Bharat Rakshak

AjayKK wrote:

Muppalla wrote:per Swamy's tweet - the person responsible for the leaks is Anil Ambani.

‘Leaked tapes’ speak of corporate gang-up against Anil Ambani

The release of more than a 100 telephone conversations, allegedly of a prominent corporate lobbyist, by the Outlook magazine has given a glimpse into the close links between big business houses and political parties.

The conversations, which allegedly took place in mid-2009, seem to feature the who’s who of the Indian corporate world, going by the names and voice tones.

The tapes — if authentic — indicate that at least some in the media and legal circles felt that a prominent industrialist was trying to secure a favourable verdict in the Supreme Court, in one of the most closely-watched corporate legal battles. The tapes — posted on the magazine’s website — also allegedly show how the lobbyist tried to — and succeeded — in bringing together warring corporate houses to fight against the low-on-luck Anil Ambani.

Remember the Helicopter incident?
YSR accidented, Anil couldn't be accidented perhaps.

Airavat wrote:..post some data to back your claim of low spectrum charges leading to lower cellular charges. All that I've read so far points to multiple operators, competitive pricing, improved technology, and TRAI regulations as the main reasons for low charges.

NEW DELHI: It seems that the troubles for telecom minister A Raja are increasing by the day. The last of his defences for giving away precious 2G spectrum in 2008 at throwaway 2001 prices has come crashing with the release of Tata Docomo`s 3G tariffs on Tuesday.

Telecom analysts say it is now clear that Raja was wrong all along and had used the excuse that the service would be expensive for the common man to cause a massive loss to the exchequer.

Tata Docomo`s 3G pricing shows that in spite of paying auction-based prices for 3G spectrum, the company has priced 3G-based voice services lower than its existing 2G voice tariff. Docomo charges a paisesec for 2G voice and has announced 3G voice at 0.66 paisesecond. Even 3G data tariffs compare favourably with 2G. Docomo`s competitive pricing ensures that other 3G operators will be compelled to price lower when they launch.


In terms of cost per MHz, the 2G spectrum given by Raja at Rs 1,658.57 crore for 6.2 MHz across 22 circles was priced at Rs 12 croreMHz in a first-come-first-served basis offer. For 3G, the same companies have paid Rs 16,750.58 crore for 5 MHz across 22 circles or roughly Rs 152 croreMHz for 3G spectrum. Essentially, companies have paid 12 times more for 3G spectrum and yet, one of them still priced voice minutes lower than 2G services.

I'm sure there's a deep chankian ploy at play somewhere. We'll only know with the defined benefit of 20/20 hindsight 20 yrs from now. Am sure it'll be worth the wait only.

Sanku wrote:Yes the Congress Shills are working over time, three standard tactics

1) Every one is corrupt (dilute the scale, "take ser bhaja, take ser khaja")

2) Is the loss real? Perhaps its notional? Who can really quantify it.

3) Perhaps there is a silver lining, money pumped into economy (-- yes thats where the inflation comes from), perhaps cheaper call to the consumer (:rotfl:)

But such scams ARE good in one way, you can clearly see where whose first loyalties are.

AjayKK wrote:

Airavat wrote:..post some data to back your claim of low spectrum charges leading to lower cellular charges. All that I've read so far points to multiple operators, competitive pricing, improved technology, and TRAI regulations as the main reasons for low charges.

I am Shivs.sena reject onlee with no access to any e-conomics text to sit in judgement on such a comp-lax issue. But here is one link :

Tata's pricing of 3G dents Raja's 2G claim

NEW DELHI: It seems that the troubles for telecom minister A Raja are increasing by the day. The last of his defences for giving away precious 2G spectrum in 2008 at throwaway 2001 prices has come crashing with the release of Tata Docomo`s 3G tariffs on Tuesday.

Telecom analysts say it is now clear that Raja was wrong all along and had used the excuse that the service would be expensive for the common man to cause a massive loss to the exchequer.

Tata Docomo`s 3G pricing shows that in spite of paying auction-based prices for 3G spectrum, the company has priced 3G-based voice services lower than its existing 2G voice tariff. Docomo charges a paisesec for 2G voice and has announced 3G voice at 0.66 paisesecond. Even 3G data tariffs compare favourably with 2G. Docomo`s competitive pricing ensures that other 3G operators will be compelled to price lower when they launch.

Samajh mein nahin aaya. How could the Tata's bid aggressively for 3G, and yet price it lower than 2G. I guess, even the conglomerate of the Tata's have no sense of this stream of C - e-conomics.

However, Noam (1998, p. 774) argues that “firms may price temporarily without regard to fixed cost, but they could not survive doing so in the long run. Hence an auction payment will be reflected in prices.”

ShyamSP wrote:

AjayKK wrote:
Remember the Helicopter incident?
YSR accidented, Anil couldn't be accidented perhaps.

After YSR was accidented, there was rumor-mill that it was Ambanis accidented YSR. Whoever spread those rumors got YSR thugs attack Reliance stores/petrol bunks.

Rahul Mehta wrote:
There are 10s of posts in this thread not directly linked with 2G, but speak about corruption in general. Some posts are by ex-admin Shiv himself. So please dont blame me alone for discussing corruption issue in general in this thread.

AjayKK wrote:Using Google News archives, the tariff for mobile telephony is obtained. From that a chart is plotted.

Incoming calls became free in 2003-04.



http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9637 ... arison.jpg


From 1996 to 2007, the reduction in call rates has nothing to do with the January 10, 2008 scam auction rates conducted by Raja. But as per certain economics, the scam in 2G rates has lowered the rates!

Toh arz kiya hai,

Dekha Congressi blunder
Socha wah wah..Chankian wonder
Is kamaal par chalo taali bajao,
Amarinder Rajendra ...Dharmendra Jeetendra

amit wrote:
My point was and is that the initial spectrum allocation in the mid 1990s was done cheap (in terms of the subsequent market potential) and that's one of the reasons for low call rates before the current spectrum allocation.

ew Delhi: In what can become another controversy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was seen patting the back of tainted former Telecom Minister A Raja at a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) function in Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday.

Raja was forced to resign after a report by the government's auditor found him guilty of costing the country close to Rs. 1.76 lakh crore by undervaluing 2G spectrum in 2008, and circumventing the rules to award the spectrum to companies that he favoured, and who presented incorrect information to win licenses at throwaway prices. (Read: Who is A Raja?)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to respond, party spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said that PM's gesture sends a wrong signal as the Supreme Court is still hearing the 2G spectrum scam case.

"At such a time, PM patting Raja's back would appear like some message in itself to the public and wouldn't look good." he said.Defending the party, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said, "Personal relations have no switch off and switch on mode. Raja has been a colleague, investigations are in place and personal relations in their place."

A united Opposition led by the BJP has not let Parliament function this winter session so far mainly over the 2G spectrum allocation issue and has been vociferously demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter. (Read: 2G deadlock: Parliament stalled yet again)

niran wrote:that is incorrect, the call rates depends upon the Greed of Carriers, every one wants to earn and make profit, so to prevent outrageous call rates
competitors are introduced, the actual call rates are calculated from
-Number of subscribers current and future using the network
-the amount of call from and to the network
-add on services
-taxes
-network maintainances
-License duration that is the duration to make profit
-number of competitors (main reason for low rates)

-License duration that is the duration to make profit

Mr.squeaky Clean PM seen patting A.Raja at a DMK function,,, Is ir for job well done?

"Personal relations have no switch off and switch on mode. Raja has been a colleague, investigations are in place and personal relations in their place."

amit wrote:
For a mobile telco spectrum is the most vital natural resource. Everything else, equipment, network, marketing you name it is geared to mining that resource. So it is vitally important how much money you pay for the resource and for what duration (think again in terms of a mining lease for a finite number of years).

Spectrum cost is one of the biggest capital expenditure that a telco needs to make. Just see the kind of money the telcos paid for the 3G spectrum. They have to recop their money and within the license period plus make a profit. A growing market with new subscribers help but that's balanced with the low ARPU rates. Telcos have to strike a balance between low call rates and interest payments. To say spectrum cost don't matter in call charges is simply not true.

Rahul Mehta wrote: First, I only said that BJP leaders (incl NaMo, Shourie), Congress leaders (incl MMS, Sonia, Anthony, PC), CPM leaders, Maya, MY, LY are corrupt. I did not say "everyone is corrupt". And or sure, I have never ever accused 99% of Indians as corrupt. I have always maintained that corruption is due to top 1% Indians only.

===

Dear all,

There are 10s of posts in this thread not directly linked with 2G, but speak about corruption in general. Some posts are by ex-admin Shiv himself. So please dont blame me alone for discussing corruption issue in general in this thread.

AjayKK wrote: Samajh mein nahin aaya. How could the Tata's bid aggressively for 3G, and yet price it lower than 2G. I guess, even the conglomerate of the Tata's have no sense of this stream of C - e-conomics. As Hari Seldon would say:

I'm sure there's a deep chankian ploy at play somewhere. We'll only know with the defined benefit of 20/20 hindsight 20 yrs from now. Am sure it'll be worth the wait only.

RamaY wrote:One of the issue with 2G is that it is granted "First come First serve" basis, which is illogical/illegal. Are all competitors given the information at the same time?

Swamy39 Subramanian Swamy
@
@Sshankara : It is. Sonia desperate because she knows that I know her sisters have won over by ISI.

Bharat desh to apana hi dukhan hai
is ka bhakshak karna apna firz hai

yeah mere waton ki logon
zera jayb mi paise bharlo
Jo saheed haue hai unki
ankeh me maru mitti

Rahul Mehta wrote:
We must not spare ANY corrupt crook, except poor constables who collect measly few thousand rupees a month. My benchmark is - Rs 200,000 a year. Anyone who has taken bribe over Rs 200,000 a year in cash of kind (and evaded taxes over Rs 100,000 a year) must be cursed. And anyone who refuses to curse a big bribe seeker must be cursed too.Lets spare no one from bile spewing and insult-throwing-spree. If you insist on separate thread, that may be OK.

===

Dear all,

There are 10s of posts in this thread not directly linked with 2G, but speak about corruption in general. Some posts are by ex-admin Shiv himself. So please dont blame me alone for discussing corruption issue in general in this thread.

.

A senior IAS officer in the Union home ministry, questioned for allegedly leaking sensitive information, was on Tuesday night formally arrested after a broker from West Bengal having close links with him was apprehended.

The official Ravi Inder Singh has been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act and on charges of criminal conspiracy, a top Delhi Police officer said.

ShivaS wrote:No biggie if Sonia G sisters are in bed with ISI. Oh those Italians they just get to bed like duck to water but Never On Sunday !
We have Armed forces chiefs going after Kargil widows property
no propriety voilated here

Bharat desh to apana hi dukhan hai
is ka bhakshak karna apna firz hai

yeah mere waton ki logon
zera jayb mi paise bharlo
Jo saheed haue hai unki
ankeh me maru mitti

By Girish Nikam


There have been a lot of justifications coming from those Journalists and their supporters about the Radia Tapes being sensationalised, as the conversations are just part of the “gathering of information” which any journalist does, in the process of finding stories. However for any keen reader who has followed the first part of these tapes on Journalists, and who will read this second part, it is evident that what we see is more than just innocent “gathering of information”. What comes out is the coziness between the lobbyist, whose vested interests are obvious and the journalist. These tapes indicate how these journalists have been breaking the cardinal rule of journalism, to maintain a healthy distance from their sources and contacts, even as one goes about the process of gathering information from all kinds of sources and contacts, both respectable and not so respectable, to cater to their readers and viewers.

What is more interesting and distasteful and unprofessional is the anxiety and the willingness shown by these journalists(as evident in these tapes) to not only ingratiate themselves with her, but also willing to become a pawn in her scheme of things, knowing fully well, that her interests are partisan and not really in larger public interest. This is what arouses suspicion about the roles of these journalists, though admittedly no quid pro quo has been established so far. Though, it may just be a question of time before it is established. These tapes and the more which will be put out in the coming days, indicate the powerful hold people like Niira Radia and her clients have established over the top echelons of the media, including the owners, and how they go around manipulating it to their advantage. This is the second part of the tapes concerning journalists, not published anywhere so far, though the audio tapes are out in the public domain. Now read on:

This is a conversation between Niira Radia and Navika Kumar, Senior Editor, TimesNow, June 10,2009, 3.42.48 p.m

Navika to Radia— Hiiii Niira, how are you?

Radia to Navika—- Hiii, am fine, suno aaj BJP ki meeting hai, paanch baje(heard there is a BJP meeting at 5 p.m),

Navika to Radia—kis baat pe(on what issue?)

Radia to Navika— tu phone na karna kisiko pehle(you don’t call up anyone, firstly)

Navika to Radia—-Nahin karoongi, who is interested in what meeting BJP is doing now.

Radia to Navika— accha main paanch baje tumhe news doongi, use pehle nahin( OK, I will give you some news at 5 p.m, not before that)

Navika to Radia— accha bata dena yaaaar, main kisike nahin boloongi( tell me, yaaar, I wont tell anyone)

Radia to Navika—-nahin tum Arun Jaitley ko phone karke bol dogi na( no, you will call up Arun Jaitley and tell him no)

Navika to Radia— nahiiiin boloongi na(I wont tell na), bilkul nahin boloongi,(definitely I wont tell), promise.

Radia to Navika—– sure

Navika to Radia— Haan, haan , promise

Radia to Navika—- na, but Arun Jaitley is your friend na.

Navika to Radia— Who toh sab mere friends hai yaar. I wont call anyone.

Radia to Navika— Mujhe toh lag raha hai revolt(in BJP) hone wala hai.(I get the feeling there will be a revolt today)

Navika to Radia—- By whom?

Radia to Navika— Main tumhe paanch baje bataoongi( I will tell you at 5 p.m)

Navika to Radia— Nahin, nahin, bata de yaaar, main nahin kahoongi kisise (no, no, tell me yaar, I wont tell anyone)

Radia to Navika—- Nahin nahin, abhi main bata nahin sakoongi( no, no, I wont be able to tell you now)

Navika to Radia— arre bata dena yaar, main kisiko nahin kahoongi( tell me no, I wont tell anybody). Niira you can trust me yaar, itti badi badi baatein tumne mujhe batayi hain( you have told me so many big big things). Have I let you down on anyone?

Radia to Navika—- Just one second, ok, Jaswant Singh.

Navika to Radia—(ha ha) woh kya keh raha hai?( whats he saying?)

Radia to Navika— keh raha hai ki accountability nahin hai( he is saying that there is no accountability) basically he is saying that honest system nahin hai, feedback system nahin hai. Everything is brushed under the carpet, it’s a cabal of only five six people , and rewards are also shared between the cabal. Rajasthan was a disaster, no follow up. Basically whats happening, arre paanch baje se pehle kuch na karna( before 5 p.m don’t do anything.

Navika to Radia— nahin nahin, nahin karoongi.

Radia to Navika— aur basically there is a revolt that is starting in BJP. Against the top leadership, includes Rajnath, includes Advani, Venkaiah , whole group of people around Advani. Aur Jaswant Singh shuru karega usko.

Navika to Radia— Against Arun Jaitley also, or Arun Jaitley wll be part of the revolt?

Radia to Navika—- nahin Arun Jaitley, dekho na, Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi, Ananth Kumar, Venkaiah, yeh sab coterie hai na, Advani ka.

Navika to Radia— Good , good, good, the need some thrashing it out.

Radia to Navika—ya,Sudhindra Kulkarni, all part of the coterie na, they think there is no democracy in the party. Basically Rajnath and his own group, Advani and his own group and Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi and all, you know, have between them all destroyed the party.

Navika to Radia— and Jaswant Singh will put it together?(ha ha ha)

Radia to Navika— Maybe he wont, but somebody is leading the revolt na? to shake up the system——-

Radia to Navika—- Paanch baje se pehle na karna, usko pehle gusne de meeting ke andar, main tumhe batati hoon( don’t do anything before 5 p.m, let him first enter the meeting, then I will tell you) ——

Navika to Radia—- are you in town? I thought you would be holidaying in some nice place ya! London, Switzerland—

Radia to Navika— Holiday karne ke liye time kahan hai yaar.

Navika to Radia— People who can afford also don’t take holidays, mujhe bahut dukh hota hai(ha ha) (Both have a hearty laugh) Its not worth having so much money, yaar.

Radia to Navika— Honestly I will tell you, I also feel so.

Navika to Radia—- itna kamaya, iska fayda kya ( both laugh heartily again)

Radia to Navika— seriously, ha ha, I am going to have presentations in Bombay next week, yaar.

Navika to Radia— How boring, how boring, ah! Get a life! (both laugh heartily again) Ok, lets meet for lunch this week.

Radia to Navika— Ok, main idhar hoon, mujhe phone kar dena.

Navika to Radia—- lets do, what is today, Wednesday, lets do Thursday, Friday whatever.

Radia to Navika—– Friday karte hain, late haan,

Navika to Radia— Friday do baje( 2 p.m)

Radia to Navika—- Friday kar lete hai.

Navika to Radia— haan haan, perfect!

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Niira Radia talking to Ganapathy Subramaniam, Senior Editor of ETNow, discussing why the story which she has given them on GVK should appear in the first page of Economic Times, to which Ganapathy says it may not appear despite his best efforts, and Radia saying that if it doesn’t appear, she won’t give them any letters in future, and how the HT and Mint editors, Sanjoy Narayan and Sukumar Murlidharan were after her for the letter, and that they would carry it on the front page, and how she has missed an opportunity now, because of ET. And how in future ET will not get anything if they do this. Ganapathy asks how can Sanjoy carry it on front page, when “you know which side he belongs to”( implying he is a Anil Ambani man) and Niira Radia saying that “Shobna(Bhartia, Owner of HT group) has stepped in and told him(Sanjoy), that in this matter he has to follow what she says”( Radia implying that they have to take the pro-Mukesh Ambani line). Then she talks of how she has been in touch with the top management of Times group. The conversation then goes like this—— July 7,2009, 10.41.20 p.m

Niira to Ganapathy Subramanian— You know I have told Ravi(Dhariwal, CEO Times Group), If tony(Jesudasan, the chief media manager of Anil Ambani group) intervenes tomorrow, I have told it clearly— I had a looong conversation with Jo Jo(Arindam Sengupta, Editor, Times of India) today for almost about half an hour, on this issue and I explained to him and I told Ravi also today, I told look, you know we are in a fight(between the two Ambani brothers, on natural gas pricing issue, with Radia representing Mukesh Ambani), and you know we have certain expectations, and if you go by certain things its fine, (otherwise), then we will draw the line.

Ganapathy to Radia—- I, I ah, I have introduced the element of national resource in that, like that they all want to assure that national resource is distributed in line with the allocation policy, not in line with anything else. So—

Radia to Ganu— Ganu, thoda tum dekh lo isko, abhi bhi time hain na( to close the edition of Economic Times for the night)

Ganu to Radia— Yeah, yeah, they are still working on it, and I have told them(colleagues in ET) to keep a close eye on it, I, I will speak to them again. My only worry is that, I am getting the feeling that they (ET editors)are going to give it prominence in Bombay( edition), but not in Delhi.

Radia to Ganu— That will not be good.

Ganu to Radia— anyway, I will speak to them again. But if you need to speak to anybody, remind anybody, you can do that.

Radia to Ganu— Do you think I should do that?

Ganu to Radia— Yeah, yeah, one reminder, nothing no harm.

Radia to Ganu—(in thought)—- haan haan! But then they will know I know and I am keeping an eye

Ganu to Radia— In that case, leave it to me, I will speak to these guys.

Radia to Ganu— What about, what about the Andhra Government letter(letter written by then Chief Minister YSR to PM Manmohan Singh on the gas pricing issue, which is apparently in favour of Mukesh Ambani), I have that, I didn’t give it today, intentionally , I didn’t want to give it to her(?), but that’s a big letter.

Ganu to Radia—I think lets take that up separately.

Radia to Ganu— No, no, that I will give you only now. Yeh bhi toh main usko diya tah, because you told me to give it to her(Rohini, Economic Times).———- I was under the impression that she is working your supervision.

Ganu to Radia—- Yeah, yeah

Radia to Ganu—- She is a bit of loudmouth. So I would rather work with you, and understand from you, what you want, and work it that way.———-

Radia to Ganu—- Anyway, tomorrow, Manoj Modi(right hand man of Mukesh Ambani) is meeting M.K.Venu(then senior editor in Economic Times) and T.K.Arun( also one of the Editors in Economic Times), I am also going to have a separate time fixed for you and Supriya from ETNow, not Supriya, you have to tell me, whom you want to bring with you.

Ganu to Radia— OK fine.

Radia to Ganu—- Who would you like to bring? Because you are the Chief of Bureau here, who would you like to bring(with a lot of authority in her voice)?

Ganu to Radia— when, when, is it also tomorrow?

Radia to Ganu—- No Thursday.

Ganu to Radia— what time will ot be roughly?

Radia to Ganu—- I am hoping it will be in the afternoon at about 3 O’ clock.

Ganu to Radia—-sure, sure, let me find it tomorrow and tell you, how it can work out

Radia to Ganu— Ok, because ETNow bureau in Bombay will be briefed ah, and I don’t want them to be briefed and you are not briefed. So I am going to put that on schedule tomorrow, for day after.

Ganu to Radia— so wh wha what I will do now is in the next 15-20 minutes I will speak to the people concerned( in the ET desk about the story to appear in the front page)

Radia to Ganu— you call me and let me know when, because I will have to slot you and let me know who you want to bring along with you.

Ganu to Radia— sure, sure sure

Radia to Ganu— Its completely off-the-record ah?

Ganu to Radia—- of course, of course.

Radia to Ganu— I will be at the chambers.

Ganu to Radia— ok, ok, now I will— (gets disconnected)


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Conversation between Niira Radia and Shankar Aiyar(then Senior Editor, India Today),when the process of cabinet formation of the UPA II was on, May 22, 2009, 11.09.08 a.m

Radia to Shankar Aiyar— Hi Shankar(husky voice)

Aiyar to Radia— Are you in some serious meeting or what?

Radia to Shankar—No, no,no, I saw you on air(Headlines Today), and one thing I have to tell you, Congress has not talked about Balu or Raja or anything like that,right?

Shankar to Radia— That’s what I told them last night, I don’t know whether u watched, on air, I said I am little mystified as to how everybody seems to know what the Prime Minister has said, except, the two ministers and the DMK itself—

Radia to Shankar—- and Karunanidhi!

Shankar to Radia—-Yeah, I said, if the Prime Minister has said so, the congress party should come out and say that we don’t have, express it that we don’t have any problem with these two ministers, if so, come out and say it. If you don’t say, what are you admitting that we lived with these two corrupt ministers for five years and we couldn’t do anything about it.So, maine bola yeh sab faltugiri hai(its all nonsense). Tumhare(congress) apne ministers kitne efficient the, you have lived with a disaster like Shivraj Patil for five years—

Radia to Shankar— Sushilkumar Shinde—-

Shankar to Radia— Haan,

Radia to Shankar— you know what they have done is, they have only given a hint, again only through (Dayanidhi) Maran, they are talking to the wrong people, see whats happened is, all this messages coming out that they accept Maran and they don’t want the other two. The other thing is that Azhagiri is a mass leader and basically, there is Balu, Raja and Maran, that’s how it got settled. Azhagiri MOS independent, and Kani(Kanimozhi), Independent.

Shankar to Radia— Correct

Radia to Shankar—-So the view was, and Azhagiri’s followers and DMK leaders in Tamil Nadu said that, you know, he is such a senior leader, how can you give him MOS, you take Maran out of that, or you drop Balu, because Raja , they cant because he is a dalit.Which is where that, that Selvi starting intervening and started saying that I will commit suicide and I will do this, and so the old man(M.Karunanidhi, DMK Chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister) is under so much pressure. See Congress told Maran, that we don’t want to give any infrastructure portfolio to either you or Balu, which he has not relayed to Karunanidhi. Problem kya hai, sab darte hai, Karunanidhi ko kaun jaake bolega.Congress is not talking directly to Karunanidhi. You(congress) have to talk to him.

Shankar to Radia—see, see the difficulty is, I have met Karunanidhi several times and despite my knowledge of tamil, several times you know, I cant understand what he says.

Radia to Shankar—ok, yes, therefore he can ask Kani, who is a neutral person—

Shankar to Radia— —– I agree with you that they should talk directly to him. Kal maine us ladke, Vishal(???) ko phone karke bataya, who bola ki chintu(??) ro raha hai, sab log kyun Daya(Dayanidhi Maran) ko maante hai, maine bola ki kyunki tu frame mein nahin hai, woh bola yeh toh issue hai, toh maine bola ki dek woh, official negotiator kaun hai, declare kar do tum, sab clear ho jayega aur ensure that people know that Maran is not the official negotiator. Lekin then I found out that this English speaking party(Congress), only talks through English speaking people. Aur anyway Daya(Maran) aur Rahul(Gandhi) ka kuch business interest hai, toh this is going to be an issue.

Radia to Shankar— Whats the issue??

Shankar to Radia— Maloom nahin, software, software, kuch business interest hai dono ka. Jab yeh mantri tah(Dayanidhi Maran was Telecom Minister between 2004 and 2007) na , tab unke muh se kuch galti se nikal gaya(when he Dayanidhi was a minister by mistake it came out of his mouth)

Radia to Shankar— But it was Rahul who said he doesn’t want Dayanidhi there.

Shankar to Radia—- who? Rahul said that?

Radia to Shankar—(with emphasis) yeah.

Shankar to Radia— then toot gaya hoga, pata nahin( then it(relationship) must have broken up). Mere ko yeh, matlab, I am talking of 2006.

Radia to Shankar— No, no,I think it has changed. I know that, no no, I agree with you, the problem is that they have not said who the official negotiator is. That’s what Karunanidhi needs to do. He cant send five of them to negotiate na?

Shankar to Radia— he should tell— this is the best time to make Azhagiri and Kanimozhi the official DMK face in delhi. Bhai in dono mein, bhai tum negotiate karo bhai, who better than them?

Radia to Shankar— That’s right. But now Karunanidhi doesn’t know what’s happening, he doesn’t even know congress doesn’t want to give infrastructure portfolio to Balu or Maran, that’s why—- whatever he is seeing is he is seeing on TV. And on his(Dayanidhi Maran’s) own Sun network, he is carrying whatever he wants, that’s how silly it is. Can you imagine, tum batado apne Congresswalon ko,

Shankar to Radia— ummmm–I will—- meeting abhi chal raha hai—-


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Another conversation between Nira Radia and Shankar Aiyar, the same evening, May 22,2009, 6.44.49 p.m

Shankar to Radia— Hiii

Radia to Shankar— Hii, now he(?) is running a very nice ticker(on the TV channel, which one is not clear, ostensibly about A.Raja not being in the Ministry),

Shankar to Radia— yes, but why they are running it?

Radia to Shankar— I told her, I said, I know you should have a sense of humour, but I don’t know you are running a comedy channel

Shankar to Radia— OK Ok

Radia to Shankar—who toh ke rahi hai ki(she is telling), I got it confirmed from confirmed sources from Congress.

Shankar to Radia— Congress ka toh lena dena nahin hai, portfolio ke bare mein(Congress has nothing to do with portfolios).

Radia to Shankar—- I told her that, kuch bhi lage hue hai, kuch bhi, inko koi gyan nahin, pata nahin hai, kaun karva raha hai, wohin hai(presumably Maran), aur kaun ho sakta hai na? I haven’t seen him (Maran) at the swearing in.

Shankar to Radia—- Kaun—?

Radia to Shankar— Wahin, Maran, haan haan.

Shankar to Radia—- Haan, Boss(presumably A.Raja as it become clear later) ko toh dekha tah(in the swearing in ceremony, incidentally only Raja attended the ceremony on behalf of DMK as the DMK was still decided about joining ministry and who should join), par I didn’t see him(Maran).

Radia to Shankar— Accha, what did Boss tell you, when you spoke to him.

Shankar to Radia— No, he said ok fine—

Radia to Shankar— no, what did he tell you finally?

Shankar to Radia—- no, no, he said basically ki, asal mein dekho, his boss, the leader(Karunanidhi) also wants him to go to telecom because of all this whole controversy(spectrum scam which was already out in the open), it is back firing, basically on Maran. Leader(Karunanidhi) he says ki, he is willing, ki now if he(Raja) doesn’t become Telecom Minister it wil look ki PM didn’t want him. But Prime Minister has officially communicated ki, with Raja in Telecom is ok with me. So there is no issue, that is the only thing. Usme toh koi issue hai hi nahin. Jayenge, kal meeting karenge, dekhenge kya hoga—

Radia to Shankar— When he is going to Tamil Nadu?

Shankar to Radia— who raat ko 8.40 p.m flight.

Radia to Shankar—- and—whats the time the meeting tomorrow?

Shankar to Radia—- That I don’t know uska mujhe kuch nahin pata.

Radia to Shankar—Accha, dekho, Amma(Kanimozhi’s mother and Karunanidhi’s third “wife”, Rajathiammal) ja rahi abhi, Karunanidhi ke ghar pe, ghar pe pahunch rahi hai.

Shankar to Radia— Acha acha—

Radia to Shankar— I will find out. Ok.

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Another conversation between Niira Radia and Shankar Aiyar, less than an hour later, on the same issue, May22, 2009, 7.38.09 p.m

Radia to Shankar— Hii, Shankar

Shankar to Radia— Whats happening? NO deal no?

Radia to Shankar—Nahin, no deal, whats happening you know, this both Pallavi Ghosh(of NDTV) and Navika Kumar(of Timesnow), are a bit mad. You should take it off air, because the deal hasn’t happened.

Shankar to Radia—– Nahin, nahin, maine is Headlines Today(part of India Toda group) usko bola ki kuch bhi run karne se pehle mujhko pooch(I told this Headlines Today people, that before running anything(story) you ask me).

Radia to Shankar— nahin, nahin, yeh run kare rahe hai. Breaking news—

Shankar to Radia— Headlines bhi kar rahe hain?( Headlines Today is also doing it?)

Radia to Shankar— haan haan kar rahe hain, dono bhi kar rahe hai, Aaj Tak and Headlines Today(both belong to India Today group) are doing it, and the thing is that the meeting hasn’t taken place today. They are waiting for Raja to come back tonight and Kani is also coming back tonight(to Chennai). She left at 5 p.m, and Raja is leaving now, after the swearing in. He was nominated to just attend the swearing in( Shankar—ummm), kuch, kal saade gyraha baje meeting hoga(tomorrow 11.30 a.m will be the meeting) and then they will decide. Its very clear and Prime Minister has just reached out to DMK( Shankar—ummm), and they(DMK) said that they(Congress) have made a reasonable offer and we wil resolve in a few days. Obviously PM hasn’t done, you know, I know Kani just landed in Chennai, and I know still nothing has happened.(Shankar—-ummm), yeh lage hue hai unnecessarily, I don’t who is behind.

Shankar to Radia—- Theek hai, main phono chalata hoon(I will run a phone in on Headlines Today).

Radia to Shankar— ek aur baat hai, haan kar lo, ek aur baat hai, listen Sunil(Mittal of Airtel) and all are very active to get Maran there(Telecom Ministry).

Shankar to Radia—- dekho main pehle se bol raha tah ki( see I have been telling from the beginning, that) , tum Kani se bataya ki nahin ki yeh(Maran) badmaash hai, yeh misrepresentation karta rahta hai.

Radia to Shankar— Haan bol diya, aaj , aaj CM(Karunanidhi) ko bhi pata lag gaya. (Shankar— haan), See he(Maran) went and told Chief Minister that Ahmed Patel(Key aide of Congress President Sonia Gandhi) has asked me to stay back(for swearing in ceremony of the new cabinet of UPA II), so Chief Minister told him(Maran), then you join Congress(ha ha). He told him, see, you cannot attend the swearing in, only Raja can attend. (Shankar—ummm), so he(Maran) couldn’t handle that. Usne kal bhi confuse kar diya, nahin kal hi deal ho jaata(he confused them yesterday also, otherwise the deal would have been finalise yesterday only). Usne bola ki last time we did it in 2004, you should try for it now again.

Shankar to Radia—- Nahin, who unki taraf se batting kar raha isliye itna lafda ho raha hai( He is batting on their behalf that’s why so much confusion).

Radia to Shankar—- kinki taraf se?

Shankar to Radia—- Congress ki taraf se(ha ha ha).

Radia to Shankar—-(serious tone) he is doing for Sunil Mittal(Airtel Chief), na, he is doing that. Let me tell you when Karunanidhi was here, I was with him in Tamil Nadu house, he was very clear and you must know this (Shankar—ummm), he was saying that there was so much controversy on Raja, he was telling of course to Kani and she was translating, because there is so much controversy on Raja, I cannot let anybody believe that it was wrong. Therefore Raja will come back as Telecom Minister. (Shankar—ummmm), and he told that to Prime Minister also.

Shankar to Radia— Main toh, unko aane de wapas— (gets disconnected).


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Sriman wrote: @Swamy39 Well done for clearing PM's name, otherwise Rahul will consider this a godsend to take the throne

The development came at a time when the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report, had said as many as 85 new licences out of the 122 issued in 2008 were ineligible. The report also said issuance of new licences at a price fixed in 2001 had caused a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the government.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has already said it would look into the matter of ineligibility of new players. ED had also registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and was working in close cooperation with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

CBI is already investigating irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation and had seized documents from DoT. CBI had yesterday told the Supreme Court that it would complete its investigation and file a chargesheet within three months as it was examining transcripts relating to 5,000 calls (out of which 3,800 have been analysed), 6,000 files and 80,000 pages of documents.

The ED is looking at whether there was any violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the telecom firms spectrum sale. Radia was summoned earlier too but didn’t appear citing 'health reasons'.

Investigators are looking into illegalities if any in the foreign funding brought in by the telecom operators. Radia will be asked to explain all her banking transactions. Sources said her examination may take days.

SwamyG wrote:The Radia-Navika conversation is like two teenager gossiping. Wow. Good to hear Jaswant Singh is a clean guy (at least cleaner the rest).

SwamyG wrote:

Sriman wrote: @Swamy39 Well done for clearing PM's name, otherwise Rahul will consider this a godsend to take the throne

A few scenarios that pop in my head:
1. MMS is playing for the country. MMS thinks he can really do good for the country, and believes he is the best in INC to take country forward. And in order to get his job done he is ready to compromise and act or be perceived as a puppet of Sonia. It is like standing fools or evil for the greater good he can do for the country. Politics is after all science and art of compromises. So is ready to look the other way.
2. MMS is clean but is playing for himself. He primarily cares for himself. Ambition, name, fame, glory, Nobel XYZ prize ityadi ityadi. So he is ready to look the other way.
3. MMS is dirty and playing for himself. He stands to benefit, So he is ready to look the other way.

#2 and #3 might overlap. But in all scenarios he must be aware of what is happening. But if he is the MMS of #1, he cannot publicly come out - like in a talk to the nation on TV - and say "In order for him to even exist in the post, he has to look the other way". The critics, opposition party or experts, knowing fully well his position, will be forced to publicly take a stance against him. How can they publicly acknowledge the necessary evil.

Karan M wrote:

SwamyG wrote:The Radia-Navika conversation is like two teenager gossiping. Wow. Good to hear Jaswant Singh is a clean guy (at least cleaner the rest).

Thats assuming Radia is not feeding disinformation.

shiv wrote:You anti national you. I still have not made up the bribe money I paid to an agent in Maldives to become BR admin. I was taking money to allow shaheedized members to rejoin. Until you came along.

SwamyG wrote:The Radia-Navika conversation is like two teenager gossiping. Wow. Good to hear Jaswant Singh is a clean guy (at least cleaner the rest).

Jarita wrote: She turns up from Britain and then represents key business houses with the strongest relationships to the Anglo cabal. The lady has her fingers in many pots including the recent attempted ouster of Yeddy at the behest of the mining mafia and it's beneficiaries. Her father also appeared to have connections with the anglo cabal. She may very well be an agent (not a spy but someone out there to further specific interests).

A comment in general is fine but it certainly deviates if you got about bringing in hot-button lables - e.g. ABV who is out of picture in this particular case. Hence I'd suggest a separate thread to get them all crooks, but keep this one on getting the 2G scam crooks

Shekhar Gupta: My guest this week is somebody who I say with great pride that I followed in the footsteps of, Mr Arun Shourie. But it seems that you are in tricky company because A Raja also says that he followed in your footsteps as telecom minister.

Arun Shourie: This kind of nonsense that (Raja) was peddling—that he was only continuing the principles and procedures that we had laid down—this has certainly not washed with the Prime Minister.

Shekhar Gupta: Or with the CBI or CAG.

Arun Shourie: It is also very curious that on the one hand you force him to resign, saying he has done wrong. On the other, you say he is only following procedures. But I have faith that if the media is strong, the courts are strong, one way or the other the truth will come out, as it has come out in this case.


Shekhar Gupta: What is the truth in this case? Was he following in your footsteps or not? And what were your footsteps?

Arun Shourie: I will give you one instance. He says I followed the first-come-first-served procedure and he did the same thing and the media is saying the same thing. The fact of the matter is that he did not follow the first-come-first-served method. All this controversy relates to September-October 2007. In August 2007, there were 167 applications lying in the telecom department and he was not allowing them to be processed, saying the spectrum is short. And then suddenly, he contacts the real estate companies that he was dealing with while he was in the environment ministry (he was environment minister in UPA-I) and tells them, ‘We are opening shop here. You come and take licences.’ They apply. Suddenly he now has spectrum. He announces he will give licence on first-come-first-served basis by the date and time of application received—by October 1, 2007. Applications come. Suddenly he says no. I will have the cut-off date not on October 1 but September 25. So everybody who applies in between is cut out, without any reason, without any scrutiny. This is what (D S) Mathur, the secretary, objected to. Then he suddenly changed the basis of first-come-first-served. First it was time and date of application. Then he says the time and date at which the conditions specified in the letter of intent will be fulfilled. This is changed, and one of the conditions is, as the CAG says, in 41 minutes, bring banker’s drafts. It’s a press note issued at 2.45 p.m. that by 3.30 p.m., bring a banker’s draft of Rs 1,650 crore.

Shekhar Gupta: I must say Indian banking system has become very efficient!

Arun Shourie: Electronic. Not only that. It so happens that some firms already have the banker’s drafts precisely for that time and it is dated well before the change of conditions that was announced. And the representatives of two of the firms are sitting in the office of Raja’s personal assistant. They are not at the central registry where these are to be given. So, suddenly these licences are given. Even this change is not notified till January 2008. All this is happening in October. Then there are conditions which are laid down. Now the CAG has found that of the 122 licences that were given, in the case of 85 licences, those companies did not fulfill the conditions that had been laid down—that is first come, first served. Not only that, it then happened that (Raja) still did not get the type of spectrum allocated to Swan, which he wanted to do, which is one of the favoured companies. So he changes the priority list into lucrative circles—Punjab and Maharashtra—that is first come, first served. One change after the other so as to steer the licences entirely to the companies he was favouring.

Shekhar Gupta: Do you get a sense that the CBI knows exactly what has happened?

Arun Shourie: I have no doubt about it because in some cases the very officers who were handling the material, who were handling these manipulations, have testified to the CBI. That is to my personal knowledge, because the officers have told me what they have told the CBI. And if I may so, I have conveyed this even before, from the CBI to the higher persons in the government. Nothing happened.

Shekhar Gupta: This government?

Arun Shourie: The UPA government. The CBI, therefore, knows to such an extent that the officer has said, ‘Yes sir, these companies’ representatives would bring the note which he should sign on a pen drive. It would be put into my computer, a print taken and Raja would sign it.’ This detail the CBI knows. CBI knows the identity of the front companies that were used.

Shekhar Gupta: The front companies were used to get licences or transfer bribes?

Arun Shourie: Licences, of course, are well known.

Shekhar Gupta: And front companies for money transactions?

Arun Shourie: Yes, transactions.

Shekhar Gupta: Bribe transactions?

Arun Shourie: I would have no doubt otherwise; you are not doing charity here. The CBI knows the identity of the critical person who handled the money and it is a mystery to the other officers as to why that particular officer has not been questioned to this day.

Shekhar Gupta: He has still not been questioned?

Arun Shourie: He has still not been questioned. {Any idea who this person is?}

Shekhar Gupta: And if they talk to him now, he might tell them the truth?

Arun Shourie: I think so. These people are quite ambitious themselves. They just don’t do things for their masters. The CBI’s thing is that we have to take the government’s permission because he is of such and such rank. But what is the problem? You go and take the permission and if the government refuses, then that itself will prove the point.

Shekhar Gupta: So would you think that if CBI were to ask for permission to go and prosecute this particular officer or officers of that rank, the government wouldn’t even dare to deny them permission?

Arun Shourie: I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s a question of daring. I think now it’s a question of slight anger also.

Shekhar Gupta: The government is angry?

Arun Shourie: I think so. I will tell you why. What happened was there were fisticuffs in Sanchar Bhavan, because these applications had to be given to the Central Registry. To keep the others from giving the applications, musclemen were employed and they were beaten up and there was a lot of scuffle. That very day, the Prime Minister writes to Raja, saying adopt these procedures and so on and in the end he says, ‘please examine the question of auctioning the spectrum and determining its price in a fair and transparent manner’.

Shekhar Gupta: The Prime Minister himself writes to him?

Arun Shourie: Yes, he himself writes to him. And what does Raja do? In a letter drafted by a person whom the CBI knows about—Raja can’t draft that letter—Raja then implicates Pranab Mukherjee in the thing that ‘I have kept honourable senior minister Pranab Mukherjee fully informed’. So naturally Mr Pranab Mukherjee would have been incensed.

Shekhar Gupta: But Mr Pranab Mukherjee is not a fool. He is a very competent minister.

Arun Shourie: Absolutely. He is the keystone of not just the government today but of the whole political structure.

Shekhar Gupta: Absolutely. He has got goodwill across all sides and respect.

Arun Shourie: (He is) a very seasoned and mature person and he would not be condoning any of this nonsense. The second thing that happens is that in the affidavit which was filed by the department of telecom in Raja’s defence, it’s not Pranab Mukherjee but the Prime Minister who has been implicated. It says, ‘I kept the Prime Minister informed of all this.’

Shekhar Gupta: But this is an amazing government that a ministry can file an affidavit in such a controversial case implicating the Prime Minister?

Arun Shourie: I am actually astonished, because there is a thing called the transaction of business rules. It provides that if there is a matter which involves different ministries, then you must consult them. Secondly, if there is a disagreement, then collective deliberation must be exercised and the decision will be taken by the Cabinet or by the group of ministers as authorised. In this case, it was a matter of great controversy, not just the affidavit, but even on the auctioning, non-auctioning of spectrum, methods of allocation of licences and to his great credit, Chidambaram as Finance Minister repeatedly insisted on spectrum auctioning. The Law Minister, Mr Bhardwaj, wrote that given the implications of this particular matter, a group of ministers should be set up.

Shekhar Gupta: Even Mr Bhardwaj?

Arun Shourie: But you see, you have to give credit to the person. He took a firm stand, a clear stand on this.

Shekhar Gupta: No, I said Mr Bhardwaj because you would expect political flexibility from him—ally ko accommodate karna hai.

Arun Shourie: Could be, but in this case, he took a clear line under the rules of business, under the transaction of business rules, and Raja completely disregards that. So not just the affidavit, I think they had filed it on their own without consultation with the other departments which are implicated. And certainly the Prime Minister, I would be surprised. I would be surprised on both counts. If the Prime Minister did not know, then it would be a very surprising thing.

Shekhar Gupta: You think normally the Prime Minister would have known, since you have been inside the system? You know prime ministers have a way of knowing what’s going on.

Arun Shourie: Yes, there is a delicious incident. Yashwant Sinha told me that you must remember prime ministers know everything under our system. And he narrates that when he was finance minister, he got a message from the leader of a state, saying, ‘please meet me’. Mr Sinha mentioned it to Prime Minister Mr Vajpayee. A month or two later, there was a lunch. Nobody knew about it. He (Sinha) had gone in an unmarked car. Lunch was over and this person handed him an envelope at the end of the lunch. Sinha put it in his pocket, came back and when he opened it, it was about some cases the person was involved in or the others were involved in and these were arguments as to why these cases do not merit consideration. So when he met Mr Vajpayee, he told him ‘unhone yeh kaha, maine yeh kaha’. Atalji kept listening, and then said, “aur woh lifafa (and that envelope)?”

Sinha said he had not mentioned the lifafa. He had forgotten about it, but the Prime Minister knew. And he narrates several such instances.

Shekhar Gupta: But now you think the Prime Minister had also had it?

Arun Shourie: Yes, I think there is such brazenness in this and the CAG’s report is quite well-documented and apart from the CAG, the facts are there. And he is not just implicating Arun Shourie or Pramod Mahajan—we are nobody, but Pranab Mukherjee one day, the Prime Minister one day.

Shekhar Gupta: Only Sonia Gandhi is left?

Arun Shourie: Sonia Gandhi se to darna padta hai.

Shekhar Gupta: Raja talks about following first-come first-served. But he says he (Shourie) also followed an old price discovered spectrum and I also did that.

Arun Shourie: In 2001, tele-density in India was 3.8 per cent of the population. Today, it is nearly 50 per cent. At that time, spectrum was not short. Mobile telephony had just come. To encourage that, there was a policy. The whole sector had collapsed because of the fixed licence fee. So there was a transition to 1999. Okay, you don’t pay the fixed fee, you pay a share of the revenue. It saved the sector and led to growth. At that time, that price was discovered. In 2003, if you look at the figures, there was hardly any growth, 3.8 went to about 5 per cent (tele-density). Now, when you have this enormous growth, to say that this asset costs only that much, and a very interesting point also, the licences which were given were not being used in some parts of the country, northeast, I think Orissa or West Bengal, one of the eastern states and Kashmir also. So we said, we should move towards auctioning. We should separate licencing from spectrum. In the meantime, don’t hold up this process, go with the 2001 price. All this was done not by me alone, but by the group of ministers, by the cabinet.
{This ties in with the point I've been trying to make, the initial 2G spectrum was given cheap so as to kick start the mobile revolution. I think that was a very wise move on the part of the then GoI}

Shekhar Gupta: But he says that I have raised so much money from my 3G auction, nobody has done it.

Arun Shourie: Because he has been forced to auction it, otherwise he would have done the 2G thing again in 3G.

Shekhar Gupta: And that’s when Pranab Mukherjee took charge.

Arun Shourie: He had to. In the terms of reference of the group of ministers, the pricing of spectrum was included and Raja insisted this should be taken out. And somehow it was taken out and it could not have been done under our system without the knowledge of the Prime Minister. Of course, the Prime Minister has many other big things to do and was maybe not paying any attention to this but this is the kind of thing Raja’s people will now argue in court.

Shekhar Gupta: How good is the CBI? How good is our system for catching this?

Arun Shourie: The CBI is quite competent to do these things, but unfortunately it has lost the will to do it, because it has been manipulated by politicians.

Shekhar Gupta: Why is your party insisting on JPC? Is that a better way of doing it?

Arun Shourie: With great respect to the Opposition, I think this is not the right demand at all. There was a JPC on Harshad Mehta, what happened? Nothing. Bofors, nothing happened.

Shekhar Gupta: Pardon me for being cynical. Look at the BJP. Look at the state governments the BJP is running. Look at Jharkhand, look at Karnataka, they are among two of the most corrupt governments in India.

Arun Shourie: Well, there is a great homogenisation of political parties. I think that’s a great problem. If you go to Karnataka today and say what does X or Y party stand for, they stand for the same things. So, one should differentiate oneself by one’s conduct. I believe idealism is the practical politics today.

Shekhar Gupta: So you think overall, the action taken in the Raja case is a cause for some cheer?

Arun Shourie: Yes, I think in three-four cases—in Adarsh Society, in Raja’s case, in the Commowealth Games. Once again, a good beginning, but we must once begin and then persevere. I am delighted that action has been taken. All of us wish that the Prime Minister would exercise his authority more. Otherwise what is happening is what happened in Raja’s case, that under the umbrella of the Prime Minister’s good name, all this dacoity was going on. It is not a service to the country for a good person to be merely a good person in his own right.

Shekhar Gupta: Arun, always a privilege to share a walk the talk with you and a much bigger privilege to walk in your steps.