We have this habit of jumping the gun. Yesterday, when the story
about the helicopter deal scam first broke, our over-zealous TV anchors (one in
particular!) immediately put up a panel of UPA bashers and all but declared the
PM, the Defence Minister and all who matter in the UPA guilty. Today, as the
issues are becoming more clear (why does Indian media not demonstrate a little
patience?), it must be worrying to the BJP that their attacks on the Congress
might be boomeranging. In fact, it might not be Bofors 2 as the party might
like it to be called; it could very easily be called Coffingate 2. The same Mr.
George Fernandes who had earned himself a reputation in the original one might
be the one responsible at least party for the scam!
Here are some of the facts that have emerged in the papers
today.
Firstly, the Swiss middleman who reportedy made 20 million euros
from the Italian company has confessed to investigators that he had met then
Air Chief Marshal (ACM) SP Tyagi “6-7 times” to discuss the technical
specifications of the helicopters. He also said that of the 20 million euros he
got, he had sent 12 million euros to Tyagi’s cousins in Delhi. All this is
there in the investigation report filed by the Italian investigators with their
court….but our media has this unique habit of shooting first and checking facts
later. Had they done their homework, their reports yesterday might have been very
different.
Of course ACM Tyagi has a story of his own and this is what
makes the plot so interesting. As TV anchors shot their guns (and mouths) off
last night stressing on the “change of specs” and the implications of
corruption there, and the BJP joined them in chorus, ACM Tyagi pointed out that
the specs were in fact changed in 2003 during the NDA rule! It was George
Fernandes who was the Defence Minister then. As per ACM Tyagi, it was an NDA
cabinet decision to dilute the specs. Normally, I would not question the wisdom
of the cabinet in changing specs, as these are often required keeping ground
realities in mind, but since it was the BJP that alluded to this being proof of
being “caught red handed”, I am compelled to apply the same standards to the
BJP now. Net net, by the BJP’s own logic, its cabinet was corrupt, and the
change of specs reflects corrupt intent. Clearly, the BJP was not prepared for
this, as Nirmala Seetharaman, the usually feisty BJP spokesperson, was very
muted in her TV appearance last night. Usually, she has the habit of
immediately butting in when the Congress spokesman is speaking, but last night,
she was patient, waiting for her turn to come. And all she “demanded” was that
the UPA government “give an explanation”! A far cry from the usual “Government
must resign” rhetoric the party is used to. Give it another few days and the
BJP will be running with its tail between its legs.
Jumping the gun – or call it journalistic immaturity – is visibly
obvious in India. Our competitive media landscape forces our channels to forget
that these are mere charges that the Italian investigators have made. The
courts there haven’t heard the charges, nor the defence’s counter-points. They
are far from ruling on the subject. For all we know, they may acquit someone
and charge someone else in the deal. As far as Indian media is concerned, the
charges made by investigators is the time when the case closes. It’s time when
the anchors pronounce the verdict. This is an expression of our “freedom of
speech”!
There is also the “minor” point of proving that Tyagi’s cousins
and Tyagi himself are “connected” in this deal. If ACM Tyagi’s involvement has
to be proved, then someone has to show that money flowed from the brothers to
him. A money trail will have to be found. If it was a cash payment, then it may
have been deposited somewhere, or siphoned off abroad through a hawala
transaction, or something may have been bought with it, or whatever. It would
definitely leave a trail behind. The CBI should find that trail out. Just
because they are cousins is not enough in a court of law.
Someone on the TV channel made a point that “the CBI is the
wrong agency to probe this matter”, hinting that the CBI kowtows to the
Congress wishes. Well, that someone may want to read the TOI today – the CBI is
screaming that the UPA is stalling Coalgate by delaying giving it the documents
required. Let’s decide once and for all whose side is the CBI on!
What is clear is that there is absolutely ZERO linkage to any UPA
minister so far. It appears to be a case of corruption in the defence forces.
Someone altered the specs to suit this Italian company. That someone was
someone in the armed forces (and in the NDA cabinet), not in the UPA ministry.
The only thing linking a minister in the UPA to this bribery case is the
imagination of some of our TV anchors!
Of course the most entertaining part of this entire escapade is what
I call the “emphatic desperation” of the BJP. They are so so grateful to god
that this company is an Italian company! If one were to follow the BJP logic,
India should stop dealing with Italy in all spheres till Sonia Gandhi (an
Italian by birth) remains in India! So maybe its time to say goodbye to
Ferrari, Gucci, Prada, Armani, D&G, Bvlgari, Benetton, Versace…..and of
course Martini! Kicking this last brand out will find a lot of favor with the keepers
of “bharatiya sanskriti”…..the sadhus that support the BJP!
The real truth is that its premature to comment on the
helicopter scam. I would not be surprised if corruption was detected in the
deal. But the real culprits might well be the bosses in the armed forces. This
corruption precedes the UPA; in fact it has existed from time immemorial. There
is nothing that implicates the UPA….
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