Scam Proof Black Money Hegemony bailed out Suresh Kalmadi!

Scam Proof Black Money Hegemony bailed out Suresh Kalmadi!

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 792
Palash Biswas

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As CAG's view that coal block allocations caused windfall profits to private parties is expected to put corruption back on the political agenda, Scam Proof Black Money Hegemony bailed out Suresh Kalmadi!The Commonwealth games scam as it is known involved large scale misappropriation of money during the preparatory phase and conduct of the 2010 Commonwealth games held in New Delhi. The total value of the scam is estimated to be 70,000 crore.Amidst media Blitz focused on Coal gate,scam inflicted governance sought yet another escape route to dismiss whatsoever chances of prosecution of the accused involved in all sets of scams and scandals abundant all over.Anti Corruption campaign led by Anna Brigade as well as Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev with huge mass support already diverted in the dirty wagon against which the crusade was launched, it is easier for the ruling class to sustain the growth story of affluent elite discarding all kinds of reports, exposures and stings!Invincible status of the corrupt regime showcases the wall writing written in rioting blood that free market has fully enveloped democracy in India and so called representatives of the people have not to answer for anything. They are only responsible for market welfare and answerable to corporate interest.

Suresh Kalmadi (born May 1, 1944) is an Indian politician and senior sports administrator. He was formerly a member of the Indian National Congress. He is a Member of Parliament from Pune.

On April 25, 2011 Kalmadi was arrested by CBI for awarding illegal contracts to a Swiss firm for Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) system for the 2010 Commonwealth Games causing a loss of Rs 95 crore to the exchequer. Kalmadi's membership of the Indian National Congress Party was suspended after being arrested and charged with corruption. On April 26, 2011 he was sacked from the post of president of the Indian Olympic Association.Now, after his release from jail, he has been appointed back as the president of the Indian Olympic Association.

The CBI just recently on 14th May, told a Delhi court that sacked Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi and others had decided to award the contract for installing the Timing, Scoring and Results system for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Swiss Timing even before it bid for it.Advancing arguments on framing of charges in the case, CBI prosecutor V K Sharma said Kalmadi and other co-accused former OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, Director General V K Verma and Joint Director General (Sports) A S V Prasad were "pressurising" that contract should be given to Swiss Timing.

It is quite amusing that the doctors do address the side efects only without any diagnosis.Amid the continuing exodus from Bangalore, Pune and other cities, Parliament on Friday assured people from the Northeast of their safety and the government blocked bulk SMSes and MMSes for 15 days to keep rumour-mongers under check.More over, NDA chief Sharad Yadav has pleaded for temporary ban on social media. If it helps to kill the fear environment and deletes the segregation of all types of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities including already isolated North East People scattered all over the country, I would be very satisfied. But I am afraid that until the power politics of corruption and conspiracy is not set aright, it would rather worsen the situation already out of control.Sharad Yadav heads the political front playing the role of main opposition andmanaged by Sangh Pariwar which has the most exposed role of alchemist in vertical polarisation of the nation. The intensified hate campaign is continuous with all round misinformation crusade launched by sangh Pariwar to get the helms of the regime run by UPA. No one from the political class seems to be interested to stop the feud. Hindu Polarisation helps Sangh Pariwar.On the other hand , insecurity and victimisation of the minorities creates and strengthens Congress Vote Bank. We have seen it in UP since long time. The experiment got momentum with resurrection of Hindutva. The Marxists remained invincible in Bengal thanks to overall communalisation countrywide as twenty seven percent Muslim population in Bengal always was alerted of insecurity.This political game is played all round once again as scams and exposures are concerned. Everyone from the political calass tries to make most of it translating in political mileage.No one is interested to change the system as it feeds each of them.Hence, it is quite to be understod, Kalmadi is bailed out just because the black money hegemony has defend the Maryada Puroshottam, the prime minister of India! Coalgate may test Congress's long-held "PM-is-above-board" shield against corruption, with allegations of irregularities during Manmohan Singh's charge of coal ministry set to expose the party flanks in the upcoming political season.

Flaying post-bid concessions to Reliance Power, the CAG on Friday said the Anil Ambani-led firm got undue benefit of Rs. 29,033 crore when the government allowed use of surplus coal from blocks allotted to Sasan power plant for its other projects.CAG in its report tabled in Parliament said subsequent to award of the 4,000 MW Sasan ultra mega power project to RPL, the government granted permission to the company to utilise the surplus coal from three mines attached to the projects for the group's Chitrangi project in Madhya Pradesh.

It is a very very dangerous situation for the nation as well as for its citizens, Citizenship as well as identity happen to be on stake. How should we the people walk across the country for job, livelihood, sustenance. The displaced, migrated and rehabilitated people scattered countrywide seem to be very very insecure.The Black Money Hegemony tend to doctor the grim situation for the worse just to hold the keys of power. It is absolute power of the hegemony which runs the country as the ruling as well as opposition are united to excommunicate and excluded ninety nine percent majority population with the most effective tools of division, segregation, ethnic cleansing, genocide, repression, hate campaign and so on. This absolute power sustained by free market and corporatisation of democratic system as well as politics itself has created Absolute corruption. Hence, all accused in corruption have to be bailed out. It is general amnesty!

The best of the jokes for the day is latest Chidambaram recipe for the ailing economy.In a bid to revive investment across the board, finance minister P Chidambaram today asked banks to cut interest rates and keep EMIs at affordable levels to encourage sale of consumer durables that will restart the engine of manufacturing.Without addressing the basic problems , the bucks are transferred to the Banks to convert them as and in Coal India or Air India!

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its chargesheet in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Queen's Baton Relay (QBR) event in London — held in October 2009 ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Delhi — against three senior officials of the Organising Committee (OC), a London-based Indian businessman and two firms owned by him.

On the other hand,maintaining that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had not followed its mandate under the constitution, the government on Friday said that the official auditor's report on coal blocks tabled in Parliament would be considered final only after it was examined by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).The CAG report on allocation of coal blocks has pegged loss to the exchequer as on March 11 last year at a whopping Rs. 1.85 lakh crore ($37 billion). Minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said he would not like to go into the merits of the report.With three CAG reports giving fresh ammuntion to the opposition to target the government, Congress on Saturday accused the auditor of sensationalising its reports and crossing the line.
The party spoke of "long-term implications" if any Constitutional institution does not maintain the "fine balance and decides to transgress".

Narayanasamy said submission of the "draft report" was "not going to give a message". "Unfortunately, CAG has a certain mandate under the constitution. According to me, CAG is not following the mandate," Narayanasamy said.

According to the minister, the reports would go to the PAC, comprising members from various political parties and headed by a member from the main opposition party. Narayanasamy said the PAC was like a "mini Parliament" and would submit its report to Parliament.

"Then alone action can be taken by the government. Then only (it) becomes final," he said.

He said the "draft report" had been prepared on the basis of certain documents "which they think is their view".

Besides the report on allocation of coal blocks, the CAG's reports on ultra mega projects and the Indira Gandhi International Airport were also tabled in Parliament on Friday.

Mind you, BJP has demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister after triple Cag Reports exposed unprecedented scam, but the same Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday refused to comment on former Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi's name not being included in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Queen's Baton Relay event in London held in October 2009 ahead of the 2010 sporting extravaganza.

Is it not intriging?

BJP spokesperson, the RSS face, Prakash Javadekar, however, said that his party would find out as to why Kalmadi's name was excluded by the apex investigating agency.

"I would have to check the facts. Already, a chargesheet has been filed with Suresh Kalmadi's name included in it. Now, we will examine why his name has been excluded in this second chargesheet and then comment on it," he said.

The CBI had earlier on Friday filed its chargesheet against three senior officials of the Organising Committee (OC), a London-based Indian businessman and two firms owned by him.

The CBI chargesheet did not include Kalmadi's name.

According to reports, the chargesheet named as accused OC officials TS Darbari, Sanjay Mohindroo and M Jeychandran, and London-based businessman Ashish Patel and his two firms - AM Car and Van Hire and AM Films - that had bagged two contracts for the Queen's Baton Relay event in an allegedly irregular manner.

Even after a series of blasts rocked Pune and the education hub witnessed hordes of northeastern people leaving the city, Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi seemed unperturbed.

"Two or four bomb blasts don't make the city unsafe," said a calm Kalmadi.He added, "I spoke with the northeastern people and told them that they are safe in this city as it is known for its culture, education and peaceful nature. The exodus is a sad thing."

However he denied that it was the failure of his political party to bring the situation under control. "Whatever has happened has happened, now we need to see how we can control the situation," he said.He added, "They are leaving because their parents are calling them back. I have told them that they can go home for a short break and should come back with their parents to celebrate Ganeshotsav with us."

The CBI chargesheet did not include the name of OC's former chairman Suresh Kalmadi as an accused.The chargesheet named as accused OC officials TS Darbari, Sanjay Mohindroo and M Jeychandran, and London-based businessman Ashish Patel and his two firms — AM Car & Van Hire and AM Films — that had bagged two contracts for the QBR event in an allegedly irregular manner.

The accused persons and the two firms were charged with criminal conspiracy, fraud, using as genuine a forged document or electronic record and forgery for the purpose of cheating under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, said CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra.

The chargesheet was submitted in a Patiala House court in Delhi.

In its First information Reports, lodged around 20 months ago in November 2010, the CBI had alleged that Patel's firms had bagged two contracts worth over R2 crore from the OC at an exorbitant price in an irregular manner.

The OC's deal with AM Films was for the installation of three video screens near Buckingham Palace in London. AM Cars & Vans got the contract for providing logistics, including transportation.

A few months ago, Patel had recorded his statement with the CBI. The three OC officials were allegedly associated with the finalisation of the deal with Patel's firms, a charge they had earlier denied.

Seeking to trash the CAG report on coal blocs allocation, which has led to BJP demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party spokesman Manish Tewari said the Supreme Court had "not endorsed" the presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore pointed out by CAG in 2G spectrum allocation issue.

The scams that fuelled the Anna Hazare campaign like CWG and 2G were confined to individual ministries of UPA, with Singh being questioned as a weak leader. But Coalgate is seen as a progression since the PM was in charge of the ministry at the time of the said irregularities. AICC spokesman Manish Tewari rejected allegations that the PM had presided over Coalgate, saying, "We reject the insinuation with the contempt it deserves."

However, there is concern in Congress in the run-up to elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. The return of graft in political discourse will gift the opposition the ammunition that, in April, decimated Congress in Punjab and Goa and nearly tripped it in Uttarakhand. While Congress has readied its defence, pointing to alleged flaws in CAG's conclusions and BJP swearing by the same policy on coal blocks, the ruling party is seen as more vulnerable on graft front.

Technical arguments on audit reports are unlikely to trump the rhetoric that Narendra Modi may launch, eager to cross swords with the PM directly. Gujarat leaders said aggressive Muslim protests over Assam riots and corruption are two issues that can weaken Congress's prospects.

December polls are viewed as Congress's last chance to retrieve the situation from a downward spiral following the Hazare agitation. Congress hopes it can tide over the fresh CAG-authored crisis, but an opposition success in yoking corruption to Congress may have lasting impact on the 2014 political scenario.

"The Supreme Court, while cancelling the 2G licences, did not make any observation with regard to the presumptive loss. If the apx court would have been convinced of averments of CAG, they would have endorsed the presumptive loss", he said.

"CAG will be well served by keeping this precedent in mind and not keep adding zeros, which unnecessarily sensationalises and vitiates the environment", he said.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on coal blocks allocation suggests that it could be an even bigger embarrassment than the 2G spectrum allocation scam with top private companies making a windfall of Rs 1.86 lakh crore due to lack of bidding.

The final draft of the CAG report on the coal blocks allocation, accessed by CNN-IBN, says that the allocation of captive coal mines from 2004 to 2006 was not transparent. Notably, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the Coal Ministry portfolio from 2006 to 2009.

It further said that a six-year delay in moving to competitive bidding led to huge losses to the state.

The CAG report lists Tata group, Naveen Jindal group, Essar group, Abhijeet group, Laxmi Mittal's Arcelor and Vedanta among the beneficiaries.

However, CAG does not mention the role of the PMO and state governments in the coal blocks allocation.

The auditing watchdog has blamed the steering committee recommendations that gave away captive coal mines without bidding.

The CAG report has said that the delay in introducing competitive bidding, first suggested in 2004, led to major benefits to the private sector, but the rules for auction only got finalised six years later in 2012 after a series of controversies.

Till 2004 June, only 39 blocks were allotted, but in order to improve the production, 142 allotments were made between July 2004 and 2006 to private and government companies.

The CAG says the allocation made by the steering committee was not transparent and helped many private players. As many as 15 blocks given to private players did not even start production till March 2011.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also investigating the coal scam. Initial reports of the investigating agency suggest they are looking at the role of state governments in allocating without bidding.

Tewari's remarks came in response to a host of questions, including whether CAG was crossing the 'Lakshman Rekha' and on BJP demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister in the wake of CAG report on the coal blocs allocation.

Government has already rubbished CAG's findings that private firms had got "undue benefits" to the tune of Rs 3.06 lakh crore in coal, aviation and power sectors, claiming the calculations were "misleading" and "faulty" and accused the auditor of not following its mandate.

"The CAG has the habit of adding zeros and he should desist from it," Tewari said adding the auditor should draw appropriate lessons from the Supreme Court "failing" to endorse the presumptive loss on the 2G allocation.

Seeking to take the wind out of the CAG charge, Tewari said that of the 57 coal blocks allocated, mining has not yet started in 56 of them.

If this is the situation, then who has got the benefit and who has suffered loss, he said.

Besides, he said even if it is assumed that there has been a benefit of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, it is spread over a period of 30 years and "cannot be considered as the net present value".

Asked whether opposition parties were exploiting the situation caused by CAG reports and has landed the government in a problematic situation, Tewari said only PAC can evaluate the findings of the audit body.

Alleging BJP was having double standards on the issue, he said when CAG reports come in BJP-ruled Gujarat, Chhattishgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the Chief Ministers there do not even place them on the table of the assembly.

It's official now. The Comptroller and Auditor General has said that the government extended windfall gains of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to private players by distributing coal blocks without bidding over years, escalating UPA's fight with the opposition over corruption amid the latter's calls for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation.

The confirmation of the estimated gains to private players who walked away with 57 coal blocks came on Friday, months after TOI first reported the government's largesse. CAG's report, on what has now come to be known as 'Coalgate', was tabled in Parliament on Friday along with the auditor's findings on similar undue benefits for the promoters of Delhi International Airport Ltd and the Sasan ultra-mega power project in Madhya Pradesh.

But the Coalgate report dwarfed the other two both because of the scale of money involved and the fact that it covers allocations during the period when the PM was in charge of the coal ministry. "The PM is morally, politically and personally responsible for this wrongful loss. He must seriously introspect on accepting the moral responsibility for this loss and quitting office," BJP leader Arun Jaitley said.

TOI had on March 22 first published the CAG's draft report saying private and public sector companies made windfall gains of Rs 10.67 lakh crore by getting coal blocks without auction. The final report has pared the gains, as again reported first by TOI on May 22, because the auditor accepted the coal ministry's argument that the gains for public entities should be excluded.

Besides, the calculation of gains in the final report has been done on the basis of extractable quantity of coal from open cast mines only since the ministry argued that underground mining was not as profitable. Even so, the final estimate of Rs 1.86 lakh crore surpasses the auditor's estimate of loss from the 2G spectrum scam.

Meanwhile,Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday refuted the report on Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, presented by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the parliament, claiming it 'totally erroneous and misleading'.

The ministry, in a statement, said the CAG report simply adds the nominal value of the projected revenue without taking the net present value, and it (the Ministry) 'strongly refutes the loss figures and other allegations as made in the report'.

"The calculation of presumptive gain from the commercial use of land at the Delhi Airport is totally erroneous and misleading as it simply adds the nominal value of the projected revenue, without taking the net present value.''

''In fact the net present value of the figure quoted by CAG is Rs. 13,795 crores only. CAG has further failed to appreciate that 46% of this amount would be payable to AAI as revenue share," the statement said.

'In fact the net present value of the figure quoted by CAG is Rs. 13,795 crores only. CAG has further failed to appreciate that 46% of this amount would be payable to AAI as revenue share," the statement said.
Defending the levy of Development Fee by DIAL and noting that the charging of the fee has been upheld by the Supreme Court, the ministry pointed out that the levy of Development Fee is under Section 22 (A) of AAI Act, 1994 and was in the knowledge of all the bidders prior to the bidding process.

"It is also pointed out that the levy of Development Fee is under Section 22 (A) of AAI Act, 1994 and was in the knowledge of all the bidders prior to the bidding process.''

Hence, contrary to what the CAG has said, the levy of Development Fee by DIAL was not a post contractual benefit provided to DIAL at the cost of passengers.''

Further, the levy of the Development Fee has been upheld by the Supreme Court, which has already examined and rejected all the issues now being raised by CAG in its report," the statement elucidated.

On the issue of lease of Airport land, the Ministry said that the land has not been given to DIAL on rental basis and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) now receives 45.99% share of Gross Revenues of DIAL and 26% of all dividends.

"It is clarified that the land has not been given to DIAL on rental basis. Rs100 is just a token amount for the purpose of the Conveyance Deed. The determining factor for grant of concession to the bidder was the Gross Revenue share quoted by the bidders. As a result, Airports Authority of India (AAI) now receives 45.99% share of Gross Revenues of DIAL and 26% of all dividends," the statement said.

It added that the profit to the AAI during the entire Concession period is expected to be over Rs. 3 lakh crore, and it is likely to get Rs. 1770 crores in the year 2012-13 and Rs. 2287 crores in the year 2013-14.

"The AAI share of revenue from DIAL is further going to constantly rise every year in the balance concession period," it said.

The statement further noted that the right to use 5 per cent of Airport land for commercial purpose was also defined in the bid and known to all bidders.

"All decisions including the entire bidding process and the approval of the Operation Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) was monitored by EGoM and subsequently approved by the Union Cabinet. The bidding process has also been upheld by the Supreme Court," the Ministry said.

Accusing the CAG of not incorporating in its report, the views of Ministry of Civil Aviation and AAI, the statement said, "There are aspects mentioned in the final report which were neither included in the draft audit report nor were discussed with the Ministry of Civil Aviation at any point in time."