Crusade against corruption

Swami Ramdev Ji walks away with the cake as the one who has awakened the masses against corrupt classes. Now he has motivated Subramanian Swamy to join the movement against corruption and also head the Action Committee Against Corruption in India. Indeed it augurs well for the nation and common man hopes to live in a country free from shadow of corruption hereafter.

Subramanian Swamy is an economist from Harvard who minces no words in calling a spade a spade. He is the proverbial one-man army and runs a segment of a  political  party named the Janata Dal as its President. Mr Swamy knows Law of the land backwards and while exposing corrupt practices of the bigwigs of the government or political parties in power  in the States(erstwhile provinces), he is quite at home in interacting with the  hon’ble judges who constitute the bench. He has patience, perseverance and steadfastness to pursue his aim and reach the goal.

He keeps his LAKSHYA right in front of him and does not deviate. Consequently all his thoughts and action converge on the road to goal and chances of going astray are rare. It does not mean that he has not seen ups and downs in the legal career as an advocate of the Common Cause. Indeed he has. Nevertheless, having read the Bhagwad Geeta and practised the preachings of Yogeshwar Shri Krishna, he has  “Equanimity of Mind” that enables him to take the joys  and sorrows  of life in the normal stride. The litigation that he indulges in is indeed for the common good and all  his actions in and out of  a court of law are guided by principles and  practices of public interest.

PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

Mr Subramanian Swamy, with a razor-sharp mind and eagle-like observation could make out that something was  cooking in the Information Technology ministry of the Government  of India. The DMK political party always insisted on getting the I&T ministry both in UPA I and UPA II governments and failed not. The extra-ordinary  interest of the DMK was there because of the sale of soul, that is the Spectrum in 2G that was likely to fetch a lot of illegal money. Ministers of the DMK , Shri Murasoli Maran initially and later Shri A Raja made so much money in the sale that a major case of corruption lay bare for investigation. THE Spectrum was not auctioned to the highest bidder but sold quietly to cronies and those who greased the palm. Thus a large amount of money that should have been deposited in the State treasury was just quietly pocketed by Ministers belonging to the DMK party. Some illegal money taken from big international firms was given to TV channels owned by the DMK and close members of the family like Ms Kanimozhi, the youngest daughter of the DMK Supremo, Muthu Karunanidhi. It was an open loot of public money by those who were supposed to guard it.

Never before  in the history of this country was the State defrauded to such  a large extent and the bigwigs in the know of the loot just turned Nelson’s eye to it. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson UPA, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, P Chidambaram, Finance Minister and many more just kept quiet lest the boat of  the Coalition govt isknocked so wildly that it sinks. To save the govt from a fall, all bigwigs were prepared to  drown the  country  and the nation. When questioned he was so quiet about the issue, PM Manmohan Singh meekly said that he was merely following the Coalition Dharma. He conveniently forgot all about the Rashtra  Dharm and the  Raj Dharm and let the national economy sink. How disgraceful?

Now steps in Shri Subramanian Swamy. Under the  law and the procedure he filed an application before the Prime Minister of India seeking permission to prosecute the ministers and other officials for the Fraud  Extra-ordinary. Meek Manmohan Singh  sat over the first application for months and went deaf and dumb. He just ignored Subramanian Swamy’s application  because he or  the govt did not have courage to face the truth. The govt was in the dock because it had taken  bribes  and did not have the moral courage to face the  complainant, a public spirited ex-minister of the NDA govt. The ministers made untenable excuses why no reply was being given.

Subramanian Swamy knocked at the door of the Judiciary to seek justice that  he should be heard. The Delhi High Court dismissed his  petition  saying he had no locus standi. Shri Swamy went in appeal to the Supreme Court saying that his petition was pending with Prime Minister for  18 months and no reply was given at all. The dismissal by Delhi High Court was mala fide because his points in the petition went unanswered.

The Supreme Court of India not only heard the Petitioner but also delivered a comprehensive judgement upholding the  fundamental right of a citizen to seek permission of prime Minister to prosecute another minister or a  senior govt official. The competent authority must give permission within 4 months otherwise it would be presumed that permission was ipso facto granted. This indeed was a major victory of Subramanian  Swamy.

The submission of the petitioner that the govt of India, Ministry of Information and Technology had indulged into corrupt practices, accepted bribes and then  granted 122 licenses  for Spectrum. Their Lordships found merit in the submission of the petitioner and cancelled all 122 licenses granted by A Raja, the then Union Minister of Technology. Thus the entire Manmohan cabinet was found  guilty of corruption by the Supreme Court and its orders  were rescinded. The entire Manmohan cabinet was  shamed but they chose to  ignore it because they were as thick  skinned as a buffalo. Disgraceful show indeed..

CHIDAMBARAM IN THE DOCK

Flush with his success in the Supreme Court, Subramanian Swamy chose  to mount an attack on P. Chidambaram, Home Minister, for being privy to the decisions and acts or omissions of A Rajah, now in jail on criminal charges. When the case came up for hearing before the Supreme Court, their lordships  said that the jurisdiction for making Chidambaram an accused  or letting him  go off the hook lay with the trial  court and not the Supreme Court. The former must decide the case on merit without taking into consideration what their lordships had said.

The trial court, that is the CBI court found no criminality or conspiracy between Chidambaram and Rajah and, therefore, found no merit in the petition requesting Chidambaram be made a co-accused with Rajah and be lodged in jail. The trial court, therefore, dismissed the application of Subramanian Swamy.Unfazed the petitioner has made his intention of going in appeal to the High Court clear to press and public. Thus Chidambaram is not yet out of woods and the case would keep on hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles.

By

Chitranjan Sawant

Email:upvanom@yahoo.com