p. chidambaram | BHARATA BHARATI

2G Scam: Judicial theatre of the absurd – Hilda Raja

Posted on Feb 6, 2012 by VOI

“The Congress is a Judas. Its leaders have not stood by the solemn oaths they took. They have betrayed the nation in almost all fronts and gave away national assets – all for the sake of power. The judgment of O.P Saini is hence no victory for the Congress as claimed by its leaders. It is for the people to judge. What is sheer absurdity is the way the Congress leaders chorus this ‘victory’. They appear like a group of buffoons engaged in buffoonery and expose themselves to be the ridicule of the nation.” – Dr. Hilda Raja

The Congress leaders cut such a sorry figure that one really feels like laughing at the whole lot. The special CBI judge O.P. Saini has cleared P. Chidambaram. But one must realize that the CBI comes under Home Ministry and naturally the judge’s judgment can be questioned. Is there no bias? Even to a lay person like me it seems that the judge was wrong. A. Raja did have the support of PC. If he did not overtly have then at least covertly he did okay the manipulations of A. Raja.It would have been judicious if PC had resigned and then the special CBI judge came out with his judgment. The full judgment text needs to be carefully studied. The Congress leaders have no right and no justification to claim ‘victory’. First it must be noted that the whole 2G Spectrum scam erupted under the UPA with the Congress as the main party in governance.

What was the role of the PM? Silence and inaction means abetting the conspiracy. The same can be attributed to PC also. He knew very well that not even perishable edible things can be bought at the same price of 2001. Then how can the Finance Minister who was PC remain a silent spectator to this –‘to gift away the important national asset at throwaway prices.’ How can Judge Saini say that PC had no role? When there is a conspiracy at the highest level-when the entire approach of Trai was lopsided and contrary to the decision taken by the Council of ministers how can PC be absolved and how can the PM be kept outside this conspiracy?

Dr. Swamy’s allegations that he conspired with the then Minister for communication and Information Technology A. Raja to fix Spectrum prices at 2001 and that he allowed Swan and Unitech to off load their shares to foreign companies even before they began rolling out services.It is to these two allegations that the Special Judge O.P. Saini finds no material on record and also that these two acts are not illegal. The honorable judge furthered his judgment by stating that there is a difference between mere association with a decision and criminal conspiracy. Even a lay person like me finds this difficult to accept. Association with A. Raja to commit a conspiracy is certainly abetting and being a partner to that conspiracy.It cannot be brushed aside as a ‘mere association’in the context of the 2G Spectrum. It is for the learned judge to still further clarify the difference between mere association with a decision and a criminal conspiracy. When that decision becomes the conspiracy that ‘mere assocation’ to that decision and the associate becomes a partner to the conspiracy and hence a co-conspirator with A. Raja.

If according to the Judge a decision taken by a public servant does not become criminal for the simple reason that it has caused loss to the public exchequer or resulted in pecuniary advantage to others-then may I humbly ask what is the conspiracy of A. Raja? He can also state that he simply took a decision without any malafide and if that happened to cause loss to the public exchequer it is not a conspiracy because he did not act on any malafide theory. As a public servant he took a decision-Is there a record to show that A. Raja resorted to this decision because he gained pecuniary advantage? Is there any record to prove it or is to be conjectured? The same reasons by which Judge O.P. Saini absolves PC can also be extended to A. Raja to absolve him.

On the other hand the judge reserved the absolution on these counts only for PC while calling A. Raja’s action a criminal conspiracy. How does the Judge conclude that PC did not gain from the ‘other accused’? Gains in these affairs need further investigation and need not expose a direct flow of funds now and immediate. There are various types of gains. P. Chidambaram needs the support of the DMK in his home State if he must get votes. Is that not a gain? Did the Judge find such a flow of monetary gains for A. Raja on record? It is with these flaws that one can say that O.P. Saini erred in his judgment. The same benefit must be extended to A. Raja.

In this background to have the Congress leaders sing Alleluia seems absurd. As Shekar Gupta in his fine tuned article ‘Raja in jail, entire UPA in handcuffs’ (The Sunday Express, Feb. 5th, 2012) exposes the phobia of the Congress. Yet we have the Congress leaders shouting themselves hoarse that the Congress has been vindicated – it is innocent etc. Is this not simply absurd? We have Kapil Sibal going to the media asserting that there had been no loss to the public exchequer because of the 2G Spectrum. Now he must eat his words. We have Kapil Sibal demanding the BJP to apologize to the nation. Anything said against the leaders/leader of the Congress brings in such a demand. As though the Congress is equivalent to the nation. But the Congress can bash Modi, call him merchant of death, and earlier called Vajpayee a traitor – did the Congress apologize to the nation? On the other hand Kapil Sibal must apologize because he claimed that there was no loss to the public exchequer. This is a blatant lie. Misguiding the nation is deception.

As the author Shekar Gupta states the Congress is a ‘victim of delusion’ It must not be forgotten that the Prime Minister told the Upper House that the Finance Minister had agreed with the pricing. Again Manmohan Singh had misled the House. and must be hauled up before the Privileges Committee. If it is true that the FM had colluded to the pricing then PC is as guilty as A. Raja. For example when two thieves break into a house – one simple stands by and the other breaks open the lock, does the smashing and the looting within while the other thief accompanies him, stands by him and hence leaves no finger prints. Though his footmarks are there. Does this mean that the standing by thief is innocent, because his finger prints are not there? Does it mean that he was merely an associate – a man who watches mutely and stands guard? Hence has not committed any damage or personally picked up any article or taken the loot immediately. Whether he will share it later is a conjecture. But both are thieves. One committed the act while the other gave him support through being his associate and companion during the criminal action. This because both came from the same town! Will the honorable judge O.P Saini absolve the thief saying that he actually did not pick up anything in his hands – he only watched and stood by – so he can be set free? This is strange justice. P. Chidambaram is a co-conspirator – otherwise A. Raja must also be let off the hook.

We have Narayanasamy saying that the Congress simply followed the NDA’s policy of first come first served. He must read carefully what the judgment says. A. Raja manipulated the first come first served principle. Some firms which had applied already in 2004 or 2006 were pushed down the priority list and those who had applied between August and Sept. 2007 got the allocation. Is this the policy of first come first served which Narayanasamy is pointing at? The Congress leaders fail to realize that the whole episode happened during its rule and hence letting off PC does not absolve the Congress of its criminality. This because the PM is a Congressman who was silent throughout – even though Dr. Swamy had written to him. By being silent he had allowed A. Raja to go ahead ignoring the Prime Minister, the Finance and the Law Ministers. Which means the Congress did not want to shake the boat and felt the best would be to allow the powerful ally DMK minister to go ahead with this arbitrary and capricious criminal action, causing loss to the nation justified by ‘coalition dharma’. Behind this lies the real motive. It wanted to be in power.

As Mr. Gupta states in his article this is a weak government besieged on every side – be it the army, the scientists, the Chief Election Commissioner not to speak of the various scams and to find them in chorus chanting ‘rejoice’ we have done nothing immoral, we simply followed the NDA’s policy. The UPA is a tottering government is in its last stages of life and hence seem to be desperate. In this desperation it has lost all sensitivity and sensibilities. Should we laugh or cry at the delusion which has captivated the Congress party? But the people have no delusion and can think straight. It is this which the PM must reflect on. Why is he silent and why is he accepting the illusory advice given by persons like Kapil Sibal, Narayasamy and Chidambaram. Why is the PM becoming a robot? Can the PM not think and act? Must he be a prisoner of his own making? In the process what stands out clearly is that the Congress is a Judas. Its leaders have not stood by the solemn oaths they took. They have betrayed the nation in almost all fronts and gave away national assets – all for the sake of power. The judgment of O.P. Saini is hence no victory for the Congress as claimed by its leaders. It is for the people to judge. What is sheer absurdity is the way the Congress leaders chorus this ‘victory’. They appear like a group of buffoons engaged in buffoonery and expose themselves to be the ridicule of the nation.