Modi-Guilty; Kamalnath-Frivoulous charge !!!

Dear Sir,

Reference your Edit  “ Frivolous methods to acheive justice “  – (TNIE – 09 Apr).

A report in the Mumbai based daily ‘Daily News & Analysis’ in its edition of 08 Apr 2010, and entitled : ” Ghost of anti-Sikh riots back to haunt Kamal Nath “, stated : ” Senior advocate Harvinder Singh Phoolka, founder of the Citizen’s Justice Committee which has been fighting for justice for the riot victims, told DNA, “Yes, there was no case registered against Kamal Nath in any Indian court in relation to the ‘84 riots but there was enough evidence against him.”

Again. ” Phoolka, who in his book When a Tree Shook Delhi wrote extensively about the alleged involvement of Nath in instigating the riots, claIms that the minister was amongst the first politicians, “even before Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler”, to lead the riotous mobs at Gurudwara Rakabganj in the national capital.

Further, ” Phoolka claims that the Nanavati Commission, which enquired into the anti-Sikh riots, had questioned Nath, who told the commission that he was present at Gurudwara Rakabganj when the riots broke out but claimed that he was dispersing the mobs and preventing them from any violent activity. “The Nanavati Commission strangely claimed that it found Nath’s submissions vague and that he had failed to explain the reason of his presence at the riot site. However, overlooking the body of evidence, the Nanavati Commission chose to give Nath the benefit of doubt,” Phoolka said. “

In the foregoing light, it is intriguing, to say the least about your paper springing to the defence of the minister !! But when it comes to Modi & Gujarat – “GUILTY, YOUR HONOUR”. Never mind the fact that no FIR has been filed !! But the SECULARISTS said so – ACCEPT IT OR ELSE!!

Digressing slightly, the ‘veteran’ journalist M.V. Kamath had written many years ago about how journalists do not have a historical perspective on various national issues. His lament
then was, that the media was not recruiting students of History, and instead going in for students of Literature!! That shows in your edit !!

In 1989, your then ‘undivided paper’ – ‘The Indian Express’ – with Arun Shourie as its Editor, having been reinstated by Ramnath Goenka, published an ‘investigative report’. It was
entitled : ” An M.P. and Two Accounts “. Arun Shourie in his ” These Lethal, Inexorable Laws : Rajiv, His Men & Regime” (ASA) – (1992), wrote :

” On an Article, ‘An M.P. and Two Accounts’, I stated that the Enforcement Directorate had concluded that a firm of Kamal Nath, a Congress (I) M.P., had been maintaining two foreign accounts ILLEGALY; that the Directorate had raided the premises of the firm and the residences of the owners etc; that officials had recovered CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE; that the raid had been ABORTED ON ORDERS FROM DELHI; and that the officers had been made to return the evidence they had gathered. I [Arun Shourie] had volunteered to furnish evidence of all this to Parliament or any body it might constitute to examine the question. Kamal Nath proclaimed innocence. The matter went to a forum completely
dominated by the Congress (I) – The Privileges Committee”. (pp-139)

Arun Shourie on behalf of the ‘Indian Express’, had produced seven documents to the Privileges Committee. The ‘ vital ‘ seventh document and marked ‘Top Secret’ was a report by Mr.M.L. Bapat, the then Asst.Director of Enforcement, who had led the raids on Kamal Nath’s firm. Excerpts from three paragraphs from the report:

– ” From the residence of Sri Vinod Pai a Fixed Deposit advice, account No. 1519944 – A showing deposit advice, account for $12,560.07 maturing on 30 Mar 1984  issued by Lombard North Central Plc., 17 Burton Street, London was seized. Sri Pai was questioned with ref. to the Fixed Deposit and a statement was recorded from him wherein he had admitted that while he was working in Dubai he maintained the above FD and he had not reported the existence to the RBI. Since this FD was to mature on 30-03-’84, the deposited amount of $12,560.07 would have amounted to a bigger amount till date”.

– ” The searches in the above mentioned three premises of EMC Steelal Ltd. had been continuing. During the course of the search we have come across existence of two foreign currency accounts mentioned in the Source reports with the banks in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. We have also come across certain commissions received by EMC but not repatriated to India. We have come across transfer of funds from USA to Dubai which they kept in Fixed Deposit. We have also come across certain payments made to parties on behalf of EMC. We have further come across transactions revealing under invoicing of exports”.

– ” When searches were going on, there was call from Spl. Director of Enforcement at about 5:30 p.m. on 31-05-85. Since this was received by AEO, Dy.Director wanted to confirm it by telephoning the SDE himself. Therefore a call was put through to the Spl.Director (Sri D.C. Kohli) at about 7:00 p.m. on 31-05-85 when the searches were still continuing. On advice from the Special Director, the searches in the premises of M/S EMC Steelal Ltd. and in other three places referred to above have been withdrawn and NIL panchnamas in three places have been drawn”.(pp-144-145)

This goes to the ‘Privileges Committee of Parliamnet’. A Congress (I) dominated forum. Result foregone !! Only thing – THEY COULD DO NOTHING TO SHOURIE. However, the
‘ Note of Dissent ‘ by three members of the Privileges Committee – Mr.Somnath Chatterjee, Mr.V.S. Krishna Iyer and Mr.K.Ramachandra Reddy – and their anguished plea is worth noting:

” When it became clear that the Ministry of Finance had sent to the Committee a document, which on the face of it called for further clarification, we were prevented from going to
the bottom of the matter. We were also prevented from ascertaining how the RBI had suddenly taken up a different attitude, although it was earlier decided that the RBI would be called upon to give clarification on the question”.(pp-160)

Again. ” As mentioned earlier, Shri Shourie gave a list if seven documents, which he wanted to be summoned by the Committee. The documents were duly summoned by the Committee. But we are unhappy, to say the least, that initially we were told that the documents would not be given to the Members of the Committee [All of them – M.P.’s!!]. – – -. We protested and still protest against such practice, specially when the documents had nothing to do with the security and integrity of the country”. (pp-160)

Hopefully, the TNIE can see the ‘WHITEWASH” to save Kamal Nath. The famous jurist Nani Palkhivala during the course of his lecture at the Birla Auditorium in the mid-70s, dwelt on the English alphabet “C”. He stated that this alphabet was the lead alphabet, among others, for the words: ” CASH “; “CRIMINALS”; “CORRUPTION”; and after a pregnant pause – “CONGRESS”. The auditorium errupted to thunderous applause. I was there also !!

We ” loved ” the India Express, yesteryears for its ‘ fearlessness ‘ and ‘commitmnet to TRUTH’. Its ‘founding father was a ‘nationalist to the core’, as HIS words to Arun Shourie, on his reinstatement as the Editor (1986) shows: ” Tum desh ki sevaa karoge, main yeh janta hoon. Mere liye meraa akhbaar usi seva ka saadhan hai. Lauto, aur desh ke liye jo chaaho karo”. (You [Arun Shourie] will serve the country, I am aware of this [fact]. For me, my paper is the instrument for the same service to the country. Please return, and for the sake of the country, do as you please).

WHO WILL TELL THAT TO THE “TNIE” in its present form?

We are aware of the fact that we live in the era of ” Paid News “. As Sevanti Ninan wrote in the ‘ People’s Daily of Chennai ‘ aka – The Hindu on 28 Mar 2010 – ” the age of innocence is
over. Learn to live with it “. We are also aware of ‘Business Models’ in running newspapers!

Which makes one wonder, despite Palkivala’s ‘C” – WHAT’S THE QUID PRO QUO FOR THIS EDIT ???!!!

JAI HO

VANDE MATARAM

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