Obedient CBI nails Government on Coalgate

Saswat Panigrahi

The UPA Government is on a sticky wicket like never before. The CBI in an affidavit told the Supreme Court that it had shared the draft of the status report on its probe into Coalgate scam with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar as desired by him. The CBI further admitted before the Apex Court that the contents of the report have also been shared with a Joint Secretary level officer in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). There is a lot more to the Coalgate probe than that meets the eye.

The development came amid the CBI facing serious allegations of toning down its probe report on Coalgate under the influence of the Government. Though the investigative agency maintains that no alternation was made in the report, reports suggest that it was Law Minister Ashwani Kumar who vetted the probe report. This is not to dispute that vetting the report of a probe agency is a criminal act and the Government is indulged in such acts.

The CBI is an investigative agency and is supposed to carry out an independent and unbiased investigation. But the Congress-led UPA Government, which is responsible for the Coalgate scam is now trying to use the CBI to conceal the truth. The CBI, however, maintains that it is not under pressure on Coalgate probe.

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The time for a Third Front is never

Saswat Panigrahi

Staring at the upcoming 2014 general election, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has resurrected the mirage of Third Front once again. “Only Third Front can ensure development,” he says.

And as if that was not enough, BJD supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik went on to describe Third front as a ‘healthy option’.

But the fact of the matter is that Third Front has never been a success in the past and it has no relevance in Indian politics today. India witnessed two handicapped Governments — led by HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral respectively — under United Front rule between 1996 and 1998. Both Governments were heavily dependent on the crutches of the Congress. The nation gained absolutely nothing under United Front rule. India faced an extreme economic crisis under the two Prime Ministers. Such was the situation that India had to deposit gold to the World Bank during the last phase of this period.

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Government hiding truth on 2G scam

Saswat Panigrahi

It was on expected lines. While making former Telecom Minister A Raja responsible for the 2G spectrum scandal, the Congress-led JPC in its draft report gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram. The report rubbishes the 2G loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore estimated by CAG and went on to call it “ill-conceived”.

The Opposition has thrashed the JPC report and termed it as nothing more than a ‘Congress report’. The way the country’s biggest scam was probed by the JPC is indeed a moment of concern.

The JPC is a Parliamentary body and is expected to conduct an unbiased probe into any issue that comes before it. But the irony is that while probing the 2G spectrum scam, there was no consensus among the JPC members. It does not help that JPC chairman PC Chacko himself is a Congress spokesperson.

There are a lot of unanswered questions which point to a shoddy and lame-duck investigation by JPC. Former Telecom Minister A Raja, the key accused in the 2G scam, was not even given a chance to depose before the JPC despite his numerous requests. Is it because the Government feared that a lot of skeletons could tumble out of its closets?

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JDU relentless in anti-Modi tirade

Saswat Panigrahi

The BJP on Tuesday appeared to be hardening its stance towards its carping ally, the JD(U). This follows Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continuing with his harangue and his JD(U) colleague Shivanand Tiwari upping the ante by naming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The kind of tantrum thrown by the Bihar Chief Minister in the past weeks had left the BJP leadership fuming. The BJP core group has decided not to go soft on Nitish Kumar if he continues his attack on his Gujarat counterpart.

Having been a part of the NDA journey since 1999, JD(U) is one of the oldest ally of the BJP. Today, when 2014 election is round the corner, it is Narendra Modi which made Nitish Kumar a matter of worry.

Amid a growing clamor to project Modi as BJP’s Prime Ministerial face, Nitish Kumar has issued a veiled threat to snap ties with the saffron party.

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Congress in a tizzy over Modi’s popularity

Saswat Panigrahi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s induction into the BJP Parliamentary Board — the apex decision making body of the party — has sent Congress into a tizzy.

Senior Congress leader and Union Minister Kapil Sibal said Modi will pose a challenge to the BJP in the next general election. As if that was not enough, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi went on to add that the Gujarat Chief Minister will prove to be ‘Yamraj’ for the BJP in the 2014 election.

Congress is finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with Modi being given new responsibilities in the BJP. Modi’s popularity is growing by leaps and bounds. The Gujarat Chief Minister has started giving Congress sleepless nights. The Congress has started realising that it will be thrown out of power in the next general election. The party lacks ideas and leaders to tackle Modi.

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