Playing Spy-Spy in North Block

NINE months ago Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister, wrote to Prime Minister complaining that some people broke into his office, installed bugging devices to spy on him and his financial moves. He requested that the serious breach of security may please be investigated. Now, when the Indian Express broke the so far secret story, hell broke loose. It is understood that the Congress party bosses put pressure on Pranab da to say that it was all trivia and no security lapse had taken place. Nine months back there was conception but now there was a miscarriage of truth and justice. Such are the ways of politics. The Congress party, presently heading the ruling coalition in New Delhi, played ducks and drakes. An all out attempt was made to sweep the issue under the carpet as possibly some bigwigs are involved with economic offenders denuding the country of billions of US dollars.

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

The guessing game is going on. Who could be the motivating man or woman to give a green signal to carry on a major operation like bugging the Finance Minister’s office? What was the aim of this dirty trick operation? Was it successful or did it end up in a failure?

In any case it was done in a rather amateurish manner. The professional spies or spy agencies do not leave any trace behind but in the present case bugging marks were left behind in as many as sixteen places. The Chakravyuh of planting bugging devices were around the sitting table and chat sofa of the Finance Minister himself. Thus it was crystal clear that the planner of bugging operation wished to find out some secret plan that Pranab da had up his sleeve. What secret plan the third party wished to know and why? Time alone will tell.

Another aspect highlighting itself is the rivalry among the cabinet ministers for gaining prominence and remaining in the good books of the Chairperson of the UPA, Smt Sonia Gandhi. As of now, Pranab Mukherjee is the unofficial number two in the cabinet and is the main trouble shooter of the Congress party. Among the up and coming cabinet ministers, the foremost place is presently given to P Chidambaram, Home Minister. By virtye of his office, he is in a position to fathom the depth of conspiracies and fish out the truth or weave a make-believe story to suit the party or the party boss. Never mind who is the Numero Uno in the cabinet and lives in 7, Race Course Road, official residence of the Prime Minister of India. What matters is the Congress party and it is the Queen Bee that rules the roost.

When the Finance Minister’s office was breached and its security jeopardised, a report should have been made to the Intelligence Bureau to investigate. However, in this matter the Finance Minister did not wish to go through the Home Ministry as he suspected MHA’s distant drums beating somewhere in the case and drumming up support for elements that were not so friendly with financial wizards. Pranab da relied on a private agency of detectives to reach the bottom of the espionage case. What came out of it he is holding close to his chest; even the southward wind is not whispering into PMO’s ears.

Apparently, there is a close and unsavoury involvement of someone who may not be the King or the Queen but is certainly a maker of monarchs. The mystery deepens further. Everyone is tight lipped. A new school of thought has been floated. Nothing will happen to the culprit, even if caught, because nine months have gone by and much water has flown down the Ganges.

WATERGATE OF INDIA

Washington DC had a major crisis called the WATERGATE that cost Richard Nixon his Presidency of the United States of America. It had begun with the detection of a simple theft in the party headquarters that had to be kept secret as President Nixon had a distant involvement with the case and that led him to tell lies and mislead the American people and other intelligence agencies.

The major opposition parties in New Delhi have termed the present theft as the Watergate of India. Those who are privy to the case in depth are of the opinion that the Home Minister had been mandated to find out the truth or otherwise of the Finance Minister order a direct  and in depth investigation in the case of a notorious tax-evader and Hawala racketeer, Hasan Ali Khan. Would the outcome of Ali Khan’s case affect the fortune of a political party or its leaders. Pray, who mandated the Home Minister to undertake such a hazardous action? The investigators are clueless on this point or they just go dry because no one is prepared to stick out his or her neck unless the proof against the high and mighty is convincing.

It is feared that billions of US dollars have been at stake and now those who are involved wish that they had kept away from it. Even if the Divine Knowledge is now available to political bigwigs and small fries, it is not going to make much difference to the evidence and outcome of it. It is just a case of too little and too late.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Much is at stake. Even the fair name of a political party that led the masses to freedom is at stake. After all, a lot of money has changed hands. Much of it was generated by the Hawala chain that is out and out illegal. At this point of time, names of big guns may not be revealed and they may be spared the Guillotine but not for long. Eventually the Banks and the governments themselves may announce names of culprits, both male and female, who sermonised to the common man from the pulpit but led a  different life at night not caring for the wealth of the nation. May be, one of these political personalities wished to know the outcome of the case of money laundering in advance and, therefore, resorted to bugging the office of the Finance Minister of India.

UPVAN  609, Sector 29, Noida – 201303.  

Email:   upvanom@yahoo.com