My Opinion

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb in Agartala, went up to the former CM Manik Sarkar, seated between BJP stalwarts L. K. Advani and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, shook hands with him and exchanged pleasantries. He then escorted Manik Sarkar to the steps of the dais, as the latter wanted to leave.

Manik Sarkar, known as India’s poorest chief minister, ruled the state for 25 years. There was no corruption charge against him, nor did he change his lifestyle. At the time of contesting elections this year, he had only Rs 2000 in his bank account, and the day the results were announced, he tendered his resignation to the Governor and vacated his official residence. Since he had no house of his own, Sarkar and his wife have been staying in a room inside their party office.

Manik Sarkar is a shining example of honesty and probity in Indian public life. He should be respected for his austere lifestyle. Other politicians should learn from him, because in most of the cases, when politicians lose elections, they refuse to vacate their official bungalows. Prime Minister Modi publicly accorded respect to Manik Sarkar and personally escorted him from the dais. This is another shining example of the greatness of our democracy.

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On Wednesday night, Telugu Desam Party supremo and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu announced that his two ministers at the Centre would tender their resignations because BJP has “betrayed” him by not giving special status to AP. Naidu spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over telephone on Thursday, and soon afterwards, both the TDP ministers at the Centre went to the PM’s residence to hand over their resignation letters.

The political storm had been brewing since long. TDP MPs had been staging protests inside Parliament since the last four days demanding special status. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday made it clear that there was no provision in law to grant special status to any state. Only in the case of Northeastern states and the three hilly states, the Centre was providing 90 per cent share in all centrally-sponsored schemes. Jaitley said that the Centre was ready to give special assistance to AP through a special purpose vehicle, but share in taxes cannot be enhanced.

We should understand two points from this development.

One, the BJP is slowly and surely spreading its wings in AP, but it is still not in a position to contest elections on its own. The party had entered into an electoral alliance with Chandrababu Naidu in 2014, but now that the YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has emerged as a strong political force, BJP leaders have started talks with Reddy’s party to forge an alliance for the Lok Sabha and assembly polls scheduled next year.

Two, had the BJP come out of the alliance with TDP, it would have invited criticism. The demand for special status to AP is an emotional issue, and Chandrababu Naidu is trying to project this as a big issue. Now that the Centre has refused to accept the demand, Naidu took it as the last straw and decided to part ways with BJP.

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The trend started soon after the BJP swept the Tripura assembly polls last weekend unseating the Left which had been power for the last 25 years. A JCB machine was used to dismantle a statue of Lenin installed by the Left Front in Tripura. Two days later, ultra Left activists damaged and blackened the statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, one of the founders of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in Kolkata. A statue of Dravid movement leader Periyar was damaged in Tamil Nadu, while a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, the noted Dalit leader who piloted the Indian Constitution, was vandalized in Meerut, UP.

Whether the statues are of Lenin, or of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, or Dr Ambedkar or Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker, nobody has the right to vandalize statues in a humane society, nor is this a part of our great democratic traditions. It is heartening to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly took note of this and the Centre sent out advisories to all states to prevent such incidents. Home Minister Rajnath Singh also took a hard stand. These statues belonged to great leaders of a bygone era, but one should learn from Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav how not to indulge in politics over statues.

When BSP supremo Mayawati lost the assembly elections in UP six years back, one expected the Samajwati Party to dismantle the statues of Mayawati. But the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav protected the statues of his political rival. During last month’s Business Summit in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered that these statues should be polished.

Those who vandalize statues fail to realize that by indulging in such actions, they give a handle to those who are trying to divide society.

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Former INX Media promoter Indrani Mukerjea in a video telecast by a news channel on Monday night has admitted that her company paid one million US dollars to Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s son Karti’s companies in order to secure FIPB approvals for foreign investment. In the video, Indrani, who is currently in Byculla jail, clearly admitted that the then Finance Minister had helped her INX Media company, and she and her husband Peter had met Chidambaram in North Block. Indrani has made this confession in her statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code. Based on this confession, CBI sleuths took Karti Chidambaram to Mumbai jail last weekend for a face-to-face interrogation with the Mukerjea couple in jail.

Meanwhile, Enforcement Directorate in its report has revealed how Chidambaram, as the then Finance Minister, cleared several thousands of crores of rupees worth FIPB approvals for Aircel Maxis. On Monday, Chidambaram refused to reply to queries from reporters, and briefly said that he does not need to reply, as all the answers are there in the government files.

This was in response to the charges levelled against him by Law Minister Ravi Shanker Prasad in the INX Media and Aircel Maxis cases. The CAG report also supports these charges. The Law Minister sought answers from Chidambaram, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, but it is surprising that the Congress official spokesperson chose not to respond. Such silence can harm the Congress, and one can only expect that Chidambaram will reply, sooner rather than later.

In the last two weeks, when the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi bank frauds came to light, the Congress leaders went to town asking how these cheats were allowed to flee the country, but when Karti Chidambaram was arrested by CBI, and details relating to P. Chidambaram came to light, the Congress appeared to be on the defensive. The Congress reaction was that this was a strategy to divert public attention from Nirav Modi case. Now that the documents and statements are appearing in public, it seems that Chidambaram could become the cause of major worry for the Congress. It is now the Congress which has to reply.

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The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill and National Financial Reporting Authority Bill which seek to seize assets of all major economic offenders who have become fugitives and punish auditors who connive in money laundering and financial scams. I consider these as two historic steps taken by the Modi government in its move to start a crackdown on corruption. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is very much clear about these two laws which are going to be enacted, and there should be no doubts about his motive and objectives.

Whether it is the case of fugitive Nirav Modi, or his uncle Mehul Choksi, or Vijay Mallya or Lalit Modi, nobody will support the charge that the government or any political leader had a hand in helping them flee the country. These fugitives had wrecked the public sector banks in their greed and avarice, by resorting to cheating and frauds. They took advantage of legal loopholes in order to flee the country. The legal processes are tardy and cumbersome, and the present laws are inadequate for taking speedy action against these economic offenders. Once these offenders flee the country, it is very difficult to extradite them back to India.

The government’s initiative in enacting these two strict laws is a welcome step. The ball was already set rolling when the issue of extraditing Vijay Mallya came up. The Finance Minister had made announcements in the budget. At that time, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi had not fled India. But once more and more bank frauds came out in the open, the government worked on overdrive and these two bills have now been prepared. The government will try to get them passed during the Budget session of Parliament.

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On Wednesday, soon after former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s son Karti landed in Chennai, he was arrested by CBI and brought to Delhi, where a local court sent him to a day’s remand with the interrogators.

The arrest was based on confessional statements made by INX Media promoters Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, presently in jail in Sheena Bora murder case. The couple had confessed to CBI that they paid USD 7 lakhs to Karti’s companies on instructions from his father, who was then the Finance Minister.

Indrani Mukerjea in her statement recorded before a magistrate under Sec 164 CrPC had confessed that she and Peter had met the then Finance Minister in his office in North Block to get clearance from FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) for foreign investments made in their company after Income Tax department detected irregularities in 2007. Indrani Mukerjea had confessed that P. Chidambaram had then asked the Mukerjeas “to help the business of his son and make foreign remittances for the purpose”.

The Mukerjeas confessed that they had later met Karti Chidambaram in a five-star hotel, where Karti had demanded $1 million. Indrani confessed to both CBI and ED that their firm paid $7 lakh to overseas companies linked to Karti Chidambaram. In my show Aaj Ki Baat on Wednesday night, I had given details of the invoices issued by Karti’s companies to INX Media exposing a clear quid pro quo.

The facts speak for themselves and it is for the courts to take a call. The Congress has alleged that the CBI arrested Karti Chidambaram in order to divert public attention to the major bank frauds committed by jeweller Nirav Modi, who has fled India. The fact is that the INX Media case was not filed by the government, but by Dr Subramanian Swamy, and the probe is being monitored by the Supreme Court. The documents clearly show money was paid to Karti Chidambaram’s companies, and the payments were made at a time when FIPB clearances were pending and his father was the Finance Minister. So, the charge that the CBI arrested Karti in order to divert attention from Nirav Modi bank frauds does not hold water.

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On the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday when news came around 2.30 am that actor Sridevi had died of cardiac arrest, it shocked and jolted the entire nation. Sridevi was only 54 and she had no previous history of cardiac problems. There was outpouring of grief on social media, but soon the atmosphere was vitiated by slanderous speculations. On Monday, when Dubai police announced that the actor died of ‘accidental drowning’,the rumour mills went on overdrive, and baseless motives were attributed to the grieving husband Boney Kapoor. There was practically no end to wild speculations on social media.

On Tuesday, the Dubai Prosecution Office finally issued a report ruling out any foul play and the body was handed over to the family, who heaved a sigh of relief as the mortal remains of Sridevi were brought to Mumbai. Naturally, those who had been raising questions for nearly 60 hours on the actor’s death, are now silent, because of the conclusion reached by Dubai Police. Nobody can allege that the Dubai Police can be manipulated. Had this accidental drowning took place in India, innumerable questions would have been raised, fingers would have been pointed.

Even when the mortal remains were lying in Dubai, there were baseless reports on social media saying that Boney Kapoor has been arrested, Sridevi was murdered, signs of injury were found on her body, and that there would be a second round of post-mortem. All these reports later proved to be hoax. Those who circulated such baseless reports should now learn a lesson: never trust speculative reports based on conjectures. Let’s hope that no other personality should ever face a similar problem in future.

Finally, I want to tell our viewers that there are still questions remaining in the mind of people as to how Sridevi fell in the bathtub, what was the cause of drowning, how much water was there in the tub, why alcohol was found in her body though she never consumed alcohol regularly, etc. But these questions in themselves do not point to the conclusion that her husband was the murderer, or that there was any foul play. Those who know Boney Kapoor closely can vouch that he was deeply in love with Sridevi. One can only imagine the pain that Boney may have endured because of this calumny.

This is not the first time that such calumny was heaped on big personalities. I remember there were baseless rumours circulating about Indira Gandhi’s hand behind her son Sanjay’s death in an air accident, about R. K. Dhawan’s hand behind the gruesome assassination of Indira Gandhi ( I still remember Dhawan literally weeping because of such rumours), about Sonia Gandhi’s hand in the assassination of her husband Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudur (alleging that she was a beneficiary).

There was no social media during those times. Such rumours reached only a handful of people and died their own death. And yet, such rumourmongers need to be condemned. In today’s social media scenario, the person circulating the baseless rumour is himself/herself a detective, plays the role of investigator and like a judge, delivers the verdict. Such a tendency is dangerous for our society and our nation.

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The Mumbai film industry lost one of its best female actors when Sridevi suddenly passed away in a hotel in Dubai. It shocked and jolted an entire nation. Sridevi was 54 and the death was sudden. Dubai police has said that her death was due to ‘accidental drowning’ inside a bathtub in her hotel room. Soon thereafter, there was a barrage of wild speculations over her death.

Millions of fans are saddened over such unnecessary speculations. There were baseless rumours circulating on social media. Politician Amar Singh, a close friend of the Kapoor family, has rightly said two things: One, most of the speculations being made about Sridevi’s death are baseless. Sridevi and her family members were not in any financial crisis. Two, her relations with her husband Boney Kapoor were normal and they were awaiting the release of their daughter’s movie. To sum up, Sridevi was happy and contented with her family life.

Amidst all these speculations, one should not forget that Sridevi was one of the most accomplished actresses of her times. The late Yash Chopra had once remarked that Sridevi was a ‘switch on, switch off’ actress. When the camera was off, she used to withdraw in her shell, and the moment the camera was rolling, she acted impeccably. Sridevi had no formal education, because she had started acting in movies from the age of four. She was not an extrovert and she never gave too many interviews. Her films used to become hits solely on the acting prowess of the lady. Her very persona exuded each and every nuance of acting. Sridevi should be remembered not for unnecessary speculations about her demise, but for her sterling contribution as a great female actor to the Indian film industry.

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Addressing a seminar organised by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) and the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) in New Delhi on Wednesday, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said Pakistan and China were behind the influx of Bangladeshi migrants in Northeast, because their aim was to bring about a demographic shift.

There was a controversy of sorts on Thursday when newspapers reported the General’s remarks in which he compared the electoral fortunes of Jana Sangh with AIUDF, to indicate the consequences of a demographic shift. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi promptly objected saying it was not the Army Chief’s job to comment on political parties. All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal said the Army Chief has overstepped his role by commenting on political parties.

I have gone through the entire speech and I do not find anything objectionable. Gen Rawat was trying to explain how our neighbours, particularly Pakistan and China are conspiring and interfering in our domestic affairs. In order to explain this, he produced demographic facts, and spoke a few lines on the political situation in the North-East. He did not say anything which was secret or confidential, or about which people are not aware of. In concluding, the General spoke on the need for “amalgamating” different sections of society, so that people are not discriminated against on grounds of religion, caste, region or language.

There is nothing political about this. All facts are nowadays available in the public domain through internet, and if the Army Chief mentioned a few facts, there seems to be nothing wrong in it.

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Diamantaire Nirav Modi swindled Rs 11,400 crore from Punjab National Bank through fraudulent transactions and then fled India alongwith his family members. People of India who feel sad over this loot of public money should know about the rich legacy of PNB.

Punjab National Bank was founded by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a well-known philanthropist, real estate and diamond trader of his time. It was Dyal Singh Majithia alongwith Lala Lajpat Rai and other Indian businessmen, known proponents of “Swadeshi’ economy, who founded PNB in the year 1894 in Lahore, then in undivided India. Lala Lajpat Rai was the first person to open his account with PNB. Soon after thousands of Indians opened their accounts with PNB, and notable among them were Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Govind Ballabh Pant. In those times, it was a nationalistic badge of honour to open an account in an Indian bank, wholly owned and run by Indians.

And today, we are witness to an Indian, who robbed the bank and fled the country to hide in foreign lands.

National Organisation of Bank Workers has expressed concern over the large-scale transfer of nearly 18,000 employees and officials of PNB, soon after the scam broke. Those employees and officers who had completed five and three years of posting in a single branch, have now been transferred.

It is true that such mass scale transfers, done on orders from RBI, could pose numerable difficulties to the affected employees and their families , but considering the huge scale of the scam, this decision was unavoidable.

This scam could have been detected earlier if the culprit deputy manager in the Mumbai branch had been transferred. I hope employees and officers of the bank will bear with this critical situation, and work unitedly to give the bank a firm financial footing again.

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Never in India’s history since Independence was a Chief Secretary of senior IAS rank assaulted in Delhi by ruling party MLAs in the presence of their Chief Minister at the latter’s official residence. This shameful incident took place around midnight on Monday, when the Chief Secretary was summoned for a meeting by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

The Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash is an experienced civil servant who has served in many positions. There had been no complaints against him. The Chief Secretary wrote a written complaint to Delhi Police alleging that he was abused, heckled and assaulted by AAP MLAs. His complaint should be taken seriously. Summoning a senior bureaucrat to the chief minister’s residence at midnight and then assaulting him is an act that cannot be condoned in a democracy. Kejriwal is on record of having once said that he cameto power, he would teach BJP and Congress leaders how to run a government. If this is the manner in which he wants to run his government, then God save Delhi.

Contrast this with Kejriwal’s predecessor Sheila Dikshit, who was Chief Minister of Delhi for 15 years. Out of these 15 years, there were six years during which the BJP was ruling at the Centre. There was not a single incident of misbehaviour with any officer of Delhi government during her tenure. At one cabinet meeting, one of Sheila Dikshit’s ministers spoke to a bureaucrat loudly, and the Chief Minister promptly took the minister to task in front of all. She then called the minister to another room and explained to him how to behave with bureaucrats. The erring minister came out of the room and apologized to the then Chief Secretary. What happened on Monday midnight was sordid. Such acts have no place in a healthy democracy.

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The arrest of three senior officers of Punjab National Bank – Bechhu Tiwari, chief manager incharge of Forex dept, Yashwant Joshi, Manager of Forex dept, and Praful Sawant, Officer, Export – by CBI in the Nirav Modi fraud case, on Monday clearly points toward a serious malady in the banking system. A handful of officers skimmed Rs 11,400 crore from the bank to favour jeweller Nirav Modi, who alongwith his family, has fled India.

In my Aaj Ki Baat show, I have shown how Rs 280 cr worth Letters of Undertaking were issued within a span of three days in favour of Nirav Modi’s companies. This fraud was going on in the bank since the last seven years. Nearly 150 LOUs worth Rs 6,000 crore were issued from the bank between 2011 and 2017, whereas after April 2017, 143 LOUs worth Rs 3,500 crore were issued.

The initial report prepared by the Income Tax department on Monday clearly shows the trail of Rs 515 crore worth initial transactions. It has also been revealed that fake sales were shown in documents instead of actual sale of jewellery. For the first time, Nirav Modi’s Hong Kong-based sister firm’s name has emerged as a beneficiary.

As far as the aam aadmi is concerned, the common perception is that while he or she has to submit various documents and collaterals to get loans for cars, homes and business, and has to face constant threats and intimidation from collectors whenever an EMI is missed, here is a case where Rs 11,400 crore credit is given to firms based on dubious transactions by a gang of officials in league with the businessman.

The common man is asking questions about how a businessman can wangle Rs 280 crore credit from a public sector bank within a span of three days with the help of corrupt officials.

The documents that I produced in my show point to one thing. Normally the government tries to ensure that no entrepreneur suffers because of lack of funds, because if a business gets stuck because of lack of funds, it can render thousands of people unemployed. The government, therefore, always tries to help business and industry to carry on with their work without hindrance. To prevent frauds, there is a strong check and balance system in place, but when the guardians and keepers of public money start eating through the fence, nobody can help.

This is exactly what happened in the case of Nirav Modi. The system was in place, those officials sitting at the system were committing outright fraud, the corrupt bank officials were in cahoots with Nirav Modi, all secret passwords were being passed on, Letters of Undertaking were being freely issued bypassing the system, so that the theft could not be traced immediately. Finally, when the ship started sinking, Nirav and his family members had fled the country, taking away Rs 11,400 crore of hard earned money deposited by the aam aadmi in the public sector bank.

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