Lok
Sabha
Elections
2004
Campaign Booklets
Scams
and
Scandals
Galore!
There
has
never
been
a
government
in
independent
India
that
has
been
rocked
by
as
many
scandals
and
scams
as
the
BJP-led
government.
The
scale
of
corruption
under
this
government
has
touched
such
heights
that
the
Rs
64
crore
Bofors
scam
almost
pales
into
insignificance
in
comparison.
The
BJP-led
government,
led
by
the
‘party
with
a
difference’
has
been
instrumental
in
institutionalising
corruption
in
this
country.
Who
can
forget
the
sordid
visual
shown
on
TV
channels
across
the
country
of
the
then
BJP
President,
Bangaru
Laxman,
eagerly
accepting
bundles
of
cash
and
thrusting
them
into
his
desk
drawer
while
expressing
his
preference
for
dollars
next
time
around.
Worse
was
to
follow
as
the
government
brazened
it
out,
with
the
Samata
Party
President
Jaya
Jaitly
claiming
that
they
had
done
nothing
wrong
since
they
were
‘only
taking
money
for
the
Party.’
George
Fernandes,
the
man
more
loyal
than
the
king
in
the
BJP-led
alliance,
who
had
been
vociferous
in
demanding
action
against
those
involved
in
the
Bofors
kickbacks,
ironically
gave
the
same
response
as
that
of
the
Cong
(I)
at
that
time:
first
denial,
then
alleging
conspiracy
and
lastly
pleading
for
silence
on
the
grounds
of
national
security.
This
silence
must
be
broken.
The
people
of
this
country
have
the
right
to
know
how
a
party,
who
vowed
to
cleanse
the
system
of
‘bhrashtachar’
(corruption),
was
involved
in
shady
dealings
without
consideration
of
their
repercussions
on
the
nation,
its
security
and
the
exchequer.
It’s
present
President
Venkaiah
Naidu
himself
is
involved
in
a
land
scam.
According
to
a
report
in
the
Asian
Age
(Aug.
17,
2002),
‘The
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
has
chosen
as
its
president
a
gentleman
who
allegedly
annexed
40.15
acres
of
land
that
was
meant
to
be
distributed
to
the
landless
poor
and
other
weaker
sections
of
society.’
Let
us
look
at
the
major
scams
and
scandals
which
had
the
blessings
of
the
ruling
alliance
at
the
Centre.
1.
Tehelka
Exposé
As
is
now
widely
known,
journalists
from
the
internet-based
news
service,
tehelka.com,
posing
as
representatives
of
a
fictitious
UK
based
arms
dealer
called
‘West
End’
worked
their
way
up
a
chain
of
bureaucrats,
military
officers,
ruling
party
politicians,
agents
and
fixers
over
a
period
of
six
months.
The
entire
country
saw
on
television
how
the
‘West
End’
team
bribed
their
way
through
this
system
by
getting
introduced
to
key
decision-makers
or
those
who
could
influence
them,
and
obtained
sensitive
information
and
access
to
military
secrets.
The
self-proclaimed
champions
of
a
strong
nation
stood
exposed
as
a
bunch
of
self-seeking
crooks
directly
accepting
bribes
from
agents
and
middlemen.
Jaya
Jaitly,
the
then
President
of
the
Samata
Party,
clearly
compromised
the
nation’s
security
and
encouraged
corruption
in
the
Ministry
of
Defence
by
conducting
such
dealings
from
within
the
Defence
Minister’s
residence.
In
the
sad
aftermath
to
this
scandal
a
systematic
attempt
was
made
to
cover
up
the
sordid
saga.
Given
this
record
of
the
BJP-led
government
and
especially
that
of
highly
placed
officials
within
the
Defence
Ministry,
there
is
a
genuine
case
for
enquiring
into
all
major
defence
deals
entered
into
by
this
government.
Let
us
not
forget
that
this
same
government
still
works
under
a
cloud
of
suspicion
involving
a
deal
that
had
to
do
with
purchase
of
coffins
for
our
martyred
Jawans.
2.
UTI
Scam
The
hard-earned
savings
of
a
large
number
of
ordinary
middle
class
Indians
was
put
into
jeopardy
by
the
government-managed
Unit
Trust
of
India.
UTI’s
decision
in
2001
to
suspend
the
sale
and
repurchase
of
its
units
for
six
months,
affected
over
two
crore
small
investors.
The
collapse
of
UTI’s
flagship
scheme
US-64
was
a
gigantic
fraud,
unprecedented
in
scale.
It
is
clear
now
that
the
finance
ministry
was
involved
in
the
UTI’s
ploy
of
siphoning
money
put
in
by
small
investors
into
dubious
companies.
The
list
of
companies
whose
shares
the
UTI
bought
included
those
run
by
RSS/BJP
sympathisers.
Corporate
houses
had
been
using
the
massive
investible
fund
at
the
UTI’s
disposal
(which
stood
at
Rs
75,159
crores
as
on
30th
June
2000)
for
their
speculative
profit-making
in
the
stock
exchanges.
Earlier
too,
in
1998,
in
a
similar
crisis,
the
Government
had
to
bail
out
the
UTI
with
a
Rs
3,300
crore
package.
At
that
time,
a
committee
was
constituted
to
review
the
functioning
of
the
US-64
scheme.
It
had
recommended
that
these
funds
should
be
invested
in
safer
‘debt
funds’
rather
than
in
high
risk
‘equity
funds’.
In
blatant
disregard
of
the
committee’s
recommendations,
UTI
continued
to
invest
in
equity
funds,
including
stocks
handled
by
the
infamous
Ketan
Parekh
(who
was
later
arrested
on
charges
of
gross
corruption).
UTI
was
clearly
involved
in
placing
its
funds
at
the
disposal
of
stock
market
scamsters
and
fraudulent
companies
owned
by
RSS/BJP
sympathisers.
To
further
compound
matters,
large
corporates
withdrew
their
investments
from
the
UTI
just
before
its
crash
—
thus
pointing
to
the
fact
that
they
were
privy
to
inside
information
that
came
from
the
highest
quarters.
In
a
shameless
display
of
callous
disregard
for
the
future
of
millions
who
lost
their
hard
earned
savings,
the
Finance
Minister
claimed
that
his
Ministry
was
entirely
oblivious
of
the
happenings
in
the
UTI.
3.
Land
Scam
The
Urban
Development
Ministry
of
the
BJP-led
government
worked
overtime
to
gift
away
prime
plots
in
the
heart
of
the
nation’s
capital
to
the
RSS,
VHP
and
other
affiliates
of
the
Sangh
Parivar,
at
prices
that
were
less
than
one-tenth
of
the
market
rate.
According
to
the
Indian
Express,
of
the
209
allotments,
115
have
gone
to
government
departments,
and
of
the
remaining
94,
a
huge
chunk
has
gone
to
Sangh
Parivar
affiliates.
Land
worth
hundreds
of
crores
of
rupees
in
Rouse
Avenue,
Vasant
Vihar
and
other
such
prime
locations
have
been
garnered
by
RSS
front
organisations.
4.
Petrol
Pump
Scam
The
petro-scam
involved
using
the
Dealership
Selection
Boards
(DSBs)
to
give
sympathizers
of
the
BJP
agencies
for
Motor
Spirits,
High
Speed
Diesel
Pumps,
Kerosene
and
LPG.
A
majority
of
the
3,850
allotments
have
been
traced
to
friends
and
relations
of
the
RSS/BJP.
One
of
the
‘beneficiaries’
was
an
inmate
of
the
prime
minister’s
official
residence
in
Lucknow!
The
entire
system,
from
the
selection
of
the
chairmen
of
the
DSBs
to
the
allotment
of
the
agencies
was
so
designed
that
it
could
be
manipulated
without
hindrance.
5.
Loot
of
Public
Property
–
The
Disinvestment
Scam
Under
five
years
of
the
so-called
‘Swadeshi’
government
the
hard-earned
assets
of
the
Indian
people,
built
over
half
a
century,
were
sold
to
private
and
foreign
companies
at
throwaway
prices.
Here
are
a
few
examples:
(a)
The
Centaur
Airport
Hotel
in
Mumbai,
which
was
sold
to
a
private
party
for
only
Rs
83
crore,
was
resold
by
the
buyer
four
months
later
for
Rs
115
crore.
The
owner
of
the
company
which
originally
bought
the
hotel
was
known
to
be
close
to
the
RSS.
The
fact
that
Rs
32
Crore
was
made
in
such
a
short
time
shows
how
public
sector
assets
were
undervalued
by
the
Department
of
Disinvestment
under
the
BJP-led
government.
The
CPI(M)
has
demanded
a
CBI
inquiry
into
the
sale
and
resale
of
Centaur
Hotel,
Mumbai,
in
the
light
of
the
adverse
remarks
made
by
the
Comptroller
and
Auditor
General
of
India
(CAG).
The
CAG
in
its
report
has
indicated
that
the
government
suffered
a
loss
of
Rs
145.69
crore
as
a
result
of
the
deal.
(b)
Modern
Foods,
valued
at
Rs
22.00
crore
by
the
employees’
union,
was
sold
to
a
multinational,
Hindustan
Lever
Ltd.
Along
with
the
company,
all
fixed
assets
like
14
factories,
7
ancillary
units
and
20
franchise
units
—
all
situated
in
prime
locations
in
big
cities,
were
also
sold.
(c)
BALCO,
the
company
worth
Rs
5,500
crore
was
sold
to
a
single
bidder
Sterlite
for
Rs
551
crore.
Minister
for
Disinvestment
Arun
Shourie
gives
three
arguments
in
favour
of
disinvestment
—
(a)
Infusing
new
technology;
(b)
infusing
new
capital;
and
(c)
revamp
of
the
management.
None
of
these
arguments
hold
good
for
profit-making
PSUs.
For
example,
VSNL
had
cash
reserves
and
surplus
of
more
than
Rs
6,000
crore
(year
ending
March
2000)
and
made
a
profit
of
over
Rs
800
crore
for
that
year.
Yet
the
government
chose
to
hand
it
over
to
the
Tatas.
It
is
a
moot
question
why
the
government
is
intent
on
selling
profit-making
PSUs
to
Tatas,
Birlas
and
Ambanis?
Is
it
because
they
grease
the
election
machinery
of
the
BJP
and
its
partners?
The
BJP-led
government
has
decided
to
accelerate
the
process
of
disinvestment.
Mercifully
the
Supreme
Court
stepped
in
to
stop
the
disinvestment
plans
of
the
government
as
regards
oil
giants
like
the
HPCL
&
BPCL.
Even
today
the
disinvestment
plans
for
MTNL,
GAIL,
ONGC,
VSNL,
IOC,
IA
remain
on
the
anvil.
6.
Telecom
Scam
In
July
1999,
the
government
announced
a
sudden
shift
in
policy
from
a
fixed
telecom
licensing
fee
to
a
revenue
sharing
arrangement.
This
was
done
to
favour
certain
players
in
the
telecom
sector
including
some
who
had
direct
access
to
the
Prime
Minister’s
Office.
The
estimated
loss
to
the
country
stood
at
Rs
4,600
crores.
7.
Sugar
Scam
In
September
1999,
the
BJP-led
government
decided
to
import
5.54
lakh
tonnes
of
sugar
from
Pakistan
when
there
was
no
shortage
in
the
country.
An
estimated
Rs
900
crore
was
the
windfall
that
a
select
group
of
traders
enjoyed.
8.
Stamp
Paper
Scam
‘I
challenge
you,
you
can’t
stamp
out
fake
stamp
paper,
it
has
been
going
on
since
pre-Independence
days.
Mine
is
only
one
of
the
gangs
and
it
is
not
the
biggest’,
said
Telgi,
the
prime
accused
in
the
multi-crore
fake
stamp
paper
scam
(estimated
at
Rs
47,000
crores)
to
his
interrogators.
It
is
now
clear
that
corrupt
politicians
owing
allegiance
to
both
the
BJP
(and
its
partners)
and
the
Congress
along
with
top
police
officials
are
involved.
9.
Milking
Public
Sector
The
latest
in
the
series
of
scams
is
that
of
the
minister
for
civil
aviation,
Rajiv
Pratap
Rudy
who
had
been
misusing
his
office
by
milking
funds
of
the
Airports
Authority
of
India
for
his
personal
use.
While
millions
die
of
hunger
in
this
country,
we
have
a
minister
of
who
stays
in
a
five-star
hotel
in
Goa
and
sends
the
huge
bill
running
into
lakhs
of
rupees
to
a
public
sector
company
for
payment.
Earlier,
the
Central
Vigilance
Commissioner
has
had
cause
to
complain
to
the
Prime
Minister
about
misuse
of
powers
by
ministers,
who
force
public
sector
units
to
finance
their
lavish
lifestyles.
The
BJP-led
government
had
once
claimed
that
on
their
spotless
white
kurta,
even
a
small
drop
of
ink
would
stand
out.
In
the
last
five
years
the
drops
of
inks
have
become
so
frequent
that
the
original
colour
of
the
kurta
is
not
clear
any
more.
In
the
coming
elections,
the
people
of
this
country
will
get
a
chance
to
give
a
fitting
rebuff
to
this
corrupt
government.