Monday, October 29, 2012

Government Notice

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown in the economy, the Government has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 50 years of age and above on early, mandatory retirement, thus creating jobs and reducing unemployment.

This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).

Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to the government to be considered for the SHAFT program (Special Help After Forced Termination).

Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (System Covering Retired-Early Workers).

A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as the government deems appropriate.

Persons who have been RAPED could get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependents & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance).

Obviously persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by the government.

Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. The government has always prided themselves on the amount of SHIT they give our citizens.

Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring this to the attention of your local Member of Parliament who has been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle.

Sincerely, The Committee for Economic Value of Individual Lives (E.V.I.L.)

Another one of Kalyan KBS on FB

How are politicians born?

A woman went to her doctor for advice.

She told him that her husband had developed a penchant for anal sex, and she was not sure that it was such a good idea.

"Do you enjoy it?" The doctor asked.

"Actually, yes, I do."

"Does it hurt you?" he asked.

"No. I rather like it."

"Well, then," the doctor continued, "there's no reason that you shouldn't practice anal sex, if that's what you like, so long as you take care not to get pregnant."

The woman was mystified.

"What? You can get pregnant from anal sex?"

"Of course," the doctor replied, "Where do you think politicians come from?"

This was posted by Kalyan Kbs on FB

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Purti Group Scam: Nitin Gadkari reaches New Delhi for talks with BJP leaders

New Delhi, Oct. 26 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari arrived in national capital New Delhi late on Friday evening, even as the party brass was reportedly huddled in meetings to decide its future course in the wake of allegations of corruption linked to the Purti Group, which he once ran.

Unconfirmed reports said that the top brass of the BJP will be meeting at Gadkari's residence to decide on the next course of action to be taken. There is speculation that the party may opt for appointing an interim president till Gadkari is cleared of all charges of impropriety.

Gadkari had been away in Nagpur attending RSS-related functions, even as his name was being mudied by the media over the activities of the Purti Group.

Gadkari's arrival in Delhi came even as the RSS said today that it has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding BJP chief.

Issuing a statement on the controversy the RSS said it is saddened by the efforts to drag the organisation into the row.

Earlier, RSS leaders led by Mohan Bhagwat and Bhaiyya Joshi apparently advised Gadkari to hold on. On his part, he too would rather dig in his heels, put up a "brave front" to fend off charges against him till any official probe actually established his guilt. However, evidence is emerging to suggest that Gadkari may have loaned money to firms which invested into Purti Power and Sugar Limited.

The income tax department has joined the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in looking at the funding of the company founded by the BJP president.

There are also indications that the Enforcement Directorate may examine the possibility of launching a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act if further evidence of forgery emerges and an FIR is registered.

So far, it has been revealed that more than 100 companies could be behind the two dozen firms which have been key investors in Purti Group, bringing in amounts ranging from a few lakhs to a few crores in what constituted the first layer of the baffling maze of investments.

Many of the 100 companies, spread all over India, were being managed by Gadkari's aides for a couple of years or so. Documents filed with the Registrar of Companies reveal another mystifying pattern, that of Gadkari himself lending money as unsecured loans to companies which invested into Purti.

The transactions have triggered suspicion among investigating agencies of round-tripping and money laundering. Sources in the IT department said a report would be submitted to the Central Board of Direct Taxes shortly. Sources said the investigators will now also look at other violations such as forgery. In many instances, details of directors, addresses of companies that have invested in Purti group have already turned out to be bogus. Sources said if cases of forgery were lodged, those could lead to investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

As I said all political parties are equally corrupt.

Arvind Kejriwal is our only hope.

Mobile Phones

This is a true incidence reported of a boy aged 19, who was studying in 1st year of engineering, who died in Keshvani Hospital, Mumbai. He was admitted in the Hospital as a burned patient. Reason ??????

This boy had gone to Amravati (a place located in State of Maharashtra ) on a study tour, on their return they were waiting at the railway station to catch the train. Many of them started taking pictures of their friends using "Mobile Phones" and / or "Digital Camera". One of them complained that, he was unable to capture the full group of friends in one frame in the Digicam. This boy moved away to a distance to get the whole group.

He failed to notice that at an angle above his head, 40,000 volts electrical line was passing through. As soon as he clicked the digital camera? 40,000 volt current passed through the camera flash light to his camera and then from his camera to his fingers & to his body. All this happened within a fraction of a second. His body was half burned. They arranged for an ambulance & his burned body was brought to Keshavani Hospital, Mumbai.

For one & half days or so he was conscious & talking. Doctors did not have much hopes as there was a lot of complex issues in his body. He passed away later. Now how many of us are aware about these technical threats & dangers? Even if we are, how many of us are adhering??

* Please avoid mobile phones on petrol outlets. * Please avoid talking on mobile phones while driving. * Change that "Chalta Hai Yaar Attitude". * Please avoid talking on mobile phones while kept in charging mode without disconnecting from wall socket. * Please do not keep mobile phones on your bed while charging and / on wooden furniture. * Avoid using mobile phones / Digital cameras near high voltage electrical lines like in railway stations and avoid using flash.

The above was posted by Kalyan Kbs on FB

Is Kejriwal using his anti-corruption crusader status to win votes for his newly formed political party?

The above survey has been initiated by "I paid a bribe" a site which hi-lights cases of bribery in India.

I have sent my comments below. I would suggest people go to the site http://www.ipaidabribe.com/Polls/kejriwal-using-his-anti-corruption-crusader-status-win-votes-his-newly-formed-political-party# to see the views of the people of India.

Anna Hazare’s supporter hits out at Arvind Kejriwal for having ulterior motives to plant himself firmly in the political circle. What started off as a crusade against corruption has turned into an aggressive attack on politicians indulging in corruption. With a new politician coming under Kejriwal’s scanner week after week, do you think Kejriwal is doing this only to strengthen his political aspirations? Do vested interests lie beneath Kejriwal’s anti-corruption crusader status?

Its a very badly worded survey like "have you stopped beating your wife?'

You are caught with whatever answer you give.

Who says Anna and Arvind are in opposing camps.

Their aim is the same, to clean India of corruption.

They tried going the civil way but politicians ad parliament made a fool of them.

They had no choice.

They realized that if they have to change the system, they have to enter it.

Anna at his age is too old for politics so his deputy Arvind had to enter.

Vested interests are trying to divide them.

Arvind is doing the right thing in exposing these corrupt politicians but I think he should slow down the pace of his exposure. Maybe one every fortnight so that he has enough exposures to go right up to 2014, before the elections.

He will get many corruption cases for the "mango people" and "cattle class" of India have suffered long under these politicians and were waiting for a ear to pour their grievance.

He should now start selecting honest candidates from all castes and religions based only on their qualifications and honesty and public speaking capacity, debating skills. He should avoid rich candidates, especially rich businessmen, for this class of people have a tendency of amassing wealth by illegal means and we don't want the Congress party putting the CBI, Income Tax, ED, dogs on our candidates.

The candidates selected should now start interacting with the people of their constituency on "door to door" basis for they will not have much funds for fighting their elections and we don't want them to go to businessmen for funds for then they will have to later give in to their demands.

WE THE MANGO PEOPLE OF INDIA SHOULD SEE THAT ARVIND KEJRIWAL'S PARTY WINS THE NEXT ELECTION.

Einstein Political Theory

Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Politician, what type of reptile is it?

This is too true to be funny. The next time you hear a politician use the Word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, But one advertising agency did a good job of Putting that figure into some perspective in One of its releases. A.A billion seconds ago it was 1959. B.A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. C.A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. D.A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet. E.A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes at the rate our government is spending it. While this thought is still fresh in our brain... let's take a look at New Orleans ... It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) was asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS To rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number... What does it mean? A.Well .. If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman and child) You each get $516,528 B.Or... If you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787. C.Or... If you are a family of four... Your family gets $2,066,012. Washington , D.C HELLO! Are all your calculators broken?? Building Permit Tax CDL License Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax (Fed) Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax) IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Tax Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service charge Taxes Social Security Tax Road Usage Tax (Truckers) Sales TaxesRecreational Vehicle Tax School Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage ChargeTax Utility Tax Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax (And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes) STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago... And our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt... We had the largest middle class in the world... And Mom stayed home to raise the kids. W hat happened? Can you spell 'politicians'! And I still have to Press '1' For English. Sent by Prakash Bhartia Yes, these b.....rds are the problem everywhere.

Friday, October 26, 2012

BJP seeks probe against Congress over various scams

New Delhi, Oct 26 (ANI): Backing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari over the graft allegations levelled against him, senior party leader Nirmala Sitharaman has sought a probe against the ruling Congress party over diverse scams.

Talking to media here, Sitharaman criticised Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for what she called 'cowardly behaviour' against graft cases levelled against the government.

"In all fairness, it is important for us to recognise that here was a party president, who came himself to the media and answered questions, so I don't think that you should hold that against him. He has come. On the contrary, since, it is a political atmosphere in which we are talking and they are talking about the president of the party, who or on whom, there are questions being asked, the same doesn't seem to apply to any other party," she said.

"The same doesn't seem to apply to the Congress party, on whom, not just one person but several ministers have been asked questions. I am tempted to ask that did anyone of them come one on one to face the media and answer questions, which are being raised,"she added.

Sitharaman questioned how many ministers of the Congress party had intimated probe against themselves on various scams.

"Let us ask the Congress as to how many of them are inviting probe on allegation which are thrown at them. Let us hear from the Congress, how many of them are willing to come and speak out. Is there anybody coming to answer on these the specific list of items that I have given to you-Coalgate, cash for vote, 2G, Commonwealth Games, Aircel-Maxis, ISRO-Devas, all during the UPA-II time. Tell me how many Congress ministers have invited probe," she asked.

According to the report in the media, 18 companies which own 80 percent of the shares in Purti Group, owned by Gadkari, are not located on the addresses mentioned on the website of the company.

Managing director of Purti group, Sudhir Dive had out rightly dismissed corruption allegations against Gadkari, adding that he resigned from the company 14 months ago.

Congress leader, Digvijay Singh had written a petition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought that the BJP chief should be probed on fraud charges.

Earlier Anjali Damania, close aide of anti-graft crusader cum politician Arvind Kejriwal had alleged that Gadkari had acquired 100 acre of farmers' land through dubious means for his private trust although he refuted these charges. (ANI)

I agree with the BJP.

For a start, they should start with probing Sharad Pawar and his family including daughter Supriya Sule and Ajay Pawar who resigned. Resignation is no punishment. A thorough enquiry should be made.

Also under probe should be Robert Vadra and Salman Khurshed

Will the Congress do so?

Vadra land deals get clean chit from the Congress party

Haryana's deputy commissioners have found no irregularities in Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's land deals, media reports said.

A panel of four deputy commissioners has given Vadra's deals a clean chit, said reports. Four Haryana deputy commissioners probed Vadra's deals after IAS officer Ashok Khemka allegations that there were irregularities. "No transaction has been reported to be undervalued," Vijay Singh Dahiya Palwal, deputy commissioner, was quoted as saying by a newspaper.

The deputy commissioners of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal and Mewat probed the land deals, but India Against Corruption leader Arvind Kejriwal rejected their reports.

"Newspapers say Haryana officers give clean chit to Vadra. That was expected. Country wud be surprised if it were otherwise," Kejriwal tweeted.

He alleged the Congress and the BJP were brothers in arms in corruption. "Are all these probes merely an eyewash? Time will tell. It wud (would) further prove - Cong BJP bhai bhai," he said.

"In Haryana, all good officers shunted out. Those in key positions crawl when asked to bend."

There is nothing surprising in Vadra being given a clean chit.

I had prophesied it as soon as the inquiry was set up.

With the Congress in power at the centre and Sonia being the de facto ruler over a puppet PM and and a Congress government in Haryana, could the result of the inquiry be otherwise.

On the other hand have you seen how fast they have put the Income Dept dept, Enforcement Directorate , Company Law Board and others behind Nitin Gadkari within one week of the charges raised by IAC.

Of course this alacrity has been shown because of the elections in Himachal Pradesh, to neutralize the accusations against Virbhadra Singh. After the elections the inquiry will become slow and Nitin Gadkari will get a clean chit. Charges against Vadra were the oldest but no IT people have inquired how he got all the money to buy 8 plots at different locations in Haryana.

What is the normal time in registering plots and mutating them in Haryana?

How long did it take Vadra to get his plots registered and mutated?

The BJP has made an accusation that Virbhadra Singh had filed wrong IT returns and made changes in his returns after being accused of amassing wealth.

Have the IT people told to inquire the case?

Or do the IT people act selectively at the behest of the centre.

IT IS IMPERATIVE AND URGENT THAT THE THE INCOME TAX DEPT, ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE AND CBI BE REMOVED FROM THE CONTROL OF THE CENTRE.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Sharad Pawar held 1,000 shares in Gadkari-linked IRB

Is there any connection among the controversial company Ideal Road Builders, Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] president Nitin Gadkari and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar?

There is indeed a slim link that passes through all three entities.

IRB, which was set up by Virendra Mhaiskar, is under the spotlight for lending a huge personal loan of Rs 164 crores (Rs 1.64 billion) to Gadkari's Purti Power and Sugar Limited.

And Sharad Pawar, the most powerful leader of Maharashtra [ Images ], owned 1,000 equity shares in IRB.

According to the details available on the Prime Minister's Office's Web site, Pawar held a small amount of equity shareholding worth Rs 161,550 as on March 31, 2011, with IRB's share price being quoted at Rs 161.55.

On Thursday, the company's shares were being traded at Rs 119.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

However, Pawar's assets and liabilities for 2011-2012 does not show the IRB investment.

Rediff.com contacted Pawar's office to confirm his shareholding in IRB that he held until last year, but could not get a response. The e-mail sent to Pawar's Officer on Special Duty D K Singh did not get any specific response either at the time of publishing this report.

Anjali Damania, the India [ Images ] Against Corruption activist, has alleged that when she met Gadkari for help in land-related issues against Ajit Pawar, then Maharashtra's deputy chief minister and the agriculture minister's nephew, the BJP leader had told her that he has business relations with Sharad Pawar.

'Woh hamare char kaam karte hai, aur hum unke char kaam karte hai (they oblige us, we oblige them),' she had quoted Gadkari, who stoutly denies the alleged statement and has sent Damania a legal notice, alleging defamation.

A senior IAC leader told Rediff.com, "The equity held by Pawar in IRB is quite small, but Pawar is not an ordinary man. If he invests in some company and reveals it along with his other data that is published on the PMO's Web site, it means something. Pawar type of politicians will not invest in any company. He can't be a reckless investor."

Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi

The above is from Rediffmail.

You may bet your last rupya that Sharad Pwar will have his hand in any pie in Maharashtra,

However, owing to coalition dharma, the Congress refuses to make any enquries for it knows that Sharad knows many of the miappropriations that the Congress has done. That is why it is necessary for the CBI to be taken away from the centre so that we can get clean and true results not adulterated by the Congress requirements.

Rajat Gupta: American dream turns nightmare

Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta was on Wednesday sentenced to two years in prison and fined $5 million by a US judge, months after the Indian-American Wall Street titan was found guilty of leaking boardroom secrets to a hedge fund manager in the largest insider trading case in the country's history.

Gupta, 63, was handed down a two-year prison term by US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff, who also ordered him to pay a 55 million fine. Gupta, reading from a statement, said: "The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager."

"I regret terribly the impact of this matter on my family, my friends and the institutions that are dear to me. I've lost my reputation I built for a lifetime. The verdict was devastating," he said.

"His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate," Manhattan's top federal attorney India-born Preet Bharara said. What did Rajat Gupta gain from leaking insider information to Raj Rajaratnam? The irony is that he did not make any money.

The jury took two weeks to convict Raj Rajaratnam, who profited from leaks. Yet they took only two days to convict Gupta who did not make any money. It was a clear message to the prevailing culture of Wall Street.

'They (the jury) just don't happen to live and work in a world like Wall Street where favours are done and relationships cultivated at any cost; where informal conversations slip into illegality with amazing nonchalance; where secrets are traded like marbles; where insider trading is, as Gupta's prosecutor, US Attorney Preet Bahara put it, a 'performance-enhancing drug.' It's called 'intangible benefits.' Because he sought and savoured those benefits so avidly, Rajat Gupta, for all his virtues, must do time,' wrote Richard Levick, president and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications.

According to Gary Naftalis, Gupta's chief defence lawyer, Gupta has not made any money, but lost his entire investment with Rajaratnam, which was about $10 million. Friends said Gupta was toying with the idea of suing Rajaratnam, when federal authorities arrested him.

The federal sentencing guidelines seek to differentiate between those who profit from insider trading and those who don't. But the prosecution noted that Gupta was responsible for the trading that resulted in an aggregate $16 million in profit for Galleon Group.

Gupta, who had achieved a high-profile status as a corporate executive, was considered as one of the main pillars of Indian-American community for his work as well as charity and benevolence.

For the community he was a model for reaching the 'American Dream' as well as extending a hand to the less fortunate in the US and in India. His fall from grace was an unbelievable shock for the community.

'Importantly, his career embodies values that Americans hold highest. He was an orphan. He went to Harvard Business School on a scholarship. He rose to dizzying heights. The jury foreman called it a 'storybook life,' Levick noted.

'We were hoping he would walk out of this courthouse,' said another juror. Some jurors were crying when the verdict was read.

Naftalis pointed out that Gupta would not risk everything for money he neither made nor needed. Post-trial comments suggest that jurors felt Rajaratnam manipulated Gupta, Levick noted. Moreover, the evidence against Gupta was almost all circumstantial.

When Rajat K Gupta was appointed managing director worldwide of McKinsey & Company in 1994, former partner at McKinsey and best-selling management guru Tom Peters said, 'he is the best thing to happen to McKinsey since Marvin Bower's days at the firm.'

Even after he retired from McKinsey in 2003 after 30 years of service and went on to serve as board member of top American companies and also advisor to the then United Nation secretary general Kofi Annan, Gupta grew in stature and fame for his vision, integrity and creativity.

A tribute to him came from then President George Bush when at a Rose Garden event he congratulated Gupta for his compassion and concern. 'It is important for people who have been successful in the business world to contribute something back to society. Rajat, thank you for that spirit, and thank you for that compassion and concern,' President Bush said.

Besides being a top-notch management, Gupta has also been involved with charities and philanthropic activities, including with American-India Foundation, the largest Diaspora philanthropy organisation focused on India and based out of the United States, where he was co-chairman, for a long time.

'The picture that has been painted in the mainstream media has been done mostly by people who do not know anything about Rajat Gupta, and also by people who have vested interests,' a friend of Gupta who has worked with him and known him for a long time, told India Abroad earlier.

Friends had set up a website to make his contributions known to the world, www.friendsofrajat.com.

'The picture that has been painted of Rajat in the press and blogosphere contradicts what we know of Rajat first hand. Over the course of the last year, a greatly unfair and incorrect caricature of the real Rajat Gupta has emerged. Most of the commentary is provided by people who do not know Rajat and who are simply extrapolating from the one-sided press and blog entries,' the site noted.

'We are friends of Rajat and many of us have known him for decades. We know that over his life he has touched many hundreds of lives, almost always for the better. We ask those that know him best provide their perspectives about him and help correct the unfortunate misrepresentation of his character.'

Many people from all over the world wrote about Gupta on the site.

In his comment Mukesh Ambani noted, 'I have known Rajat now for over 20 years. In every conversation I have had with him over the years, he was always talking about the things he wanted to do for India, for others, and never about himself.'

Gupta joined McKinsey & Company in 1973 and went on to become the firm's first managing director born outside of the US, completing three full terms at the coveted position.

Gupta became the head of the Scandinavian offices in 1981 and the head of the Chicago office in 1990. In 1994, he was elected managing director. Gupta is widely regarded as one of the first Indians to successfully break through the glass ceiling.

He assumed the role of office manager there in 1989, was elected managing director of the firm in 1994 and re-elected twice, once in 1997 and again in 2000.

Since joining the firm, Gupta has directed a number of projects aimed at helping companies develop new product/market strategies and reorganise for improved effectiveness and operations capabilities.

He has a broad range of consulting experience with a variety of industries, including telecommunications, energy, and consumer goods. In 2000, Gupta was ranked among the top 10 consultants globally.

Gupta was on the Advisory boards of Harvard Business School and the Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

He was instrumental in founding the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India in 2001.

He is also Chair of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He has many other professional and business affiliations, including: on the Board of Governors of the Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Chairman of the Board of Associates of the Harvard Business School; and Dean's Advisory Council, MIT Sloan School of Management.

That is the beauty of the USA and the western world.

Although they allow people to make money but the condition is it must be legal.

And they are swift to act if you amass wealth illegally.

Would this have been possible in India.

He was slapped with insider trading charges on October 26 last year and the shine and honour that had become synonymous with Gupta's name began eroding after the FBI arrested him.

A US court held Gupta guilty in June this year of providing insider information to Galleon hedge fund founder and friend Raj Rajaratnam, in one of America's biggest insider trading cases.

Yesterday he was sentenced, that is within one year of being charged.

In contrast 86-year-old former telecom minister Sukhram was handed a five-year sentence for accepting a Rs 3-lakh bribe in 1996 with the trial court rejecting advanced age as a ground for a more lenient view.This sentence was handed out to him on 20th Nov, 2011, almost 17 years after committing the crime.

And thousand of others go Scot-free because they are politicians or politically connected.

No wonder, India cannot progress.

If India is to progress, the present lot of politicians are to be thrown out lock, stock and barrel and Arvind Kejriwal and his IAC should be brought in.

Comedian Jaspal Bhatti dies in road accident

Film actor and comedian Jaspal Bhatti died in a road accident near Jalandhar early Thursday morning.

The car in which the 57-year-old actor, director was travelling hit a roadside tree near Shahkot in Nakodar area of the district around 1 am, Bhatti's associate Vinod Sharma told PTI in Chandigarh.

Sharma said that Bhatti was going to Jalandhar from Bhatinda for the promotion of his Punjabi film Power Cut scheduled to be released on Friday.

Bhatti's son Jasraj, who was driving the car and film's heroine Suril Gautam were injured and rushed to a hospital at Jalandhar.

Sharma said that Bhatti had been traveling during past few days for the promotion of his new film.

The cremation is expected to take place later this evening after his body is brought here after completion of various legal formalities, including post-mortem, Sharma said.

Bhatti leaves behind his wife Savita, a son and a daughter.

Its and extremely sad day.

I was a great fan of his and fondly remember the "Ulta Pulta" serials starred by him.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Buying And Selling Of Votes

Today I want to discuss a very strange phenomenon, which we see in our democracy. The most pious act in the democracy is voting. Today we see this act has been vandalized by professional politicians.

We see many movements afoot all over the country demanding many changes and they are accompanied with several demands by those agitators. Ruling party does not seem to have shown any concern on all these activities. I was wondering on this strange behavior of political parties such as Congress party. When I asked for explanation for that confidence the party high command displays the reply to me by one friend of mine who is also a very active worker of that party. He told me that they do not care as long as they can buy the voters when the elections will come. He told me that the agitating people do not care to show their resentment over the functioning of the party when voting comes up. We can buy the voter's votes at that time and so we are sure of our winning. However, in Maharashtra State Congress has a very strong competitor in NCP, they pay better price and so they are winning more seat. I request my readers to go back on this blog archives and read my article, “Anna Party and Anna” date 9th September.

These voters are least bothered for the country so do we, he reiterated. So long as buying of votes is not made illegal we have no concern on how much these agitators shout about all those things and all those problems. A voter can sell his/her vote as per our constitution and so what we do is perfectly legal; he reiterated. There is no move so far to prohibit buying of votes by any body. That is the secret of our continuous success in all elections. He beamed with a big smile on his face. I asked him how they do it. He told me the procedure; Congress party high command appoints agents to collect gullible voters who want to make some quick money by selling their voting right to anybody who pays them the best price. These voters are generally from the part of society mostly residing in zopadpatties or slum areas. They are mostly from scheduled class communities, Muslim, but others are not totally excluded. Agents talk with the leaders of those people and decide the price. That amount agent tells the party high command officials and some negotiations after, final price fixed. That amount party treasurer hands over to the agent and that of course includes commission of the agent. The voters are paid the amount part before and part after the elections as per the mutual understanding. All these things are decided at the time of negotiations.

Pretty quick work indeed, I exclaimed on listening to this procedure but then, I asked, what if the voters betray? He told me that such deals are generally done in good faith and voters do not betray; however, in the last election in UP, voters after taking a good amount betrayed. That caused failure of Congress party in that election. If voters do not turn up in number the agent is held responsible and often punished very severely. The voters are afraid of them and always obey their command. These qualities are essential for a hoodlum to be an agent. He told me these agents are local hoodlums and they are also party workers. So far, betrayal is not experienced by his party in elections because voters who sell their voting rights to the party are in dire need of that cash and they do not want to spoil the business for no sensible reason.

This explains why Republican Party faces defeat even though their voters are in good numbers. When I inquired about how other parties manage this business of buying votes, they told me that they do not pay cash but instead prefer to give in kind such as clothes, utensils, liquor parties etc., in south India, he told me TV sets are given to voters to buy their voting rights.

I pointed out to him that this is not a decent way of winning an election. On that he told me that there is nothing wrong in this process. He said, this is similar to giving promises while election to the voters. The only difference is instead of vacant promises which we never wish to fulfill the voters demand money or other things in kind. What is wrong in that? He questioned. Are not voters giving votes in exchange of the vacant promises? If that is OK buying votes is also equally correct! He affirmed and said; voters who sell their voting right are definitely smarter than those who vote on false promises. At least, they get something, what the other so called honest voters get? They get only false promises. He demanded to me, tell me who is smarter? He pointed to the fact that often voters have to come on street to get their promises against what they had voted and yet they do not get them, it is better to get one time payment and relax, let the political party do what they please, now that they have purchased the voters! His points made me think of our system.

He also told me that, if any voter who has sold his voting right comes to the party representative for help we consider him with preference as “our voter” and grant him what he/she expects. That is the deal. These voters come to the party with our agent who buys the votes. What type of help they expect? I asked; he told me, generally release of their person from the police custody or any such demands! I asked what type of crime they are held for. He said to me; it could be anything such as a robbery or pick pocketing or rioting or drug related crime or any similar type of problem! On that I remonstrated to him by saying; you people help criminals; how correct it is? On that he replied with a smile, “after all, they are our honorable voters and also citizens of our country”. This is our politics he repeatedly told me.

These scheduled class voters and Muslims, is the sure bank of votes and so long as they keep selling their votes Congress party has nothing to worry. We really do not depend on genuine voters who think many times before voting. The number of these thinking voters is very easily washed by large number of purchased votes. The black money we talk so frequently is the source for the funds with which they buy the voters and so black money of politicians is very important to them. That is why political parties are stubborn when questioned about black money.

When during some agitations voters make demands we the Congress high command people do not bother because we feel that as the voters have sold their voting rights they have no right to do any agitation at all. Whatever we do they must accept because we pay them well for that. He told me the logic behind this is very simple. When a voter has sold his/her vote she has lost the right to make any demands at all.

Following questions came to my mind,

Does our constitution accept this practice of buying and selling of voting right during the election?

Is equating election promises with buying practice a correct argument?

On selling voting right to a party, do voters loose their right to make demands by agitations? By this purchase of voting rights does the political party become not answerable to people?

Can we have a law that prohibits this practice of buying and selling votes by any body?

If we ban buying and selling voting rights to any body, what punishment to the buyer and seller is possible? I am of the opinion that the only sentence they deserve is the death sentence; because this is the most heinous crime of all in the democratic system. Worst than a cold blood murder.

What is voting right?

Is voting right a commodity or a service that one may exchange for a price? Can finance Ministry bring this transaction under taxation? Finally, I want to request to Mamata Banerjee who is known to be the cleanest politician of the day, and has members in the parliament to put up a bill, to demand immediate passing of a law that bans this practice.

On that my friends told me that, Congress party may at times, pass Anna's Lokpal Bill but shall never pass this Bill. This is because buying of votes is very important for the business of politics.

The above has been written by Ashok Kothare for Silicon India and may be read on

http://blogs.siliconindia.com/kothare/Corruption/Buying-and-selling-of-Votes-bid-uP2LTfKk76417499.html?utm_campaign=bloggertimes&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

While I agree with Mr Kothare in most aspects, however, I do not think his suggestion to seek Mamta Banerjee's help would help.

Mamta Banerjee has won the last election because of the negative votes of the CPM.

All the bad elements in the CPM have now joined her party and have started doing the same things as was done during CPM rule.

Bengal now has the maximum number of rape and other crimes against women, after Haryana.

Being a woman, she has not been of much help to these raped women and even transferred one of the police officers who solved a rape crime, because Mamta had initially disbelieved the rape crime.

She has to depend upon her lieutenants who are out to make hay while the sun shines. Mamta herself may be honest but she has become haughty and proud as shown by the way she deals with any one voicing any opposition to her. She calls them Maoists.

I think, Arvind Kejriwal and his IAC is the best thing that could happened to India. I place my bet on him in IAC, and Anna with his non-political organisation will save India from these political scoundrels.

Mango Man

As a mango man of a banana republic I have no much choice in my entertainment. My financial constraints have forced me to take up reading to my grandchildren the stories that kept me company in my younger days almost sixty years ago. Over these many years the raw mango man has become a ripe mango man. Plenty of time I have at disposal to ruminate over what I read with my grandchildren. The tale of “Tale of two cities” is the one currently running. The backdrop of the story is the gradually erupting French revolution of the 1780s.The king and nobles of France had become completely insensitive to the suffering of the poor.

The wine cask falling down with a crash spilling red wine on the streets, children trying to get handful of wine in their tiny arms, grownups getting a part of the same by whatever means like soaking pieces of dry and soiled cloth in the puddle of wine and then squeezing them back into bottles for consumption at leisure reminded me of a scene when a milk van was drained on the road in a part of our country, as protest against the inadequate price of milk. The subsequent scene was similar . Children licked it directly , elders collected in cans or bottles midst utter chaos. Yet there was a difference in the two scenes. In France it was the lowest of the low who collected the wine but in India one could see even people who were not really below the poverty line. In France it was for wine, not necessarily a necessity. In India it was for milk, a must for any growing child. Are we not worse off than France of the time of revolution? However , there is a striking similarity too. In both places. The rulers had become totally insensitive. They became selfish and arrogant. Anarchy is bound to set in fast under these conditions. If a flow of wine can turn to a flow of blood as happened in France, can a flow of milk too not turn to a flow of blood in India midst an ever growing anger against the callousness of the ruling class and its total disregard to the suffering of poor.

Let none try to mutate a sweet mango man to a sour mango one!

The above has been written by Dr. T. N. Vasudevan for Silicon India

The IAS Officer Who Blew the Whistle on Vadra's DLF Deal - Ashok Khemka

Ashok Khemka widely known as 'Haryana's most shoved about civil servant' was the one who blew the whistle on Vadra’s DLF deal. 

Khemka the IIT topper hails from a middle class family where his father Shanker Lal Khemka worked as an accountant in the Alliance Jute Mill. This down to earth man has preferred staying in a two bedroom apartment with his family in Chandigarh, despite the allotment of a big bungalow after being promoted to higher rank. He has gone through many ups and downs including warning phone calls soon after he stepped into the Vadra-DLF transaction on October 14th. 

 47-year-old, Khemka says "We (civil servants) are all part of the sarkar. Prime Ministers and chief ministers are not our masters but jan sevaks (public servants) like the rest of us. But we begin treating these people like kings and queens who must be followed unquestioningly," Besides, the Khemka family gets no security in spite of threats, and P.K. Chaudhary, the Chief Secretary of Haryana ignored the whole security issue requested by Khemka for his family. 

Ashok was shifted from his position as head of Haryana's land registration department on October 11 for blowing the whistle on the relationship between Robert Vadra and realty chief DLF, who had the support of politicians and civil servants in Haryana. His transfer orders were hand delivered by a dispatch clerk. This was just three days after the officer hunted a list of Vadra's land deals in Gurgaon, Mewat, Faridabad, and Palwal, the districts that were highlighted in the news. Ashok directed deputy commissioners in the four districts to assemble a list of documents registered by Vadra or on his behalf, starting from January, 2005. 

Soon Ashok established how Vadra-owned Skylight Hospitality bought a 3.53 acre plot from farmers of Shikhopur village in February 2008. Skylight had paid 7.5 crore for this plot. Vadra's company was then granted change of land use (CLU) licence to use 2.7 acres of the agricultural plot for residential housing in just about a month in March, 2008. Less than four months later Vadra resold the property to DLF Universal for Rs 58 crore. Khemka says the only value Vadra's companies added to the land were the CLU licence, which led to a six-fold increase in the value of the land. 

 Soon Khemka's interest was put out by media reports that said other Vadra-owned firms Skylight Realty, Blue Breeze Trading, Real Earth Estates, Artex and North India IT Parks were following a similar technique. Agricultural land was being bought, the land use converted and then resold to real estate companies. However, the enquiry led to his transfer, the 43rd in his 21-year service term. But 'punishment postings' are nothing new to Khemka. He was then posted into the land consolidation, records and registration department in July this year. 

 On October 15 he fired his last round as Haryana's Director General Consolidation of Holdings and Land Records-cum-Inspector General of Registration. An official clarification the next day described his order as irregular, since neither party was given the opportunity to put forward their case. Khemka says "The government knows mutation can be done afresh by a competent revenue officer," 

The above is from my Silicon India.
I normally categorize all my posts so that one can go back to them at a later date. This post has been put under the category of "Great Men". If you notice the P K Chaudhary, the Chief Secretary has denied Ashok Khemka any security in spite of the threats he has received. I suppose he, the CM of Hooda, Robert Vadra and the DLF management plus the entire Congress party must be wishing the Ashok Khemka is murdered. If anything does happen to him, P K Chaudhary should be tried for abetting attempted murder, if not murder.

HOW A SON THINKS OF HIS FATHER AT DIFFERENT AGES:

At 4 Years My daddy is great.

At 6 Years My daddy knows everybody.

At 10 Years My daddy is good but is short tempered

At 12 Years My daddy was very nice to me when I was young.

At 14 Years My daddy is getting fastidious.

At 16 Years My daddy is not in line with the current times.

At 18 Years My daddy is becoming increasingly cranky.

At 20 Years Oh! It's becoming difficult to tolerate daddy. Wonder how Mother puts up With him.

At 25 Years Daddy is objecting to everything.

At 30 Years It's becoming difficult to manage my son. I was so scared of my father When I was young.

At 40 Years Daddy brought me up with so much discipline. Even I should do the same.

At 45 Years I am baffled as to how my daddy brought us up.

At 50 Years My daddy faced so many hardships to bring us up. I am unable to manage A Single son.

At 55 Years My daddy was so far sighted and planned so many things for us.

He is One Of his kind and unique.

At 60 Years My daddy is great. Thus, it took 56 years to complete the cycle and come back to the 1st. Stage. Realize the true value of your parents before it's too late.

This was posted by Atul Chaturvedi on FB.

I have reached the last stage.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

BJP questions Virbhadra's income, Congress questions timing

Shimla/New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) Former union minister Virbhadra Singh, spearheading the Congress campaign in Himachal Pradesh, Tuesday again came under attack from the BJP on charges of forgery and money laundering.

Launching a scathing attack against Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley said in Shimla that Singh had modified his income tax returns during 2008-11 through "forgery" and increased his income by Rs.6.15 crore. Defending himself, the five-time former Congress chief minister, however, said some leaders of the BJP, especially Jaitley, "seem to know more than me about my income tax returns".

In Delhi, Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit questioned the timing of the allegation and said it was for the income tax department to look into the matter. "The revelations have come in the middle of an election campaign. The timing is questionable. It is for the income tax department to look into the matter," Dikshit told reporters.

"Virbhadra Singh has now filed revised income tax returns for three years on March 2, 2012, in which the agricultural income of a few lakhs of rupees as already disclosed has now increased by Rs.6.15 crore. It's by a miracle or forgery," Jaitley told reporters in Shimla.

"It is not merely a case of corruption or income tax evasion. It's a case of forgery and crime," Jaitley added.

Earlier, the BJP had attacked the Congress leader on the alleged Ispat Industries payoffs, wherein a diary entry of Rs.2.28 crore was marked against the initials "VBS" during the period when Singh was steel minister in the central government. "It clearly appears that large amounts of cash income have been unauthorisedly generated for the benefit of Virbhadra Singh and his family members. The attempt was to deposit this cash in a bank account held by Anand Chauhan (an LIC agent) from where it is paid towards the LIC premiums (of Singh and his family)," Jaitley said. He added: "However, since the income tax department became aware of this transaction, back-dated agreements are entered into to prepare a false defence by retrospectively increasing Singh's income."

The BJP leader demanded that a special investigative team be set up to probe the case. Singh said in a statement in Shimla that "I have filed my income tax return for the financial year 2011-12 which is true and factual and they are supported by vouchers and receipts."

"I am surprised how Arun Jaitley acquired a private and personnel document which is in safe custody of the competent authorities. They are using these methods to mislead the people by putting up false, fabricated and fake allegations against me," he said.

We must thank Arvind Kejriwal for this new development.

We must also thank Arun Jaitley.

Earlier, the BJP would never have divulged this type of secrets as all politicians do this type of forgery.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Income Tax Commissioner himself brought all the papers to the politicians to make the necessary changes.

Jagjivan Ram, father of the present Speaker, Meira Kumari, "forgot" to file his income tax returns for 11 years and would have continued to do so if it was not let out by Charna Singh, an opposition leader.

Sandip Dixit remarks "It is for the income tax department to look into the matter".

You know as well as me that the income tax department would never dare question such high profile cases.

The Fruits Of Revolution

By Kaveree Bamzai | India Today

Mango people. Banana republic. Guttersnipe. Man of the street. The corruption crisis has seen a remarkable upsurge in the dictionary of political discourse. It has also proved that Indian politicians have much in common. The vocabulary of those in power is not too distant from those out of it. If Salman Khurshid called Arvind Kejriwal a guttersnipe, Nitin Gadkari called him a muckraker. At his Delhi press conference on October 14, Salman Khurshid set some "rules of the game". Our assessment of these rules, checking a wide body of evidence across the Congress leadership, is: 1. All fruits are bad, especially mangoes and bananas. Robert Vadra says so, on Facebook.

2. Tigers are better than dogs. As the steely-eyed philosopher Beni Prasad Verma told Kejriwal through the media: "Don't bark day-in dayout, try to sometimes roar like a tiger. Those who always bark are of no value." Of course, anything is better than a guttersnipe, which Khurshid helpfully defined to a TV interviewer in Hindi as not being a "naali ka keeda" but a "naali ka saanp".

3. Big loot is preferable to small thievery. In the words of Verma again: "It (Rs 71 lakh) is a very small amount for a Central minister. I would have taken it seriously if the amount was Rs 71 crore."

4. All establishment relatives are off-limits. This, according to Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, is an unspoken "ethic" between all parties. "We don't target people who are not in politics. This is ethics, everyone has a private life. For example, Ranjan Bhattacharya was not in politics but he was living with Vajpayee. Have we ever said a word about Ranjan?" Or, as he said, about L.K. Advani's son and daughter. And then to the question that there was never a case against them, he said: "Don't ask me that, we have enough evidence and reasons to say but we would not."

5. No one breaks zipcode solidarity. Khurshid's response to the CAG report that validated allegations of misappropriation of funds by his Trust was along these lines: "He is my nextdoor neighbour. He had to just look over the fence to seek my response to his queries. Officials visited the Trust premises thrice. As it happened, none was there then. They could at least have left a request letter behind and we'd have answered their questions."

6. Avoid specifics. It invariably exposes the claimant. So if Narendra Modi got his claim of Rs 1,818 crore as Sonia's medical bills wrong, Rahul created a furore with his statement that "seven out of 10 youngsters in Punjab are drug addicts".

7. Always, always, use strong language as a defence. Popular ways to discredit rivals are to either compare them to a figure from Nazi history (Digvijaya Singh has compared Narendra Modi to both Goebbels and Hitler), or to a businessman (Digvijaya's description of Nitin Gadkari), anathema to a Congress party that has rediscovered its socialist roots. Clearly, the politician's guttersnipe is the public's desh ka nagrik. One man's kalam (pen) is another man's lahoo (blood). Kejriwal's politicianturned-businessman is Ravi Shankar Prasad's "social entrepreneur".

The cosy political club is rattled and their language is evidence of it. "They all do business together, they all have the arrogance of power," says lawyer Prashant Bhushan. And the arrogance of ownership. Listen to Khurshid as he talks about Kejriwal visiting Farrukhabad, his Lok Sabha constituency: "I don't give a visa to go there, but it's a long road to Farrukhabad... He can get there... but how will he return?" The politicians are running scared, and the swagger shows it.

The above is from the mail I receive from Rediffmail.

It is obvious that the Congress Party and the entire opposition are scared shit of this new up-start by the name of Arvind Kejriwal who does not go by the rule book. He has challenged established norms of thievery and the cozy relations between the parties in looting the nation.

These established crooks are using all the ammunition at their disposal including so called turn-coats who claim they were earlier associated with IAC to discredit Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sishodia and Prashant Bhushan.

They are using the police force in Haryana to beat up IAC workers mercilessly.

Let them understand that the people of India have woken up and no amount of dis-information they may spread will make the people waiver from removing the present lot of corrupt politicians in the next elections.

Congress downplays Dikshit's legal notice to Kejriwal

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Monday sent a legal notice to activist Arvind Kejriwal for his "derogatory remarks" against her. The Congress, however, downplayed the development.

Kejriwal earlier responded by saying that he would continue to target the Congress leader over "anti-people" actions of her government.

The legal notice was sent to Kejriwal by Pawan Khera, political secretary to the chief minister, for civil and criminal defamation and called upon the India Against Corruption (IAC) activist to immediately withdraw all the allegations and aspersions he made against the chief minister.

"If the (chief minister's) secretary has given a notice, it is better to ask him. He is not a Congress member. He has to answer this, not the party," Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit, Sheila Dikshit's son, told reporters.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman slammed Sheila Dikshit over the legal notice, saying that the Congress did not want to give answers to the issues raised. "It is typical DNA of the Congress. (They) won't answer," Sitharaman said.

In his statement, Khera said that legal action has been initiated due to "derogatory remarks by Kejriwal meant to maliciously defame the chief minister and thus all those working in close proximity to her. A case in point being use of the word 'dalaal' (broker) for the chief minister in a talk show recently".

The notice, sent through advocate Mehmood Pracha, gave Kejriwal two days to comply with it. It asked Kejriwal to "immediately withdraw all the allegations and aspersions" against Dikshit which had defamed her and her office "in the talk show at least on three prominent TV channels and newspapers in equal, if not more, prominence than the original defamatory content".

The notice asked Kejriwal to "tender an unconditional public apology to my client to her satisfaction through print and electronic media with regard to the said baseless allegations and aspersions and using foul and filthy language".

It called upon Kejriwal to refrain from using "foul and filthy language" unbecoming of civil public discourse in the future.

"In case of failure to comply with this notice within a period of two days of receipt of this legal notice, you shall render yourselves jointly and severally liable to face appropriate civil as well as criminal proceedings under the relevant provisions of law at your risk as to cost and consequences," the notice said.

Kejriwal, who Monday joined a BSES employees' protest near Karkardooma court, said: "You can send me as many notices as possible. We are not scared of notices." The IAC leader said it was the Dikshit government's actions which were defaming her. "Yes, we are defaming her. Actually no, it is her actions which are defaming her," Kejriwal added.

"I have been informed that a legal notice has been sent to me. I would like to tell her (Dikshit) that we will be defaming you (her) till you and your government keep working against the people. We are not scared of any legal notice."

Kejriwal has sharply attacked the Delhi government over hike in power tariff in an indication that the issue could be a poll plank of his yet-to-be named political party. Kejriwal has talked of collusion between the government and power distribution companies and has been taking part in protests over "inflated" power bills.

It seems good sense has prevailed in the Congress.

How many mouths are they going to shut.

The jails of the country would be too small to accomodate the whole mass of people who are calling them different names including "dalals", "chor", "Thugs", "Cheats", "murderers", "rapists", "extortionists"

If they want people to stop calling them such names, they should stop issuing party tickets to anyone accused of the above crimes.

Let them search their hearts and find out if any of them fall under any of the above categories.

80-90%% would have one or the above tags attached to their names.

Just two days ago a TV live broadcast showed people calling their top leaders "chor, chor, chor" continuously.

If they do not want to be branded as "chors", they should take action when such "chori" is brought to their notice by the people.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Vajpayee, Advani kin involved in corruption: Digvijay Singh

New Delhi, Oct.21 (ANI): There is evidence that relatives of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani were involved in corruption and wrong-doing, claimed Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Sunday in an interview to a television channel.

Stating that the Congress was not interested in raking up these allegations, Singh said: "Not only me. There were lot of things, which came out during the NDA regime. But did Congress Party ever use that. We will never use this...If I say, I do not have it (evidence against kin of Advani and Vajpayee), then, it is not correct," Singh told the channel.

Singh said the evidence he has, "could" lead to allegations of corruption and wrong-doing against them and will be embarrassing for the leaders. The Congress leader said that politicians are also human beings. We are not gods...We can't keep a track or check on the innumerable relations, we have. He also dismissed allegations against Robert Vadra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, saying there was no illegality in speedy clearance in mutation of land or change of land use permission.

"Sonia Gandhi is not the chartered accountant of Robert Vadra," he said, wondering whether "mothers-in-law also do the accounting for sons-in- law," when asked whether Congress President was aware of the rise in fortune of Vadra and whether she ever questioned it.

"I am a politician. What my relations do is not my business," he said, adding that he also has four daughters and four sons-in-law, but does not interfere in their lives or activities. (ANI)

Digjijai believes in the old saying "attack is the best form of defence"

He also believes that if you cannot convince then confuse them.

He believes that if you muddy the water sufficiently so that we cannot see through it, they will be safe.

He believes if he throws muck randomly all around some of it may stick

By broadening his attack by roping in the families of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani and then mentioning his own family to show even handedness.

He forgets that two wrongs do not make one right.

Just because political parties left out their progenies in attacks it does not mean they were not corrupt or will be left out in future.

We would welcome Digvijai to expose the wrong doings of both Vajpayee and Advani if he has any exposures up his sleeve.

We view these as benami transactions in the name of relatives and should not be tolerated.

Digvijai says that Sonia is not Vadra's son in law. I agree.

But she is his mother-in-law.

That has opened all doors for him.

Vadra got a loan from DLF to buy the property.

Then it bought back the property from Vadra at 10 times the value he paid just three month's back.

Where did Vadra get the money if not from DLF.

Corporate Bank has denied that they gave him any over draft as he claimed earlier.

All this was possible because he was Sonia's Son-in-law.

We welcome Kejriwal's expose of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, Salman Khurshid's wife, Sharad Pawar's daughter and Nitin Gadkari.

Will the government appoint three judge to enquire, Mr. Digvijai Singh?

Anna's new anti-corruption team to meet on November 24

New Delhi: Anna Hazare will meet his new Core Committee in Ralegan Siddhi for two days from November 24 and has invited several eminent persons like former Army chief Gen VK Singh, activist Kiran Bedi said on Saturday. The new Core Committee will meet for the first time just as Arvind Kejriwal, who split with Anna Hazare on the question of going political, is set to announce the name of his party in Delhi.

Hazare is looking for a new inclusive core group with individuals who are known for their non-partisanship and are reformist by nature in his new team, Bedi said. Besides General Singh, those who will be approached by Hazare to join the movement include activists PV Rajagopal and Rajender Singh, former IPS officer Prakash Singh, media personality Minhas Merchant and former bureaucrat Bhure Lal.

Former Team Anna members like Justice Santosh Hegde and agriculture expert Devender Sharma, who have not taken a political plunge, will also be approached. "Anna is going to talk to these individuals and on the basis of their availability to be part of the movement against corruption. If they can join Anna's movement, they will meet November 24 and 25," Bedi said.

She had earlier said that "the movement will now be a registered one. Not like earlier. It will be a Trust. There will be a Code of Conduct. It is not free for all type. We have learnt from past experiences. It will have its headquarters in Ralegan Siddhi and other centres will act as support centres," Bedi, who attended a meeting with Hazare at Ralegan Siddhi, had said.

"The movement will act as a think tank on policy making. This is an inclusive movement. He wants the movement to act as an apolitical watchdog," Bedi said. Bedi said it was also decided to set up anti-corruption centres at district levels where young activists will try to help people. "This will be fully dedicated to anti-corruption issues. But the onus of allegations will be on the complainant. There will be local issues and aggrieved people can approach these centres. The young volunteers there will either forward the complaints to authorities or they themselves will coordinate with local officials," she said.

She said a building is being constructed in Ralegan Siddhi to house the headquarters of the movement and Hazare has donated Rs 35 lakh, which he got as an award recently, for its construction. "Hazare will be constantly available for interaction at this centre through video conferencing when it is built," Bedi said. It was also decided that the movement will have a separate youth and girls' wing.

My friends have often asked me whom do I support, Anna or Arvind Kejriwal.

It is like asking which hand do you like left or right of which eye, nose or ear do you like.

There is no question of liking one against the other.

Both together make the whole.

In the same way, Anna's and Kejriwal's movement together make the whole.

Anna and his group, even me and the whole nation thought that our MPs would listen to the voice of the people and respond.

Agreeing to pass Anna's Lok Pal bill, they rescinded and jettisoned the bill.

After seeing this turn around, we realized that we will have to fight these corrupt politicians by their own method, by winning elections.

So we now have two wings - one fighting elections and the other acting as watchdog. Kejriwal's movement too may become riddled with corruption so Anna would be there to keep an eye on him.

I want both of them to succeed as both have the nation's good at heart.

The Samosa Vendor : A must read

It was my regular train journey home from work. I boarded the 18:50pm train at from Paranur. When the train was about to leave Guduvanchery,a samosa vendor with an empty basket got on and took the seat next to me. As the compartment was sparsely occupied and my destination was still far away, I got into a conversation with him.

Me: "Seems like you've sold all your samosas today."

Vendor (smiling): "Yes. By God's grace, full sales today."

Me: "I really feel sorry for you people. Don't you get tired doing this tiresome job the whole day?"

Vendor: "What to do, sir? Only by selling samosas like this every day do we get a commission of .75 paise for each samosa that we sell."

Me: "Oh, is that so ? How many samosas do do sell on an average each day?"

Vendor: "On peak days, we sell 3,000 to 3,500 samosas per person. On dull days, we can't even move 1,000 samosas a day. On an average, we sell about 2,000 samosas a day."

I was speechless.....for a few seconds. The guy says he sells 2,000 samosas a day; at .75 paise each, he makes about 1,500 rupees daily,or 45,000 rupees a month. That's Rs. 45,000 a month. OMG. I intensified my questioning and this time it was not for time pass.

Me: "Do you make the samosas yourself?"

Vendor: "No Sir. Our proprietor gets the samosas through a samosa manufacturer and we just sell them. After selling we give him the money and gives us 75 paise for each samosa that we sell."

I was unable to speak a single word more but the vendor continued...but one thing...most of our earnings are spent on living expenses. Only with the remaining money are we able to take care of other business.

Me: "Other business? What is that?"

Vendor: "It is a land business. In 2007 I bought 1.5 acres in Urupakkam for 3 lakh rupees and I sold it a few months back for 15 lakhs. Now I have bought land in Uthiramerur for 5 lakh rupees."

Me: "What did you do with the remaining amount?

Vendor: "Of the remaining amount, I have set aside 6 lakhs for my daughter's wedding. I have deposited the other 4 lakhs in the bank."

Me: "How much schooling have you had?"

Vendor: "I studied up to third standard; I stopped my studies when I was in the 4th standard. But I know how to read and write. Sir, there are many people like yourself, who dress well, wear a tie, wear shoes,speak English fluently and work in air-conditioned rooms. But I don'think you guys earn as much as we do wearing dirty clothes and selling samosas."

At this point, what could I reply. After all, I was talking to a millionaire! The train chugged into Chromepet station and the samosa vendor got up from his seat.

Vendor: "Sir, this is my station...have a good day."

Me: "Take care."

What more is there to say...!

/font>
Sent by Prakash Bhartia

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Govt wants to use technology to curb dishonesty: PM

DUDU (Rajasthan), 20 OCT: With UPA facing allegations of corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said his government wants to use new technology to curb dishonesty and bring transparency in governance.

Speaking at the launch of Aadhar-enabled service delivery system, he said the unique identity numbers will help 1.5 crore students get scholarships, two crore elderly get old age pensions, three crore to avail health insurance and five crore people get the benefits of MNREGA.

The scheme is aimed at directly transferring cash to beneficiaries under social schemes such as MNREGA and pension.

“By giving benefits directly to the needy, complaints of dishonesty and delay will reduce,” Mr Singh said at a function where he handed over Aadhar number '21 crore' to a villager here.

“Our government wants to use new technology in a big way to curb dishonesty and bring transparency in governance. Aadhar is a important step in this direction,” he said. In the past two years, he said, the government has enrolled 24 crore people for Aadhar and “we expect to give Aadhar cards to around 60 crore by 2014”.

Addressing the function, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said the Aadhar scheme gives identity to the common man and is a tool to claim benefits.

Using the Aadhar card, she said, the common man can claim his rights anywhere in the country.

“The Aadhar card will help the government in ensuring that subsidy reaches its intended beneficiaries directly and the poor will not have to run from pillar to post to claim their rights,” she said.

It is all very well that the UPA is using technology to reduce corruption.

But what about the corruption which is very much visible and does require technology to detect for it has already been detected.

Like that of her son-in-law Robert Vadra with DLF?

OR

Like that of his law minister looting handicapped people?

Mahendra Subba

Rajesh Pradhan has posted on FB

With a heavy heart I would like to inform you'll that Mahendra Subba.younger brother of Mr.Robindra Subba and an ex-Goet passed away yesterday in a hospital in Hyderabad.May his soul rest in peace.

Digvijay Singh compares Kejriwal to Hitler

Arvind Kejriwal is a "self-serving ambitious megalomaniac having "streak" of Hitler, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh alleged today in the sharpest attack on the activist.

Seeking to turn the table on Kejriwal, the Congress leader said he would also be asking him questions tomorrow and he asked Kejriwal whether he would dismiss the "uncomfortable" questions asked to them by him like the RSS, Anna Hazare and Ramdev .

In a letter to Kejriwal, Singh said "when YP Singh (Retd IPS), your former colleague in civil society movement, called you a Hitler, I could see the streak in you.

"My opinion about you of a well-meaning crusader of public issues has now changed to a self-serving ambitious megalomaniac with scant regard for democracy," he said.

Digvijay Singh claimed Kejriwal couldn't get along with Aruna Roy, who was "your guru in RTI movement. Then you parted ways with Kiran Bedi and now, also with Anna whom you used as a front to give your ambitions a touch of respectability".

He claimed Kejriwal wanted him to recommend his name for being made a member of the National Advisory Council.

"You wanted to meet her (Sonia Gandhi) and had requested me to propose your name for inclusion in the NAC. I did propose your name but failed. She took Aruna Roy," Singh said.

He also said Kejriwal had first met him during a seminar at Berkeley University in San Francisco and that the Congress leader was quite impressed by his commitment.

Mr. Digvijay Singh should know about dictators for the first person in India who had dictatorial tendencies was Indira Gandhi who promulgated THE EMERGENCY in 1975 with the collusion of Siddhartha Shankar Ray.

The whole of the Congress party looked on impotently.

Further, the way the Congress party is targeting persons raising questions on the Congress method of corruption based politics are being hounded by the CBI,ED and Income tax department, shows who is the dictator.

The way, Kejriwal has instituted an enquiry against his own people against whom corruption charges have been raised shows that he is no Hitler, he is fair.

A more appropriate title for him would be Lee Kuan Yew, the ex Singapore prime minister who is credited of making Singapore what it is today.

I just hope he develops into Lee.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Extortion charge: TV body sacks Zee News editor-business head

The Broadcast Editors’ Association (BEA) Thursday removed Zee News editor and business head Sudhir Chaudhary from the post of treasurer and primary membership of the body.

The BEA, a body of editors from leading TV news channels, had set up a three-member committee on October 10 to investigate allegations made by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) against Zee News. The JSPL had lodged an FIR alleging extortion, intimidation and defamation by Zee News and its management.

The panel met representatives of JSPL chairman and Congress MP Navin Jindal over the last few days, and reviewed the alleged evidence presented by JSPL in support of its complaint to the police.

The panel, which examined audio and video recordings of conversations between JSPL representatives and Chaudhary and his colleague Samir Ahluwalia, submitted its report on Tuesday. The BEA members decided to remove Chaudhary after a secret ballot today.

A statement by BEA said: “The three-member fact-finding committee arrived at the... conclusion that Mr Sudhir Chaudhary is found to have acted in a manner that is unbecoming of an editor and in a fashion that is prejudicial to the interest and objects of the BEA.”

Chaudhary denied all charges. In a letter to BEA president Shazi Zaman, he imputed ulterior motives to some members of the committee, and accused them of not giving him proper opportunity to present his case.

Chaudhary argued that the committee should have waited for the police report, and asked BEA to “correct the wrong done” to him.

“The one-sided pronouncement is bad in law and unfair in the eyes of natural justice. It has not only sought to compromise my professional position, but also undermine my legal defence,” he said.

JSPL representatives have also filed a complaint with Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandey Katju, alleging that despite the registration of an FIR and its pending investigation, Zee and its associates “are continuing to spread misinformation amongst the journalists, media community, and the public at large on the issue”.

Along with the FIR, JSPL representatives submitted documents to Katju to claim that Zee’s representatives sought advertisements from JSPL not only for the news broadcaster but also sister company Diligent Media Corporation Ltd (DMCL) that publishes the English daily DNA from Mumbai.

Katju forwarded the complaint to News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) chairperson Justice J S Verma to investigate the matter. NBSA is a redressal body set up by news broadcasters to look into complaints against their members.

Mr. Sudhir Choudhary may deny the charges but I have no doubt that the charges are true.

These media channels air a few defamatory programmes. Then they contact the affected party and offer to stop airing these programmes if the affected coughs up a hefty sum. They are in the habit of black-mailing the affected party. In most cased they get away with it.

Unfortunately, this time Zee TV bit off more than it could chew when it decided to black-mail Congress MP, Naveen Jindal.

Navin Jindal is no novice and they have paid the price. This time they have been made the target of a sting operation.

I know from experience.

When my Gurudev, Asharam Bapu was having problems with some of his past disciples, India TV too had approached him with a demand of Rs one crore to stop the defamatory broadcasts against my Gurudev.

My Gurudev refused to bow to their blackmail and the defamatory programmes by India TV, Aaj Tak and Star TV continued.

The programmes stopped only when some disciples of Gurudev conducted a sting operation on the main person, one Mr. Rajubahi and video recorded the conversation. In the sting operation, Rajubhai boasted how he had hired people to defame Gurudev and how much he had paid. He also mentioned the names of the owners of Sandesh newspaper in Gujarat.

CDs were made of the video recording and distributed all over Gujarat.

It was only then that the defamatory programmes against my Gurudev stopped. I congratulate Navin Jindal for his bold action which was long overdue to stop the black-mail of these media channels.

Narayanasamy questions Kejriwal on announcing internal inquiry

New Delhi, Oct 19 (ANI): Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy on Friday poked fun at RTI crusader Arvind Kejriwal after the latter announced an internal inquiry against his aides, saying independent people can only be appointed by a third party.

Narayanasamy said that only a third party can order an impartial probe, and added that Kejriwal was fooling the entire nation.

"Today I saw in the TV that he (Kejriwal) appointed a Lokpal to probe the charges. Can anybody appoint a Lokpal to probe into his own allegations? This shows the madness of these people. Independent people can only be appointed by a third party," said Narayanasamy.

"If I have allegation against me, then I cannot appoint a judge to inquire into my allegations. This shows the kind of bogus people they are," he added. Narayanasamy also rubbished allegations that the Centre had been tapping the phone of Kejriwal and his associates.

"As far as the government is concerned, there is a procedure. Without permission, no tapping of phone will be done. There is a procedure; the government will follow that only. These are all allegations that are totally biased, it is not true, and it is only for the purpose of creating an impression in the minds of the people to get sympathy," said Narayanasamy. "He has been doing this drama from a long time, the drama started from Anna Hazare's time. Right from the beginning I have been telling that he is going to start a political party, it has been proved. Therefore these people want cheap popularity, they want to desecrate this country's democratic system," he added.

Nothing better can be expected from Congress lackeys.

If they were even one/thousandth as honest a Arvind Kehriwal and IAC, the country would have been a much better place.

Instead of criticising Kejriwal, they should emulate him.

Why don't they appoint an enquiry commission by three retired judges against Robert Vadra, Salman Khurshid, Nitin Gadkari and Sharad Pawar.

Ombudsman to probe charges against IAC members: Kejriwal

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal Friday announced that a panel of three retired judges would probe allegations of corruption against three key members of his party.

"There have been allegations against Anjali Damania, Prashant Bhushan and Mayank Gandhi," Kejriwal told reporters, adding that the cases against the three would be forwarded to the IAC's "internal Lokpal".

"If the charges against anyone is found true, that person will be told to leave the party," Kejriwal said. The IAC leader has launched a political party whose name will be announced in November.

The members of the IAC Lokpal are A.P Shah, former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, B.H. Marlapalle, retired judge of the Bombay High Court, and Jaspal Singh, retired judge of the Delhi High Court,

Kejriwal said the party would send the cases against Bhushan, Damania and Gandhi to the Lokpal panel Monday.

An IAC statement said: "The Ombudsmen would be requested to expeditiously inquire into these charges and give their report as early as possible and within three months." Right to Information Act (RTI) activist Kishanji Rao has alleged that Mayank Gandhi misused his NGO, Remaking of Mumbai, to help builders.

Gandhi is a nephew of builder Lalit Gandhi, who owns Lok Group. Rao alleged that Mayank Gandhi used his NGO to bag land deals for Lalit Gandhi as well as other builders. The Congress has accused Bhushan of illegalities in land deals in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.

Damania faces allegations that she bought seven acres of farmland in Karjat in Maharashtra from two farmers and later changed their use to non-agricultural purpose. Kejriwal said IAC would soon announce an email id on which people could send their allegations and evidence against any members of his party.

On retired Mumbai police official Y.P. Singh's allegation that he did not reveal corruption charges against Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Kejriwal said he raised the allegations against Pawar May 25.

Asked if he was selective in targetting politicians on corruption charges, Kejriwal said: "We are selective because we are responsible... We collect the proof before we speak."

My respect for Arvind Kejriwal increases by the day.

He has preempted any attack which these politicians may launch on his organisation through its members.

Now will the government also act in the same way?

Will it launch an enquiry by three retired judges against Robert Vadra, Salman Khurshid, Nitin Gadkari and Sharad Powar?

It better start acting fast to initiate the enquiry as Kejriwal will be having many more corrupt Ministers and politicians up his sleeves.

Remember, he had submitted a list of 14 ministers during his last agitation whom he had asked to be dismissed? You may be sure, he is now busy collecting data on their wrong-doing and will blow the lid at the appropriate time.

Govt reacts: IAC accused CANNOT order probe:

Just in: The government reacts to Arvind Kejriwal's statement that he had dared the government to order a probe into the alleged financial irregularities of three IAC members. The MoS says accused cannot order a probe.

Kejriwal said the IAC HAD formed an independent committee of ombudsmen consisting of three retired judges enjoying a reputation of high integrity and independence to inquire into any charges made against key members of IAC. The three members being probed are Anjali Damania, Prashant Bhushan and Mayank Gandhi.

India Against Corruption members Mayank Gandhi and Anjali Damania today welcomed the organisation's decision to set up a three-member panel of retired judges to probe the charges against them, and said they were ready to face any probe.

"We are ready to face any probe. If the probe finds us guilty, we will quit," Gandhi and Damania told reporters here. "I am legally a farmer and have documents to prove it," Damania said.

"I have not done any `benami' transactions," she said, referring to questions about her land deals. "We have nothing to hide. The probe will clear everything," said Gandhi, facing allegations of having links with builders.

The above is from Rediffmail.

I agree with the government when it says that the accused cannot order probe.

Then by the way how can the government order probe against Ashok Khemka by the Chief Secretary who has already announce that prima facie nothing wrong has been done.

Can we expect justice under the circumstances from the chief secretary?

On the other hand, Kejriwal has immediately ordered probe by three retired judges against three members of his team, Anjali Damani, Shashi Bhushan and Mayank Gandhi against charges have been raised.

Would the government dare to take such prompt action against Robert Vadra, Salman Khurshid , Nitin Gadkari and Sharad Pawar.

Anjali Damania: A Homemaker's Fight against Corruption

Bangalore: Anjali Damania, the India Against Corruption activist and the whistle blower of the Maharashtra irrigation scam dropped a massive surprise by backing up that the ‘next big expose’ would be against the BJP’s President Nitin Gadkari. Anjali stumbled into activism after joining IAC movement like hundreds of others last year.

Towards the end of September this year, Damania had revealed on national TV that BJP’s national president Nitin Gadkari had snubbed her when she went to meet him for helping her in the irrigation scam, as reported by Ketaki Ghoge for Hindustan Times.

It was reasoned that since Anjali had taken up clubs against NCP over irrigation scam, it would have made sense to keep BJP as friends, particularly since she had no evidence to back her claims.

Damania had stood her ground in spite of Gadkari sending her a defamation notice. She insisted that he had told her that he has business relations with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Anjali has made a comeback, after scanning and investigating in Nagpur, Gadkari’s hometown. However, IAC's charges against Gadkari have put him in a hitch.

But, Anjali, a pathologist by profession and a home maker has the newest twist in her battle to expose irrigation scam in the state.

Anjali has an RSS background and thought that BJP could help her in this fight. Some BJP leaders in Maharashtra including legislator Devendra Fadnavis, former MLA Kirit Somiaya, Eknath Khadse have met her in the past on this issue. Her fight began with a view to protect her own land in Karjat that had been threatened by an irrigation project.

But, with a determination to not give up and equipped with the Right to Information Act, Anjali found shocking information, firstly on this specific project and then on several others, like Balganga, Kalu, Susari, all commissioned newly in Konkan.

The RTI papers revealed cost escalations in violation of all standards, contractor-official-politician nexus, avoidance of tender documents all leading to a scam worth thousands of crores. These were the findings that could displace the NCP.

Anjali said she realized soon enough that she was alone in her fight.

The above is from the newsletter I receive from Silicon India.

Anjali is the newest ammunition with Arvind in his fight against corruption in high places.

Unfortunately, Y P Singh, owing to some misunderstanding probably may have fallen out with Arvind.

I would request all those who are fighting against corruption to leave behind their personal egos and combine forces to fight the monster.

We must understand that the enemy is very strong and has at its disposal, the CBI, Income Tax Department, ED, the entire police force.

You have only the Supreme Court and some of the High Courts to assist you.

We cannot afford to fight against each other.

For once and for all time, let us kill the monster of Corruption.

This appeal is for all those members who have been associated with IAC, who have for some reasons drifted away. Even I would not invite Swami Agnivesh for he seems to be a wolf in sheep's clothes, a Judas, a Jaichand

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ex-police officer accuses Pawar of mega Lavasa scam, also says Kejriwal repressed it

New Delhi/Mumbai, Oct. 18 (ANI): Retired police officer and lawyer-activist Y.P. Singh on Thursday accused Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of perpetrating a "mega-scam" in the controversial hill town of Lavasa, near Pune over 25,000 acres of land at a reported cost of 3,000 crores.

He also claimed that social activist-turned politician Arvind Kejriwal had repressed this information.

Pawar, however, denied any wrong doing in the matter, and said:"Everything was done according to policy."

Pawar also refuted charges that he had intervened in the Lavasa project because his daughter Supriya Sule and her husband had once owned a stake in the company building the township.

"The chief minister made me responsible for project since it was in my district. What's wrong with that?" asked Mr Pawar.

Y.P. Singh described Kejriwal, with whom he once worked closely, as resembling Hitler.

He also accused social activist Anna Hazare of having a soft corner for Pawar. Singh claimed that he and Kejriwal had jointly flagged the corruption related to the Lavasa project over two years ago, but was now compelled to go public on it alone today because Kejriwal had failed to expose Pawar.

Referring Kejriwal's allegations against BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Singh said they were frivilous compared to to what had taken place in the Lavasa project. "The real scam was executed by Mr. Pawar and his family with land that had been acquired for an irrigation project in Maharashtra. The Irrigation Minister was Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar. More land than needed had been acquired from farmers," said Singh, adding that a Supreme Court judgement makes it obligatory for the government to either use this sort of surplus land for public projects, or to auction it.

Instead, he alleged that in 2002, a company named the Lake City Corporation got 348 acres on a 30-year lease for Rs. 23,000 a month. "A tiny one-bedroom flat in Mumbai costs more to rent," the former cop said.

The reason that the government was so generous with this deal, he said, is because Supriya and Sadanand Sule held a 20 per cent stake in the company.

Ramesh Kumar, an IAS officer was then Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department, which keeps records of all government-owned land. He allegedly asked for an inquiry into the transaction. However, Singh claims, then Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, also from Pawar's party, rejected permission to go ahead with the inquiry.

In 2006, Singh says the Sules' sold their stake in the company that would morph into the Lavasa Corporation.

He says that in 2009, when Supriya Sule was obliged to declare her assets as a Member of Parliament, she said she was worth 15 crores.

The activist says she blatantly misreported the facts because Axis Bank had evaluated the Lavasa Corporation at 10,000 crores, so her 10 per cent stake (and another 10 per cent held by her husband) would have been several hundred crores. He described this as "a huge money-laundering exercise."

Singh says that Lavasa reaped more windfalls.

In 2009, he says Sharad and Ajit Pawar ordered senior bureaucrats to meet them at a guesthouse within the Lavasa premises.

There, they ruled in favour of a request from the Lavasa Corporation which allowed the firm to add several floors to its building plans.

Essentially, the Floor to Area Ratio (FAR) and other rules were relaxed so that Lavasa could build much more than usually permitted.

These concessions were recorded in the minutes of the meeting, he alleged. "How did Sharad Pawar hold a meeting with Maharashtra officials in the Lavasa guest house? He was Union Agriculture Minister; what jurisdiction did he have?" he asked. Lavasa had been taken to court in 2010 by an NGO for violating the terms of its environmental clearances. It was forced to stop construction till it was given conditional permission in November to proceed with its plans. (ANI)

After Robert Vadra, Salman Khurshid, Nitin Gadkari now we haveSharad Pawar with his daughter Supriya Sule. We all know that Sharad Pawar is Pawar. I hope Y. P Singh provides the documents to take action on him, if the Congress party would dare to do so. Coalition dharma as our PM Mr. Manmohan Singh would say, would prevent him unless he is prodded by the Supreme Court. Here is another daughter causing problems for her doting father. Suppriya Sule, daughter of strongman Sharad Pawar seems to have her hands in many pies just Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi.

Both their accounts run into thousands of crores.

You can bet the CBI or income-tax department will never raid their premises or the premises of Robert Vadra who made a capital gain of 51.5 crores in just 3 months. How much income tax have they paid?

As Anna said, CBI should be taken away from the central Government. I suggest the Income Tax department should also be taken away from the central government.

Both should work independently

We are told to reduce LPG subsidy while Robert Vadra loots 51.5 croes

The Congress government is trying to make up the deficit it is facing by increasing the prices of cylinder from Rs 400 to Rs 900/-. Here are the calculations.

Robert Vadra bought the 3.5 acre plot on Feb 12, 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore. He sold the same plot on June 3, 2008 for Rs 58 crores, a net profit of 51.5 crores. At Rs 400/- how many cylinders can you by for Re 51.5 crores. The figure is 12,87,500 (twelve lakhs eighty seven thousand five hundred cylinders. Assuming a family uses one cylinder per month but the government is going to give six for the whole year.. So with the money Vadra made, 2,14,583 families could get cylinders at the same price This is our government of the Aam Aadmi.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Maharashtra irrigation scam: BJP chief Gadkari hits back at Team Kejriwal's charges

New Delhi, Oct.17 (ANI): Strongly countering the allegations and charges levelled against him on Wednesday by Team Kejriwal during a media conference at the Constitution Club here on Wednesday afternoon, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari said the charges were absolutely baseless and without foundation. Responding to the allegations made by India Against Corruption (IAC) activist Arvind Kejriwal and his associates in the context of an irrigation scam and land grabbing in the state of Maharashtra, Gadkari said: "Charges against me are baseless. These allegations made were a conspiracy hatched by the Congress."

Gadkari, who presented documents as proof of his credibility and his innocence at a press conference here, further said: "I work only for the betterment of the poor. The land was used for the benefit of farmers, I have done nothing wrong."

"I can't respond to such innocous charges , but I am ready for any kind of investigation," said Gadkari.

The Congress Party, however, said that Gadkari should be removed as BJP president and prosecuted for misusing his position for personal gain.

"The BJP used to celebrate when they (IAC) made allegations against us (Congress), now its their time to clarify things," said Congress Party spokesman Rashid Alvi. Team Kejriwal had earlier in the afternoon charged Nitin Gadkari of having a huge business empire in Maharashtra, and alleged that the former and NCP leader Ajit Pawar were hand-in-glove with each other in the irrigation scam.

Kejriwal accused Gadkari of corruption and claimed that his businesses are flourishing at the cost of farmers.

"Nitin Gadkari has a huge business empire in Maharashtra. We want to know if his interests as a businessman are clashing with that of the farmers. Gadkari and Ajit Pawar are working in tandem. Gadkari's business interests clash with Vidharba farmers," Kejriwal told mediapersons at the Constitution Club here.

"Ajit Pawar has diverted irrigation water to power industry. Gadkari was given 100 hectares of farmers' land at behest of Ajit Pawar. The land given to Gadkari in Vibhadra is in violation of government order," he added.

Kejriwal further said that Gadkari's business interest clashed with Vidharba farmers. "100 hectares of farmers land given to Gadkari's Purti Power and Sugar Industries Ltd. Gadkari placed business interests over farmers' well being. Gadkari's business interests also led to farmers' suicides. The land was snatched from farmers and given to Gadkari," said Kejriwal

"Maharashtra irrigation scam is worth Rs. 70 crores. Rs. 70 crores was spent, but nothing was spent on farmers. There is NCP-BJP nexus in irrigation scam in Maharashtra. Gadkari has five power and three sugar firms in Maharashtra," he added. Kejriwal further alleged that Gadkari's firms used all water from the Vadgaon dam. "The dam water was used for irrigating Gadkari's industries, not for irrigation," he added, while emphasizing that no action has been taken on complaint that Gadkari's firms polluted water.

Mumbai-based activist Anjali Damania , who was also present along with other India Against Corruption activists including Prashant Bhushan and Kumar Vishwas, alleged that Gadkari was using his power as BJP chief to further his own business interests. Damania had earlier confirmed that Gadkari would be the next person to be exposed before the public.

Reiterating her allegations on Gadkari, Damania said that Gadkari should have done something when she approached him regarding the Maharashtra irrigation scam. "Gadkari's name cropped up twice earlier. He is linked to the coalgate in some or the other way and then he refused to help expose the irrigation scam (in Maharashtra). Being the President of the opposition party, it is his responsibility to expose the scam," Damania said.

"And why he does not want to do it, we would be bringing this forward. We would be exposing why Nitin Gadkari's doesn't say anything," she added. Damania alleged that the scams are taking place because all the political parties are linked to them.

"The opposition parties do not want to expose it because all of them (all parties) are together. And this is what that we would be exposing in tomorrow's press conference," she said.

India Against Corruption had earlier exposed Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid. (ANI)

Since I had earlier given the views of Arvind Kejriwal and IAC, it is only fair that the opposite view be presented and you may judge for yourself who is correct.

As for myself I would prefer to believe Arvind Kejriwal's.

An enquiry commission by a retired judge should be set up to go into all the three cases , Robert Vadra's real estate dealings, Salman Khursid's NGO and Nitin Gadkari's Maharashtra Irrigation and Coalgate connection.

The enquiry commission set up by the Haryana Chief Minister is not acceptable as it includes the Chief Secretary who has already declared that prima facie nothing wrong has been done.Do you expect a correct report after such a statement?

I don't.