Ducking probe to save bribe taker

The CBI  has registered a preliminary enquiry in the Rs. 3,600 crore AgustaWestland  chopper deal. The investigating agency, in its report, named Air Chief Marshal (retired)  SP Tyagi, as well as his cousins Julie Tyagi and Dosca Tyagi, as having received  kickbacks from AgustaWestland.. Interestingly there has been no move to find out how  Abhishek Verma’s wife had managed to entertain a section of  arms dealers, who were  connected to this deal. There has also been no answer how come one of the arms dealer  had access and meeting with the a top Congress leader, who has nothing but his surname  to flaunt ? Questions were also being raised to as why the government did not order any  probe when an escrow agent with links to arms dealers , C. Edmonds Allen sent an  email to the the defence minister, A.K. Antony of  the chopper scam. Questions were also  being as to why the government did not order a probe on how Allen got hold of such classified  documents.  Questions were being why the government is not coming out clear on the  beneficiaries. A.K. Antony is expected to be one of the rare honest politician. But Antony  is a Congressman, whose hands and feet and mouth are tied by an invisible cord.  Antony, despite enjoying a reputation of an honest poltiician has nothing done to resign  over such a “shame” (as he described the scam). Not that Antony is is being accused of  being shameless but his own integrity is now being questioned. Is he just another stooge,  another puppet on a chain?

Scamsters All

Whiewashing scams, defending people being accused of  severe crime has become a  routine for the UPA-2. The government defended Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J.  Kurien, who has been under attack in connection with the Suryanelli rape case, with  Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath saying that he had never been an accused in the  case, which has been remanded by the Supreme Court to the Kerala High Court for  rehearing of the appeal. “A section of the media and some political parties have sought to  drag Rajya Sabha Deputy chairman Prof. Kurien’s name into this controversy. It is  emphatically stated that Prof. Kurien has never been an accused in the case which is called  the Suryanelli case, which has been remanded by the Supreme Court to the Kerala High  Court for rehearing of the appeal,” he said in a statement made in the Rajya Sabha.  The  CPI(M) MP, Sitaram Yechuri however retorted saying “ “Let Kurien come and defend  himself. We cannot accept that the executive defend the office of legislature and  undermine the sanctity of the Constitution.” .

Rae Bareli Express

Presenting his maiden railway budget, the railway minister, Pawan Kumar Bansal tried to  please his deities in the Congress.   He made multiple announcements of projects in the  home constituency of Congress President Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli), new rail lines and  projects for the adjacent constituency held by her son and Congress Vice-President Rahul  Gandhi. Bansal also announced some key projects for his own constituency, Chandigarh.  Some of  the projects announced for the constituencies held by Gandhi family, Rae Bareli  and Amethi include  a new forged wheel factory at Rae Bareli for which an MoU has been  signed with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd;  a doubling of the rail line between Rae Bareli and  Amethi; new rail lines for Faizabad-Lalganj via Akbarganj, Maharajganj and Rae Bareli;  new express trains (Kolkata-Agra, weekly) via Amethi, Rae Bareli, Mathura; a Lucknow- Varanasi Express via Rae-Bareli (six days a week). The list goes on. Soon after Bansal  had taken over as Railway Minister on the exit of the Trinamool Congress from the UPA,  a long-pending rail coach factory in Rae Bareli was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi. Before  begining his speech, Bansal toeing the line of dedicated followers said :  ”For giving me  this opportunity, I am grateful to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the UPA  Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, and pay my homage to the sacred memory of Rajiv Gandhi,  who introduced me to the portals of this highest temple of Indian democracy.” Amen.

Dada Didi

She is not called “Hitler didi” for nothing. The “Fuhrer” of the state called West Bengal,  Mamata Banerjee, has brought down the hammer to silence any criticism of  her or her  goernment yet again. She has banned a Bengali film – “Kangal Malsat” for  allegedly trying  to “ridicule her swearing -in-ceremony” and her famous Singur movement.   The review  committee stated : “The way the departure of the Tata Company was shown in the film  seemed to malign or at least look down upon a significant movement of civic society.” The  review committee under the chairmanship of filmmaker Harananth Chakraborty, who is  considered to be close to Ms Banerjee and works as a bridge between the state  government and the artistes of Tollygunje, observed: “The way in which the swearing-in  ceremony was shown, seems to portray distorted history. It may hurt the sentiments of the  people of West Bengal and create a sensation (violence).” Cartoons, books, any comments  on against her in the social media are not tolerated by the Bengal administration. Earlier, the state government had also clamped down on the  screening of  ”Teen Kanya” (Three Girls) for portraying the controversial Park Street rape  and also the story of the IPS officer reminding the audience of Damayanti Sen, the  detective department, sacked by Ms Banerjee.