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US tsunami hits Asia
Deaths by drug trials |
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Revenge by Taliban
The end of Yeddyurappa govt
It’s all in the mind…
by Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief
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US tsunami hits Asia
The first-ever US downgrade jolted Asia on Monday as growth worries resurfaced and stocks fell 1.5 to 3 per cent. The reaction in India to the latest financial turmoil in the US varied from a pessimistic – “Is (the) world economy nearing another Lehman moment” — to an optimistic “US to emerge unscathed”. Reassuring Indians, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee held out the hope that “India is better placed to weather the storm”. The BSE Sensex initially fell by more than 500 points but pared the losses to 315 points or 1.7 per cent at the close With the Standard and Poor’s rating acting as a trigger, the fear in global financial markets is actually about the super power relapsing into recession. Consumption-driven Americans sustain many economies. China faces the double whammy: its economy grows largely because it sells goods to Americans, many of whom are jobless now, and also gives loans to fund their consumption. As the US dollar declines, the value of the Chinese loans plummets. After the US the focus will shift in the coming days to Europe, which is also giving jitters to investors worldwide. Italy and Spain have piled up more debt than they can handle. While the Greece rescue was small and manageable, a bailout for a country of the size of Italy or Spain will test the patience of European taxpayers and the future of Eurozone. As global fires rage India tends to escape almost unhurt. This is because its growth is driven by domestic consumption and exports’ contribution to the GDP is small. There will be some implications. After IT exports NRI remittances will be the worst hit as the rupee appreciates against the dollar. But this makes India’s oil imports cheaper. A global slowdown will bring down oil prices, and consequently inflation. Global investors are moving money from risky destinations like commodity, currency and equity to gold, a safe haven. Its price is rising but may tumble once normalcy returns to the US and Europe. |
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Deaths by drug trials
Many western agencies employ different yardsticks when it comes to safety standards in their own countries and in the Third World. But that bias must not become so acute that Indians and others end up as guinea pigs. Unfortunately, that seems to be already happening in the case of drug trials, with the result that as many as 1,725 persons have lost their lives due to such tests in the past four years, as reported by The Tribune. It’s a very large number. Yet, the actual number of deaths may be even higher, considering that the monitoring mechanism is so weak that there is no independent inquiry when such an eventuality takes place. Whatever the investigator hired by the firm conducting the trials says is accepted as the gospel truth. If he attributes the death to a prior disease, the matter rests there. There are other irregularities too. The permission to conduct trials is granted after just a superficial examination of the proposal. Safeguards are ignored. Laws bar trials on tribals unless the drug being tested is of specific benefit to them. Yet, these are routinely carried out. Even the consent letters of some of the girls who died in recent clinical trials in Indore were signed not by the girls themselves but by the wardens of the hostels where they lived. But why should such tests be allowed in India at all when these are not of specific reference to this country? Trials for malaria or diarrhoea can be justified but not those of anti-cancer drugs which can be tested anywhere. Foreign pharmaceutical companies are bound to descend on India because trials here cost 80 per cent less than in the developed world. It is the government’s responsibility to make sure that Indian citizens are not reduced to the level of laboratory animals. |
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Revenge by Taliban
The US suffered its biggest setback in Afghanistan in a single day on Saturday when the Taliban shot down a helicopter, leading to the death of 38 people in the Tangi Joy Zarin area in Wardak province. Significantly, among those killed were 30 US soldiers, 22 of them Navy SEALS belonging to the elite unit which had been involved in the elimination of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, near Islamabad. With the Taliban claiming responsibility for the deadliest attack on the US-led multinational forces since the war on terror began in Afghanistan 10 years ago, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has launched a probe to find out the factors behind the mishap. The US Chinook helicopter was on a mission to kill or capture some high-level Taliban activists near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Whatever the reasons for such a big setback for the US, the incident highlights the grim reality — the Taliban as an extremist movement has not weakened in Afghanistan and the tribal areas in Pakistan. In fact, it has been on the ascendant for some time, with the morale of its fighters being high because of the US plan for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The extremists had been desperately waiting for this day when the multinational forces would start pulling out from the war-ravaged country. This was one of their major demands during the talks between some Taliban factions and representatives of the Hamid Karzai government for the extremists’ induction into the ruling dispensation. The resurgence of the Taliban provides proof that the war against international terror has failed to bring about the desired result. The extremist forces are bound to feel emboldened after they have taken revenge for the killing of Osama. As it appears, they will remain unchallenged in the new Afghanistan that will emerge after the complete withdrawal of multinational forces from there. This means that Afghanistan will never be free from the influence of the Taliban. The extremists will continue to influence the course of history in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. This is definitely not in the interest of peace and stability in South Asia and the rest of the world. It is a sad scenario, indeed. |
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Life is a foreign language: all men mispronounce it. — Christopher Moriey |
The end of Yeddyurappa govt
Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa reluctantly bowed out as Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 31 afternoon. The time and date and the method of his going were all worked out by himself, showing utter contempt to the directions of the BJP Parliamentary Board. Ever since Mr Yeddyurappa assumed office about three years back in 2008, he had been running a thoroughly corrupt and chaotic administration. He now leaves his state in even greater chaos. The Lokayukta of Karnataka, Justice Santosh Hegde, has given a very detailed report highlighting various irregularities and corrupt activities of Mr Yeddyurappa during his 38-month tenure as Chief Minister. Even a casual perusal of Mr Hegde’s report would show that Mr Yeddyurappa was quite brazen in his administrative irregularities and corruption. He could get away with all that since he was primarily responsible for the BJP coming to power in Karnataka, a first for the party in any state in the South. A study of the detailed report of Lokayukta Santosh Hegde would show that Mr Yeddyurappa deserves to be prosecuted for his numerous acts of corruption. The dubious land deals listed by the Lokayukta are too important to be ignored. Mr Yeddyurappa’s corrupt activities started within five months of his assumption of office when he denotified 1.20 acre of prime land in Bangalore, acquired by the government in 2004, and inexplicably returned it soon after. His two sons, Raghavendra and Vijayendra, purchased the same land for Rs 20 lakh while the market price stood at Rs 1.34 crore. The charade of purchase and return of the land to its original owners was apparently resorted to for protecting the two sons of Mr Yeddyurappa who purchased the valued property for a pittance. His family was operating a trust called Prerana Education Trust, and in March 2010 it received a donation of Rs 20 crore from a mining company which was favoured with a mining lease. These acts of corruption and favouritism appear insignificant when we take into account the brazenness with which the Reddy brothers have been dictating to the Yeddyurappa government. The much talked about Reddy brothers are a typical example of political power and corruption almost taking over the entire state. The Reddy brothers of Bellary were a law unto themselves. One of them, Mr G. Janardan Reddy, was a minister in charge of Bellary, which was tantamount to handing over the district on a platter for whatever Mr Janardan Reddy might like to do. Another Reddy brother was a Minister for Tourism in the Yeddyurappa government. The political over-reach of the Reddy brothers extended to Andhra Pradesh and they were an important power group during the chief ministership of Dr Y.S.R. Reddy. The Obulapuram mining company of the Reddy brothers in Andhra Pradesh was an example of their power. It is known that the Reddy brothers are very close to Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of YSR Reddy. Jagan himself has emerged as an important power centre in Kadappa district of Rayalaseema after the electoral success of his mother and himself with an enormous margin of votes in the assembly and parliamentary constituencies, respectively, which they contested recently. Mr Santosh Hegde has highlighted the fact that the entire stretch of Bellary-Sandur and Hospet has become a lawless land with unaccounted mushrooming of registered and unregistered iron ore traders and mines. Their activities go unchecked because of the dictat of Mr G. Janaradana Reddy who is the minister in-charge of Bellary and apparently the entire Bellary-Sandur-Hospet belt. Mr Janardana Reddy choses the officers posted in Bellary district and, no wonder, they would carry out his dictates whatever they might be. The Supreme Court imposed a complete ban on mining activities and transportation of iron ore from Bellary in the last week of July, after taking into account a report on the environmental decay of Bellary due to the reckless iron ore mining in the district. However, it did not prevent the illicit mine operators from continuing their trade. Iron ore worth more than Rs 2 crore, which were being transported in as many as 49 trucks, was stopped by the DC of Bellary who seized the trucks and the iron ore. If Mr Yeddyurappa had continued as Chief Minister, the DC of Bellary, Mr Aditya Biswas, would have been transferred out and a pliable replacement found after consulting Mr Janardan Reddy. The Hegde report has worked out the approximate loss of revenue and tax to the state through the illegal export of iron ore and other activities and this amount exceeded Rs 16,000 crore. A copy of the report was sent to the Governor. Mr Yeddyurappa’s self-assertion in the BJP arose from the fact that he was the tallest Lingayat political leader in Karnataka. There are 56 Lingayat MLAs out of the BJP’s legislature strength of 119, and Mr Yeddyurappa commands the support of most of the Lingayat legislators. He demonstrated his clout in the party by getting his nominee, Mr Sadananda Gowda, elected as his successor after going through an exercise of secret ballot when the majority of the BJP MLAs voted for him. Mr Gowda is a prominent Vokaliga leader and by getting him elected as Mr Yeddyurappa’s nominee, the BJP has attempted to ensure that the party’s Vokaliga vote remains with it. Mr Gowda was sworn in as Chief Minister by Governor Bharadwaj on August 4. Mr Jagdish Shetter, a Lingayat leader, who expected to become Mr Yeddyurappa’s successor, and his followers numbering over 50 Lingayat MLAs boycotted the swearing-in ceremony. The Shetter camp is also demanding 50 per cent of the ministerial and other administrative posts. The split in the BJP legislature party is now obvious and does not bode well for the future of the Sadananda Gowda government. Governor Bharadwaj has already asked the Lokayukta to initiate criminal proceedings against Mr Yeddyurappa under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The new Lokayukta has announced that he would take action after studying the report of his predecessor. With Governor Bharadwaj at the helm of affairs, action against the former Chief Minister would follow without any hitch. Mr Gowda has indicated that he would not be a dummy Chief Minister and that he would give a good government to Karnataka. More than anything else, there are indications that the Reddy brothers would not figure in the new Cabinet. That is a major step by itself in favour of good governance. Will Karnataka politics go beyond the Lingayat and Vokaliga equations? Apart from the BJP and the JD(S), the main contenders for power in Karnataka, the Congress party has not been a silent spectator. Whether the damning report of Mr Santosh Hegde and the exit of Mr Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister will make any difference to political developments in Karnataka remains to be seen. Mr Veerappa Moily, President of the Karnataka unit of the Congress, has now demanded mid-term polls after dissolving the state assembly. The BJP government in Karnataka has proved itself as incorrigibly corrupt. The true solution to the affairs of the state would be fresh assembly elections. Naturally, the BJP may oppose any such suggestion. The writer is a former Governor of UP and West Bengal. |
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It’s all in the mind…
It was a leisurely Sunday morning and Noor, my cuddly five-month-old daughter, was snugly perched atop my lavish torso. I was humming a prayer we used to say during our school days, and her occasional nods punctuated with toothless smile and chuckles indicated that she was enjoying it. But in the middle of the heavenly experience, we had some unexpected visitors – Sonia and Priyanka. After the exchange of pleasantries, they got seated and started playing with the little one. Though Sonia is a frequent visitor to our place, Priyanka does not visit us that often. Priyanka asked me about Saachi, my elder daughter, and I told her that she was still asleep, it being a Sunday. I offered them some biscuits and soft drinks, which they readily accepted. Priyanka sipped her soft drink, while Sonia grabbed a handful of biscuits and went to the backyard, where their mother Shashi was dealing with our laundry. Usually, Rajender does our laundry, but on that day, his wife Shashi had come in his place. As it was Priyanka’s holiday, she was also tagged along. I asked Priyanka in which class she was, and she replied that she studied in Class III at a public school, and went to school by school-bus. I asked her a few more questions, and she answered with confidence and conviction. I was impressed by her demeanour and heartily appreciated the efforts her parents had put in for her education and grooming. Shashi and Rajender iron clothes at a makeshift stall in our colony. Rajender also does the laundry work and occasionally washes cars of his customers. My wife told me that the couple, especially Shashi, did not want any more children after the birth of Priyanka, their first daughter. However, on insistence by family members and acquaintances, they decided to have one more child so that Priyanka could have a sibling’s company. Rajender disclosed that he had bought a small residential plot on the outskirts of the town and the construction of their house was in progress. Seeing a common man – a ubiquitous press-wallah — carve a niche straw-by-straw with the help of his better half evoke positive and happy feelings, and I wish for their bright future. But in contrast, I feel miserable whenever I cross the table-stall of Rakesh, another iron-man in our neighbourhood. Rakesh has four children and is an alcoholic. His wife, who delivers ironed clothes in our lane, is in a pitiable condition. Many a time, she is accompanied by her children, who are given eatables by most of the customers whom they visit. A neighbourhood acquaintance recently revealed that Rakesh’s children often came to their place and asked for something to eat. Somebody told us that they had also been seen begging for alms. The sharp contrast in the approach – and consequent lifestyles – of the two couples coming from similar backgrounds and circumstances underline the age-old saying that by and large, our life is what we make it. |
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by Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come out with a critical report that also deals with the performance of your government with regard to the Commonwealth Games (CWG). How do you view the report? The CAG is an accounting body that audits accounts. It had a perception of the case that had been brought out in the report. I feel the CAG has not always gone deep into the matter because Delhi is a state which is not like other states. There are many administrative organisations involved that resulted in chaos. When the CWG contract was signed for Delhi, the reality was that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was doing something, the Delhi police was doing something, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) was doing something and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was doing something. All these agencies had their independent administrations. Besides that, the Delhi Government was doing something, the Urban Development Ministry was doing something and the Sports Authority of India under the Ministry of Sports was doing its job. Apart from these, the Organising Committee (OC) of the Games had a special requirement for the conduct of the Games and the standard which they wanted to follow. Putting all that together, the CAG has involved every agency - partly the Central Government, partly the Delhi Government and partly the municipal authority in the Games preparations. It has clubbed everything together. Was the
multiplicity of agencies the reasons for the mess?
Delhi is administered by several authorities and there was always problem in getting permission from one another. So there were unavoidable problems of delays which could have led to cost escalation. But one thing I would like to say is that the quality of work was very good. The second thing, is that whatever has happened or was done in Delhi — whether it was construction of roads, flyovers or stadia — it was done according to requirements of the Games. It was the largest sporting event the country organised after the Asian Games. While doing all the Games-related work, my main purpose was to make India proud and to that extent we succeeded. However, the preparation was delayed because of certain reasons. Getting permission from different agencies and coordination was also a problem. Still we did it well. Everything that we did will not be taken away. It’s very much there and is a legacy for Delhi. Among the issues that CAG has criticised your government for is about the street lighting contracts given for the Games... There was a lot of criticism that we had spent so much money on lights. Believe me, today, Delhi’s streetlights are one of the best in the country. But the streetlights improvement contract, which was given to a private company called Space Age, was first rejected by the Public Works Department. It was also rejected by the Games Advisory Committee. But then Space Age went to the High Court which the CAG has also pointed out in its report. Thereafter, we received a notice from the court and had to abide by the court order. The CAG has also
found discrepancies in the tendering process for some of the work...
I don’t deal with tenders. No minister or Chief Minister deals with tenders. We take policy decisions. The implementation of schemes, the nitty-gritty, accounts, inviting tenders are done according to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) manual. If somebody has not followed that he is answerable. What about financial irregularities being pointed out by the CAG against you? No, I am not involved anywhere. I have not looked at the report minutely. The Delhi Government was not the only one responsible for the preparation of the Games. The CAG report has also brought out a chart showing the complexity of decision-making. The whole system was complex. For instance, inside a stadium, the DDA was working while outside the Delhi Government and the MCD were doing their job. So there was a lot of confusion. We were being blamed for some problem in Connaught Place when it really comes under the NDMC and we had nothing to do with it. What was the work
that your administration was involved?
We did the street lighting, upgrade of PWD roads, two stadia, street furniture, greening, pedestrian roads, cycle tracks, transport, the metro, development of the Millennium bus depot, water supply and construction of the water treatment plant in the Games village and some other works. May be in someone’s opinion, X amount was spent in executing all these projects instead of Y. That was one of the causes of criticism. But when construction work was going on, everybody said please do it, please do it quickly. All of us, including myself, visited the project sites even during the night to get things done on time - we worked round-the-clock. We were all concerned about the CWG, which was a matter of pride for the country. How was your
relationship with Suresh Kalmadi?
We had no differences on any issue except one when he asked for Rs 200 crore from the Delhi Government for sprucing up the city. At that time, I said sorry we are a small government. We can give just Rs 1 or Rs 2 crore. But we cannot give Rs 200 crore. This was the only issue we came face to face. What about charges of favouritism while awarding contracts? There could not be any favouritism at my level. If there was any favouritism, it could have been at the level of those taking decisions. Not only in awarding contracts but also while inviting tenders, one has to follow certain CPWD manuals. And if anybody had deviated from them, he would have to answer. We, the ministers and Chief Minister, do not deal with tenders. There is a clamour
for your resignation?
Who is asking for my resignation? If the BJP is doing this, it’s their job as the Opposition. If there is anything about corruption pointing towards me, I will be the first one to say please I am guilty and go. But why should I go when there is no indictment. There is nothing. I am proud of managing the best Games ever held in the country. The BJP and others say that on the basis of the Lokayukta report the Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa resigned. In Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan resigned on the Adarsh housing scam. They are asking why has Mrs Dikshit has not resigned when she has been indicted by the CAG report? First of all, I have not been indicted. The second thing, is that the Lokayukta is very different from the CAG. The CAG is an accounting body. It just audits the account. It does not point out to corruption. The report is tabled in Parliament and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) will take it up. If it feels the need, all the departments will be called for explanations. It is up to the PAC to accept their explanations or reject them. The Yeddyurappa case was totally different. It was a case of bribery or undue advantage. Here there is not undue advantage at all. As far as saving money is concerned I can say under the current complexity of administration, it would have been difficult for any government to have saved the money. Due to multiplicity of authorities there was delay in getting the work commissioned. Are you affected
by the volley of criticism you are facing on the Games?
I am very disturbed. We did our best for the games. We worked honestly. You just pick a single project and you will see the people, particularly the BJP, criticise it without going into detail. I am deeply hurt and the BJP of course goes to town saying that the Chief Minister should be chucked out. But now my party, my government is supporting me. We are also ready to face any questions. We will answer them. We do not have any problem. I cannot say more because it is a report of a constitutional body that was tabled in both the Houses. I hope the PAC will take up the report chapter by chapter and paragraph by paragraph. I remember when I went through the power reforms earlier in my tenure the CAG report had criticized the government. However, the Delhi’s power reform is highly successful and can be compared to the best in the world and is quoted by international organisations. You were mentioned by the Delhi Lokayukta in connection with the issue of providing housing? Yes, the Lokayukta was after me stating that we promised houses to the people to get votes but then no houses have come up. Yes we did promise houses as part of our EWS policy. We are making the houses but we can’t make them overnight, 10,000-15000 are being made and they will be distributed. When someone questioned me about promises recently, I asked a counter question that yes manifestos are made by parties but then has the Ram Mandir been made? What do you think about the Shunglu committee report on the CWG? I think as a report it contradicts itself in many places. In one paragraph it says that the CPWD manual must be followed and in another one it says it is an outdated module. What do you do? Are you creating an atmosphere where nobody wants to take a decision? Why should anyone take a decision if you are going to see trouble and nothing else? The report said I did good work but I didn’t go into the depth of it. It’s not my job. I am not an accountant. I am not a clerk sitting there. We decide we will make houses, we give out the job and the engineers do it. The job of a Chief Minister is to give policy decisions. But the buck stops with you? Why? Let the people judge. I say make a good road - it’s not my job to see what kind of material we use. Please we are getting muddled up and mixed up. But if the road is not built properly then you do need to take action? Of course we do. There is the CAG, there is the PAC, there is the CVC, there is the RTI - the person will be asked to answer. All those institutional mechanisms for correction and balance are already there. Coming to another contentious issue, what do you think about the Lokpal Bill? I feel that the question is do you or do you not have a Lokpal? You have a judiciary, you have an executive, you have a legislature, then you have various agencies like the CVC, the CBI, the ED and the rest of it. Then you have the media, which is like a watchdog institution, and then you have civil society groups that can take action. So how will the Lokpal strengthen these institutions? If these need to be strengthened and systems need to be made, then please do so. The big controversy is over whether the Prime Minister should come under the Lokpal? The judiciary doesn’t want to come under the Lokpal, so why should the Prime Minister? If you want to remove the prime minister, if you feel that some wrong has been done either the people of India can remove him or the Parliament. Politicians are the only ones who go back to get a certificate from the people every five years. In Karnataka, the Lokayukta report saw the Chief Minister being removed. Why should an exception be made for the Prime Minister? The Prime Minister is the administrative head of the country and works with a council of ministers who are answerable to Parliament as do MPs who are also answerable to their constituencies. What purpose is the Lokpal going to serve? I just question this. Is there going to be another parallel system where governance becomes more complicated? The angst of civil society is all the checks and balances the systems has failed and corruption gone up. So clearly the system is not working? If it’s an absolute certainty that the Lokpal will sort all this out okay then go ahead about it. There is no certainty about it. You will create another structure. You got the judiciary - there are PILs and the Right to Information. You go on creating more and more institutions but you need to work also. You cannot discourage people from taking decisions but you can discourage them from taking wrong decisions. You have to pinpoint where I have gone wrong whether it is in efficiency, competence or corruption. For corruption there is a kind of punishment. You don’t hang a person for being a thief but you would hang a murderer - these distinctions must be made civil society. You have been 13 years on the job as Delhi’s Chief Minister, wouldn’t you like to do something else? I would really like to. But I don’t like to run away from something. I have a certain sense of commitment and responsibility. What’s the agenda left for Delhi? We have to carry the work forward. There is never a full stop. More roads, housing, jobs, we have shown good growth but it has to be sustained all the time. Delhi today is comparable to any world-class city. But you can never say that I have done all my work and go home. I owe it to the people to my party who gave me the responsibility. (Transcribed by Syed Ali Ahmed/TNS)
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