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Sitaram Kesri complains that for nearly four decades in politics until the time
he became the Congress President, there was not a single case of wrong-doing
against him. Now overnight he faces grave charges of misdemeanour and violation of
the law in not one but several cases. Kesri clearly is oblivious to the
commonplace saying that a politician is confronted with his past the moment he
contest an election or occupies an important office. After he became the Congress
President, Kesri's colourful past has come to haunt him. His role in the Dr
Tanwar murder case is being investigated. Or at least was till he pulled the plug
on the hapless humble farmer Deve Gowda's government. The Treasurer of the
Congress for over 17 years before he became the party chief last year, Kesri is
also having to explain how and from whom in Germany did the party receive Rs three
crores in foreign exchange. He has no answers or does not want to provide them to
the Enforcement Directorate. A little bird tells me that the money had come from
the secret agency of a Congress-friendly government, not necessarily that of
Germany.
Now yet another embarrassing detail from Kesri's murky past has surfaced. While
The Times of India owner, Ashok Jain, is facing flak in a couple of hawala cases,
his younger brother, Alok, is being investigated for having allegedly salted away
a small fortune in secret bank accounts abroad. Investigators hit pay dirt when
they found that Alok Jam had opened an account in the name of Kesri in a London
branch of a well-known western bank. Worse, the application for the said account
was signed by Kesri in his own hand. The initial amount deposited at the time of
opening of the account was Sterling Pounds 10,000. Kesri's connections with the
Jains go back to the time in the '50s and '60s when the Jain-owned Rohtas
Industries was Bihar's largest industrial unit. Kesri was a low-paid factotum of
the Jams before he wandered into politics and made 'good' for himself and his old
masters. Prime Minister Gujral with his family connections with the Jains and his
political compulsion to protect the Congress Party may want to go slow in the
Jain-Kesri case, but there is little the Directorate can do, given that the courts
are supervising investigations on a day-to-day basis.
Tussle in Delhi BJP
All is not well in the Bharatiya Janata Party. The 'party with a difference', now
suffers from all the ills that have laid low the once mighty Congress. Right
under the nose of the central leadership, the Delhi unit of the BJP is riven by
dissensions. Former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, hoping that he would be
cleared of the hawala charge in the light of the Delhi High Court judgement in the
L K Advani case, is keen on reclaiming his old job. But Sahib Singh, who took over
from Khurana after the latter quit on being charge-sheeted in the hawala case, has
let it be known that there is no push-over. The party leadership is caught on the
horns of a dilemma for Singh's removal could send a wrong signal to his caste
brothers, namely Jats, whose support is crucial for the BJP in parts of Delhi,
Haryana and UP. The Sahib Singh-Om Prakash Kohli group is now keen for Khurana to
contest the parliamentary by-election from East Delhi. "Khuranaji is a senior
leader and vice-president of the national unit. He should now look after national
affairs and leave the affairs of the Union Territory to us," Singh pleaded with
senior party bosses recently. Clearly, Khurana is not amused.
Woes of a friend
Veteran newspaper columnist Kuldip Nayar is a harassed man these day thanks to his
good friend I K Gujral's immense good fortune in becoming the Prime Minister.
Favour-seekers have jammed Nayar's telephone and fax lines what with some seeking
transfers, others promotions and yet some others placements for their sons and
daughters. But the really audacious was the case of a former minister in the
Indira Gandhi government who landed on Nayar's door one evening seeking the
latter's good offices in order to be appointed Indian High Commissioner in London.
The small-time politico has been in political wilderness since the death of Sanjay
Gandhi. He sought Nayar's help in the name of 'good old Punjabi ties'. The
good-natured Nayar is more embarrassed than pleased with the profusion of
attention he is getting.
SPG's bourgeoning empire
With the number of VVIPs, including former prime ministers increasing
inordinately, the services of Special Protection Group are stretched to the limit.
The ranks of the elite force of commandos are set to increase three-fold if the
proposal before the Union Cabinet gets the nod. The recent fall of one government
and the installation of another has added to the woes of Black Cat commandos. When
the Gowda government fell, Union Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramaniam directed the
SPG bosses
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