Sushmita Mukherjee pens open letter to Rahul Gandhi :::::::::::::::::::: Guest Column :: Memories ::::: "Coalgate" scandal brings India's parliament to a halt 2012 (Sept) -- From Swati Deb

(Your favourite slogan of ‘Nafrat ke Bazaar me Mohabbat ki Dukan’ also seems to fall on deaf ears of your own followers as they unleash all their ‘Nafrat’ on anyone daring to criticize you,” Ms Sushmita Mukherjee writes to Rahul Gandhi) 

 "Coalgate" scandal brings India's parliament to a halt
Multi-billion rupee scam rocks India

Swati Deb

Published: September 06, 2012 10:52 AM GMT *UCAN 

UCAN Link

** Refreshing memories have become relevant as FM Nirmala Sitharaman's White Paper on Indian Economy tabled in both the Houses of Parliament have made people take a re-look at the scams that rocked Manmohan Singh Govt.  

Another scam running into billions of rupees has paralyzed the Indian establishment. With the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party - Indian People’s Party – loudly demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the country’s parliament has been unable to function for the past 12 days. 

The government’s response has been a series of 30 raids on suspects in the coal industry graft case now known as “Coalgate,” including several companies and at least one congressman. The raids were carried out on September 4 by the Central Bureau of Investigation. 

The Coal Minister, Sriprakash Jaiswal, told reporters that the investigation showed the government’s commitment for probity in public life. 

BJP spokesman Prakash Javedkar retorted that it proves there has been wrongdoing. From the top down, the country has been rocked by this latest slew of allegations of kickbacks and nepotism on an unprecedented scale. In a report released in mid-August, the nation’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) estimates a loss to the state exchequer that could amount to US$37 billion. The report states that the government “did not follow” transparent and objective methods. The government defended itself by saying the CAG estimate of the possible loss is only a guess. 

Finance Minister P Chidambaram went further to say there was “no loss” as no mining of coal has been done yet. The case centers around the government’s allocation of coal deposits suitable for mining, known as coal blocks.  The government made the allocation of several coal blocks without auction, resulting in spectacular windfalls for some private operators. 

The opposition is keen to point out that Manmohan Singh himself was closely involved at the time on a ministerial level. “The truth is, the corruption and gross impropriety in the coal blocks allocation will end at the prime minister’s doorstep. He has to quit,” Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the upper House of Parliament told ucanews.com. 

Coal block allocations for private firms started in 1993, two years after the government liberalized its economic policies.  “This was done as the government-owned concern, Coal India Ltd, was unable to meet the growing demand,” said a senior official at the coal ministry, who cannot be named. The scandal is the fifth corruption case the ruling establishment has faced in the past eight years. 

Earlier, the CAG had alluded to kickbacks and dubious deals in the allocation of 2G  telecom licences, leading to a  US$32 billion loss. Corruption on a massive scale was also alleged in the organizing of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi two years ago, as well as a housing scheme for widows of war victims and the privatization of Delhi airport. 

These scandals all resulted in a round of resignations and the imprisonment of several government ministers and executives. 

“The fungus of corruption has eaten into all spheres of life in India,” said Hari Jaisingh, a senior journalist in New Delhi.  “The scandals have definitely nosedived the credibility of the prime minister, who was credited till the other day for honesty,” he told ucanews.com. 

This latest case has also turned the mood in the country against the government. The international press such as Time magazine rated Singh as an “under achiever” and more recently The Washington Post called him a “tragic figure.” Related reports Respect dissenting voices on corruption.

(As White Paper was tabled in Parliament, journalists and analysts understood Modi's intention and this story was shared with me by an overseas friend.) 

This snap counts: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Basudeb Acharaia and Gurudas Dasgupta are no longer around !!

****

Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, recently wrote an open letter addressed to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi:

Extracts as reported in media and also that went viral in social media:

“Since the publication of my book ‘Pranab My Father: A Daughter Remembers’ a month back, I and my father have been subjected to vicious and continuous trolling by your supporters on social media. The book contains some observations about you made in my father’s diaries which are not very complimentary,” she wrote in her open letter.   

“However, as you seem to be a torchbearer of Freedom of Expression, you should know that FoE (Freedom of Expression) involves not just praising someone, but also the ability to tolerate criticism gracefully. 

But you seem to have failed miserably to convince even your own followers of one of the most crucial Rights granted by our Constitution, which is also one of the core values of Congress. 

Your favourite slogan of ‘Nafrat ke Bazaar me Mohabbat ki Dukan’ also seems to fall on deaf ears of your own followers as they unleash all their ‘Nafrat’ on anyone daring to criticize you,” she further added.  

Ms Mukherjee wrote, “But every limit was crossed yesterday when one of your alleged supporters called Naveen Shahi having X handle of @Naveen_Kr_Shahi who is followed by several senior Congress leaders like Pawan Khera, Ajay Maken, Srinivas BV and many other verified handles from INC Social Media dept. abused my father Shri Pranab Mukherjee and me in such a vile language 

that I feel nausea even to repeat it. In a series of tweets, he called me licentious, and repeatedly wrote that ‘Pranab’ was a ‘chu**** , a licentious person, insinuating that he was a sexual pervert willing to accept even the .......”.

The daughter of Pranab Mukherjee said since Rahul Gandhi is talking about NYAY in his yatra, she is demanding NYAY from him as the abuses originated from a person associated, formally or informally, with his organisation.

“I demand Nyay as a woman, who herself, and whose father (leaving aside the fact that he was a former President of India) have been subjected to character assassination and the most vile abuses having sexual connotations. 

To show that you are serious about Nyay, please take action against this person Naveen Shahi, and all the others who reacted positively to his abuses, against your social media head and your communication head for allowing this kind of language and abuse,” Ms Mukherjee wrote. 

She further added that FoE involves everyone’s right to criticise her but it doesn’t give them any liberty to abuse her or use foul language against her.

“But as you publicly claim to be the ‘upholder’ of tolerance and liberal values of Congress, I decided to bring to your notice the behaviour of your followers in case you haven’t noticed it as yet; not just vis a vis me, but vis a vis any of your real or imaginary opponents, including the media,” she further added.