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Monthly Archives: August 2011

TIHAR SURRENDERED

Comments Off on TIHAR SURRENDEREDPosted by on August 17, 2011

ANNA REFUSES TO COME OUT OF TIHAR

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare refused to come out of Tihar jail on Tuesday evening saying he wants an unconditional release and unconditional permission to go ahead with his indefinite fast at Jai Prakash Narayan Park in New Delhi.

Earlier, Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta issued a release warrant of Anna and his associates after police decided to withdraw its case against them.

Delhi Police sources said that warrants of release have been sent to Tihar Jail authorities for freeing Hazare and his seven associates who were held this morning ahead of their plans to launch an indefinite strike for a strong Lokpal.

The sources said the decision to release was taken after government is understood to have come to the conclusion that keeping him in jail would create unnecessary law and order situation.

Tihar jail sources said that all the eight had been kept in separate lock ups and would be freed soon. Hazare and his associates had refused to take food during their detention under judicial remand.

Earlier, Anna Hazare was on Tuesday sent to seven days’ judicial custody at Tihar jail after he refused to sign a personal bond and come out on bail following his arrest.

The veteran anti-corruption crusader was sent to jail no. four at Tihar where former Commonwealth Games Organising committee head Suresh Kalmadi has also been lodged.

Hazare, who was arrested in the morning on grounds of apprehension of breach of peace following his intention to defy prohibitory orders to go on indefinite hunger strike, was produced before a special executive magistrate.

‘Hazare refused to give undertaking not to defy Section 144’

Gupta said the police was prepared for his being released on a personal bond if the Gandhian would have given an undertaking that he will not defy Section 144 of the CrPC that prohibits gathering of five or more people and also ask his supporters not to do so.

Sources said since Hazare refused to give an undertaking, the magistrate remanded him to a seven-day judicial custody.

He will be taken to Tihar jail where he will spend time in judicial custody. Three other leading activists of the team Hazare — Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal and Manoj Sisodia — were also sent to judicial custody on similar grounds.

Nearly 1400 activists were detained in various parts of the city when they came out in support of Hazare, who had planned to launch the fast at J P park near Ferozeshah Kotla and Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta said they would be released after “some time”.

Protest march from India Gate to Parliament planned

Meanwhile, hours after the detention of Anna Hazare, his aides on Tuesday vowed to take out a protest march to Parliament House from India Gate on Wednesday in defiance of prohibitory orders clamped in the high-security area as part of a country-wide agitation against the police action.

“A protest march will also take place tomorrow from India Gate to Parliament House,” lawyer Prashant Bhushan, a key member of Hazare’s anti-graft campaign, told mediapersons in New Delhi.

He said protests have been planned across the country to vent their anger “peacefully and in a non-violent” manner against the detention of Hazare and his supporters.

‘There is no freedom for Delhi police’

Alleging that the action against Hazare was taken at the behest of the central government, Bhushan said, “The decision to detain Hazare or to deny permission for his protest were taken by Cabinet ministers. It is not the Delhi police which is taking these decisions. There is no freedom for Delhi police. It has become a puppet, an ornament in the hands of Central government.”

He said students of Delhi University will protest outside Chhatrasal Stadium, which has been turned into a special jail, and court arrest while another protest will be organised at Pragati Maidan from where the activists will take a march to Jai Prakash Narain Park.

Prohibitory orders have already been imposed in the localities mentioned by Bhushan.

Anna shares jail with Kalmadi, Kejriwal with Raja

In a related development, Anna Hazare will share space with A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi both accused in the high-profile scams in Tihar jail.

“Anna Hazare has been lodged in jail number four where Suresh Kalmadi and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar are lodged,” Deputy Inspector General (Tihar) R N Sharma told PTI in New Delhi.

Anna will be with his associates Rajesh, Suresh Pathare and Manish Sisodia in a cell of the prison which houses 2,231 inmates.

Former Indian Revenue Services officer Arvind Kejriwal has been lodged in jail number one with former Telecom Minister A Raja and MD of D B Realty Shahid Balwa are lodged.

Navin, Dada Thakare and Pathare were accompanying Kejriwal in the cells of this jail which has 1,543 prisoners.

All the eight were brought at 4.15 pm and were quietly sent to their cells.

Always Yors —- As Usual— Saurabh Singh

Source: Rediff

 

 

 

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WILL The Buck Stop — May be This One Works

Comments Off on WILL The Buck Stop — May be This One WorksPosted by on August 1, 2011

Olympic Gold Medalist of Corruption in recent olympics Mr. Suresh Kalmadi-led CWG fiasco became India’s shame; A Raja will have made the CWG affair look petty if it turns out that he has indeed caused national loss and brought global shame for India in the 2G scam as charged. Now B S Yeddyurappa and Janardhan Reddy are BJP’s A Raja, standing accused of being the shameful faces of mafia-like corruption. Now is the time to ensure that buck must stop.

The good news is that citizens are finally refusing to accept corruption as routine anymore and are demanding immediate accountability from those who they elect. Today, for the first time in independent India’s history five corporate CEOs, one IAS officer and several senior politicians find their new address as Tihar Jail No. 1. This could well be dubbed as India’s second  independence struggle, but this time it’s not against foreign rule, but for for freedom from corruption by our own rulers, and has begun in right earnest in 2010.

There are four immediate steps, which can be taken to control corruption.

First, the government must notify the rules for the confiscation of assets of corrupt officers in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988. This will allow the state to confiscate properties into an escrowed account where no claimant shows up, and if he does, then the tax laws can be invoked to inquire into the source of income for purchase of the property.

 Second, India must enact strong anti-perjury laws to stop frivolous, false complaints under oath; this would be a necessary step to prevent witnesses and complainants from frequent retractions which one currently observes in court.

Third, reversing the onus of proof. The accused must demonstrate why illegal cash
or real estate suspected to belong to them is not theirs or face confiscation. Today, the standard of evidence followed is cumbersome. Taking cues from the US system, one must trace the money trail rather than paper trails of files of decision-making.

Lastly, posting the right man for the right job. When one outstanding officer, Bishwajit Mishra, was posted in Bellary, he disciplined Reddy’s minions and recovered dues of Rs 20 crore in 10 days flat before he was transferred out.

Justice Santosh Hegde, U V Singh, Vipin Singh and their team have done yeoman service. They have painstakingly sifted through voluminous bank records of over 40 lakh entries, reconciling millions of transactions from one benami account to the other, one benami company to the other, till it reached the eventual beneficiary, as is shown in the report.

It recounts how Reddy started the ‘zero-risk system’ whereby he would use government officers to procure permits for other mining companies, ensuring safe transport of illegally mined ore to a destination of their choice. For a payment of 40% of the prevailing global market price of iron ore or sharing an equal amount in volume, he had created a different kind of single-window system – for bribes!

Companies that initially refused were later forced to sign zero-risk contracts with Reddy. Rs 40,92,88,860 was the amount paid as ‘risk amount’, Rs 62,92,36,810 was paid for illegal iron ore trading and about Rs 2,46,62,377 was paid to 617 officials in just five years.

This apart, the report says Rs 4,79,03,917 was paid to “G J Reddy Sir” by cheque (and many times more by cash). Now, the time has come to use the fullest extent of various penal provisions of the law to recover the money. Thus, perhaps for the first time, actual value has been imputed to the extent of bribery in just one sector of the economy, that too in one state.

It also appears from the report that Yeddyurappa brought enormous transparency into bribe-taking by having his sons take the bribe by cheque into a family trust, turning a blind eye to the rape of the treasury by his colleague and his own family.

He was clearly told in writing on file by his outstanding team of officers including the chief secretary and others that denotifying land after a Section 16(2) stage of Land Acquisition Act is violative of Supreme Court judgments. Yet, he brazenly went ahead, denotified it, sold it back to the same mining company and received a ‘donation’ by cheque! Despite L K Advani’s repeated sane counsel and warnings, the misdemeanour continued for he thought the buck would never stop. But it did.

 It remains to be seen that India’s second war for independence would spread further or soon the principal culprits will be forgotten, witnesses will be purchased or will ‘voluntarily’ withdraw their statements, bail would be granted by friendly judges, back-door deals for mutual protection will be struck across party lines, some elections will be won, and the same people will be back in power. And show  must keep going on and on.

These view reflect the agreement with views presented are vies of the author.

Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

 

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US Prez Barack Obama as well as The rest of the world, too, is having nightmares about a possible US debt default

1 CommentPosted by on August 1, 2011

Last Seven Sleepless Night of United States President Mr. Barack Obama

The Reason Behind the Phenomenon has been detailed below in Issue and It’s possible reason Format.

What is the crisis about?

Since 1917, the US Congress has stipulated that there has to be a statutory limit on US public debt (debt of US federal govt). This limit has been periodically raised and now stands at $14.3 trillion (95% of the US GDP). The US will hit this limit on Tuesday, Aug 2, unless Congress approves a fresh hike. But the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democrat-controlled Senate haven’t been able to work out a consensus

Why are they fighting?

The Republicans want any debt limit hike linked to deep cuts in govt spending. They want the increase to be effective for a year, with fresh discussions after that. The objective is obviously to make it an issue ahead of the 2012 presidential elections. Democrats favour tax increases and a one-shot raising of the ceiling. They are also opposed to any cuts that could jeopardize the economic stimulus and welfare payments

What happens if debt ceiling is not raised?

US govt can’t pay     employees, social security benefits, defence contractors, medical insurance bills and interest to lenders. Credit rating will plunge from top ‘AAA’ to bottom D’
What will be the global impact?

Govts, investors and businesses across the world will stop investing in US bonds. There will be panic in financial markets globally, with investors exiting equities for safe havens like liquid cash and gold

Does it affect India?

Indirectly, though much less than countries/blocs with big trade and debt dealings with US, like EU and China. Still, a worldwide downturn could hit Indian exports and FDI flows

When did this debt accumulate?

 Barack Obama (fighting recession, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) $2.4tn

George W Bush (wars and tax cuts) $6.1tn

Bill Clinton $1.4tn

George Bush $1.5tn

Ronald Reagan $1.9tn

Earlier $1tn

Whose money has the US taken?

Foreign countries (including China $1.2 tn) $4tn

US public and cos $3.6tn

US federal system $6.2tn

 

Always Your — As Usual Saurabh Singh

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