Corruption Watch

[Guest]

There are nine segments of this interview in Tamil with Dr.Swamy. Please click them one after another given on the side as you watch it on the youtube.



[size="4"][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p7PKXuHNVk&feature=related"]Subramanian Swamy on Spectrum Scandal 1[/url][/size]

[Capt M Kumar]

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram had approved his appointment, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who was the third member of the panel, opposed the same on account of Thomas's “tainted” image.



The affidavit said no statutory norms were violated in the appointment of Thomas and his suitability for the post should not be decided by the apex court. “It is well settled that a question of suitability should be left to the wisdom of the appointing authority. Suitability cannot be questioned by the court and the suitability should be left to the wisdom of the appointing authority.” http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110118/main4.htm

[Guest]

[size="4"][url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/why-only-nira-radia-and-not-antonia-maino-sonia-on-the-dock/"]WHY ONLY NIRA RADIA AND NOT ANTONIA MAINO (SONIA) ON THE DOCK – I[/url][/size]



[size="4"][url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/why-only-nira-radia-and-not-antonia-maino-sonia-on-the-dock-%e2%80%93-ii/"]WHY ONLY NIRA RADIA AND NOT ANTONIA MAINO (SONIA) ON THE DOCK – II[/url][/size]

[Capt M Kumar]

The letter, which follows a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, has been signed by businesspersons Azim Premji of Wipro, Keshub Mahindra of Mahindra & Mahindra, Jamshyd Godrej of the Godrej Group and Anu Aga of Thermax; HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh; ICICI chairman emeritus N Vaghul; former Hindustan Lever chairman and now Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Ganguly; former Reserve Bank of India governors Bimal Jalan (also an RS MP) and M Narasimham; Justices Sam Variava and B N Srikrishna, who heard the Harshad Mehta and Mumbai riots cases respectively; chartered accountant and architect of key Sebi and RBI regulations Yezdi Malegam; member of the PM's Economic Advisory Council Prof A Vaidyanathan and banker-turned-social worker Nachiket Mor.



Many in this group have played crucial roles in the India Story, advising successive governments, and at critical junctures, playing conscience-keepers. Some of them are, in fact, said to be close to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The group has said that among "several urgent steps to tackle corruption", the most critical is to make the "investigative agencies and law-enforcing bodies independent of the Executive... in order to ensure citizens that corruption will be most severely dealt with". http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india...308253.cms

[Guest]

[url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/IAS-couple-worth-Rs-360-cr/H1-Article1-652073.aspx"]IAS couple worth Rs 360 cr[/url]

The Joshis held some important posts at the Centre.



While Tinoo Joshi was a deputy secretary in the PMO from July 1988 to January 1990, Arvind Joshi was a joint secretary in the defence ministry during the Kargil war in 1999.

This value is based on inflation. I think, every IAS, IPS, IFS officers must be more than. Joshis are small crock. In late 80s IAS officers marriage rate was around one crore.

[Guest]

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/314888/CVC-drags-Govt-deeper.html"]CVC drags Govt deeper[/url]

Reveals that all 9 officers shortlisted for CVC’s post were tainted

Raising a serious question mark over the procedures followed by the Centre in the empanelment of IAS officers from States, CVC PJ Thomas on Tuesday revealed that all the nine officers who were empanelled with the Centre in 2008 — including him — were chargesheeted or had complaints pending against them. Singling him out as a “unique case” was not proper, he pointed out.



The charge made by Thomas in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court has put a question mark on the whole empanelment process which allows any officer to move from States to the Centre and occupy an important position in the Union Government.



The Government had claimed that while empanelling Thomas as Central Government officer in 2008, CVC clearance was obtained and this was held out to be a certificate of his “impeccable integrity”.



The disclosure comes ahead of the Thursday hearing in the Supreme Court when the court is to take a final call on the suitability of Thomas to continue as CVC in view of a pending charge-sheet against him in the palmolein import scam, which dates back to 1991-92 during his tenure as Food Secretary with the Kerala Government.



In his affidavit, Thomas said, “Virtually every single officer in the zone of consideration (for empanelment at Centre) had complaints or chargesheets pending.” Besides him, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) prepared note with regard to eight other officers, [color="#FF0000"]who had far more serious charges of corruption, misappropriation and embezzlement listed against them[/color]. Except one, all other officers got cleared.



Relying on the data collected from the Department of Personnel and Training, Thomas said, “An impression has been created that my case is a unique one, and that I alone suffer some taint against my name. Clearly, it is routine for officers in the discharge of their duties to have cases slapped against them, many of which are trumped up or politically motivated.”



Defending others of his like who were chargesheeted, the affidavit added, “In an environment where a bureaucrat bears the brunt of protests against governmental action, it is necessary that an objective view be taken of how we officers function.”

I am chor but others are also, No big deal, ignore all.

[Guest]

PM knew of pending case against Thomas even in 2008

February 02, 2011 2:21:17 AM

PNS | New Delhi

The Vigilance status report prepared by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on October 17, 2008, when CVC PJ Thomas had to be empanelled into the Union Government, had a favourable note made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the pending palmolein case against the officer, indicating that Singh had knowledge of the pending case against Thomas.



While denying the Left-led Kerala Government’s request in 2006 to take back the earlier proposal mooted by the Congress Government in 2005 to withdraw sanction against Thomas, the Prime Minister had noted that in view of the fact that there were no disciplinary proceedings in the case, the request of the State Government regarding withdrawal of sanction for prosecution was noted. “No further action is required at this stage by the Government of India,” the Department of Personnel and Training report stated.



A three-member selection committee — headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and comprising Home Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj — recommended the name of Thomas as the CVC on September 3 last year. The Leader of the Opposition had dissented, citing the pending case against Thomas as the reason for her dissent. The Centre has lately claimed that the palmolein case fact was not placed before the committee.

[Capt M Kumar]

BJP today dubbed the arrest of former Telecom Minister A Raja as "too little too late" and demanded that others involved in the 2G spectrum scam should also be brought to book.



"The arrest is too little too late. It is very unfair to say that Raja alone had gulped Rs 1.76 lakh crore. Who are the rest of the people? BJP categorically wants to know that," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. He said Raja's arrest was just beginning of an exercise.



"Please don't give credit to the government for the arrest. Government has to answer many questions before this finally comes to an end," he said. http://news.in.msn.com/national/article....474&page=2

[Guest]

His arrest is just a circus. No rule of law but Sonia's wish makes a difference.

[Guest]

Now 2 lakh crore ISRO Scam, It directly comes under appointed PM of India Manmohan Singh.

[Guest]

[url="http://www.dailypioneer.com/316288/After-2G-Isro%E2%80%99s-S-band-scam-rattles-Govt.html"]After 2G, Isro’s S-band scam rattles Govt[/url]

February 08, 2011 3:49:49 AM

PNS | New Delhi

Worth Rs 2 lakh cr, latest racket leads straight to PM



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday found himself in the line of Opposition’s fire as a new ‘spectrum scam’ threatened to create fresh trouble for the embattled UPA Government.



The target has shifted from former Telecom Minister A Raja to the Prime Minister following a news report quoting the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India’s preliminary findings that the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) — under the Department of Space which is headed by Manmohan Singh — allotted huge spectrum to a private operator, Devas Multimedia, at throwaway prices without going through any bidding process. Devas is owned by MG Chandrasekhar, a former scientific secretary at Isro.



Pegging the State exchequer’s loss to the tune of `2 lakh crore, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked Singh to clarify his stand on this deal. “Recently, BSNL and MTNL were allotted only 20 MHz for `12,487 crore. But for allocation of 70 MHz to this private operator, the Government is charging only `1,000 crore,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told newspersons here on Monday.



The BJP also demanded that the agreement be nullified, spectrum recovered and a comprehensive inquiry conducted to establish criminality. “This whole affair is vitiated by fraud… As a result, this country is facing not only loss of revenue but frittering away valuable national asset,” Sitharaman added.

[Guest]

[url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/2011-isro-spectrum-deal-the-s-scam-has-union-cabinet-nod/"][size="5"]2011 ISRO SPECTRUM DEAL (the “S” Scam) HAS UNION CABINET NOD![/size][/url]



From Our Delhi Bureau



NEW DELHI: Hyperactive Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, busy rescuing the UPA government in the 2G scam ever since he took over after A Raja resigned in November, finds himself caught up in another spectrum scam of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s gift of 70Mhz dirt cheap in 2005 to its former officer that is now turning out to be a Rs 2-lakh crore scam.



He was part of the Space Commission as a member in his capacity then as the minister of state for science and technology that cleared the deal. And, it was his note on which the deal was sealed with the Union Cabinet’s nod back in 2005. The Cabinet Secretary, then National Security Adviser (NSA) M K Narayanan, now West Bengal Governor, and

the ISRO chairman were the other members of the Space Commission.



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot wash off his hands in this scandal as he not only chairs the cabinet meetings but he was also briefed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar last year on need to cancel the ISRO’s deal at a ridiculously low price of Rs 1000 crores in view of the huge sums of Rs 1.06 lakh crores received in auction of the 3G spectrum.



He also heads the Department of Space (DoS) that did not order cancellation of the ISRO’s contract with the Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia Private Limited headed by ISRO’s former scientific advisor Dr M.G. Chandrasekhar even after getting an opinion from the Law Ministry last year in response to the Cabinet Secretary’s query that ISRO is within its rights to cancel the contract signed on its behalf by its commercial arm Antrix Corporation with Devas.



Sibal may also have to explain why the Department of Telecom (DoT) is sitting over a recommendation of the regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) last May to allow review of the usage of the spectrum available with various government agencies to enable it to schedule release of spectrum to the telecom sector for speedier rollout of the telecom and broadband services in the country.



DoT is the custodian of the spectrum or airways in India and an estimated 55 per cent of the available 1,161 Mhz spectrum is with the government agencies including DoS and Defence Ministry.



Though the government may act fast to scuttle the Devas contract to wriggle out of the direct charges levelled by the Opposition on the Prime Minister for the scam that is bigger than the irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation, it cannot shut off the reality of Davos attracting huge investments from abroad alike the telcom players buying 2G airways cheap and selling them at huge profits.



The catch in the Devas contract is that the company can offload the excess spectrum with it to others if it is not able to utilise all 70Mhz and there is bound to be a huge race among the private telecom operators to seize part of it instead of knocking doors of DoT all the time for access to more spectrum.



While Devas offloaded its 36749 shares worth US $75 million to Singapore-based Deutsche Telekom Asia Pte Ltd, it also took other investors, many from the tax heaven Mauritius that launders the Indians’ black money received through havala and ploughs it back in the name of the companies that can be easily registered in that country.



Two Mauritius-based companies — CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd and Telecom Devas Mauritius Ltd were issued 15730 convertible cumulative preferential shares each on March 16, 2006 at a huge premium of Rs 21445.82 for the shares with equity value of Rs 10 each, only few months after the company got the scarce spectrum. These two Mauritius companies were further allotted 15,619 shares each in three tranches.



The balance sheet of Devas Multimedia shows that its capital shot up eight times in only three years from Rs 67.5 crores on March 31, 2007 to Rs 578.82 crores in 2010. In fact, the capital investment went up by Rs 123 crores in just one year between 2009 and 2010.



Since after allotment of the scarce S-band spectrum, that was once used by Doordarshan for serving remote areas through satellite, the company raised several hundred crores and even made investments in mutual funds and financial institutions.



An interesting alibi from Antrix Corporation Limited that made the deal with Devas which also includes use of two satellites to be launched specifically for it is that ISRO was burdened with unused S-band spectrum that was vacated by Doordarshan and it readily agreed to give 70 Mhz from it to Devas that approached it. It argues that no other company had approached it as otherwise they too would have been

given the spectrum instead of letting it lie idle. What an excuse!

http://rajagopalan1951.blogspot.com/2011...binet.html

[Guest]

The Making of New Silent Movie





Producer : Mr. Corruption

Director : Middle man, Fixers and Greed



Hero : Manmohan Singh

Heroine : Sonia Gandhi

Introducing: Rahul Gandhi



Villain : A. Raja



Story: Karunanidhi

Script : Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi



Character Actor : Omar Abdullah

Comedy : Sharad and Party Spokespersons

Shameless Actor : Suresh Kalmadi



Dancers : Sheila Dixit & Jayanti Natarajan (also Barkha Dutt)

Action : Mamata Banerjee

Music : Nira Radia

Publicity : Diggvijay Singh

Sound : Manish Tiwari & AM Singhvi

Camera : Kapil Sibal



Financed By : People of India

Proceeds go to charitable causes:

1. John Dayal (AICC), Christians in their conversion activities

2. Bangladesh illegal immigrants (to buy ration cards, housing and also to procure arms)

3. Special funds to Defend Afzal Guru and future terrorists.

[Capt M Kumar]

Now, these 198 lucky candidates, who were elected by the people and for the people as the corporators of Bangalore, will try to recover the money they spent from 'we the citizens'.

Read: ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ http://news.oneindia.in/feature/2010/bbm...money.html

The people will be soon hit by this 'paisa vasol' as the corporators will get busy to get the returns on their investments from the very first day of taking office.



Reeling under the current economy, the poor commoners will be arm wrenched into paying up Rs 356.4 crore to the corporators for getting your files moved.

[Guest]

[url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/6726/"][color="#FF0000"][size="5"]Intellectuals seek security for Dr.Swamy[/size][/color][/url]



February 15, 2011 : A group of intellectuals have written to PM seeking steps to provide “highest security” to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy after threats to his life.



http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/...swamy.html



NewsX has exclusive access to the letter. That refers to the threat from many quarters, including people from Tamil Nadu who are being investigated in the 2G scam.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HQHVDaFbOQ



Call to give Swamy highest level of security cover

- New Indian Express, Feb. 15, 2011



A group of retired IAS officials and defence officers has written a letter to the Prime Minister seeking the highest level of security to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy. The letter based its plea for increased protection for Swamy on his role in exposing a number of cases of corruption in government, apart from his fight against the stashing of around $1500 billion in tax havens.

The letter comes in the backdrop of Swamy’s petition to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, seeking permission to prosecute TN Chief Minister M Karunanidhi over corruption in the allotment of TNHB flats. Swamy had then said he had 22 more such cases of corruption by the DMK-led government, which he would take up one by one.



“Reliable sources reveal that Dr Subramanian Swamy’s personal safety and security are under threat from many quarters, in the context of Dr Swamy’s various campaigns,” said the letter, while listing recent events where political activists burned Swamy’s effigies and threatened to behead him if he entered Tirunelveli.

The letter also recalls instances of violence against Swamy and his party, like the ransacking of his party’s office in Madurai.



“Patriotic citizens like Dr Subramanian Swamy have been crusaders for transparency and integrity in public life. His efforts have led to effective investigation and judicial action in many such cases… As a politician, Dr Swamy has an impeccable track record. The nation needs the services of such selfless patriotic leaders,” the letter said.



Among those who have signed the letter are former Madras HC Chief Justice T S Arunachalam, retired IAS officers N Vittal, B S Raghavan, V Sankaran and V Sundaram, former BSF Director-General T Anantachary, retired defence officers Colonel S Rajan, Brigadier V R P Sarathy and Captain H Balakrishnan.

The other include VHP International Working President S Vedantam, Senior RSS leader K Suryanarayana Rao, Hindu Munnani president R Ramagopalan and Janata Party state president V S Chandralekha.



http://epaper.expressbuzz.com/NE/NE/2011...tml?Mode=1



14 February 2011



To:

Dr.Manmohan Singh,

Honourable Prime Minister,

Government of India,

New Delhi.



Respected Prime Minister,



Sub: – Appeal for enhanced security cover for Dr. Subramanian Swamy



Recurring reports of scams and scandals involving loot of nation’s wealth, erosion of transparency and integrity in public life and conspiracies under investigation have caused serious concern among citizens of India. Some estimates by financial experts also point to staggering amounts of up to $1500 billion stashed away in foreign banks.



Patriotic citizens like Dr. Subramanian Swamy have been crusaders for transparency and integrity in public life, consistent with Dharma of Indian heritage. His efforts have led to effective investigation and judicial action in many such cases.



Some of the persons under investigation and judicial scrutiny are from Tamil Nadu. As the state is getting ready for assembly elections, some political activists have indulged in burning Dr.Swamy’s effigies in many places. Some had made threatening remarks against him, including that of ‘beheading Dr.Swamy’ if he enters Thirunelveli and the same was flashed across Tamil Nadu by TV Channels.



It may be recalled that in February 2009, Dr.Swamy was attacked inside the Court Hall of the Madras High Court, that too right in front of the Honourable Judges. In October 2008, his office in Madurai was ransacked and his staff were also assaulted by anti social elements.



It may also be recalled that Dr.Swamy was in the forefront of the fight against the demolition of sacred ‘Rama Sethu’, against government take over of Chidambaram Natarajar Temple apart from taking legal course against Spectrum allotment which is now seen to impinge our national security. Recently he has also petitioned the Tamil Nadu Governor requesting permission for prosecuting people involved in the issue of allotment of Housing Board Plots. Dr.Swamy has also been very active against the undue privileges being accorded to the minorities by the State.



Reliable sources reveal that Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s personal safety and security are under threat from many quarters, in the context of Dr.Swamy’s various campaigns. We also reliably learn that BJP leader Sri. LK Advani is taking up this matter with the Union Home Ministry.



As a politician Dr.Swamy has an impeccable track record, and as a Professor of Economics he has been admired by reputed Universities world over. Nation needs services of such selfless patriotic leaders like Dr.Swamy.



We appeal to you, Prime Minister Sir, to kindly take immediate steps to provide the highest security cover for Dr. Subramanian Swamy, throughout India.



Thanking You Sir,



With Warm Regards,



Yours Truly,



- T.S.Arunachalam, Former Chief Justice (Retd), Madras High Court

- N.Vittal IAS (Retd), Former Central Vigilance Commissioner.

- B.S.Raghavan IAS (Retd), Former Secretary, Government of India,

- V.Sankaran IAS (Retd), Former Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu

- V.Sundaram IAS (Retd) Former Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu

- T.Ananthachary, Former Director General, Border Security Force.

- Colonel (Retd) S. Rajan, Indian Army

- Brigadier (Retd) V.R.P.Sarathy, Indian Army,

- Captain (Retd) H.Balakrishnan, Indian Navy.

- Dr.S.Kalyanaraman, Director, Saraswathi Research Center.

- S.Vedantam, International Working President, VHP,

- K.Suryanarayana Rao, Senior Leader, RSS

- R.Ramagoopaalan, President, Hindu Munnani

- V.S.Chandralekha IAS (Retd), State President, Janatha Party.



Copy sent by email and air mail for necessary action to:



(i) Hon’ble Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Govt. of India, New Delhi 110001

(ii) Hon’ble Shri L.K,Advaniji, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Govt. of India, New Delhi 110001

(iii) Hon’ble Shri P . Chidambaram, Home Minister of India, Govt. of India, New Delhi 110001



February 13, 2011



INDIAN AMERICAN INTELLECTUALS FORUM

41-67 Judge Street, Suite 5P

Elmhurst, New York 11373

(718) 478-5735/(718) 271-0453

Katarian@aol.com



PRESS RELEASE:



Sub: The UPA Government should provide Z Plus security to Dr. Subramanian Swamy on an All India basis



Dr. Subramanian Swamy, President of the Janata Party is the nation’s towering crusader for transparency and integrity in public life and has exposed world-shaking scams and scandals resulting from the loot and plunder of India ’s wealth.



He is the most vocal, potent and heroic voice of the people of India reverberating all over the nation. He has been trying his best to raise the consciousness and pride of confused and uninformed citizens of India . Hence, they see in him their beacon of unshakeable courage and irresistible determination.



Dr. Swamy has been spearheading a national campaign against corruption in India . His voice needs to be heard far and wide, and for a long time until the nation’s wealth is fully restored to its people.



Dr. Swamy has filed cases against A. Raja of the DMK and is also askingthe Governor of Tamil Nadu to prosecute M. Karunanidhi, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.



Last year, when he went into the Madras High Court to plead against the take over of the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple , he was attacked by a group of pro-LTTE lawyers inside the court premises.



Sometime back, his office in Madurai was ransacked by the supporters of LTTE.



In the past there have been several attempts on the life of Dr. Swamy and some have gone un-reported.



The following two attacks on Dr. Subramanian Swamy by the Congressmen in Rae Bareilly and Lucknow in April 2006 and the recent attack by the supporters of Mumbai Congress(I) President Mr Kripa Shankar Singh at the Patkar Hall premises on 8th December 2010 were not highlighted in the media.



Since Dr. Swamy has earned the ill-will of all anti-national and anti-social elements, he may very possibly be on the hit list of such inimical forces.



It is a matter of great disgrace that anti-nationalists like Afzal Guru are shielded by the UPA government whereas patriots like Dr. Subramanian Swamy are subjected to harassment, physical assault and court cases.



It is the Paramount duty of the Government of India to provide Z Plus security cover and protection (on an All–India basis and not in one State only) to this patriotic whistle blower Dr. Subramanian Swamy - failing which the Government of India will have to bear full responsibility for any failure in this regard.



Many a time it appears that the Central Government agencies do not alert the State Government on time about Dr. Swamy’s visit to the State and many a time there is no security provided as was the case on his recent visits to Ahmedabad on 29th December 2010, Nagpur on 16th January 2011, Indore on 21st and 22nd January 2011; this is very shocking.



At the same time, we urge all friends and colleagues to write to thePrime Minister’s office requesting them to provide full security to Dr. Swamy. You can email to the Prime Minister atmanmohan@sansad.ic.in/pmosb@pmo.nic.in or call him on 91-11-23012312.



If not inconvenient, please let the undersigned know by email or phone that you have done so.



Narain Kataria

President



Copy to:

(i) Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India (By Air Mail) and email



(ii) Shri L.K,Advaniji, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (By Air Mail) and email, for necessary action



(iii) Shri P . Chidambaram, Home Minister of India (By Air Mail) and email, for necessary action



(iv) Meera Shankar, Indian Ambassador in Washington , D.C. for necessary action as deemed fit.

[Guest]

Kerala hotelier says Vayalar Ravi got bribe too(The Indian Express)

The allegation by Congress MP from Kerala, K Sudhakaran, that a former Supreme Court judge received payoffs in a case involving liquor licences, is snowballing into a major controversy.

[Guest]

[url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/advaniji-stop-being-an-apologist-of-secularism/"][color="#FF0000"][size="5"]Advaniji, stop being an apologist of secularism[/size][/color][/url]



February 18, 2011 by janamejayan

Why is it so important to ditch the truth and your partymen to apologize to Antonia? How can anyone be your friend with that attitude?



Advani says sorry to Sonia on Swiss bank account issue



PTI, Feb 18, 2011, 12.01pm IST



NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader L K Advani has apologised to Congress President Sonia Gandhi for a party-appointed task force report, which had alleged that she and her late husband Rajiv had accounts in Swiss banks.



BJP had appointed the task force on unravelling the amount of black money stashed by Indians in foreign banks and ways to bring it back.



The report had alleged that Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi were among Indians who held Swiss bank accounts.



This had led Sonia Gandhi to write a letter to Advani denying the allegation.



Sources said in the letter, Gandhi had said that neither she nor her husband held Swiss bank accounts.



In his reply to the Congress President’s letter, Advani expressed regret of her name and that of her late husband being mentioned in the task force report.



However, Advani also stated in his reply that the Gandhis should have denied this publicly when there were murmurs that names of her family members could figure in the report.



Advani said had she done so, the name of her family members would not have figured in the task force.



The four-member task force comprising S Gurumurthy, former IB director Ajit Doval, Professor R Vadiyanathan and advocate Mahesh Jethmalani has put the figure of money stashed in safe havens to be 25 lakh crore.



On February 1, NDA leaders had released a booklet ‘Indian Black Money Abroad in Secret Banks and Tax Havens’, the second report of the task force appointed by the BJP.



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india...z1EICsdOUF



What happened in history cannot be undone by removing a material from the website. An allegation was made against Gandhi family by eminent persons. Sonia sends a letter to Advani denying that she has money on swiss bank. On that basis the report is withdrawn from the BJP’s website. The question is: Is Advani satisfied with Sonia’s reply and if so on what basis?



The authors of the report must have had ample evidence. Sonia did not publicly deny anything. Let Sonia sue them if she is right. Until such time the report should be in public domain.



Reprodced is that report :



rest on the above website: click above on Advaniji, stop being an apologist of secularism

[Guest]

[url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/BJP-leaders-upset-over-Advani-apology-to-sonia-gandhi/"][color="#FF0000"][size="5"]BJP leaders upset over advani apology to sonia gandhi[/size][/color][/url]

[Guest]

[quote name='Savithri' date='18 February 2011 - 09:33 PM' timestamp='1298044501' post='110828']

[url="http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/BJP-leaders-upset-over-Advani-apology-to-sonia-gandhi/"][color="#FF0000"][size="5"]BJP leaders upset over advani apology to sonia gandhi[/size][/color][/url]

[/quote]

He is still dreaming to be PM, trying to show softer side etc etc, he is snake oil salesman.

[dhu]

[url="http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ne050311incoldblood.asp"]The PM knows the culprit and still can’t act’[/url]



BJP leader and lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani tells SAI MANISH how Sonia Gandhi’s name made it to the NDA report on black money



Who drafted the report saying the Gandhis have Swiss bank accounts?

It was prepared by Prof R Vaidyanathan of IIM, Bengaluru, and S Gurumurthy who circulated it to members of the task force. We all put in our comments and everyone’s view was incorporated in the final draft of the report.



Was there any pressure to include Sonia Gandhi’s name?

Where is the question of pressure here?



Because Sonia is not the one you target every time. So what was the rationale behind naming her in the report?

Let me tell you one thing frankly. Our attempts to retrieve this money have been pathetic and you cannot appease the opposition with mediocre attempts. What gives rise to the suspicion that Sonia Gandhi has money abroad is that countries that are not as powerful as India — such as the Philippines, Peru and even Tunisia — have made attempts to get back their money. Why can’t we? Should Indians be entrapped in the same centuries-old passivity even as foreign invaders continue to loot the country?



Did you verify your figures independently?

Why should we have an independent estimate? We were relying on IMF figures and we don’t doubt their veracity. We have always pegged our case on the Global Financial Integrity report. Does TEHELKA doubt the veracity of GFI?



Did you get information from any other source?

As far as Sonia is concerned, we relied on a number of reports. First, we relied on the widely circulated Swiss magazine Schweitzer Illustrate. In 1991, it had reported that a number of world leaders, including Rajiv Gandhi, have money hidden in Swiss accounts. Rajiv had reportedly stashed away $2.2 billion. Other newspapers picked it up but that was our basic source. Second, we relied on a book by Russian investigative journalist Dr Yevgeniya Albats. Declassified KGB documents showed Rajiv had money in Swiss banks. There hasn’t been the faintest of denials from Sonia about our report. Her conduct in the face of such weighty allegations is completely surprising and disconcerting.



Why did LK Advani regret the mention of Sonia in the report?

The letter from Sonia was an anguished plea. The title of the letter will tell you the whole story. Sonia writes ‘Private and Confidential’ on the letter, seeking empathy from Advani. The theme of the letter was: ‘I am anguished. Please empathise with me.’ Advani responded in a statesman-like manner by addressing the anguish that was evident in Sonia’s letter.



So why single out Sonia Gandhi?

One of the things mentioned in the report is that when Sonia visited the US in 2008, a group of NRIs had circulated ads in various newspapers highlighting the Gandhis’ Swiss bank accounts. For this, a bunch of overseas Congressmen filed a $100 million defamation suit against the NRIs. But not once did Sonia deny that the Gandhis have money stashed in Swiss banks. Even the suit was ultimately withdrawn.



Do you think people’s perception about the UPA’s inability to tackle the black money issue has gone from bad to worse?

Consider the shocking case of Hasan Ali where despite all the evidence, the PM is unable to act. I don’t understand why we treat the Congress leadership with kid gloves.