The king, rather raja, of all scams reigns unsurpassed. 3G and even 4G may be the in-thing now in tele technology but 2G would never become obsolete as far as scandals go. And the connections have always been quite clear despite an orchestrated maze of missed calls, crosstalk, wrong numbers and line disturbances. It is, therefore, no surprise to be told by ARaja that PM MSingh and FM PC were on the same frequency as he was. The ex-tele’con’ minister has been repeating this like a pre-recorded message for long.
The 2G spectrum seems to have enough bandwidth to carry as many mini-scams as possible. That the Jinxed, pardon, Joint Parliamentary Committee is headed by a devout Congman makes it a farce at the very start. Raja was the key accused and also the prime witness. But Chairman Chacko did not allow him to depose before the JPC, despite a clamour from other members and the media. The very honest MSingh did not deem it fit to clear his name by appearing before the committee when the PMO had so much to explain. The very articulate and accomplished FM PC, who is vested with managing public funds chose to remain silent instead of enlightening the nation on how thousands of crores vanished under his watch, not to speak of accusations about his own acquiescence. Really, with all such critical players out of its reach, one wonders who of consequence the JPC was talking to.
Still, in spite of so many missing links, a report was made ready. But in tune with past trends, this too was ‘tabled’ in the media, before being ‘leaked’ to Parli, a scandal in its own right. And lo, both PM and FM were exonerated, without even going through the formality of paying a ‘courtesy’ call on the JPC! Here is the highlight of the sham acquittal in absentia: Raja misled the PM! Wow! We are to believe that Raja was a very smart cookie who learnt the tricks of scamming with spectrum in record time while renowned economists and financial wizards like MSingh and PC very naively bought into Raja’s shady schemes in all good faith with nary a demur from their trained minds! Indeed, if not for conspiracy, the duo should then quit for their consummate stupidity! But we know better.
Small wonder Raja is fuming at this ‘fraud’ inflicted on him. But every Raja must have his day and say. For us it is wise to play devil’s advocate if only to land a few fellow devils-in-arms. The genesis of the scam pre-dated Raja’s entry into the telecom ministry. It was during Maran’s stint and at his behest that the PM and his cabinet cronies ratified the decision to keep the issue of spectrum pricing in the telecom ministry itself instead of referring it to a Group of Ministers as is the norm. A separate scam and a resultant CBI enquiry is on over Maran’s Maxis deals in which, incidentally, PC’s family members also figure. It is obvious who had the most to lose when Raja took over after some bloody ‘heir’-splitting in the DMK in May’07. Telecom and 2G were juicy bones of contention among DMK’s ministerial aspirants. Raja just inherited something deemed a ‘royal’ legacy! And how!
The media in fact had exposed the scam as it unfolded, realtime. I am sure this is the only scam in corruption history that was reported live! Of course, it can be argued that the PM and the FM do not read papers or watch TV but the nation did and cried foul. Raja’s role, PM’s clearances and FM’s clarifications were all public documents all through ‘08 when the scam raged. Still, after the May ‘09 polls, when our rational K wheeled around Delhi seeking cabinet posts for kith and kin, Raja retained his telecom portfolio. Probably, the PM was ‘misled’ into doing this too. Ditto with the many clean chits that he issued to his ‘innocent’ cabinet colleague who sold spectrum for a song in national interest! And when public pressure and Court strictures could no longer be held back, ‘innocent’ Raja was in prison in a jiffy, on a first come, first ‘serve’ basis! PM was now honesty incarnate!
Such betrayal is good enough provocation for Raja’s pique. But he has a point too. No scam means he is as innocent as PM and FM. But if there was a scam, as the CBI itself claims and the judiciary has confirmed, then the three are into it neck deep. All documents have more than one ministerial fingerprint that no Court can ignore, unlike the committees and consciences of compromised characters. That the trio has to sink or sail together is the stinking truth. That they will not, is however, the rude reality.
Almost all scams, from Coalgate to the latest Calcutta ponzi, have the needle of suspicion pointing to the powerful few who are running, rather, ruining the country. The rot is top down. And the thought that all of this can happen under the veneer of personal integrity and profound intelligence is quite dampening. One fails to fathom the minds and motives of these ‘responsible’ people! What do they really want? What more binding obligation can there be for a person holding public office than the trust of suffering masses?
Well, it appears some honest, honourable persons may have other yardsticks!
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