Supreme Court’s observation that the Government was not allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation to function independently in cases it was probing, has had little effect on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh is reported to have said that whatever action is called for, will be taken after he has studied the Supreme Court’s observations. The statement came after the apex court pulled up CBI’s counsel for allowing the Government to examine crucial documents relating to the coal investigation.
Many Congress and BJP leaders have been reflecting on Singh’s political career spanning 40 years. A leader said that Singh has never morally owned responsibility for what has happened in the past and he is not likely to do so now.
A leader recalls how the share scam was unearthed when Singh was Finance Minister. The scam by Harshad Mehta in the early 1990s, had sent shock waves through the nation and shaken the economy. But as Finance Minister, Singh refused to take moral responsibility for it.
During UPA-II’s regime, many scams like coal, helicopter and ISRO have come to light and fingers have been pointed directly at Singh. But it has had little impact on him. Sadly, despite SC’s comment that its faith in the Government was shaken and that CBI must be free from all political interference, Singh has remained unaffected.
Polls in novemberIJ
Speculation over the timing of the lok Sabha elections is rife again. While Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram have said that 13 months are left of the UPA-II tenure, many leaders have a different opinion.
A senior Congressman opines that if the General Elections are held as scheduled, the Congress will face many problems. As it is, the party’s image has taken a beating because of the telecom and coal scams. Even Pawar has said that the lok Sabha elections can be held any time.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Minister Mohd Azam Khan are already preparing for the elections. Targeting the US and China is nothing but Mulayam’s poll-warming gimmick.
Even BSP chief Mayawati has also told her partymen that elections are imminent. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar has started his Sewa Yatra. The BJP national president Rajnath Singh has also said that elections will be held before the due date.
All political parties feel that the elections will be held sometime this November.
For special status
The ruling the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha had raised questions on Bihar’s demand of special status. The party leaders had said that they will never beg for special status even though Nitish had demanded one for Bihar claiming that it is the people’s right.
However, now BJD has also started a campaign demanding special category status as well as status of a backward State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who had earlier created roadblocks in Nitish Kumar’s path is now following in his foot steps.
The JD(U) had collected one crore letters from the people demanding special status for Bihar. Patnaik is also doing the same thing; the Chief Minister has said that his party will hand over one crore letters to the Centre.
Patnaik also reportedly said that when he took over charge of the State, the coffers were almost empty and the State was on the brink of bankruptcy. Since the State is always borrowing, it is facing a severe financial crunch. His party had announced a 12-hour bandh on April 26. The BJD was agitating against the Rs12,000-crore package given to Bihar.
Reddy & charged
Many candidates who have been fielded by the Congress in the Karnataka Assembly elections are millionaires. So, the party should not face fund problems. But there are reports that since all senior leaders are either out of the organisation or the Ministers are sitting at the Centre, the State organisation is on the brink of bankruptcy and a demand for funds has been made to the Centre.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has been given responsibility of Karnataka election. Earlier, it used to be former Chief Minister, the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who used to work out a poll strategy for the party for all the States. So, Kiran Kumar can handle one State — Karnataka. Therefore, it is his State organisation that has stepped in to bear the expenses for the campaigning in Karnataka.
The dilemma
What will happen to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) draft report on the 2G scamIJ Will the committee be given an extensionIJ Will its chairman PC Chako will be removed from the chairIJ
The Opposition is demanding that former telecom Minister A Raja be called before the JPC. Mulayam has said that without calling Raja, the investigation can’t be completed. The Government needs to pay heed to the SP chief because without his support, the ruling party will be in minority in the JPC.
The JPC members want to know why the draft report has mentioned Raja’s name 27 times and yet he has not been called before the committeeIJ The problem is that if Raja is called, he will name the Prime Minister and Chidambaram. Pressure will then mount on UPA-II that both be called to depose to the JPC.
To override the problem, the Congress will demand that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former telecom Ministers make an appearance before the committee too. A BJP leader said that the party was prepared to bring Vajpayee on a stretcher but the committee would have to call Raja first. This has created problems for Chako. If he doesn’t call Raja, the JPC report will be rejected and if he calls Raja, the Government will be in trouble.
Allianceturmoil
The committee constituted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to look into pre-poll alliances, headed by Defence Minister AK Antony, is yet to start its work.
Sources say that there is dilemma over the alliance strategy, so the committee is not taking any action. A dilemma prevails in the States too.
There are reports that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is unable to decide the party with which it should enter into an alliance. Should he continue with the tie-up with RJD president lalu Prasad Yadav and lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan in Bihar or should he wait for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to part ways with the BJP.
A similar situation exists in Jharkhand where the dilemma is whether the Congress should go with Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha or with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Even in West Bengal, the Congress is dithering on a choice between the TMC or going it alone with an option for a tie-up with the left post-poll.
In Tamil Nadu, the party has three options— a tie-up with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa or DMK chief Karunanidhi or with DMDK founder president and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Vijayakanth. In Andhra Pradesh, the Congress is caught between YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy and TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao.
In Maharashtra, too, the party is unsure whether it should go for an alliance with Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
On a clean chit drive
The multi-crore Saradha Group chit fund scam in West Bengal which came to light a few weeks back has alarmed all political parties. In fact, the scam that brings back memories of the 1980s, has had all party leaders making enquires of the various chit fund companies in their respective States. Not only this, the parties also want to know how they are running the company, whether all the papers are in order and how it will affect the Government if the company belly-ups like it did in West Bengal.
The first party to take corrective action is none other than Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Since he is very cautious of his image, he immediately ordered an inquiry. Raids were conducted on 14 chit fund companies, 11 persons were arrested and Rs8 lakh seized. Though, most companies on which the raids were conducted were registered in Kolkata, they have thousands of customers in Bihar.
Even Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi swung into action. Eleven companies have been identified for not having their paperwork in order. People have been advised not to invest in these companies. And the Government has initiated action against these chit fund companies. The Uttar Pradesh Government has also prepared a similar list of companies and is planning to take action against them.
Interestingly, while all chit fund companies in the north and east are facing the heat, those down south are doing brisk business. Sources say that the reason stems from the fact that almost all political parties are involved in chit fund and co-operative business.