Nira Radia tapes are huge embarrassment to Congress, DMK, Tata, Barka Dutt, Vir Sangvi and others. Most of us focused on 2G spectrum, Raja and Kanimozhi. However there are conversation in those tapes which indicates congress, their ministers working style and corruption.
In one of the taped conversation between Nira and Tarun Das (Head of CII) is shocking. In that Tarun Das saying he has suggested Kamal Nath for Surface Transport Ministry. He is giving the reasoning as Kamal Nath is a doer and can “make his 15 per cent” while doing some national service. Nira Radia responds back saying, "It is still ATM (Automatic Teller Machine". The outlay for Surface Transport is over Rs1200 crores.The 15% commission works out to Rs180 crores per year. Now we know why parties want specific portfolio for national service. Think about Sethu Project and its current status. Hey Ram save the nation!!!
You can see the transcript and audio here.
BTW, Kamal Nath is indicted by Nanavati Commission. You can read about him in Wikipedia.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Are we marching towards Hyperinflation?
Indian Commerce Department announced food price index jumped to 14.4% in the December 18, 2010 week. This is accelerated from 12.13% from previous week. During the week of Dec 18, Onion is up over 40%, Vegetables up 29%, Fruits 21%, egg, meat and fish up by 20%. The concern is whether food-driven inflation will spread to wider pickup in inflation. I would say not yet, but there is greater risk now. Inflation can get into vicious cycle.
The developed economies are growing in anemic phase. The Asian economies, particularly China and India are growing rapidly. When there is a rapid growth (with imbalance between developed and developing nations) there will be more money supply resulting in inflation. We were seeing that in real estate before the Lehman brother crash. In Asia, real estate is recovered and it is closer to pre-crash level. Now we are seeing food inflation. Food inflation is politically very sensitive and could bring down Governments. Couple of weeks back, China took actions to curb its food inflation as well.
The political leadership is trying to attribute this to excessive rain this year. India banned the export of Onions and started importing from Pakistan. The million dollar question is whether it is seasonal. I strongly doubt it. There is fundamental shift in the economy for last two decades. We were moving away from Agricultural based economy into Industrial based one. The agricultural lands are being converted into housing plots and industrial areas. Many lakes (particularly around Chennai) are now industrial complexes. In nut shell, the cultivable land is shrinking. The cost of labor (due to industrialization) is rising. The agriculture is not profitable and people are moving away from that profession. On the demand side, our population is growing and per capita income is increasing. This drives the demand. This imbalance needs to correct. The outcome will be increase in productivity (produce more quantity with less resources) or reduced demand or combination of both. There is no significant focus on productivity. People are scared about genetically modified produce as well. The Government is trying to control the price by increasing supply through import. The current need is "Government should come up with long term plan such as Green Revolution and it must be multi faceted approach"
In case, the inflation spreads to other core components. We should watch for this.
- Indian currency will depreciate. Will increase the cost of import.
- People will invest more on hard assets such as Gold, Real estate, etc.
- Interest rates will go up, reducing money supply. This could push economy into recession.
- Bond prices will fall pushing interest rate up
- Could significantly decrease the purchasing power.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Unlocker – Delete the Unremovable
How many time you encounter the error similar to the below one?
This is common when we delete a file which is being used by another program. It is not easy to find which process is preventing you the delete/Rename/Move your file or folder. There is a utility which lets you find the process and take action on it. Select the file, right click and select Unlocker. You will see the window similar to the one shown below. This utility will let you Unlock or Kill the process.
You can download the Unlocker utility from CNET.com
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Karunanidhi's First family teams up against Kanimozhi
Dayanidhi Maran shared dais with M.K.Alagiri in Madurai. Maran touched Alagiri's feet when he came to dais before delivering the speech. This happened during inauguration of 100 Crore Textile park near Madurai. Maran and Alagiri were on opposite camps in the past. In the past Alagiri and Kanimozhi were considered closer. It was believed Alagiri supported Kanimozhi's candidacy for Rajya Sabha.
Tamil Daily owned by Maran brothers published a poll results which triggered violence in Madurai. Three Sun network employees were killed.This costed Dayanidhi cabinet job in UPA-1. In the end, case against Alagiri's supporters were weakened by family patch work. It was believed M.K.Stalin, Selvi and Maran brothers were in one camp. M.K.Alagiri and Kanimozhi on the other. This was out of necessity more than anything else.
Nira Radia tapes, 2G spectrum scandal and alleged involvement by Kanimozhi, Voltas land deal are tarnishing DMK image. Raja considered close to Kanimozhi. This realigns the internal politics within DMK. Now Karunanidhi/Dayalu kids (Alagiri, Stalin, Selvi) and Maran brothers wants to cut the loss by suspending A.Raja from the party. They also want Kanimozhi out of politics. Kanimozhi avoided Alagiri in the airport but spoke to Subramania Sway who filed the case in SC against Raja.
Time will tell how Karunanidhi is going to manage this round of family feud.
Tamil Daily owned by Maran brothers published a poll results which triggered violence in Madurai. Three Sun network employees were killed.This costed Dayanidhi cabinet job in UPA-1. In the end, case against Alagiri's supporters were weakened by family patch work. It was believed M.K.Stalin, Selvi and Maran brothers were in one camp. M.K.Alagiri and Kanimozhi on the other. This was out of necessity more than anything else.
Nira Radia tapes, 2G spectrum scandal and alleged involvement by Kanimozhi, Voltas land deal are tarnishing DMK image. Raja considered close to Kanimozhi. This realigns the internal politics within DMK. Now Karunanidhi/Dayalu kids (Alagiri, Stalin, Selvi) and Maran brothers wants to cut the loss by suspending A.Raja from the party. They also want Kanimozhi out of politics. Kanimozhi avoided Alagiri in the airport but spoke to Subramania Sway who filed the case in SC against Raja.
Time will tell how Karunanidhi is going to manage this round of family feud.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
2G Spectrum Vs Telangana
Sri Krishna Committee submitting its report in two days. I believe Congress may play this politically. They could divert the focus from Spectrum to Telangana. Congress will consider the following as well.
1. Stop bleeding in AP after Jagan's departure
2. May be to offset the loss of Jagan by TRS. Note that TRS openly announced it can join Congress if Telangana dream comes true.
3. Whether to break alliance with DMK to cut losses on Spectrum
4. How to politically take advantage of Chiranjeevi and discredit Chandrababu Naidu.
Here is my expectation at this point. We will know how it plays out in coming weeks.
Congress will announce splitting of Andhra Pradesh into Andhra and Telangana. This will allow TRS to join Congress and strengthen Congress in Telangana. This will weaken considerably Jagan and Naidu in that region. They will join hands with Chiranjeevi that could provide additional strength in Andhra. There may be demonstration and violence in AP which will put 2G spectrum in the back burner. The drift in BJP on JPC will help them as well.
During this process they will either distance themselves from DMK if they decide to break the alliance. The DMK is considerably weakened now. Alternatively, Raja can be thrown under the bus, both DMK and Congress distance themselves from A. Raja. In the second situation it will scuttle AIADMK arguments. Suspending A.Raja from DMK will reveal who is winning political struggle within DMK family.
We know Raja knows lot more than what DMK family and Sonia wants him to know. If they suspend him, it may be pre-negotiated deal. They do not want him to talk during the election time.
I am pretty confident Telangana will put 2G spectrum in back burner no matter what happens in Tamil Nadu. This will also weaken opposition and hence the push towards JPC.
1. Stop bleeding in AP after Jagan's departure
2. May be to offset the loss of Jagan by TRS. Note that TRS openly announced it can join Congress if Telangana dream comes true.
3. Whether to break alliance with DMK to cut losses on Spectrum
4. How to politically take advantage of Chiranjeevi and discredit Chandrababu Naidu.
Here is my expectation at this point. We will know how it plays out in coming weeks.
Congress will announce splitting of Andhra Pradesh into Andhra and Telangana. This will allow TRS to join Congress and strengthen Congress in Telangana. This will weaken considerably Jagan and Naidu in that region. They will join hands with Chiranjeevi that could provide additional strength in Andhra. There may be demonstration and violence in AP which will put 2G spectrum in the back burner. The drift in BJP on JPC will help them as well.
During this process they will either distance themselves from DMK if they decide to break the alliance. The DMK is considerably weakened now. Alternatively, Raja can be thrown under the bus, both DMK and Congress distance themselves from A. Raja. In the second situation it will scuttle AIADMK arguments. Suspending A.Raja from DMK will reveal who is winning political struggle within DMK family.
We know Raja knows lot more than what DMK family and Sonia wants him to know. If they suspend him, it may be pre-negotiated deal. They do not want him to talk during the election time.
I am pretty confident Telangana will put 2G spectrum in back burner no matter what happens in Tamil Nadu. This will also weaken opposition and hence the push towards JPC.
2G Spectrum - Can Government recover the lost Revenue?
The 2G spectrum scandal is the largest in Indian History perhaps world history. The public could not grasp the full extent until Nira Radia surfaced. There were several ill advised missteps by Government including not appointing JPC. Read my other blogs. In this we can discuss whether we should able to recover the money and how to proceed further.
The first step should be to Scrap the contract. Under Section 23 and 24 of the Indian Contracts Act 1872, a contract becomes void if it is tainted with corruption. Union Government can cancel 2G Spectrum allotment. There is precedence here in this case. Army canceled its Helicopter purchase deal with Eurocopter in 2007. The question is whether Congress Government will do it. I strongly doubt in the backdrop of alleged involvement by Sonia Gandhi's Sisters in this deal. In my view, Congress does not want any open investigation in this case including JPC. Probably this could end Nehru Dynasty and Dynasty of Muthuvel Karunanidhi (DMK). Corporations and Lobbyist will not allow this either. They fight this one out for sure.
The second possibility is UPA - 2 Government falls, either through another election or realignment of parties forms a new Government. Even if that happens, the investigation and recovery will not be easy. Corporate Lobbyist has good relations with all major parties. They will not let this happen.
The third and feasible option is Supreme Court forces Union Government to void the 2G spectrum sale and orders resale of the 2G spectrum. This will possibly make up the lost revenue. There are several challenges unlike Army Deal. TeleCom companies using this bandwidth currently. SC/Government need to make sure services are not interrupted. The process should be designed to maximize Government revenue at the same time maintaining healthy competition. Next important factor is how do we make sure consumers interest are protected. The corporates will try to pass on the added cost to consumers. Some how this must be prevented.
Government must also go behind the corrupt politicians and officials. Their ill earned money should be seized. We should not let this off the hook like Bofors and other cases. Supreme Court / Government should establish a process for this as well.
I have high regards towards Dr. Manmohan Singh. However he is guilt by association. He is our best hope even though he is not independent in decision making. I am hoping for miracle (may be a day dream). Dr. Manmohan Singh appoints JPC, voids the Spectrum allotment even thought it will cost his job. It will be his best service to The Nation.
Write back to me with your comments.
The first step should be to Scrap the contract. Under Section 23 and 24 of the Indian Contracts Act 1872, a contract becomes void if it is tainted with corruption. Union Government can cancel 2G Spectrum allotment. There is precedence here in this case. Army canceled its Helicopter purchase deal with Eurocopter in 2007. The question is whether Congress Government will do it. I strongly doubt in the backdrop of alleged involvement by Sonia Gandhi's Sisters in this deal. In my view, Congress does not want any open investigation in this case including JPC. Probably this could end Nehru Dynasty and Dynasty of Muthuvel Karunanidhi (DMK). Corporations and Lobbyist will not allow this either. They fight this one out for sure.
The second possibility is UPA - 2 Government falls, either through another election or realignment of parties forms a new Government. Even if that happens, the investigation and recovery will not be easy. Corporate Lobbyist has good relations with all major parties. They will not let this happen.
The third and feasible option is Supreme Court forces Union Government to void the 2G spectrum sale and orders resale of the 2G spectrum. This will possibly make up the lost revenue. There are several challenges unlike Army Deal. TeleCom companies using this bandwidth currently. SC/Government need to make sure services are not interrupted. The process should be designed to maximize Government revenue at the same time maintaining healthy competition. Next important factor is how do we make sure consumers interest are protected. The corporates will try to pass on the added cost to consumers. Some how this must be prevented.
Government must also go behind the corrupt politicians and officials. Their ill earned money should be seized. We should not let this off the hook like Bofors and other cases. Supreme Court / Government should establish a process for this as well.
I have high regards towards Dr. Manmohan Singh. However he is guilt by association. He is our best hope even though he is not independent in decision making. I am hoping for miracle (may be a day dream). Dr. Manmohan Singh appoints JPC, voids the Spectrum allotment even thought it will cost his job. It will be his best service to The Nation.
Write back to me with your comments.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
2G Spectrum - Rear view mirror
The 2G spectrum came to lime light after CAG report. The Congress and DMK projects this as a policy decision which inadvertently caused the loss. Congress / DMK conveniently ( and to some extent successfully) steered towards the CAG report as core issue and wants PAC (Public Accounts Committee) to investigate. The concern here is if Congress and DMK denounces corruption, why not JPC?
Here are the facts which Congress/DMK conveniently forgets. (Courtesy Tehelka)
1. 2007 September: SWAN telecommunication, Unitech, Loop and DATACOMM applies for 2G allotment.
2. 2007 October: A. Raja openly ignores TRAI recommendation on 2G Auction. PM asks him to follow the open process. Raja overrules PM!. In October 2010, Supreme Court made strong comments about the language used by Raja in those communication.
3. 2008 January: First come first served is changed to First pay First served. This lead to fist fight in Sanchar Bavan.
4. 2008 April: A. Raja circumvents TRAI recommendation to allow sale of stakes in Companies.
5. 2008 November: The CVC investigates and sends a detail report to PM recommending for A. Raja's prosecution. (This explains why Congress appointed Mr. Mathew in spite of pending cases against him and reservations by opposition parties).
6. 2008 November: Raja tells Telecom Commission to ban the sale of stakes after the SWAN and Unitech Deals. (There are allegations that SWAN is closer to Karunanidhi's family).
7. 2009 April: CVC Prathyush Sinha confirms large scale irregularities. (Why didn't PM ask Raja step down?)
8. 2009 October: CBI raids DoT (Sanchar Bhavan which comes under Communication Ministry which came under A.Raja and CBI comes under PMO). CBI must have obtained approval from PMO to raid Sanchar Bhavan. There were allegations against Raja in this case. Why did not PM ask him to step down?
9. 2010 October/November: Supreme Court asks Government to respond on CAG reports. SC reprimands CBI for loop holes in the investigation (Remember CBI comes under PMO). Opposition stalls the parliament.
It is very clear that the beneficiaries (telecoms companies, Sonia and Karunanidhi) wanted A. Raja to stay on power. This will help them get pass this problem. This happened in spite of the following.
1. A. Raja did not follow PM's instruction.
2. CVC found large scale irregularities in Spectrum allotment.
3. Congress appointed new CVC from telecom case even though there were pending criminal cases. CVC over sees the investigation.
4. SC censured A. Raja before he steps down. Mr. Mathew still stays on power.
Government still trying to protect Sonia and Karunanidhi family members not appointing JPC. This will bring many things to light.
Here are the facts which Congress/DMK conveniently forgets. (Courtesy Tehelka)
1. 2007 September: SWAN telecommunication, Unitech, Loop and DATACOMM applies for 2G allotment.
2. 2007 October: A. Raja openly ignores TRAI recommendation on 2G Auction. PM asks him to follow the open process. Raja overrules PM!. In October 2010, Supreme Court made strong comments about the language used by Raja in those communication.
3. 2008 January: First come first served is changed to First pay First served. This lead to fist fight in Sanchar Bavan.
4. 2008 April: A. Raja circumvents TRAI recommendation to allow sale of stakes in Companies.
5. 2008 November: The CVC investigates and sends a detail report to PM recommending for A. Raja's prosecution. (This explains why Congress appointed Mr. Mathew in spite of pending cases against him and reservations by opposition parties).
6. 2008 November: Raja tells Telecom Commission to ban the sale of stakes after the SWAN and Unitech Deals. (There are allegations that SWAN is closer to Karunanidhi's family).
7. 2009 April: CVC Prathyush Sinha confirms large scale irregularities. (Why didn't PM ask Raja step down?)
8. 2009 October: CBI raids DoT (Sanchar Bhavan which comes under Communication Ministry which came under A.Raja and CBI comes under PMO). CBI must have obtained approval from PMO to raid Sanchar Bhavan. There were allegations against Raja in this case. Why did not PM ask him to step down?
9. 2010 October/November: Supreme Court asks Government to respond on CAG reports. SC reprimands CBI for loop holes in the investigation (Remember CBI comes under PMO). Opposition stalls the parliament.
It is very clear that the beneficiaries (telecoms companies, Sonia and Karunanidhi) wanted A. Raja to stay on power. This will help them get pass this problem. This happened in spite of the following.
1. A. Raja did not follow PM's instruction.
2. CVC found large scale irregularities in Spectrum allotment.
3. Congress appointed new CVC from telecom case even though there were pending criminal cases. CVC over sees the investigation.
4. SC censured A. Raja before he steps down. Mr. Mathew still stays on power.
Government still trying to protect Sonia and Karunanidhi family members not appointing JPC. This will bring many things to light.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
DMK means Dynasty of Mutuvel Karunanidhi
Many of my North Indian friends keep telling me DMK means Karunanidhi. He is in full control of the party. They refer to the YouTube videos in which party cadres refer to him as Leader (Thalaivar). Even his kids (M.K.Stalin, M.K.Alagiri) refer to him as Thalaivar. I would have agreed this few years back. Not any more. It is a Dynasty of Muthuvel Karunanidhi (DMK). Read my other blog which gives you insight into DMK family feud which is typical during the fall of a dynasty.
GSLV Explodes - A setback for ISRO?
It is disappointing that GSLV explodes shortly after lift-off. Many websites and newspapers titled the news as "Blow to ISRO hopes", "Spectacular failure", etc. In this case, those editors conveniently forgot the challenges in science, engineering and technology behind this. The scientist, engineers and other individuals make lot of scarifies along the way. Many of the work in ISRO for their passion and dream not for mere money.
I am confident people involved in this will review the data, identify the problems and make it better next time. This is the period in time we should support them. In my view, failure is step forward for the success.
There are indications that some people trying to tarnish the image of ISRO saying, Rs. 150 Crore lost in this endeavour. I would tell those people this is nothing compare to 2G spectrum scandal (Rs 176 Lakhs crore). It is better spent than spending money on free TVs. For India's growth, satellites are one of the corner stone. We should see this as an investement. I would also point to them, ISRO will do its best to test everything before launch. There are certain things cannot be tested on the ground. We should give benefit of doubt to ISRO and support ISRO on this difficult time. It is not new to ISRO and I am pretty sure ISRO will come back with better vechiles and satellities.
Here is video from youtube.
I am confident people involved in this will review the data, identify the problems and make it better next time. This is the period in time we should support them. In my view, failure is step forward for the success.
There are indications that some people trying to tarnish the image of ISRO saying, Rs. 150 Crore lost in this endeavour. I would tell those people this is nothing compare to 2G spectrum scandal (Rs 176 Lakhs crore). It is better spent than spending money on free TVs. For India's growth, satellites are one of the corner stone. We should see this as an investement. I would also point to them, ISRO will do its best to test everything before launch. There are certain things cannot be tested on the ground. We should give benefit of doubt to ISRO and support ISRO on this difficult time. It is not new to ISRO and I am pretty sure ISRO will come back with better vechiles and satellities.
Here is video from youtube.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Karunanidhi Family and internal dynamics
Most of us know Karunanidhi came from remote village Thirukuvalai and moved up in the DMK organization to capture DMK presidency and Chief Ministership. At that juncture, he started side lining the party leaders and installing his family members. It started with Murasoli Maran to Parlimentary seat vacated by C.N.Annadurai. Later he introduced M.K.Muthu as his successor ended up in disaster.
Now one of his son Deputy Chief Minister (M.K. Stalin) in Tamil Nadu, another one is Union Cabinet Minister (M.K.Alagiri), daughter is Rajya sabha Member (Kanimozhi) and grand newphew is another Union Cabinet Minister (Dayanidhi Maran). The article from Indian Express provides very good insight. You can read the article here. I would recommend every one to read this.
Now one of his son Deputy Chief Minister (M.K. Stalin) in Tamil Nadu, another one is Union Cabinet Minister (M.K.Alagiri), daughter is Rajya sabha Member (Kanimozhi) and grand newphew is another Union Cabinet Minister (Dayanidhi Maran). The article from Indian Express provides very good insight. You can read the article here. I would recommend every one to read this.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Sonia denounces corruption
In the recent plenary session of the congress party, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi denounced corruption!!!. She acknowledged corruption is a problem. She noted that the Chief Minister and Ministers accused in the scandal were asked to resign before they were found guilty. She Challenged whether BJP can do the same in Karnataka. She conveniently forgot many facts.
1. IPL Scnadal
Shashi Tharoor was forced to resign after Lalit Modi disclosed that her fiance has a £10 million stake in an Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket team. This opened up can of worms related to IPL accounting. There were allegations against Sharad Pawar and his daughter. No action against them since they are allies. Shashi Tharoor resigned not just because of this fact. His comments were not politically correct and group within Congress waiting to pull his leg. He became scape goat. After eight months, no one is talking about this scandal. It is out in a back burner and will be revived when there is a political need.
2. Adarsh Housing Scam
In Adarsh Housing Scam, Mr. Ashok Chanvan resigned but only after High Court observed "a clear-cut case of manipulation". Then mysteriously all the relevant files went missing. This could not have happened without political, police and criminal nexus. After resignation of Ex-CM, the case is moving nowhere.
3. Common Wealth Games
Mr. Suresh Kalmadi was Organizer for Common Wealth Games held in New Delhi. There were allegation of wide spread corruption. Mr.Kalmadi is sitting congress MP and president of various sports organizations in India. There were couple of raids related to this by CBI. As usual moving forward in snail phase.
4. 2G Scam
Recently Mr. Raja, DMK minister was forced resign as Communication Minister from Union Cabinet. More than a year back Mr. Subramania Swamy requested PM for approval to prosecute him. The approval never came. However CAG report and Supreme Court comments forced Mr. Raja's resignation. (Read my other blog for additional details).
I do not believe Congress will do much on Corruption. This is just a propaganda to weaken the opposition and buy time. Here are my arguments.
1. When there is a serious allegation, it is a tradition to step down from power. This allow the responsible entities to act with freedom. In all cases, the individuals were forced to resign only after court questioned inaction or very late to cut the political losses.
2. Why Congress is hesitant to appoint JPC? If she is serious about it, Congress should have appointed the JPC. Congress argues that opposition is trying to ill treat the PM. No one is stating that PM is involved in this anyway. They are questioning only his inaction. I believe Congress is trying to protect Sonia Gandhi and her family by doing this. Dr. Swamy accuses Sonia's sisters have involvement in 2G scam.
It is important to note that "The Hindu" newspaper acknowledged that JPC investigation on Bofors helped them to acquire the key documents and helped their investigation. It looks like Congress do not want to make that mistake again.
3. In India CBI comes under PMO and Enforcement Directorate comes under Department of Finance. I do not believe they will act independently. Unfortunately those two entities are used as political tools in these types of cases in the past. Hopefully Supreme Court Monitoring of the case may help to some extent.
4. If Congress is serious about these scandals, why they are not moving forward fast enough.
5. We all know what happened in Bofors case. At the Ottavio Quattrocchi was allowed to withdraw the ill earned money. Congress government sent an Asst. Director for release of his funds without giving time to evaluate the further action.
6. With Nira Radia tapes in public domain, we all know how cabinet ministers are decided. When Corporate involved in Cabinet Ministry selection, it certainly paves way for corruption. 2G spectrum is one sample.
I do not believe the words means action in this case. Congress is trying to stop the bleeding accusing BJP for inaction. Congress conveniently omitted that fact whole opposition stalled Parliament in favor of JPC. CBI raids were just an eyewash. With the ample time and power, it is foolish to expect the individuals to have any incriminating documents.
In my view 2G scam will be in lime light until another scam or Tamil Nadu election which ever is earlier. Congress is absolutely counting on this. This will enable them to protect Mrs. Gandhi and her family. Raja is scape goat (even though he is involved) and will eventually be acquitted. Mr. Karunanidhi family will get away by politically aligning to party in power.
The ultimate looser is "Indian Citizens".
1. IPL Scnadal
Shashi Tharoor was forced to resign after Lalit Modi disclosed that her fiance has a £10 million stake in an Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket team. This opened up can of worms related to IPL accounting. There were allegations against Sharad Pawar and his daughter. No action against them since they are allies. Shashi Tharoor resigned not just because of this fact. His comments were not politically correct and group within Congress waiting to pull his leg. He became scape goat. After eight months, no one is talking about this scandal. It is out in a back burner and will be revived when there is a political need.
2. Adarsh Housing Scam
In Adarsh Housing Scam, Mr. Ashok Chanvan resigned but only after High Court observed "a clear-cut case of manipulation". Then mysteriously all the relevant files went missing. This could not have happened without political, police and criminal nexus. After resignation of Ex-CM, the case is moving nowhere.
3. Common Wealth Games
Mr. Suresh Kalmadi was Organizer for Common Wealth Games held in New Delhi. There were allegation of wide spread corruption. Mr.Kalmadi is sitting congress MP and president of various sports organizations in India. There were couple of raids related to this by CBI. As usual moving forward in snail phase.
4. 2G Scam
Recently Mr. Raja, DMK minister was forced resign as Communication Minister from Union Cabinet. More than a year back Mr. Subramania Swamy requested PM for approval to prosecute him. The approval never came. However CAG report and Supreme Court comments forced Mr. Raja's resignation. (Read my other blog for additional details).
I do not believe Congress will do much on Corruption. This is just a propaganda to weaken the opposition and buy time. Here are my arguments.
1. When there is a serious allegation, it is a tradition to step down from power. This allow the responsible entities to act with freedom. In all cases, the individuals were forced to resign only after court questioned inaction or very late to cut the political losses.
2. Why Congress is hesitant to appoint JPC? If she is serious about it, Congress should have appointed the JPC. Congress argues that opposition is trying to ill treat the PM. No one is stating that PM is involved in this anyway. They are questioning only his inaction. I believe Congress is trying to protect Sonia Gandhi and her family by doing this. Dr. Swamy accuses Sonia's sisters have involvement in 2G scam.
It is important to note that "The Hindu" newspaper acknowledged that JPC investigation on Bofors helped them to acquire the key documents and helped their investigation. It looks like Congress do not want to make that mistake again.
3. In India CBI comes under PMO and Enforcement Directorate comes under Department of Finance. I do not believe they will act independently. Unfortunately those two entities are used as political tools in these types of cases in the past. Hopefully Supreme Court Monitoring of the case may help to some extent.
4. If Congress is serious about these scandals, why they are not moving forward fast enough.
5. We all know what happened in Bofors case. At the Ottavio Quattrocchi was allowed to withdraw the ill earned money. Congress government sent an Asst. Director for release of his funds without giving time to evaluate the further action.
6. With Nira Radia tapes in public domain, we all know how cabinet ministers are decided. When Corporate involved in Cabinet Ministry selection, it certainly paves way for corruption. 2G spectrum is one sample.
I do not believe the words means action in this case. Congress is trying to stop the bleeding accusing BJP for inaction. Congress conveniently omitted that fact whole opposition stalled Parliament in favor of JPC. CBI raids were just an eyewash. With the ample time and power, it is foolish to expect the individuals to have any incriminating documents.
In my view 2G scam will be in lime light until another scam or Tamil Nadu election which ever is earlier. Congress is absolutely counting on this. This will enable them to protect Mrs. Gandhi and her family. Raja is scape goat (even though he is involved) and will eventually be acquitted. Mr. Karunanidhi family will get away by politically aligning to party in power.
The ultimate looser is "Indian Citizens".
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Minnesota winter 2010
We had couple of snow storms in the past ten days. Here are the pictures during the period.
Here is snow accumulation over 18 inches. But drive ways were cleaned.
You can see the snow is up to mail box.
Here is snow accumulation over 18 inches. But drive ways were cleaned.
You can see the snow is up to mail box.
Nira Radia - Rajathi Ammal - Kanimozhi tapes
We all know that Nira Radia tapes reveals more on 2G spectrum scandal. Tata went to Supreme court to protect his privacy (???). Opposition stalled the Parliament for whole winter session. The recent press release by Rajathi Ammal (Tamil Nadu CM's third wife. Don't ask me how a Government servant can legally have two living wives. May be it will not applicable to leaders).
The press release stated that connecting Rajathi Ammal to Voltas property is not true and spreading the rumor will result in legal action. They provided detail accounts of who bought the property, who acted conduit between Tata and the buyer. They also confessed the individuals don't work for them anymore. Here is the statement as published in The Hindu.
In a statement here, she said Saravanan, a former employee of Royal, a company owned by her, had ventured into real estate business.
In general if you are not involved, you may not even know where is the property, who owns it and how transaction occurred. This statement trying to hide important fact. It did not utter a word about her conversation with Nira Radia. She was specifically asking Nira that what happened to Tata and why it was not done? Her Auditor Rathnam does talk to Nira in detail asking why the Tata deal is not yet done.
Nira Radia voice is authenticated by following activities.
- She did not dispute it (There were lot of references to her name in the conversation as well)
- Barka Dutt did not deny. In fact She defended herself why she spoke to Nira.
- Ratan Tata went to court to protect his privacy. Note that he did not deny it either.
You can authenticate Rajathi Ammal voice by the following.
- Nira was talking about Kani (Mozhi)
- We know that Mr. Rathnam is Auditor to Rajathi Ammal.
- Nira inquires about CM (Dr. M. Karunanidhi)
Our questions are
- Why they should call and talk to Corporate Lobbyist like Nira Radia?
- Why they talk about Tata and Voltas land if they have no vested interest?
- Why they don't want to talk about tapes or Nira Radia?
You can listen to the audio below
With all these going on Dr. Kalignazar will say he owns only his house and donated that to Charity after his death. What in fact he says is, all my estates are distributed to my family. I only own this. Don't ask about CIT colony house, Kaliznar TV, etc. Then you will be branded as Aryan attacking Dravidian.
The press release stated that connecting Rajathi Ammal to Voltas property is not true and spreading the rumor will result in legal action. They provided detail accounts of who bought the property, who acted conduit between Tata and the buyer. They also confessed the individuals don't work for them anymore. Here is the statement as published in The Hindu.
In a statement here, she said Saravanan, a former employee of Royal, a company owned by her, had ventured into real estate business.
It is learnt that using “power of attorney,” he had purchased the land that was being occupied on lease by Voltas and sold it to Shanmughanathan, an industrialist based in Malaysia.
“Our company (Royal) has absolutely no connection or transactions with Dr. Shanmughanathan. However, some sections of the media, with an ulterior motive, are publishing false news that I have purchased that land. If they continue to indulge in such activities, I propose to seek legal recourse,” she said In general if you are not involved, you may not even know where is the property, who owns it and how transaction occurred. This statement trying to hide important fact. It did not utter a word about her conversation with Nira Radia. She was specifically asking Nira that what happened to Tata and why it was not done? Her Auditor Rathnam does talk to Nira in detail asking why the Tata deal is not yet done.
Nira Radia voice is authenticated by following activities.
- She did not dispute it (There were lot of references to her name in the conversation as well)
- Barka Dutt did not deny. In fact She defended herself why she spoke to Nira.
- Ratan Tata went to court to protect his privacy. Note that he did not deny it either.
You can authenticate Rajathi Ammal voice by the following.
- Nira was talking about Kani (Mozhi)
- We know that Mr. Rathnam is Auditor to Rajathi Ammal.
- Nira inquires about CM (Dr. M. Karunanidhi)
Our questions are
- Why they should call and talk to Corporate Lobbyist like Nira Radia?
- Why they talk about Tata and Voltas land if they have no vested interest?
- Why they don't want to talk about tapes or Nira Radia?
You can listen to the audio below
With all these going on Dr. Kalignazar will say he owns only his house and donated that to Charity after his death. What in fact he says is, all my estates are distributed to my family. I only own this. Don't ask about CIT colony house, Kaliznar TV, etc. Then you will be branded as Aryan attacking Dravidian.
What is special about Yesterday's Lunar eclipse?
On Dec 21 night, two important astronomical events Total Lunar Eclipse and Winter solstice coincided. Similar event occurred on Dec 21, 1638 which is 372 years back!
The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. This happens just for a moment. This is shortest day and longest night of a year as well. This time total lunar eclipse coincides with this.
The next time these two events will coincide on December 21, 2094!
If you missed this, you can watch the heavenly show http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/21/lunar.eclipse/index.html?hpt=C2.
The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. This happens just for a moment. This is shortest day and longest night of a year as well. This time total lunar eclipse coincides with this.
The next time these two events will coincide on December 21, 2094!
If you missed this, you can watch the heavenly show http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/21/lunar.eclipse/index.html?hpt=C2.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Free Color TV - Is it a best use of Government Money?
In the last Tamil Nadu election, DMK Manifesto was the hero (at least that was the claim). It certainly contributed to DMK's victory. Many of us saw pendulum swinging from AIADMK to DMK after release of this manifesto. The DMK kept his promise distributing free Television sets. Conservative estimates put the total cost for Free TV distribution so far north of 20,000 cores.
On top of this, Government spends on money on subsidized rice, free houses, so on. Let us dive into details.
The Government needs to generate revenue to meet this obligation. There are not many ways to generate this revenue. Government gets money from Central Government which is collected through Income Tax, State can levy Sales Tax, Commercial Tax, etc. The next option is borrowing money. Tamil Nadu given its position in Central, can do some arm twisting to get more than its fair share. There is a limit for this. The second option is increase the state taxes on various products which are sold in Tamil Nadu. Ultimately Tamil Nadu consumers pay this. This is happening. The major chunk of money comes from Alcohol sales. The next option is borrowing money from various sources. If we do this beyond our means, Tamil Nadu should go bankrupt when it cannot meet its obligation. One hopes that Central Government will rescue the state if that ever happens. If that ever happens, it is making other states to pay for us. This could create heart burns in other states. The bottom line is public needs to pay one way or other. It is not REALLY FREE in that sense.
There are lot of negative consequence on the society. The first and foremost is alcoholic addiction in the society. In general, Governments tax more on alcohol / tobacco and divert the fund to fight addiction and for educating public. Here using it for addicting public on freebies. This money can be used for various things such as building roads, spend on education, address power issues by building new plants to increase capacity, provide clean / running water, toilet facilities and so many things. This should be taken to public in a correct way. At least one courageous person started this. Hats off to him. (http://nallapathivukal.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_18.html)
We all know Tamil Nadu politics runs on cutting (kick back is the appropriate word). The standard rate is 5-10%. Applying the same thumb rule, we are talking in the range of 1000-2000 crore cutting. This may be nothing compare to 2G scandal. Spending this money on infrastructure will bring in more industries and hence jobs, jobs will bring more government revenue. The cycle continues.
This can be used to train people on trade which can fetch better jobs. Government also should preserve the agricultural land otherwise, it will lead to food shortage. This is a different topic to tackle.
This is not the end, DMK has long term vision on this. That is the exactly the reason why they wanted communication ministry in central. DMK Leadership and his family wants to control the whole media in the south. Free TV paves way to capture market share in DTH and cable networks.
Let us encourage people like Mr. Vijaykumar (Read the below blog to learn more about him) and steer the government away from disastrous path.
Thanks to http://nallapathivukal.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_18.html
On top of this, Government spends on money on subsidized rice, free houses, so on. Let us dive into details.
The Government needs to generate revenue to meet this obligation. There are not many ways to generate this revenue. Government gets money from Central Government which is collected through Income Tax, State can levy Sales Tax, Commercial Tax, etc. The next option is borrowing money. Tamil Nadu given its position in Central, can do some arm twisting to get more than its fair share. There is a limit for this. The second option is increase the state taxes on various products which are sold in Tamil Nadu. Ultimately Tamil Nadu consumers pay this. This is happening. The major chunk of money comes from Alcohol sales. The next option is borrowing money from various sources. If we do this beyond our means, Tamil Nadu should go bankrupt when it cannot meet its obligation. One hopes that Central Government will rescue the state if that ever happens. If that ever happens, it is making other states to pay for us. This could create heart burns in other states. The bottom line is public needs to pay one way or other. It is not REALLY FREE in that sense.
There are lot of negative consequence on the society. The first and foremost is alcoholic addiction in the society. In general, Governments tax more on alcohol / tobacco and divert the fund to fight addiction and for educating public. Here using it for addicting public on freebies. This money can be used for various things such as building roads, spend on education, address power issues by building new plants to increase capacity, provide clean / running water, toilet facilities and so many things. This should be taken to public in a correct way. At least one courageous person started this. Hats off to him. (http://nallapathivukal.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_18.html)
We all know Tamil Nadu politics runs on cutting (kick back is the appropriate word). The standard rate is 5-10%. Applying the same thumb rule, we are talking in the range of 1000-2000 crore cutting. This may be nothing compare to 2G scandal. Spending this money on infrastructure will bring in more industries and hence jobs, jobs will bring more government revenue. The cycle continues.
This can be used to train people on trade which can fetch better jobs. Government also should preserve the agricultural land otherwise, it will lead to food shortage. This is a different topic to tackle.
This is not the end, DMK has long term vision on this. That is the exactly the reason why they wanted communication ministry in central. DMK Leadership and his family wants to control the whole media in the south. Free TV paves way to capture market share in DTH and cable networks.
Let us encourage people like Mr. Vijaykumar (Read the below blog to learn more about him) and steer the government away from disastrous path.
Thanks to http://nallapathivukal.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_18.html
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Total Lunar Eclipse on Monday Night (Dec 20/21, 2010)
The last lunar eclipse of 2010 occurs on Dec 20/21, 201o. It is visible in North America. This total eclipse will last for 72 minutes.
The eclipse starts at 1:33AM EST (Dec 21, 2010) and ends at 5:01AM EST (Dec 21, 2010). During which total eclipse will be on display from 2:41AM EST through 3:53AM. The mid-eclipse is 3:17AM.
The eclipse is visible in North America, South America, Western European countries, Japan, etc.
However this is not visible in India.
More details all available below links.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101217/sc_space/amazingspectacletotallunareclipsemondaynight
The eclipse starts at 1:33AM EST (Dec 21, 2010) and ends at 5:01AM EST (Dec 21, 2010). During which total eclipse will be on display from 2:41AM EST through 3:53AM. The mid-eclipse is 3:17AM.
The eclipse is visible in North America, South America, Western European countries, Japan, etc.
However this is not visible in India.
More details all available below links.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101217/sc_space/amazingspectacletotallunareclipsemondaynight
Did Ratan Tata influence policy or cross the line?
First my Disclaimer, I great admiration and respect towards the Tata organization. I commend Mr. JRD Tata contributions to Society and for the nation. I have great respect for Ratan Tata for his business leadership.
Recent leaks from 2G scandal tapes links Ratan Tata to the certain activities which are not inline with company policies. Let us go through them as we read from various reputed news outlets.
There were rumors few years back that Mr. Dayanithi Maran (then Communication Minister) threatened Mr. Ratan Tata over Tata DTH. It may not be in their vested interest to let him become Communication Minister again in new UPA government. (http://allaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2006/05/dayanidhi-maran-vs-ratan-tata-question.html)
In this context, if you listen to Nira Radia - Tata conversation, Tata is comfortable with Raja in comparison with Mr. Maran (DMK wanted to retain this portfolio). Ratan Tata wants to make sure he gets the minister whom he can have influence. This is where thinks goes out of control. It is not ethical/legal to influence PM to appoint a specific individual to cabinet and assign specific portfolio. The primary motive is take advantage of the individual for their own benefit. (Here is the transcript released by outlook India. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268369)
There are rumors that Tata negotiated a deal to sell prime land in Chennai to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's wife Rajathi Ammal (or some one she agrees to) for building commercial complex. (http://nallapathivukal.blogspot.com/search/label/Kanimozhi)
I request Mr. Ratan Tata to come out and explain to his shareholders (if not to broader public). He is not a private citizen like most of us. He needs privacy but on these issues. He certainly owes answer to his shareholders.
Recent leaks from 2G scandal tapes links Ratan Tata to the certain activities which are not inline with company policies. Let us go through them as we read from various reputed news outlets.
There were rumors few years back that Mr. Dayanithi Maran (then Communication Minister) threatened Mr. Ratan Tata over Tata DTH. It may not be in their vested interest to let him become Communication Minister again in new UPA government. (http://allaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2006/05/dayanidhi-maran-vs-ratan-tata-question.html)
In this context, if you listen to Nira Radia - Tata conversation, Tata is comfortable with Raja in comparison with Mr. Maran (DMK wanted to retain this portfolio). Ratan Tata wants to make sure he gets the minister whom he can have influence. This is where thinks goes out of control. It is not ethical/legal to influence PM to appoint a specific individual to cabinet and assign specific portfolio. The primary motive is take advantage of the individual for their own benefit. (Here is the transcript released by outlook India. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268369)
There are rumors that Tata negotiated a deal to sell prime land in Chennai to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's wife Rajathi Ammal (or some one she agrees to) for building commercial complex. (http://nallapathivukal.blogspot.com/search/label/Kanimozhi)
I request Mr. Ratan Tata to come out and explain to his shareholders (if not to broader public). He is not a private citizen like most of us. He needs privacy but on these issues. He certainly owes answer to his shareholders.
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