whether he would give any advice to Raja on the issue, Karunanidhi told reporters here, “He was a minister of the department. I don’t have to give him any advice that he doesn’t know. Justice should be given in the right way.”