Author: B.R.Haran
Publication: News Today
Date: July 14, 2008
URL: http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=29
The Central Bureau of Investigation, shortly
called as 'CBI', has become a subject of ridicule in India, mainly due to
the blatant abuse of the prime investigation agency by the politicians of
all hues. At the drop of a hat people have started demanding a CBI investigation
for even open and shut cases, resulting in the agency becoming a big joke.
The agency being used as a puppet by the powers
that be, to take on their political adversaries is a sick joke and the grand
old party Congress has mastered that art. A look at the last four years of
UPA regime will give a succinct picture of how the CBI has been abused by
the Congress party.
Maino! Maya! Mayajal!
The changing political equations in Uttar
Pradesh have resulted in the Samajwadi Party, allegedly demanding the UPA
government to appoint its man of choice as the Chief of CBI, as a reciprocation
and gesture of appreciation for its support to the nuclear deal. It is a known
fact that SP and BSP are archrivals in Uttar Pradesh politics and both keep
fighting with each other at all possible levels. In the process, they do not
hesitate to use their clout at the centre when a convenient relationship materialises
with the government of the day. Now since the Samjwadi party has come close
to the ruling UPA government, it has allegedly instigated the centre to act
against Chief Minister Mayawathi resulting in the CBI seeking permission from
the Supreme Court to file a charge sheet against her in a disproportionate
assets (DA) case.
It can be recalled that the previous NDA government
filed a legally tight case against Mayawathi for misappropriation of funds
and corruption in the Rs.175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor Scam involving construction
activities close to the World Heritage Monument without getting permission
from the environment ministry. This was based on the investigations done by
the CBI in the year 2003. With the change of guard at the centre in 2004,
when the former Chief Minister Mulayam singh wanted to proceed with the case
and sought the permission of Governor Rajeshwar, he refused it as per the
instruction of Congress high Command, which had struck a deal then with Mayawathi,
who reciprocated by extending her support to the UPA government.
Later the CBI Director overturned his own
agency's findings of July-August 2003 in August 2004, again as per the instructions
of the high command. Even when the Central Vigilance Commission found clear
and enough evidences warranting the prosecution of Mayawathi in the scam in
May 2005, the Law Ministry, CBI and the Governor were asked to ignore the
findings of the CVC much to the delight of Mayawathi and bitterness of Mulayam.
The CBI Director and the Attorney General favoured even the closure of the
Taj Heritage Corridor case and achieved it! Also during the campaign for the
UP Assembly elections last year, the Congress party never attempted to criticise
or campaign against BSP & its chief, due to obvious reasons and Mayawathi
also met Sonia & Manmohan immediately after her swearing in ceremony,
again due to obvious reasons.
The whole country knows that Mayawathi's hands
are not clean with regards to the Taj Corridor Scam as well as her earnings
of assets. She has amassed so much of wealth within a short span of political
career that cannot escape the nation's attention. But then, she had the audacity
to say that the earnings have come as donation and birthday gifts from her
party workers through denominations of Rs.5/- and Rs.10/-!
The CBI now depends on Mayawathi's own records
to present a legally fit case. It has petitioned the Supreme Court that Mayawathi's
assets have increased from Rs. 1.35 crores in 2004 to Rs.52 crores in 2007,
that is, within a short space of three years. It's petition has been based
on Mayawathi's declaration of assets to the returning officer of Akbarpur
Lok Sabha Constituency in April 2004 and her declaration during the last assembly
elections.
Ironically, when the UPA government closed
the Taj Heritage Corridor scam case, it would have never anticipated that
a situation would come in future to act against her. Now, in the absence of
the Taj Corridor case, the government has asked the CBI to take up the DA
case to settle political scores.
Bureau! Bofors! Booty!
The Italian fugitive Quattrocchi was given
all sorts of help, whenever the Congress was in power, right from the beginning.
He was allowed to escape to Malaysia during Narasimha Rao's regime. Then in
the third week of January 2006, after the visit of a senior official from
the agency to London on specific instructions from the Law Minister, the Central
Government submitted to the Supreme Court, that the Italian Fugitive Quattrocchi
had withdrawn the money to the tune of 21 CRORES from his two bank accounts
in London on 16 January 2006 itself. It was clearly obvious then that the
CBI & Law Ministry have acted as per the alleged instructions of Sonia
to help the Italian Fraud to escape with the money by de-freezing his accounts.
But, the sordid portion of this episode was the Prime Minister's claim that
he was not aware of the London affair.
Again, in February 2007, when the Italian
fugitive was caught in Argentina, the CBI failed to extradite him. The filing
of the case was deliberately delayed in Argentina and evidences were intentionally
hidden and an appeal for extradition was never made after losing the case
in the lower courts of Argentina, which ultimately led to the 'flying' of
Quattrocchi with full 'freedom', ironically on India's independence day 15
August, to Italy, once and for all. Even after that, the CBI shamelessly said
that it would pursue the case further. The External Affairs ministry, Law
Ministry and the CBI have all conducted themselves to the utmost satisfaction
of their irresponsible and unaccountable 'master' as per 'her' instructions.
In the aftermath of Quattrocchi's escape to
Italy, the Prime Minister stated that his government did no wrong in the entire
episode. While the media brought out the 'facts' about the 'lies, damned lies
& blatant lies' delivered by the successive Congress governments and the
Nehru family in the 'Bofors' issue in the past, the Prime Minister fired another
salvo of a 'lie'. He audaciously said that his government did nothing wrong
and that the CBI was given full freedom to deal with the issue. While the
opposition demanded his statement inside the parliament, he made it out side,
which was unbecoming of him. Moreover, the statement tabled by minister Pachouri
in the Parliament then, was a deliberate attempt to cover-up the appalling
work of the CBI. When it was known to the people that the CBI & the Law
ministry have helped the Italian fugitive to withdraw his money from the London
Bank accounts and escape to Italy, how could the Prime minister come out with
a blatant lie that his government did nothing wrong?
Media reported that the Ministry of Home affairs
had issued a rule book of CBI titled 'International Criminal Police Organisation
Interpol', released by the Interpol wing of the CBI in the year 1981, declaring
Argentina as a partner country with which India holds a valid extradition
treaty. It is also said that the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's
speech in the parliament on 16 March 1956, confirming the extradition treaty
with Argentina, had been recorded in the yearbook of International Law Commission
in 1970.
Another interesting thing in this issue was
the visit of Italian Prime minister Romano Prodi along with Sonia's Mother
and Ottavio Quattrochi's son Massimo Quattrocchi to India, which happened
after the detention of Ottavio Quattrocchi in Argentina on 6 February. The
media reported his detention only on 23 February after the departure of Italian
Prime Minister and how the news got leaked to the media is still a secret.
Massimo continued his stay in India for some more time and it was not known
when Sonia's mother left India. So, there was undoubtedly something fishy
in the last episode of the 'Bofors' issue and the UPA government, Prime Minister,
Law Ministry, UPA Chair person and the CBI have kept the matter secret till
date.
Bureau fizzles on Barak missiles!
In October 2006, the CBI filed a F.I.R. against
former Defense Minister George Fernandez on the purchase of Barak Missiles.
The CBI's investigations were based on the so-called sting operation conducted
by Tehelka. The opposition NDA rightly dubbed the action as political vendetta.
George Fernandez is known to be a man of honesty & integrity with an impeccable
track record spanning more than 40 years. The UPA government abruptly shelved
the Pukhan commission before submitting the final report because of the fact
that it had cleared George Fernandez in its initial report. Apart from Pukhan
commission, the then Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who continued with
the purchase of another set of Barak Missiles, also gave a clean chit to George
Fernandez. While Former Naval chief Admiral Sushil Kumar, who had an unblemished
tenure, stuck to his stand of recommending Barak Missiles, the other disgraced
former chief Admiral Vishnu Bagwat suddenly sprung from nowhere in support
of the CBI. As of now, even after a year and a half the CBI couldn't establish
any thing substantial against George Fernandes. Moreover the close acquaintance
of Tehelka Chief Tharun Tejpal with Sonia is also a fact, which adds credibility
to the charge that the entire tehelka operation was engineered by Sonia as
a personal vendetta against George Fernandez, because of his steadfast campaign
against her attempts to become the Prime Minister of India.
Supreme Court on corruption
Last year the Supreme Court made an observation
that the corrupt people must be hanged on the lampposts. This observation
must be seen as an expression of pain and anguish on the rampant corruption
prevailing in the country in anything and everything. The significance of
the SC's observation was that, it came during the hearing of a case concerned
with the (in)famous fodder scam, in which the railway minister Lalu Prasad
was involved. When the CBI enacted a drama of requesting the Law Ministry
permission to file an appeal against the acquittal of Lalu & Rabri in
the disproportionate assets case, the Law Ministry refused to give permission.
Then came the appropriate observation of the Supreme Court that the corrupt
people must be hanged on lampposts. The political & bureaucratic establishments
should take the observation in the right spirits and find out ways & means
to reduce the menace, instead of attempting to wage a war against the Judiciary.
Will they, is a million dollar question when the way the 'horse trading' is
going on at the capital today is seen!
From the track record of CBI in the last four
years - clearing Satish Sharma in the petrol pump case, facilitating the Italian
business man Quattrochi to escape with the Bofors booty, closing the case
of Taj corridor scam on Mayawathi, prolonging the investigation and filing
of charge sheets in Lalu's fodder scam, foisting false cases on Manekha Gandhi,
all under the instructions of Madam Sonia - it can be clearly infered that
the central agency has been acting as a stooge of Madam Sonia & Congress.
All these things go to prove, how this government has scant regards for the
Judiciary and abuses the Law Ministry & the CBI. But, Madam Sonia never
fails to take credit for bringing Transparency & Code of Ethics in Public
Life. What a farce!