Power centers in the corridors of power - 2

[Guest]

[url="http://www.gurgaonscoop.com/story/2011/3/14/11210/4231"]Robert Vadra Of Gandhi Family - another round of loot by Gandhi Family[/url]

New Delhi-based entrepreneur Robert Vadra, married into the country's most powerful family, has made a quiet and relatively unheralded entry into the real estate business, including a partnership with DLF Ltd, India's largest realty firm.



Vadra, the son-in-law of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition chairperson Sonia Gandhi, has stayed away from electoral politics, maintaining that he wants to be known as a businessman. In interviews he has said that his focus is on Artex, a small company specialising in jewellery and handicraft exports.



That seems to be changing as 42-year-old Vadra, known for his punishing fitness regime and love for fast bikes, has sought to scale up and diversify his business activities since 2008, acquiring tracts of land in Haryana and Rajasthan, a 50% stake in a leading business hotel in Delhi, and attempting an entry into the business of chartering aircraft.



Regulatory filings available in the public domain and reviewed by ET reporters reveal the changing graph of Vadra's business interests. These include wide-ranging transactions with the DLF Group. Several of his companies have received loans, some unsecured, from DLF group companies, including the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed flagship DLF Ltd.



A JOINT VENTURE AND SOME LOANS

Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd, a company wholly owned by Vadra and his mother Maureen Vadra, is a partner, along with DLF Hotel Holdings and others, in a partnership firm that owns the business hotel Hilton Garden Inn in the upscale South Delhi business district Saket. The hotel is located within the DLF Place mall, also known as DLF Courtyard.



Source: Economic Times By Rohini Singh & Sruthijith Kk Robert Vadra Of Gandhi Family Makes Low-Key Entry Into Real Estate



"The Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Saket is a small business hotel. I have interest in hospitality and am happy to be part of the hotel," Vadra told ET, speaking on the phone from Europe, where he is travelling presently. He said the business association with DLF stemmed from a long-standing friendship with the family that controls the realty giant.

"I have known the DLF people for a long time and they are friends of mine. I had wanted to invest in real estate and one thing led to another. Right now, I can only be part of a small hotel. If I were taking favours from people I would be doing far bigger things. But I am doing this on my own. I can't expand immediately but I hope to expand a few years down the line," he added. DLF has Given Loans to Vadra's Companies DLF has also extended loans to various companies owned by Vadra. Some of these are unsecured loans or debt without any collateral.



As on March 2009, Sky Light Hospitality had received unsecured loans amounting to . 25 crore from DLF Ltd. As on March 2010, only . 10 crore remained. It's unclear from the statement of accounts if the rest was paid back or written off. Sky Light Hospitality has, in turn, loaned money to other Vadraowned companies such as Blue Breeze Trading Pvt Ltd, North India IT Parks Pvt Ltd, Real Earth Estates Pvt Ltd and Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd. Blue Breeze Trading, a company incorporated in 2007 with Vadra and his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as first directors and equal shareholders, is in the business of chartering aircraft. The company, however, seems to have done little business, apart from acquiring agricultural land. Priyanka Gandhi ceased to be a director as on July 2008. She is no longer a shareholder. Real Earth Estates Pvt Ltd also had a . 5 crore loan directly from DLF on its books as on March 2010. The joint venture firm Saket Courtyard Hospitality had received . 3.58 crore of unsecured loans from DLF Hotel Holdings Ltd, the group company that owned 50% stake in the JV.



"The business relationship of DLF Group with Robert Vadra has been in his capacity as an individual entrepreneur and on a completely transparent and armslength basis. DLF has always respected and complied with Mr Vadra's explicit directions and wish to not utilise his name or association in any manner whatsoever. The business relationship has been conducted to the highest standards of ethics and transparency," a DLF spokesman said in a statement. The company said it intended to respond to a detailed questionnaire sent by ET on March 9. At the time of going to press, no response was received.



LAND IN TIER-3 TOWNS

Vadra's companies have also been acquiring tracts of land in recent years. Sky Light Hospitality acquired 5 bighas in Sohna, Haryana, for . 7.9 crore during the first year of operation -- 2007-08. In 2008-09, the company's fixed assets included land acquired in Manesar for . 15.3 crore and by the next fiscal, the company also had bought land in Bikaner for . 79 lakh. The acreage of land is unknown.



Vadra's company, North India IT Parks, has been the most prolific ac-quirer of land. During 2009-10, the company acquired 160.62 acres (including 85.62 acres of agricultural land) in Bikaner for . 1.02 crore. Another Vadra-owned firm, Real Earth Estates, acquired varying quantities (undisclosed) of land in Hayatpur, Bikaner, Hassanpur, Mewat and New Delhi's pricey Greater Kailash (Part II) neighbourhood, during 2009-10. The company paid a total of . 7 crore.



Sky Light Realty has bought an undisclosed amount of agricultural land in Palwal, Haryana, and Bikaner, Rajasthan, which collectively cost the company . 89 lakh. The company also has land in Hayatpur, Haryana, which cost . 1 crore. The company has also paid . 5.2 crore to DLF for buying seven flats at DLF's Magnolia apartment complex in Gurgaon. Another . 5 crore has been spent on flats at the Capital Green complex owned by DLF Estates Pvt Ltd. This might be related to a `Booking of Flats' business under a joint venture between Sky Light Realty and Sky Light Hospitality, both Vadra-owned companies. Vadra said he could explain the details of these transactions after he returns and reviews the documents on which this newspaper has based its questions. However, he said buying up land in tier-3 cities was part of a deliberate strategy akin to value investing. "I've been investing in real estate every time I make money from my other businesses. I make investments in tier-3 towns because it is cheaper to invest there. I usually liquidate my real estate assets whenever I can, but I have no intention to develop. I invest like anyone else, in remote areas," Vadra told ET.



However, at least one of his companies has expressed its intention to enter the construction business. The directors' report accompa-nying the audited accounts of Real Earth Estates for 2009-10, says: "During the year, the company has purchased land in the state of Haryana and Rajasthan. A plot in Delhi has also been purchased during the year. The company has entered into joint venture ar-rangement with Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd. Very soon the company hopes to enter into the field of construction. Necessary legal for-malities are being completed in this respect."



There have been murmurs in the past about Vadra's interest in re-alty. Vadra's lawyers served a legal notice on the realty firm BPTP Ltd in 2006, alleging the firm has been "intentionally, falsely, and fraudulently claiming that several of their projects were part-owned by Robert Vadra and that he was helping them in their Real Estate Development Business".



Vadra told ET that BPTP has been exploiting his name. "BPTP has been exploiting my name for a long time. In the past I have served them legal notices as well," Vadra said. "I've been married for 14 years but I keep away from politics. I am still grounded. I am be-cause of my own talent and I have to prove myself. I do not try to benefit from my family. I never take obligations from people because if I do then they will ask me for something bigger in return," he said.



FRIENDS AND FAMILY

But DLF was different. "I have a good understanding with DLF. Our children are friends, we are friends. They are seasoned businessmen. They are not daft. They are educated, sensible people and are reasonable and shrewd in their business. They don't need me to enhance them. They've existed for years," he said. DLF, founded in 1946, has enjoyed spectacular commercial success and built much of Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi.



Moradabad-born Vadra, whose mother is Scottish, rose to national prominence when he married Priyanka Gandhi in 1997. Gandhi's mother, Italy-born Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition, is routinely ranked among the most powerful women in the world. Priyanka's father Rajiv Gan-dhi, grandmother Indira Gandhi and great grandfather Jawaharlal Ne-hru have been prime ministers of the country. Her brother Rahul Gandhi is widely seen as a future prime minister. Because he is married into the family that has played a central role in the history of independent India, Vadra's life and activities attract a great deal of interest.

Vadra maintains a small group of friends in Delhi and is known for his interest in fitness, cycling and aviation. He has been forthcom-ing in recent interviews about his fitness regimen, cycling and the motorcycles he own. He is often seen at public ceremonies and state events with Priyanka Gandhi.



The couple has two children -- Raihan and Miraya. "People can imagine all kinds of things about me but people who matter to me know me and know how I am," Vadra said.

He will beat Karuana's family corruption.

[Capt M Kumar]

It is not unusual for a ruling party and its Government to speak in two voices. The Congress and the UPA Government headed by Mr Manmohan Singh have done one better. They are beginning to speak in three voices. In the process, the party is tying itself up in knots and contradictions. A series of examples from recent days testifies to this.



First, take Mr Rahul Gandhi’s remark that if the people of Kerala re-elected the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, they would have “a 93-year-old Chief Minister” by the time the following election came around. In October 2016, only a few months after the next Assembly election in Kerala, Mr VS Achuthanandan will indeed be 93. By June 2017, Mr M Karunanidhi, who Mr Gandhi’s party is backing for re-election as Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, will also be 93.



As such, the Congress general secretary’s smirking comment about Mr Achuthanandan’s age was not just in bad taste, but also ironical. It ignored the gerontocracy the Congress has supported and promoted at the Centre and in the States. http://www.dailypioneer.com/332042/Congr...sault.html

[Capt M Kumar]

Unsurprisingly, Sonia Gandhi came out as the most unpopular politician since independence with only 2% of the population considering her suitable to lead the country. The main reason given by the public was that she was the major cause of corruption in India (90%). On a secondary question, 70% attributed her unpopularity to her foreign nationality and 60% to her being a Christian. Qualitative findings from focus groups found that many believe Sonia Gandhi is becoming a foreign dictator in India. http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com/2011/06/...-asia.html

The Congress Party itself did not feature as badly with support from 18% of the sample compared with 40% for the BJP.

[Guest]

JUN 7, 2011



Sonia most unpopular leader ever - Asia Poll: Survey of Indian Public Opinion 2011

From: Dr. Madhukar Ambekar

Date: Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 3:53 PM

Subject: Sonia most unpopular leader ever - Asia Poll: Survey of Indian Public Opinion 2011



Sonia most unpopular leader ever

Asia Poll: Survey of Indian Public Opinion 2011



http://groups.google.com/



Asia Poll, which is the Asian subsidiary of the largest polling organisation in the world, has conducted an extensive survey of over 60,000 Indians across the sub-continent on their opinions of political parties and leaders and their voting intentions in view of the serious cases of corruption against senior politicians.



Summary of findings



Unsurprisingly, Sonia Gandhi came out as the most unpopular politician since independence with only 2% of the population considering her suitable to lead the country. The main reason given by the public was that she was the major cause of corruption in India (90%). On a secondary question, 70% attributed her unpopularity to her foreign nationality and 60% to her being a Christian. Qualitative findings from focus groups found that many believe Sonia Gandhi is becoming a foreign dictator in India.

The Congress Party itself did not feature as badly with support from 18% of the sample compared with 40% for the BJP.



Some of the key survey findings are given in the following tables;



Politicians people think have the best leadership qualities to lead the country



Possible Leaders

% of sample

Sonia Gandhi 2%

PM Manmahon Singh 7%

Pranab Mukherjee 10%

Sharad Pawar 14%

Arun Jaitely 15%

Sushama Swaraj 20%

Narendra Modi 22%

Don’t know 20%



Whe questions were asked about Rahul Gandhi and Prijanka Gandhi, the outcome was equally negative with only 4% thinking Rahul Gandhi would make good leader and less that 1% preferring Prijanka.



Political party rankings:



%

BJP 40

Congress Party 18

CPIM 10

Others 32



Urban/Rural split: Sonia Gandhi was only popular among Christians in the survey, 70% of whom stated they would vote for her regardless of Party affiliations. Most educated urban Indians were strongly against the re-election of Sonia Gandhi as Congress leader or any members of the Gandhi family (69%) as were rural Hindus (82%) as there was a strong view these were foreigners subverting India’s independence and encouraging Christian conversions and were the root of all corruption scandals in India.



Another strongly expressed view was that Sonia Gandhi has packed regional government with her Christian supporters and the names of prominent Christian Ministers of State were frequently mentioned by the polled population.



Full details of the poll are available on the Asian Poll website www.asianpoll.com



We have been warned that there may be attempts to take this off the web or even attack the website in which case please email us direct at asianpoll2011@gmail.com

[Capt M Kumar]

Congress is setting stage for Rahul Baba's arrival:

Digvijay, who had earlier during AICC plenary at Burari called for Gandhi to build his own team, once again raised the pitch for his becoming the Prime Minister saying that no leader says on his own that he wants to become the Prime Minister. It depends on the overall situation and circumstances.



Congress treasure Motilal Vora also supported Digvijay’s contention that people see Rahul as the future Prime Minister.



AICC General Secretary in charge of Delhi Birender Singh said that Rahul is the prime minister material as during the past seven years as MP he has been close to Bharat which represent the downtrodden people. However, when will be the right time for him to become the prime minister—whether today or later—all depends on the circumstances, he said.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/346570/Congr...le-PM.html

[Capt M Kumar]

Or is it because the NAC is essentially a representative body of unelected people who are answerable to none and similar to those who want to decide for India what India needs without bothering to check whether India actually endorses their assumed leadership? The NAC, its website informs us, “has been set up as an interface with Civil Society. The NAC would provide policy and legislative inputs to Government...”. This lofty agenda is no different from the unstated wishlist of Anna Hazare and his men. There’s more. “The NAC comprises distinguished professionals drawn from diverse fields of development activity who serve in their individual capacities.” Substitute ‘NAC’ for ‘Team Anna’, and the text, as well as the sub-text, would remain unchanged! Is the exclusion of the NAC from the Jan Lok Pal’s watch then a case of ‘civil society’ standing by ‘civil society’? Or is it because the NAC must remain accountable to none? http://www.dailypioneer.com/350169/Stran...-Anna.html

[Capt M Kumar]

The palpable disappointment with Rahul’s leadership potential -- and the cluelessness of the babalog brigade that constitutes his cheerleaders -- has unnerved the Congress. The Prime Minister may not have emerged from the August storm looking perfect but in a relative sense, compared to Rahul, he has emerged smelling of roses. Far from dyarchy being a liability, the Congress has to thank Manmohan Singh that the revolt of the middle-class didn’t spiral out of control. Had an inexperienced Rahul been at the helm, it is entirely possible that the spontaneous outburst of anger would not have been so regulated. http://www.dailypioneer.com/component/co...ines-.html

[Husky]

Guessing that this would have been part of the recent Wiki-leak (from previous post)...



http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2011/09/i...adley.html

Saturday, September 03, 2011

Indian Govt Wasn't Serious on Headley Extradition



Now that the entire WikiLeaks repository has been exposed to the public, further perusals of US diplomatic cables have exposed that the Indian govt wasn't really serious about extraditing 26/11 accused David Headley. M K Narayanan is quoted as saying to US officials that his govt merely needed to keep up a false front for the public's consumption, and that Headley's extradition was not being sought.



Will Kasab ever hang? Or Afzal Guru?

[color="#800080"](*Who* is expected to hang Kasab or Mohammed Afzal? The christogovt? Not likely. They need the islamic vote and jihadism to undermine the Hindus - the way the christobrits used it to keep the Hindus' search for autonomy in check. How else - without the leverage of Indian islam - can the minority christians hope to rule India - and christian rule is a prerequisite for India-for-christ.

Consider the clear message the christogovt is sending to islam and jihad in India and the entire subcontinent: "Jihad away. We'll make sure you get away with it scottfree. Remember who to vote for and who to aim your jihad at.")[/color]



Posted by san at 9/03/2011 09:48:00 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Labels: mumbai, terrorism, usa, wikileaks

Reactions

The above links to:



timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-was-never-serious-about-Headley-extradition/articleshow/9853260.cms

(With 140 odd comments)

'India was never serious about Headley extradition'

TNN | Sep 4, 2011, 01.10AM IST



NEW DELHI: In December 2009, national security adviser M K Narayanan had told then US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that New Delhi's demand for extraditing Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley was mere posturing to mislead the Indian public, and the government was not seeking his extradition "at this time".



A secret cable - which is part of the latest tranche of diplomatic correspondence released by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks - sent a day after Narayanan's telephonic conversation with Roemer on December 16, 2009 said the Indian government would be "in the hot seat if it were seen as relinquishing extradition" of the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative.



Narayanan said that it was "difficult not to be seen making the effort". He was responding to a demand by Roemer that India should refrain from requesting Headley's extradition.



Roemer explained that US hopes to secure crucial information from Headley, but the latter may clam up because of India's insistence that he be extradited to them. "He (Roemer) explained that the threat of extradition to India could cause Headley's cooperation to dry up, but that allowing the US judicial process to unfold or securing a plea agreement that both reflects his overall culpability and ensures his continued cooperation would maximize our ability to obtain further information from Headley," the cable said.



Headley had pleaded guilty to all charges in a Chicago court last year, and is now awaiting sentence.The extradition treaty's prohibition on an individual being extradited to face trial for the same conduct or offence might be an obstacle, the envoy had told Narayanan. "If Headley were convicted, an extradition request by India would not be considered until his sentence in the United States was fully served, which could be decades, if ever," he had said.



Roemer also complained about the leakage of information on the Headley case provided by the US authorities. "He stressed that the Indian government's discretion in protecting this sensitive information was of critical importance, calling attention to recent media speculation containing details of the FBI briefing sourced to unnamed Indian government officials, which could compromise our ability to obtain further cooperation and information from Headley," the cable added.



Narayanan had dismissed media reports as "preposterous".

[Guest]

http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=15160

Sonia Gandhi Is World’s Fourth Richest Corrupt Politician

BANGALORE - Sonia Gandhi is the world’s fourth richest politician, said Business Insider, a U.S. based internet news aggregator and publisher. As per the report, the UPA chairperson’s wealth is currently valued at $2-19 billion (Rs 10,000-45,000 crore).

The wide range given, $2-19 billion is a giveaway that these numbers may have been plucked out of a hat.

As per Netapedia, an online encyclopedia about India’s politicians and the political events, Sonia Gandhi has movable assets worth 1, 17, 70,468 and immovable assets worth 20, 24,300. This financial information was as per affidavit filed before the 2009 general elections.

Firstpost’s own estimate, based on income disclosed by Sonia Gandhi during the last general elections and the income-generating assets she owns, suggests that her annual income cannot be more than Rs 50-75 lakh.

Given the wide range within which her assumed wealth is estimated, it is obvious that Business Insider is not sure what the numbers really are. The online publication has sourced the story to a website called ‘World’s Luxury Guide’. Luxury Guide in turn traces its information to five other sources like OpenSecrets.org, Forbes.com, Bloomberg.com, Wikipedia.org, and Guardian.co.uk.

She is more corrupt than Zardari

[Husky]

Belongs in the thread Rahul Gandhi In Gang Rape?

but that's been trashed and doesn't allow additional posts, so adding this here.



PTI via news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=250433961

Rahul Gandhi rape case: SP threatens action against ex-MLA

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:08:28 GMT | By PTI



New Delhi: Samajwadi Party today threatened legal action against its former MLA from Madhya Pradesh who had filed a PIL against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accusing him of rape.

The party also distanced itself from him saying he was expelled from SP in 2009.



"The central leadership has directed the state unit to serve him a legal notice seeking explanation as to why Kishore Samrite was misusing the party's name...if he continues to misuse the party's name, the Madhya Pradesh unit has been directed to lodge an FIR against him and seek legal recourse," a statement issued by SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said.



The statement by the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party comes close on the heels of Samrite reportedly telling the Supreme Court that SP leaders had asked him to file a PIL against Rahul in the Allahabad High Court in 2010.



Responding to a an apex court notice, the Akhilesh Yadav government had reportedly termed Samrite as mentally imbalanced.



The SP said after losing the Balaghat Lok Sabha election on SP ticket, Samrite had made some 'objectionable' statements following which the Madhya Pradesh unit had expelled him.



"Since then, he is not a member of the Samajwadi Party," Yadav said in the statement.