The disclosure of a Russian kickback confirmed by the Interpol to the Central Bureau of Investigation published in The Economic Times (June 18, 2008) is likely to become a huge embarrassment for the ruling Congress Party preparing for an early winter election. The Party has not so far reacted to the disclosure. The report however says that a Congress national general secretary was interrogated by the CBI in this connection. Sources say that the general secretary, a former chief minister likely to play a crucial role in the Rajasthan election and two other top party officials are also involved in the kickback. There is no doubt the scandal has all the makings of a major political controversy.
The Congress will try to push the scam under the carpet. And this is not the first occasion when payoff revelations involving the Russian deals and the Congress party have surfaced. Congress like the Communists is a long-time beneficiary of Russian kickbacks. Only that after Valdimir Putin'sascent, the Russians have at least officially put an end to the long-standing government to party kickback pipeline. That according to sources is the reason for this indirect deal through two power firms.
According to the report, the Interpol confirmed to the CBI that Technoprom, a Russian company, paid a bribe of Rs 90 crore for the purchase of equipments for NTPC'sBarh project. The payoff meant for a top Congress leader was remitted in an account in London in the name of Ms Raveena Khurana, daughter of a retired vice admiral. It is now for the CBI to take the investigation further and reveal the whole scandal. The report says that the scandal pertains to 2005, when the late P.M. Sayeed was the union power minister. Following allegations of payoffs, in the purchase of equipments for the Rs. 8600 crore power project in Bihar'sBarh from the Russian company, the CBI had sought the Interpol help. Investigations conducted by the Interpol detected the kickback in the course of its inquiry into suspected terror account remittances in London. The kickback was deposited into the account of Ms Khurana, who is allegedly a close friend of two Congress general secretaries.
The report also points to allegations of the probe being politically calibrated at the instance of an AICC general secretary. Now with the Interpol confirming Ms Khurana'sinvolvement, the agency cannot drag on with the probe. Is it true that the agency was going slow on the investigation because of pressure from the ruling party? In fact this seems to be the case. The first move, freezing of Ms Khurana'saccount was made on April 20, 2006. The agency had conducted searches in many premises of the NTPC brass and Ms Khurana in the following month, says the report. But there has been practically no further action in the case after that.
The Russian kickback is likely to snowball into a major national scandal. There are sources who believe that after Russia became a free market economy the Congress party was finding it difficult to freely channelise its sleaze money from that country. Hence it had to take the indirect route of going through private individuals who were willing tools in the hands of Congress higher ups.
The Barh issue is not just about ethical improprieties but it also has something to do with the economic destiny of power-starved Bihar and its neighbouring states. The project has already been delayed by two years. Disputes between the Indian and the Russian company over alleged kickbacks have virtually stalled the project. The central government had directed the NTPC last week to renew contacts with the Russian companies in India and Moscow to sort out the differences at the earliest. The two Russian companies Technoprom Exports and Power Machines are now demanding a price escalation citing higher steel prices. The first company was to supply boilers to the project while turbines and generators were from Power Machines. It is clear that in the coming days the controversy is likely to hit headlines damaging the UPA image further.
