Monday, May 25, 2015

Manmohan Singh's "clean image"

Pradip Baijal, a former Chairman of TRAI,  has made some observations on Manmohan Singh, Dayanidhi Maran and CBI which throw some light on UPA's stand on morality. These are mentioned in Times of India.

"Agency (CBI) forced me to implicate industrialist Ratan Tata and former Cabinet minister Arun Shourie if I wanted to save myself."

" CBI harasses upright civil servants and political opponents of the government in power".

 "They (CBI) would alternately threaten to harm me and my family and then dangle a carrot of sparing me if I implicated Ratan Tata and Arun Shourie,"

"In the 2G case, they (CBI) had told me that there was an open and shut case against me, and an FIR would be filed soon, and I would be arrested. Perhaps the CBI officers were trying to treat their bruised egos at the instance of their old masters. They had warned me in each case that I would be harmed if I did not cooperate."

"This was suspiciously similar to Dayanidhi Maran's threats in 2004. It only dawned on me later that perhaps this was being done either by Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja, acting together or by corporates who were trying to protect their self-interest. Dayanidhi Maran knew exactly what I discussed with the PM. I can only surmise that they were all working in tandem, possibly along with the PM (referring to Manmohan Singh), (P) Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal at different stages, and were guiding the CBI enquiry, getting files removed and, making false statements in the media to make a case against the erstwhile Trai."

" CBI has deteriorated into an instrument of state power, particularly during the terms of the last two directors, A P Singh and Ranjit Sinha."

"In 2004, after a routine meeting, Ratan Tata told me that he was being threatened by Dayanidhi Maran that unless he accepted the merger of Tata Sky with Sun TV, he would ruin him. Ratan Tata refused to cooperate."


"UPA government removed important files from TRAI and telecom ministry to hide its wrongdoings when scandal hit the headlines in 2009-2010."

" Maran told me that he was "Prime Minister, Telecom" and would take all decisions on telecom. "He warned that I would come to severe harm if I did not comply with his instructions. He was proved right, since I did face severe hardships later."

 "...The PM also told me to cooperate with my minister in the coalition government he headed, since non-cooperation could compromise his government". 

 "They (CBI) had warned me in each case (cases related to 2G scam and disinvestments) that I would be harmed if I didn't cooperate. Incidentally, this was exactly what the eminent economist Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) had told me would happen if I did not cooperate in their scheme of things in the 2G case." 

"Had I agreed to their (Manmohan Singh and Maran) suggestions and not given the report, the 2003 special regime would have continued and UPA would have held NDA or TRAI (including me) responsible for the 2G scam. The PM would not have accepted his responsibility, just as he shirked responsibility in Coalgate scam."

There are many instances where Manmohan Singh compromised with standards of ethical governance. If despite these, there are people who continue to believe in his honesty, it only shows how gullible we are. It is difficult to judge who among Manmohan Singh, Dayanidhi Maran, A.Raja, P.Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal was the worst crook. It is a pity that our criminal justice system has not yet found any of them guilty. One hopes that Modi and his ministers will have a better sense of values.

1 comment:

K.R.Srivarahan said...

"Speaking at NSUI national convention, Manmohan Singh denied the corruption charges made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the previous UPA governments."

This is a new revelation from MMS. No corruption in UPA government?

MMS also claims that BJP harps on corruption to divert people's attention to non-issues. So, corruption is a non-issue?

"I have not used public office to enrich myself, family or friends." He shamelessly stuck to his post despite a series of 'no loss' scams. He is so self-effacing that whatever he did was not to enrich himself because he had no self.