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Corruption, Scams and Scandals of the BJP governments - April 2006 IMC Special Edition Digest


Indian Muslim Council, USA (IMC-USA)

'Defending India's freedom, democracy and pluralism'

IMC-USA Special Edition Digest -
April 2006

Corruption, Scams and Scandals of the BJP governments

Corruption, Scams and Scandals of the BJP governments

BJP - The 'party with a difference'

Kargil war coffins / arms scam - 2001

Defence deals scandal - 2001

Cash-for-query Scam - 2005

Development Fund (MPLADS Scheme) Scam - 2005

Dilip Singh Judeo: Chattisgarh Corruption Scandal - 2003

Land allotment scam - 2002

Ekal Vidyalaya Scam - 1999 - 2005

Petrol pump and gas agencies scam - 2002

Jain Hawala Scandal

Other Scams / Scandals

BJP - The 'Clean' Party

Web Links

and more ...

BJP - The 'party with a difference'

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) : Delhi Pledge (3 Aug 2002)

DELHI PLEDGE

"Yes, We are a Party with a Difference; and Ours is a Government with a Difference"

Adopted at the National Council meeting of the BJP at New Delhi on August 3, 2002 ...

It is this combination of solid and sustained work on the ground; uncompromising espousal of nationalism; dedicated and disciplined organizational network; and inspiring and incorruptible leadership that helped the BJP win people's support, goodwill and credibility, and thereby grow from strength to strength almost all over the country in record time. These factors made the people believe that here is a Party with a Difference - different in terms of ideology, idealism, leadership and behavior....

We proudly reiterate our commitment to continue to remain a Party with a Difference. We affirm with equal pride that ours is a Government with a Difference.

It is our resolve to make the "Difference" factor more pronounced in the time to come.

http://www.bjp.org/newsite/index.php?file=s-viewcategory&tag=Aug0302a.htm&catid=162

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BJP alone can root out corruption: Vajpayee (22 Jan 1997, The Hindu)

Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, BJP leader, said today that at this juncture when corruption, was rampant, "the country needs a party like the BJP to root out this malady."

He was addressing the delegates at the party's third State conference on Tuesday.

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Kargil war coffins / arms scam - 2001

Kargil coffin politics returns to haunt BJP (11 Dec 2001, The Telegraph)

The chickens have come home to roost. In 1999, the BJP and the Sangh parivar chanced on a "novel" strategy of squeezing the emotive value of the Kargil war by making elaborate arrangements to send the bodies of the slain soldiers in decorated caskets to their families instead of a funeral in the war zone, as was the practice.

Five months later when the country went to polls, the BJP's Kargil strategy paid dividends in some seats and helped its alliance reach the magic figure that brought Atal Bihari Vajpayee to power.

Two years later, the same coffins have come to haunt the NDA government, thanks to a special report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India on the Kargil-era procurement. The report detected gross irregularities in the purchase of coffins by the army. It brought Parliament to a standstill today and had the BJP at its wit's end on how to evolve a counter-offensive.

According to the CAG, an inflated amount was paid for the aluminium caskets bought to send the bodies. Many of these caskets were found to be oversized and useless. Now the army is left with caskets valued at Rs 1.47 crore but too heavy to be used....

"The issue is not just about corruption, it is linked to national pride. We went on an emotional high after the Kargil war and it helped us. We fear that this episode may pull us down equally swiftly because the very word kafan (coffin) is emotionally fraught with memories of Kargil," an MP said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1011212/front_pa.htm

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Now, 'Kargil coffin' haunts Govt. (12 Dec 2001, The Hindu)

A determined Opposition today hauled the BJP-led coalition Government over the coals, charging it with financial impropriety in the `Kargil coffin scam' and forcing adjournment of both Houses of Parliament.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were plunged in turmoil as
slogan-shouting Opposition members waved copies of an English daily that carried a CAG report on financial impropriety in purchase of coffins for the jawans who laid down their lives in mid-1999 during the Kargil conflict with Pakistan....

The Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Manmohan Singh, who too was interrupted, demanded the resignation of the Defence Minister. The report had shocked the nation, he said, and attacked the Government for such a ``sordid'' state of affairs that it did not even show respect in death to those who had sacrificed their lives for the country.

http://www.thehindu.com/2001/12/12/stories/2001121200370100.htm

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For the widows of those dead in the Kargil war - By Avijit Ghosh (15 Sep 2004, The Telegraph)

Jyotsna Dwivedi... filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court... According to the petition, over 40 per cent of Kargil war widows have not benefitted from any rehabilitation package promised to them. Many feel that apart from naming roads and squares to honour those who laid down their lives for the country, the government has done little in real terms. "In many cases, there is scant evidence that the government has taken concrete steps to help the war widows
and their families," says Dwivedi....

The petition also requested the court to order the government to produce before the court all the relevant materials on the subject at hand for scrutiny, set out the names of widows of the Kargil martyrs and the benefits so far given to them as per the welfare package, as well as the reasons for the delay.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040915/asp/atleisure/story_3756495.asp

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Coffin scandal rages in India (12 Dec 2001, BBC)

Both houses of parliament were adjourned over the affair which centres on a report that the government paid vastly inflated sums for coffins for soldiers killed in Kashmir in 1999.

Not only were the 500 aluminium coffins overpriced, but the US-based supplier failed to meet Indian specifications....

A report in The Times of India newspaper says the Comptroller and Auditor General found that the government had paid an American company $2,500 for each of the 500 coffins.

But five years earlier, it had only paid $172 per coffin.

Moreover, many of the coffins were never used, being rejected as too heavy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1703495.stm

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Defence funds 'misused' in the name of Kargil: CAG (27 Mar 2002, Mid Day)

Three months after exposing the Kargil coffin scam, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has strongly indicted the Government for procuring anti-aircraft missiles and explosive-release cartridges in the name of 'Operation Vijay' when both the contracts were "unnecessary".

Taking exception to the Navy importing 104 anti-aircraft missiles worth 5.72 million US dollars by projecting it as a requirement for Kargil war, the CAG in its latest report tabled in Parliament, said "unnecessary procurement of missiles for Kargil operations resulted in avoidable expenditure of Rs 24.77 crore."

"The rates contracted were more than twice those of 1996," the CAG report, which comes on the heels of revelations on import of coffins for Kargil martyrs at exorbitant prices causing a political storm, said.

The CAG said 34,000 explosive cartridges were imported for 'Op Vijay' with the items being costlier than those indigenously manufactured by the Ordnance Factories. The CAG also took the Government to task for misuse of special financial powers of disbursement of Rs ten crore given to Northern Army Commander to meet urgent and immediate requirements of counter-insurgency operations and internal security duties.

http://web.mid-day.com/news/nation/2002/march/22445.htm

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Defence deals scandal - 2001

Operation West End - By Aniruddha Bahal & Mathew Samuel (Tehelka)

A story of how the suitcase people are compromising Indian defence

Tehelka blows the cover off the unholy nexus of politicians, senior defence personnel and ubiquitous fixers who infiltrate and infest every defence deal. Floating a fictitious company flogging non-existent thermal imaging binoculars, the Tehelka Investigative Team encountered and cracked the closely guarded bastion of manufacturers, agents and their military and political patrons running up to the highest offices in the land. This is the story of how we went about demolishing the last illusion of the Indian democratic state. It is a tale replete with appalling avarice, ackstabbing, bribery and inducement. Shockingly, no one the investigation touched emerged untainted.

http://www.tehelka.com/home/20041009/operation/investigation1.htm

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Website exposes govt's shady defence deals (13 Mar 2001, The Tribune)

The BJP President, Mr Bangaru Laxman, tonight resigned from the post following the exposure of his alleged involvement in a defence deal by a website, even as Defence Minister George Fernandes offered to resign from the Cabinet. However, Mr Fernandes was persuaded by his Cabinet colleagues not to take any hasty decision.

Mr Laxman's move to quit the party post came minutes after the Union Cabinet held a three-hour-long discussion on the expose and said it was prepared to inquire into the exposure involving the BJP chief, Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley and a number of senior Army officials.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010314/main1.htm

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Scandal In India: Making News, Creating Corruption - CNN Insight (14 Mar 2001, CNN)

In a sting operation lasting several months, two Tehelka journalists set up an elaborate cover using a fictitious company that offered to broker the sale of defense equipment. The videotape released on Tuesday purports to show bureaucrats, defense officials and officials in the ruling BJP-led coalition accepting money.

The Web site says these were bribes paid to get defense contracts approved.

TARUN TEJPAL, TEHELKA.COM: You know, the sad thing was the levels of greed. The greed was blinding. I mean, these are basically two very fine reporters, but amateurs in the world of military hardware and financial skullduggery. But nobody - nobody blew their cover. Every week, I thought their cover would go. But the greed was so blinding that people were just looking at the money. They really weren't worried.

RAMGOPAL: One of those on the videotape, the president of the BJP, Bangaru Laxman, says he accepted the money thinking it was a donation to the party. Laxman denies any wrongdoing but has resigned his post.

BANGARU LAXMAN, FMR. BJP PRESIDENT: My conscience is clear. I'm ready to face a thorough inquiry into the matter, which I am sure will clear my name.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/14/i_ins.00.html

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Tehelka expose is just tip of an iceberg -- Bhagwat (24 Mar 2001, Express India)

Former Naval chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat on Thursday fully justified the Tehelka.Com expose and said what the portal has captured in the camera on defence deals was just `tip of an iceberg'.

Without naming anyone, Bhagawat, who was unceremoniously ousted as chief of Indian Navy, said some top leaders of the country have `compromised' on defence deals and everything have been video-taped by foreign agencies. These agencies are now blackmailing our leaders and forcing them to act according to their tune, he said.

Bhagawat said this defence deals expose was just a beginning, if the NDA government was allowed to remain in power for a 5-year term the country would become a slave of our enemy countries... Alleging that a large number of defence personnel and officials were given promotion and transferred to key posts, Bhagwat said, through this, the NDA government wanted to create no hassle while passing important files. He alleged large-scale irregularities in the posting and promotions in the Defence Ministry and armed forces.

http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20010324/ifr24019.html

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More defence deals under CBI scanner - By J Venkatesan (14 Apr 2005, The Hindu)

The Comptroller and Auditor-General, while scrutinising the 123 defence purchase deals, had found irregularities in 35 cases. While the CBI is already conducting a probe in respect of three cases on the recommendations of the Central Vigilance Commission, 25 more cases are now to be probed.

The Court had issued notice to the Centre on a public interest petition filed by Dhananjay Chauhan alleging that the irregularities in the Kargil scam caused a loss of Rs. 2,175 crores to the exchequer....

"The Government is now exploring whether the facts reveal a prima facie case of commission of criminal offences under law as heavy financial losses in excess of Rs. 2,000 crores [as per the CAG Report] were caused, in addition to the fact that the equipment did not materialise in the time of its need." The new affidavit made it clear that "the Government is committed to taking strict action against officials/authorities, including the former Defence Minister, [George Fernandes] if it is found that the excuse of Kargil war was taken to make the purchases with a motive of personal benefit in violation of rules and regulations."

http://www.thehindu.com/2005/04/14/stories/2005041401571200.htm

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Hindutva For a Few Dollars a Day - By Biju Mathew and Vijay Prashad (25 Apr 2001, Z Magazine)

Bangru Laxman asks the intrepid tehelka.com journalists to bring him $30,000 to their next meeting. He has already taken Rs. 1 lakh. "You can give dollars," said the President of the BJP. "You talk to us directly. We normally turn to [National Security Advisor] Brajesh Mishra because he has access to the defense, foreign and other related ministries." The tehelka.com sting showed a web of corruption that spans the BJP, the RSS, the Samata Party, sections of the Armed Forces and the illegal arms brokers. What is Mr. Laxman, head of the so-called patriotic BJP, doing with bribes, even more so what does it mean that he wanted the money in dollars?

http://www.zmag.org/ZSustainers/ZDaily/2001-04/25prashad.htm

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BJP chief attacks arms scam (13 Mar 2001, BBC)

The president of India's ruling party has hit back at allegations by an Indian website of involvement in taking money in connection with supposed defence deals.

There is no question of resigning. Why should I resign?

BJP president Bangaru Laxman
Bangaru Laxman, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said he was a victim of a political conspiracy and that he accepted the money only for the party....

Mr Laxman, who became BJP president last year, said he had accepted 100,000 rupees ($2,170) as a donation for the party.

"As president I am not barred from taking funds for the party," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1218445.stm

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Govt plans burial of defence scam: Cong (27 Mar 2001, Rediff)

The Congress Tuesday expressed apprehension over the impartiality of the Venkatswami Commission probe into the tehelka.com allegation, underscoring that its terms of reference was so phrased so as to "give a clean burial to the defence scandal," according to party spokesman S Jaipal Reddy.

"The terms of reference exclude the conduct of the former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Bangaru laxman and his former Samata party counterpart Jaya Jaitly," Reddy pointed out.

He contended that the terms of reference "also precludes the examination of the blatant misuse of the former defence minister (George Fernandes') residential premises" where illegal money changed hands.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/mar/27def1.htm

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Now, a blot over Tehelka probe (25 Apr 2005, Rediff)

In a new twist to the controversy surrounding the 'clean chit' to former defence minister George Fernandes in the 'Tehelka' scam, a news magazine has claimed that Justice S N Phukan undertook a 'week-long junket' courtesy the defence ministry while investigating alleged corruption in defence deals.

'Outlook', in its forthcoming issue, has claimed that it has details that Justice Phukan, his wife and some lawyers of the Tehelka Commission were provided a specially chartered VVIP aircraft of the Indian Air Force to travel to Shirdi, Pune, Ahmednagar and Mumbai from Delhi in December 2003....

At every destination, the magazine claimed, the judge and his entourage enjoyed the hospitality of one of the three defence forces... The ostensible reason for the trip was that the judge wanted to familiarise himself with the weapons system he was inquiring into.

However, a lawyer of the Commission, who was on the trip, was quoted as saying, "It was more of a holiday than anything else."

http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/apr/29def.htm

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Govt should wind up Venkataswami Commission: Tejpal (15 Oct 2001, Rediff)

The Chief Executive Officer of tehelka.com, Tarun Tejpal, has reacted sharply to the return of George Fernandes to the Union cabinet, saying if the government is not serious in getting to the bottom of the defence scam, it should wind up the Venkataswami Commission....

Fernandes, while resigning from his post had said that he would return to the cabinet only after Venkataswami Commission cleared his name.

The commission is still in the process of probing the allegations levelled by tehelka against several politicians and army officers, of accepting bribes for approving defence contracts.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/oct/15tej.htm

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Cash-for-query Scam - 2005

BJP, BSP suspend MPs caught on camera taking bribes (12 Dec 2005, Rediff)

Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday suspended about half a dozen members of Parliament caught on camera purportedly taking bribes for raising questions in the House....

Advani said office bearers have spoken to some of the MPs allegedly involved in the scam. "When the whole country is debating probity in public life, our own MPs have been charged with showing greed for raising questions in Parliament," he said....

The MPs shown on TV taking bribes were BJP Lok Sabha members M K Anna Patil (Erandol-Maharashtra) Y G Mahajan (Jalgoan-Maharashtra), Pradip Gandhi (Rajnandgao-Chattisgarh) and Suresh Chandel (Hamirpur-Himachal Pradesh). Congress MP Ram Sevak Singh (Gwalior), Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar (Palamau-Jharkhand) and Bahujan Samaj Party MPs Narendra Kumar Kushwaha (Mirzapur-UP) and Lal Chandra (Robertsganj-UP), Raja Ram Pal (Balhour-UP) and BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Orissa Chatra Pal Singh Lodha were also shown accepting money.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/12bjp.htm

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Advani faces 'stupidity' fire - Glare on Opposition leader role (27 Dec 2005, The Telegraph)

Lal Krishna Advani seems to have upset a large section of the BJP and the Sangh with his comment on the MPs involved in the cash-for-questions scam that they had committed an act of "stupidity".

This statement, coupled with his widely criticised strategy in Parliament for the last two sessions, has raised strong questions about his ability to continue as leader of the Opposition....

Half of a dozen of the MPs were from the BJP. There are also three more involved in the constituency development scam that followed the cash-for-questions revelation.

So widespread is the anger against Advani's remarks that some delegates fear it may get raised in either the national executive or the national council meeting. "We were seen to be shielding the corrupt. How can a party with a difference take that stand before the entire nation? This is shameful," said a senior BJP leader... "If it is stupid to be caught taking bribes, then all of us should be stupid," said a senior leader sarcastically.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051227/asp/nation/story_5648787.asp

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A bold beginning - By Venkitesh Ramakrishnan (Dec 31 - Jan 13 2006, Frontline - Vol 22, Iss 27)

...members of the BJP, six of whose MPs were among those charged with corruption and misconduct, and some of its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) walked out from the Lok Sabha questioning the procedure adopted to expel the members. The crux of the BJP's argument, put forward by none less than party president L.K. Advani in the Lok Sabha and senior leader Jaswant Singh in the Rajya Sabha, was that the members should be given more time to explain their conduct before a parliamentary forum like the Privileges Committee. Advani went to the extent of saying that the conduct of the members was more a reflection of their stupidity (that is, falling prey to the sting operation) than corruption. He described the expulsion as the parliamentary equivalent of capital punishment and contended that the House should think whether such extreme precedents should be created. It was also argued that the special committee that went into the conduct of the 10 Lok Sabha members did not have the time to look at all the aspects of the issue and had acted in "undue haste"....

The BJP's argument against the procedure of inquiry does not hold ground. The five-member committee that conducted the inquiry was headed by veteran member Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress and comprised Vijay Kumar Malhotra (BJP), Mohammed Salim (CPI (M)), Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and C. Kuppusami (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam). The committee was formed in consultation with the Leader of the Lok Sabha, Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, and Advani and was authorised to create and follow its own procedure. It was on the basis of this that the committee conducted its week-long inquiry and presented its report in the Lok Sabha on December 22. The BJP had no problems with this projected schedule of the committee until it got close to completing its work. It was at this point that Malhotra expressed his dissenting note and demanded the involvement of the Privileges Committee to cross-examine the members and the mediapersons who carried out the sting operation.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2227/stories/20060113004302900.htm

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Do we need the BJP anymore? - By T V R Shenoy (23 Dec 2005, Rediff)

The BJP boasts of being the 'party with a difference'.... The BJP could have set an example by expelling all the errant MPs forthwith. Has it done so?....

Now, to make a bad situation worse, I read that the party has taken a strictly legalistic stand on the issue. The Pawan Bansal Committee recommended the expulsion of the Lok Sabha MPs caught taking money. The lone dissenter was the BJP's representative, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, whose note reads: 'No member of the House can be expelled except for the breach of privilege of the House.'

http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/23flip.htm

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Can't expel tainted MPs: BJP (22 Dec 2005, Rediff)

The Pawan Bansal committee has recommended expulsion of all the 10 members of the Lok Sabha who were caught taking money during operation Duryodhan launched by Cobrapost.com and which was telecast by television news channel Aaj Tak.

In a 36-page report four out of the five members of the committee namely Pawan Bansal, chairman, Mohammed Salim, Ram Gopal Yadav and C Kuppusami favoured expulsion of the members of Parliament, while Vijay Kumar Malhotra of the Bharatiya Janata Party attached a dissenting note separately.

http://www.rediff.com/news/defsca02.htm

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Development Fund (MPLADS Scheme) Scam - 2005

Lok Sabha orders probe into development fund scam (20 Dec 2005, Rediff)

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the MPs' bribery scam as exposed by a television news channel, and asked the five members allegedly involved not to attend the House till their names were cleared.

The members against whom the inquiry has been instituted are Alemao Churchill (Congress), Faggan Singh Kulaste (BJP), Ram Swaroop Koli (BJP), Chandra Pratap Singh (BJP) and Parasnath Yadav (SP).

As soon as the House assembled for the day, the speaker expressed grave concern over the improper conduct of the five members in the implementation of the Local Area Development scheme even as the members of the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal demanded scrapping of the scheme.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/20sting4.htm

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A bold beginning - By Venkitesh Ramakrishnan (Dec 31 - Jan 13 2006, Frontline - Vol 22, Iss 27)

... seven other members... were exposed in another television sting operation taking commissions for giving out contracts under the Member of Parliament Land and Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), is taken up. In this scam too, the BJP leads in terms of numbers. Three of its MPs, two belonging to the S.P and one each of the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are involved in the commission scam.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2227/stories/20060113004302900.htm

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The case against MPLADS - By Purnima S Tripathi (Oct 23 - Nov 5, 2004, Frontline - Vol 21, Iss 22)

THE Central government released Rs.5,018 crores during the period 1993-2000 for the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for development projects in members' constituencies. Of this, the MPs utilised only Rs.3,221 crores, a mere 64 per cent. The balance, Rs.1,797 crores, lies either "unspent" or in the category "status not known"....

DESPITE such strong indictment of a scheme, involving huge amounts of money, the previous National Democratic Alliance government failed to take remedial action, except for issuing a circular that utilisation certificates be procured from MPs before releasing any further amount. This measure, however, failed to rectify the serious lapses in the scheme....

But there is also a strong view among some MPs that the scheme should be scrapped, as it had become "a breeding den for corruption". Rajya Sabha member and former Minister for Programme Implementation and Statistics Arun Shourie is of the opinion that the basic premise of making MPs executives for development projects was faulty. "There should be separation of the legislative and executive functions. The MPs should be left only to legislate, while the executive should be given responsibility for development." In his opinion, such programmes were breeding grounds for corruption because there was no mechanism available with the MP to check whether the work sanctioned was being executed, whether it was the right kind of work being done and so on. Besides, he said, even where money was shown to be spent, it remained doubtful whether it was for the right purpose.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2122/stories/20041105005802400.htm

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Dilip Singh Judeo: Chattisgarh Corruption Scandal - 2003

An image of corruption - Purnima S Tripathi (Dec 06 -19, 2003, Frontline - Vol 20, Iss 25)

THE Bharatiya Janata Party does not seem to have learnt a lesson from the Tehelka expose, which sealed the fate of Bangaru Laxman, its former president, who was caught on camera accepting wads of currency notes. Yet another BJP leader, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Dilip Singh Judev, a strong contender for chief ministership in Chhattisgarh, was caught taking money on camera, in return for favours to an "Australian mining company". Interestingly, the expose hit the BJP just as campaigning for the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections began. The expose, carried by Indian Express on November 16, took the BJP by surprise. Although there is no mistaking that the man shown on the tape is Judev, initially BJP leaders kept questioning the identity of the man. Judev too braved it for a while, but resigned the next day.

The reverence with which Judev accepted the bribe has become a classic instance - he first touched his forehead with the wads of money and then delivered what now is an oft-quoted dialogue: "Paisa khuda to nahin, par khuda ki kasam, khuda se kum bhi nahin," (money is not God, but by God, it is no less than God himself)....

Various other BJP leaders campaigning in Chhattisgarh, who did not want to be named, admitted that they were embarrassed to talk about the issue since "there was no doubt that the man shown on the tape was Judev".

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2025/stories/20031219004803200.htm

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Caught on tape: Union Minister taking cash, saying money is no less than God (16 Nov 2003, Indian Express)

As the polls draw near, the dirt has begun to fly faster and thicker.Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Dilip Singh Judeo, considered a strong BJP chief ministerial candidate for Chhattisgarh, has been caught on camera accepting cash in a hotel room -- if a video CD tape made available to The Sunday Express is to be believed. Next to him, sits his assistant personal secretary Natwar Rateria....

A lot of rustling of paper is audible.

Rahul: Apka aashirvad hai...aaj kal to jo bhi...(It's your blessings, these days whatever...Minister cuts him)

Judeo: Paisa Khuda to nahin par Khuda ki kasam Khuda se kam bhi nahin. (Money isn't God but, swear on God, it's no less than God)

Rateria: Aaj tak jo kisi ke liye nahin kiya woh karne ka man karta hai...main mazaak nahin kar raha hoon...(I feel like doing today what I haven't done for anybody so far...I'm not kidding)

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=35460

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BJP's Judeo caught accepting money on tape (16 Nov 2003, Rediff)

Just as the Bharatiya Janata Party was putting the Tehelka expose behind it, another of its functionaries has been caught accepting money on a video tape.

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Dilip Singh Judeo on Sunday vehemently denied accusations of taking a bribe from an Australian company for mining rights in Chhattisgarh.

http://www.rediff.com/election/2003/nov/16chhat.htm

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Cong goes for Judeo's jugular - By Rajesh Ramachandran (16 Nov 2003, Times of India)

Bangaru Laxman, Jaya Jaitley and now Dilip Singh Judeo , that is how the Opposition has turned the allegations of graft against the minister of state for environment and forest into a high pitched political campaign in the run up to the Assembly polls on December 1....

With heavy overtones of the Tehelka expose and the way the government refused to even register an FIR against the BJP and Samata Party presidents Laxman and Jaitley, who were caught on video tapes taking money from Tehelka journalists, the Congress made three demands.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/286486.cms

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Money for minister - Editorial (19 Nov 2003, Deccan Herald)

The Judeo episode again highlights the pervasiveness of corruption in the system

Though the BJP leadership and Mr Judeo put up a brave face and dubbed the expose as the result of a political conspiracy hatched by the state chief minister, Mr Ajit Jogi, or even foreign hands, the denial in fact did not carry much credibility as, prima facie, the video tapes did not lack authenticity. The instinctive reaction of any politician who has been trapped in such a situation is to first go into the denial mode and then attribute motives to the operation. But even the existence of a motive will not detract from the seriousness of the offence, if the charge is proved correct. In a system where corruption has become rampant and people have developed cynicism about the conduct of those in authority, unconventional methods of exposure are becoming more and more effective in creating shock value and nudging people out of complacency.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov19/edit1.asp

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Judeo stopped forcible conversions, says Advani (19 Nov 2003, Times of India)

Stung by the Dilip Singh Judeo bribery scam, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani went on the offensive here on Wednesday describing Judeo as a great fighter against forcible conversions in Chhattisgarh....

He even hinted that the VCD that purportedly showed Judeo accepting money from a representative of an Australian firm for mining contracts may have been doctored by Chhattishgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi... Judeo probably had to pay for his Opposition to forcible
religious conversions, he pointed out.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/292035.cms

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Experts find Judeo tape 'genuine': CBI (20 Dec 2003, Mid Day)

Forensic experts have found the videotape purportedly showing former Union Minister Dilip Singh Judeo taking bribe to be "genuine" and not doctored, CBI sources said here today....

"There is continuity in the tape and lip synchronisation (of all characters in the tape) is also perfect," the sources said quoting the report.

The sources said according to the report no picture has been super-imposed and those shown on the tape are "genuine".

http://web.mid-day.com/news/nation/2003/december/72627.htm

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Land allotment scam - 2002

The real estate pie - By Purnima S. Tripathi (Aug 31 - Sep 13 2002, Frontline - Vol 19, Iss 18)

EVEN before the Bharatiya Janata Party could deal effectively with the petrol pump allotment scandal, it was facing the music with regard to the allotment of certain plots of land in the national capital. To its discomfiture, the land records available with the Urban Development Ministry proved that in the last two years, Sangh Parivar affiliates were provided prime real estate at throwaway prices in central locations. Except to allege that other parties while in power had done much the same thing, the party failed to provide a credible reply to the media expose on the matter...

According to details available so far, the highest number of allotments made by the Urban Development Ministry in the last two years have gone to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the heart of New Delhi at one-tenth the going market rate. Records of the Land and Development Office (LDO) under the Ministry for the years 1996-2002 show that of the 209 allotments, 115 have gone to government departments. Of the 94 remaining ones, a huge chunk has gone to Sangh Parivar affiliates, most of the allotments being made after 1999.

A look at the list of allottees and their affiliations provides ample evidence of the Sangh Parivar's advantage in the matter of allotments... All these allotments were made for the stated objective of running educational/cultural organisations.

Union Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar does not see anything amiss in these allotments.... Former Urban Development Minister Jagmohan, during whose tenure (June 1999 to August 2001) the highest number of allotments were made, has also tried to wash his hands of the controversy.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1918/19180180.htm

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Even govt homes razed to favour BJP's own (12 Jan 2005, Indian Express)

Three bungalows in Delhi's Lutyens' Zone belonging to the Defence Ministry allotted to non-government institutions; 22 plots in prime locations given to RSS affiliates; 19 allotments made on recommendations of ministers, not ministries, overruling procedures; encroachment of government land by private parties regularised; and 771 residences of government officials in Rouse Avenue razed and the land allotted to individuals.

These are some of the findings of the Yogesh Chandra Committee, appointed to look into allotments of prime land in New Delhi during the NDA years, many of them to RSS affiliates. The allotments were first reported by The Indian Express in 2002 after a detailed investigation....

Giving details, Azad said Bungalows 14, 15 and 16 on Canning Lane were given to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and 5, Raisina Road, to Dr Keshav Samark Kendra and 1, Bungalow, on Cornwallis Road to the Dr Mukherjee Smriti Nyas.

Besides, official residences on Rouse Avenue and Minto Road were demolished to provide plots to RSS affiliates and individuals belonging to then ruling party for commercial use at throwaway prices.

ALLOTMENTS TO RSS AFFILIATES

• Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (Recommended by minister)
• Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (Minister)
• Dharam Yatra Mahasangh
• Jan Kalyan Samiti
• Sanskara Bharati
• Samarth Shiksha Samiti (5 cases of allotments in Amar Colony, Pushp Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Shivalik in Malviya Nagar and Aram Bagh)
• Sanskriti Bharati
• Sewa Bharati
• Student Experience in Inter-state Living
• Swadeshi Jagran Foundation
• Vaish Aggarwal Education Sociey (Toy Bank)
• Ved Vigyan Maha Vidyapeetha
• Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan

RSS-BACKED CASES

• Sanatan Dharam Sabha
• Shiv Shakti Mandir Dharam Sabha
• Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Hari Mandir
• Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=62525

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Ministers, not group, to scan scams (1 Oct 2004, The Telegraph)

For starters, Azad has launched a departmental probe, headed by former bureaucrat Yogesh Chandra, into prime plots allegedly given away by the NDA government at throwaway prices to the RSS, VHP and other parivar affiliates.

The "chargesheet" claimed that a small constituent like the Samarth Shiksha Samiti got land in seven prime areas in less than three years. The RSS' front for small industries, Laghu Udyog Bharti, whose patron, the Congress said, is sarsanghchalak K.S. Sudarshan, was reportedly allotted 571 square yards in a prized area of the capital.

The rural development ministry, on the other hand, is believed to have started a probe into how Andhra Pradesh was sanctioned Rs 190 crore -- Rs 100 crore more than the budgetary allocation of Rs 90 crore -- every year from 2000 to 2003 for various rural development schemes when BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu was minister.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041001/asp/nation/story_3826950.asp

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NDA bent rules to get RSS outfits prime plots, confirms probe - By Ritu Sarin (10 Jan 2005, Indian Express)

The one-man Yogesh Chandra panel, tasked by the UPA government to probe the allotments, has prepared a 200-page report for the Urban Development Ministry.

The report shows, for instance, how former Minister of State Vijay Goel even managed to get a plot of land allotted in Rouse Avenue for a toy bank....

Officials said the report contains a case-by-case examination of some 100 allotments made by the NDA government to private socio-cultural and religious organisations.

These were among 225 allotments made by the Ministry between 1998 and 2004. Of these, 100 were made to private organisations. Sources said at least one-third of these were cornered by organisations with links to the RSS.

The report highlights how the then ministers bent rules to make written recommendations for allotment of land. In some cases, ministers who had no administrative dealings with organisations recommended that land be allotted to them.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=62486

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Sangh looks after its own, friends are welcome too - By Ritu Sarin & Bhavna Vij (19 Aug 2002, Indian Express)

In this fifth part of our series, we also resume our walk down Rouse Avenue:

1. Sanatan Dharam Sabha
• Area allotted: 852 square yards at R K Puram's Sector 8 in February 2000
• Price paid: Rs 1,818 per square yard
• Market rate: Upwards of Rs 1 lakh per square yard
• Men who matter: Office in-charge of Swadeshi Jagran Foundation A P Khandekar and Chairperson of Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha Manohar Lal Kumar (RSS activist who lost the assembly elections from Rajouri Garden)...

2.Dharam Yatra Mahasangh
• Area allotted: 571.2 square yards at Rouse Avenue in January 2002
• Price paid: Rs 1,818 per square yard
• Market rate: Rs 96,000 per square yard
• Men who matter: VHP leader Ashok Singhal (Patron) and former Delhi BJP chief Mange Ram Garg (President)...

3.Mahamana Malviya Mission
• Area allotted: 1180 square yards in Rouse Avenue on February 2002
• Price paid: Rs 1,818 per square yard
• Market rate: Rs 96,000 per square yard
• Men who matter: Urban Shipping Minister Ved Prakash Goyal (Patron) and Samata Party leader and former minister of state Harkishore Singh...

4.Toy Bank
• Area allotted: A plot in Rouse Avenue
• Price paid: Rs 1,818 per square yard
• Market rate: Rs 96,000 per square yard
• Men who matter: Minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office Vijay Goel, founder and chief patron...

5.Antarashtriya Sahyog Parishad
• Area allotted: 487 square metres in Rouse Avenue on November 1, 2001
• Price paid: Rs 1,818 per square yard
• Market rate: Rs 96,000 per square yard
• Men who matter: Founder Dharam Vira, senior bureaucrat and former governor, Baleshwar Agarwal (secretary general), Manohar Puri, former spokesperson of VHP (joint secretary).

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=7913

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Ekal Vidyalaya Scam - 1999 - 2005

Centre stops grants to 'one-teacher schools' - By Anita Joshua (19 May 2005, The Hindu)

The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has stopped grants to `Ekal Vidyalayas' (one-teacher schools) run by the Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) in tribal belts of the country in collaboration with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

This follows a study which revealed that the FTS was ``misusing these funds, and using the grants for creating disharmony amongst religious groups and creating a political cadre''....

According to the enquiry committee, funds sanctioned by not only the HRD Ministry but also the Ministries of Rural Development, Tribal Welfare, Science and Technology and Women & Child Development were being diverted to generate hatred toward minorities, and condition the minds of children. As a case in point, the report cited the use of `Jai Shri Ram' as response to roll call in the classroom, and use of Hindu Gods to teach the English alphabet... Besides trying to condition minds, the committee found that names of many students ``enrolled'' in the Ekal Vidyalaya registers were copied from government-run schools. Neither was reading and learning material provided to students despite specific allocations to the FTS... Also, noting that the FTS and the Bharatiya Janata Party got foreign funds in the name of tribal education, the committee suggested that these sources of funding, too, be put under the scanner as they were being used for a divisive agenda.

http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/19/stories/2005051907291200.htm

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Another Blow to V.H.P - By Mukundan C Menon (31 May 2005, Sabrang)

The decision follows a study, which revealed that the FTS... was "misusing these funds and using the grants for creating disharmony amongst religious groups and creating a political cadre". Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, a hard-core RSS ideologue, had been leading the HRD ministry during the Vajpayee Government... only the names of Hindu Gods were used to teach English alphabet.

For example, English booklet in Jharkhand teach the Class-II primary students thus: A for Arjun, B for Brahma, C for Cow, D for Dhruva, G for Ganesh, Hïltfor Hanuman, J...for Jambavan, M for Mahadev, O for Om, R for Ram,T for Temple, U for Uma.

Ironically, the letters 'E', 'F', 'Q', 'W', 'X' and 'Z' simply does not exist in this booklet. For the FTS champions, these letters are not worthy enough for the tribal students to learn. Reason? No names of Hindu Gods beginning with these letters are readily available!...

While exposing the VHP-run Ekal Vidyalayas siphoning off public funds under the guise of providing non-formal education and learning materials to tribal and rural students, the enquiry committee also acknowledged the role of non-formal education for universalisation of elementary education and called for a review of the schemes to support such endeavors. Alternative schooling be allowed only in places where formal schools do not exist, it recommended.

http://www.sabrang.com/news/2005/yg/31may05.htm

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Petrol pump and gas agencies scam - 2002

Yes, 73% of NDA pumps tainted, confirms SC (12 Oct 2004, Indian Express)

Confirming The Indian Express August 2002 investigative series on largescale irregularities in the allotment of dealerships for petrol pumps, LPG and kerosene outlets, the Supreme Court today said that over seven out of 10 allotments made by the NDA government were "improper." And suggested cancellation of 297 of them.

• "Almost 73 per cent of the allotments were found to be improperly made," the SC said, making public the findings of a high-level committee which examined over 400 cases published by The Indian Express to show how these outlets had been cornered by relatives and friends of the BJP and its allies.

How Express exposed and the SC disposed:

• Aug 1, 2002: The Indian Express exposes the petrol pump scam, showing how selection committee rules had been tinkered to allot petrol pumps, LPG dealerships to families and friends of BJP and allies

• Express runs 18 lists of beneficiaries across states; among them were Congress members, even bureaucrats

• Aug 2: Under fire, BJP offers limited CBI inquiry;

• Aug 5: PM Atal Behari Vajpayee orders cancellation of 3,158 pumps, LPG dealerships, kerosene outlets allotted since Jan 2000

• Aug 13: Delhi and Rajasthan High Courts issue stay on Centre's notification cancelling allotments

• Nov 11: Govt blames selection boards before SC; not one of the 30 cases chosen for it deals with political beneficiaries

• Nov 12: Show us the dirt: SC tells Govt, gives it a week on dubious allotments

• Dec 20: SC slams PM's order, says it was a cover-up; sets up panel to probe cases exposed by Express

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=56823

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Sack Ram Naik: CPI(M) (8 Aug 2002, The Hindu)

On the BJP's claim of being not just a party but a Government with a difference, it said: "Difference indeed, it has. This just every Government in independent India has turned out to be the most unscrupulously corrupt one that India has ever had''.

The editorial observed that to maintain decorum and political morality, the Government should have quit long ago. "The list of corruption scams under this Government puts the country to shame. Yet, this Government continues to cling on to the office unmindful of the sleaze and immorality that it patronised."

http://www.thehindu.com/2002/08/08/stories/2002080804901100.htm

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Leaders and dealers - By Purnima S Tripathi (Aug 17 -30, 2002, Frontline - Vol 19, Iss 17)

The Bharatiya Janata Party's claim of being the 'party with a difference' takes a beating again in the wake of revelations regarding the irregular allotment of petroleum dealerships.

THE more the Bharatiya Janata Party tries to wash its hands of the scandal surrounding irregular petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dealership allotments, the more the grime seems to stick. The more it tries to justify itself, the more glaring the party's collusion in it becomes. Even Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's "unprecedented and historic" decision to cancel all the 3,850 allotments made between November 2000 and May 2002 has failed to get it off the hook. The scam shows how the party misused the system to favour its people. The BJP has outdone even the Congress(I) in practising the politics of patronage. Several prominent leaders of the Sangh Parivar and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are directly or indirectly involved in the present scam.

The facts revealed until now point to an orchestrated plan to make the system serve the party's end... It has been established that what happened was not a few sporadic instances of favouritism, but a systematic doling out of largesse with the knowledge of the BJP high command and active assistance from the government....

A look at the list of beneficiaries, as revealed by The Indian Express, is an eye-opener . For instance, the list from Maharashtra includes the name of Sreeniwas Madhavrao Vaidya, son of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh spokesperson M.G. Vaidya (he has since given up the LPG agency saying his father had no role in its allotment); Sunita Phundkar, wife of State BJP chief Pandurang Phundkar; Mukund Kulkarni, BJP office secretary in Mumbai; Suryakant Khaire, brother of Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire; Dhananjay Munde, nephew of BJP leader and former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde and other relatives of BJP and Shiv Sena leaders. The list from Uttar Pradesh includes the name of Aparna Mishra, wife of Raj Mishra, a relative of Vajpayee. In fact, her address is the same as the Prime Minister's Lucknow address. The Uttar Pradesh list has, besides the names of many close relatives of BJP leaders, the names of Vikas Tomar, son of the BJP MP from Hapur, Ramesh Chandra Tomar; former BJP MP Poornima Verma; Bal Chandra, son of BJP MLA Chhote Lal Verma; Pratibha Tripathi, daughter-in-law of former BJP MP and Cooperatives Minister in the Mayawati government Ram Prakash Tripathi; Baijnath Rawat, BJP MP from Barabanki; Rani Sahi, wife of BJP leader Surya Pratap Sahi; Asha Katiyar, daughter-in-law of BJP MLA Prem Lata Katiyar; Kharag Bahadur Singh, officer on special duty to former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh; and Mukul Mishra, son of BJP MP Shyam Bihari Mishra. The allies of the BJP too got their share. For instance Union Labour Minister Sharad Yadav's nephew Rahul Yadav secured a petrol pump in Rewari in Haryana; and Nirmal Indora, wife of Indian National Lok Dal MP Sushil Indora, got one in Fatehabad in Haryana. Wives, sons, daughters-in-law, nephews, close associates and BJP leaders themselves, besides those of the allies, figure in the list from other States as well. For instance the Pattali Makkal Katchi is a major beneficiary in Tamil Nadu , Akali Dal in Punjab and the Samata Party in Bihar. Although the names of some Congress(I) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders too figure in the list from Bihar, the lion's share has gone to people who are close to the BJP and the Samata Party...

Meanwhile, ex-judges who were removed as chairpersons of DSBs for refusing to succumb to pressure, are speaking out, further queering the pitch for the government. DSB chairperson for Jammu and Kashmir Vidya Sagar, who was removed, alleged that Ram Naik used to call him to say that 50 per cent of petrol pumps should be given to BJP supporters. R.K. Mahajan, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, who was removed in Himachal Pradesh, said that "vested interests" had led to his removal. Yadunath Sharan Singh, a former judge of the Patna High Court, who was removed in Patna, went on record to say that there was political pressure on him from all sides.

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1917/19170250.htm

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Fill it, shut it, don't forget it - By Shekhar Gupta (8 Mar 2002, Indian Express)

Now, come on, what's so exciting about yet another scam? What is the big deal?... This is not old-fashioned nepotism or favouritism. This is special because of the institutionalised manner in which not only have rules and regulations been sidestepped but even a landmark, interventionist Supreme Court judgement has been subverted so as to make the whole thing look legitimate.

This scam is not about defying or violating regulations. It is about picking up the state's largesse and giving it away to your own, all done in a manner that makes it so pat, so legitimate. This scam is not so much about breaking the law as it is about making the law take your own course.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=7000

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Former judges pumped up marks, and how! - By Manoj Mitta (1 Jun 2003, Indian Express)

When The Sunday Express exposed the petrol pump scam last year, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik sought shelter in the fact that the candidates were chosen by Dealer Selection Boards (DSBs) headed by retired High Court (HC) judges.

But the ongoing inquiry into the scam has laid bare the modus operandi of retired HC judges who provided a legal cover to the allotments made to about 400 politically influential persons at the expense of meritorious candidates...

The whole scam is based on an arbitrary marking system by the DSB chairmen, under one or the other of the five heads for evaluating the eligibility of the candidates -- personality, capability to arrange
finances, educational qualification, capability to provide infrastructure and general assessment. As the DSB records were sealed after the allotment, this is the first time that the details of the marking system have emerged.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=25018

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Credit for legwork - By Naunidhi Kaur (Aug 17 - 30, 2002, Frontline - Vol 19, Iss 17)

The series continued to reveal the blatant allotment of outlets across the country to friends and relatives of BJP leaders. The achievement of The Indian Express was for all to see - it had revealed the entrenched networks and conduits that seek to misuse the system to its advantage. "The story affected the people at a different level. They came to know how a legitimate system was being misused by the BJP. This is a kind of betrayal that makes an average person on the street very unhappy. It was like you are called for an interview, the result of which is not level at all," Jha said....

On the conduct of the BJP, Shekhar Gupta said: "The story has shown that this is a government of the people, by the people but for the politicians. It has shown that politicians think that once they get elected they can use the system as they want to. These people came to power promising change and after coming to power they can't say we are only doing what the other guy was doing."

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1917/19170270.htm

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Jain Hawala Scandal

Court `nails down' Advani's claim in Hawala case (9 Sep 1996, The Observer)

The designated court dealing with Rs 65 crore Jain-hawala scandal in its order on framing the charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy against Bharatiya Janata Party president L K Advani has 'nailed down' his earlier claim that the case against him was "fit for discharge".

Analysing threadbare the documents seized by the CBI from the Jain's premises, including two main diaries, two files and two note-books in his 267 page order, special judge V B Gupta had observed, "in view of the contention of prosecution, it has to be seen whether Rs 35 lakh was paid to Mr Advani towards the political expenses (POE) by the Jains."....

The judge said that Mr Advani's name was initialled as 'LKA' with Rs 35 lakh mentioned against him, while the entry on page 11 showed his full name 'Advani' with Rs 25 lakh entered against him.

Mr Advani has been charged with receiving Rs 60 lakh from the Jain brothers,,of which, Rs 35 lakh were received by him when he was a public servant (member of Parliament).

Rejecting the contention of Mr Advani's counsel that there was no clear proof of alleged payment to the BJP leader as his name was not in the main diary, Mr Gupta said, "All the documents are inter-related and have to be seen in 'totality' not in 'isolation'.

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HC seeks IT assessment report of Jain-Hawala scam accused (22 Mar 2001, Indian Express)

Delhi High Court today directed the Income Tax department to furnish details on assessment of income of 17 politicians and bureaucrats, chargesheeted by CBI in the Jain-Hawala scam case and tax recoveries from them....

The direction was issued by the court after perusing a fresh status report filed by the income Tax (IT) department giving details about the latest position of the probe against the politicians and bureaucrats including Union Home Minister L K Advani, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav.

http://www.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/20010322/ina22004.html

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Jain Hawala Case - Clueless investigators, subverted state (16-31 Aug 2002, Milli Gazette)

Sleuths working on the case were led to Jain brothers -- SK Jain, NK Jain and BR Jain -- who passed the money on to Kashmir terrorists through the two arrested Kashmiris. However the Jain brothers were not detained for a day, nor charged under TADA while the Kashmiris were convicted and put behind the bars for years. This anomaly showed that the system was not even-handed. The CBI seized their diaries in which the accounts of payments were kept.

The anomaly also showed that something was amiss and the Indian state had been subverted from within, a situation in which the mastermind was let off by the law, while the foot soldiers were held accountable.

The Jains, who had been acting as major nodal points, passing money originating from dubious sources to a who-is-who of India's politicians that included Devi Lal, Sharad Yadav, Rajesh Pilot, VC Shukla and LK Advani. The same conduit had been passing on money originating from the same sources to Kashmir terrorists. Thus India's top politicians were getting money that was doubly tainted -- it was graft and it was coming from a source out to destabilise India. To make matters worse, top bureaucrats were also among fund recipients.

However, the serious TADA case turned into a simple corruption case for the politicians. An important figure in the hawala network was Moolchand Shah, an alleged associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He was arrested by CBI under TADA. Soon after important politicians began to figure as recipients of hawala money, Shah hired famous lawyer Ram Jethmalani to plead his case. The Supreme Court released him on bail. Strangely, the state did not pursue his case further, and the prosecution was dropped without any apparent reason.

http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15082002/1508200258.htm

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Jain Hawala Case - Diaries as evidence - By Sudha Mahalingam (Mar 21 - Apr 3, 1998, Frontline - Vol 15, Iss 6)

The Supreme Court has acquitted L.K. Advani and V.C. Shukla in the Jain hawala case. However, in admitting that the Jain diaries are admissible evidence, the court has paved the way for prosecution in cases where the payoffs indicated are corroborated by other evidence....

One important implication of the apex court's ruling is that it has changed the perception about the cohesiveness of the Jain diaries/hawala case in which, it was believed, all the accused would stand or fall together. In admitting that the diaries are admissible evidence, the court has paved the way for the prosecution to proceed at least in those cases where the payoffs indicated in the diaries have been corroborated by other evidence. The CBI had filed 34 charge-sheets in the court of the Special Judge against powerful individuals across the political spectrum. While the investigative agency claims to have obtained corroborative evidence against most of the accused either through independent investigation of their bank accounts, passports, official documents, circumstantial evidence or in the form of evidence relating to favours rendered as quid pro quo for payments, it remains to be seen which of these will stand fresh judicial scrutiny in the light of the present judgment....

The CBI appears to have bungled in not having framed a charge of conspiracy among the accused Jains to offer illegal gratification to Advani and Shukla. It had framed charges of two separate conspiracies, in both of which the Jains together figured as the common party and Advani and Shukla as the other. Advani had been accused of receiving Rs.25 lakhs from the Jains when he was a member of Parliament (besides the Rs. 35 lakhs he allegedly received when he was not an MP).

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1506/15060270.htm

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Other Scams / Scandals

BJP's Corrupt Face Once Again Bared - By Harkishan Singh Surjeet (13 Feb 2005, People's Democracy)

While the party could not rid the country of its curses like bhook (hunger) and bhay (fear) during the six years of its ignominious rule, which it had bombastically claimed it would do, by now it is more than evident that it was itself neck deep in bhrashtachar (corruption) -- the third curse it had promise to eliminate....

Reliance Infocomm had transferred one crore of its shares to three small companies for only Rs one crore... the three benami companies that received the largesse from Reliance Infocomm have pocketed at least Rs 700 crore in this dubious manner... the company promoted by Messrs Poonam Mahajan and Rahul Mahajan... the biggest beneficiaries of their services are the promoters themselves, like the Mahajan family....

one may recall that it was the same Mahajan who had pleaded that Reliance group's founder, late Dhirubhai Ambani, must be honoured with a Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country....

Hindi daily Punjab Kesari (February 7) says that if Reliance transferred one crore shares to three fake companies, "in this whole affair the ultimate beneficiary was Pramod Mahajan who was then the communications minister at the centre. Pramod Mahajan was known as the Reliance man in the Vajpayee cabinet."

In her later report in The Asian Age on February 7, regarding the fraud perpetrated by Reliance Infocomm and US-registered Reliance Communications Inc (RCI) upon the public sector BSNL and MTNL, Olga Tellis also gives an instance of how these companies posed a threat to national security. She says: "In the absence of correct CLI (caller line identification), security agencies have to approach the concerned licensee to trace back the calls, which should be avoided as it severely dilutes the secrecy of the intelligence." She said so on the strength of a department of telecommunications enquiry into this "well-thought out and carefully organised fraud" in which international calls were being routed as local calls. This report was categorical that by tampering with the CLI, the RCI "breached security regulations." (This report too is being printed elsewhere in this issue.) The whole RCI episode in fact gives ample indication of what security hazards powerful and unscrupulous foreign telecommunication companies may pose after the Manmohan government has raised the FDI cap in telecom.

It is thus clear that this party, the BJP, which used to shout patriotism from the roof top, could go to any length to rush benefits to the Ambanis, even if it meant putting the country's security into jeopardy.

http://pd.cpim.org/2005/0213/02132005_surjeet.htm

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Watch out for a temple complex along 50 acres of the Yamuna - By Ritu Sarin & Dalip Singh (6 Sep 2002, Indian Express)

Amending the master plan, bypassing the norms it set itself, brushing aside objections raised by its own sister organisation, the Delhi Development Authority has allotted 58 acres in the floodplains of the Yamuna river for a temple of the influential Swaminarayan sect...

The allotment has been done in two phases. In the first, in September 1999, the DDA changed the master plan to show the land as "public and semi-public" from its initial classification as "agricultural and water body."....

But the DDA went further. Although its amended master plan specifices that any socio-religious organisation can't get more than a maximum of 15 hectares (approximately 40 acres), the DDA in January this year allotted another 28 acres to the trust... According to the original site plan prepared by the DDA, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, the plot is marked in the name of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) and the adjoining plots marked for "parking, camping sites and picnic spots."

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=8944

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Gupta's thanksgiving to Sangh is at Govt's cost (13 May 2000, Indian Express)

Ram Prakash Gupta's BJP-led coalition government is on a overdrive to please the Sangh Parivar in general and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in particular. Not only has it gifted 43 acres of Horticultural Department land to Sadhvi Ritambara but it has also cancelled a notification issued on December 10, 1999 for the survey of Hindu religious trusts, temples and their assets....

Horticulture Minister Dhanraj Yadav justified the allotment of 43 acres worth more than Rs 20 crore on an annual rent of Re 1 for 99 years....

The survey, which the government has cancelled, was intended to gather information on the assets belonging to religious trusts and temples for the government record. But recently, a rumour that the Government was conducting it for the purpose of acquiring the property, did the rounds. A few sadhus of Hardwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Allahabad gave a call to even `overthrow' the Government calling it anti-Hindu.

http://www.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/20000713/ina13059.html

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Another sordid disinvestment scam - By Dipankar Mukherjee (21 Mar 2004, People's Democracy)

It is election eve and the Vajpayee government has made a rush to the market to sell government shares of six PSUs, including two Navratnas -- ONGC & GAIL, so that budgetary deficit can be made up before March 31, 2004. Why this deficit? As the government had to give pre-electoral sops of Rs 12,000 crore to those who `shine’ in NDA rule – corporates, MNCs, share market operators etc. for cheaper air travel, cheaper foreign liquor, less import duty, tax concessions, etc. Deficit because government had to spend before election, hundreds of crores of rupees on pre-election campaign through government departments, to make people `feel good’....

It may be recalled when the NDA government came to power, it sold 25 per cent government shares of GAIL in November 1999 at a grossly under-priced value of Rs 70 per share. There was a furore inside the parliament and outside that the share was priced 3 to 4 times less than the actual value which meant a loss of not less than Rs 1,500 crore to the exchequer... Now, when 10 per cent of government’s share in ONGC & GAIL is being rushed for distress sale, the loss would be in the tune of not less than Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 crore....

Vajpayee & Co. should not be allowed to get away with another Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore worth scam, just before election, at the cost of India’s pride and MNC’s envy viz ONGC & GAIL, to meet NDA’s electoral expense. The Election Commission as well as the president of India should stall this sale notwithstanding the hullabaloo created by Shourie's drummer boys in the corporate sector and media, so that in future no government can treat election time as looting-time for misusing and liquidating public assets, built by common mans’s money.

http://pd.cpim.org/2004/0321/03212004_dipankar.htm

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BJP in a soup; Sanjay Joshi quits after sex scandal (28 Dec 2005, Times of India)

The BJP’s silver jubilee celebrations lay in tatters after a carefully timed in-house sting operation forced BJP general secretary and RSS insider Sanjay Joshi to quit his party post on Tuesday.

The resignation came after an audio cassette, and later a VCD, reportedly showing him in a compromising position with a woman, threatened to generate a fresh controversy.

The developments cap a run of events that have left the saffron party scam-riddled. After the TV video expose of six of its MPs taking cash for raising questions in parliament, the party is now saddled with the embarrassing sex tapes.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1349154.cms

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Corruption Charges Against BJP Govt The Day of Reckoning is Not Far Away - By Harkishan Singh Surjeet (22 Mar 1999, Ganashakti)

The other issue that generated a lot of heat in the first fortnight of March was of the startling revelations made by Mohan Guruswamy, sacked advisor to the finance minister, Yashwant Sinha. Despite all denials, the fact remains that Guruswamy was chosen by same Sinha as his advisor. He was a political appointee, being associated with the BJP. Being in such a vantage position, Guruswamy was privy to various goings-on in the ministry and therefore his allegations cannot be dismissed straightaway. While Guruswamy says he had resigned on January 27, the finance minister maintains that he had not resigned but was sacked on February 3.

Whether he was sacked or resigned on his own, Guruswamy has made serious allegations that ought to be probed. He has also informed that the top two in the ministry, Vajpayee and L K Advani, do not go along well. Guruswamy has alleged that there is a coterie around the prime minister, headed by his "adopted" son-in-law, which meddles in the matters of governance. He has accused the prime minister of running a vicious cabal and lobbying for the Hindujas. He has accused Advani of lobbying for the ESSAR and Pramod Mahajan of backing the Mittals.

Guruswamy has alleged that at the instance of Advani, Yashwant Sinha bailed out the ESSAR by hiking the prices of imported hot rolled steel coils by 55 dollars, more than what was agreed at the inter-ministerial meeting, resulting in hefty gains to the steel producers. A higher base price was fixed, below which steel imports were not to be allowed freely. This, according to Guruswamy, gave away a sum of Rs 5000 crore. The ESSAR alone allegedly benefited to the tune of Rs 300 crore. Guruswamy alleges that the ESSAR chief Shashi Ruia was present in the meeting in the finance minister's chamber.

It is known that for some time now, BAT (British American Tobacco) company has been trying to gain control over the ITC Ltd. Guruswamy alleges that the UTI which has holdings in the ITC was advised to sell off its shares to the BAT. While BAT offered Rs 800 per share, Guruswamy suggested that these should be sold at Rs 2,500. He is on record that he submitted a note in this regard to the finance minister, and that the minister had called him for a discussion and asked him to keep the note aside, as big people were involved. The former advisor has also alleged that he received an offer that very evening to keep silent on the issue.

All of us know of the various attempts that Suzuki Motors has been making to take control of the Maruti Udyog Ltd. All such attempts made during the United Front's tenure were foiled. But immediately after the assumption of power by the BJP-led government, there was a change of guard at Maruti with Bhaskaradu being ousted and Suzuki appointing its nominee. Suzuki has now taken full control of all the production, marketing and other functions. Guruswamy has alleged that it is using the transfer pricing mechanism to siphon off huge amounts to Japan.

He has also implicated the prime minister by alleging that it was at his instance that a coal supply transport agreement was arrived between the government of India and the Hindujas for supply of coal to the 1,000 MW project at Vishakapatanam promoted by the latter. Guruswamy alleges that the agreement was signed despite the expenditure secretary's opposition.

Despite the serious nature of the allegations, however, the government kept shying away from conceding to the demand for a JPC probe. It is natural given the fact that these allegations are levelled by a man who, being in such a sensitive position, was privy to such information.

http://www.ganashakti.com/old/1999/990322/featurea.htm

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Court seeks details of money spent on 'India Shining' (4 Mar 2004, The Hindu)

The Delhi High Court today directed the Union Government to apprise it of the details of the money spent on the "India Shining" advertisement campaign as well as the guidelines governing it....

While the Unemployed Youth Unity Movement urged the court to direct the Comptroller and Auditor-General to inquire into the alleged misuse of public funds, the advocate sought an immediate stay on the advertisement in both the print and electronic media.

The two PILs alleged that the Union Government was "utilising public money for promotion of their political fortunes" in the coming Lok Sabha election.

http://www.thehindu.com/2004/03/04/stories/2004030407510100.htm

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Tasks ahead for UPA - By Zafarul-Islam Khan (16 - 30 Jun 2004, Milli Gazette)

NDA’s propaganda blitz prior to the elections cost the poor exchequer a whopping Rs 5000 million within weeks. Probe should find out the beneficiaries and how they served BJP and if the exercise was illegal, the money should be retrieved from the BJP and the beneficiaries. Probe should also uncover how opinion polls were manipulated and manufactured to suit the BJP.

All the NDA government scams, from UTI to petrol pumps to Tehelka to Judeo to disinvestment and land cams, Lucknow sari scandal, to the role of Vajpayee’s so-called son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya and the Sensex games should be probed. NDA favours to various business and industrial houses should also be under the scanner to unravel the truth behind the popular joke that NDA is RH positive: RH being Reliance and Hind