A brief look at the series of political scams that have hit the Congress-led UPA government so far.
The CASH-FOR-VOTE SCAM: Notes-for-vote or cash-for-votes scandal is an alleged scandal in which the United Progressive Alliance, the majority-holding parliamentary-party alliance of India, openly bribed Indian MPs in cash or currency-notes to the tune of multi-millions to survive its very first confidence vote on 22 July 2008 in the Lok Sabha after the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front withdrew support from the government over India approaching the IAEA for Indo-US nuclear deal.
The historic win was marred when three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers waved bundles of cash, 30 million rupees (715,000 dollars) amid accusations of vote-buying. A probe into the scandal was ordered and the committee of Lok Sabha on 30 July 2008 began its investigation into the cash-for-vote scam. The committee submitted its report to the Lok Sabha on December 15, 2008, after finding no evidence for bribery against the MPs Amar Singh and Ahmad Patel, thereby exonerating them.
The 2G SPECTRUM SCAM: The 2G spectrum scam involved officials and ministers in the Government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones. According to a report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General based on money collected from 3G licenses, the loss to the exchequer was Indian Rupee ₹176,379 crore (US$39.16 billion). The issuing of the 2G licenses occurred in 2008, but the scam came to public notice when the Indian Income Tax Department investigated political lobbyist Niira Radia.
politicians involved in this scam were Kanimozhi,Member of Parliament and daughter of DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidh, A. Raja, the Ex-Minister of Communications and Information Technology, M. Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu and the DMK chief.
The following prominent figures involved or heard in conversation with Radia:
* A. Raja, Former telecom minister
* Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha MP
* N.K Singh, Rajya Sabha MP
* Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons
* (Mention of) Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries
* (Mention of) Anil Ambani, Reliance Communications
* Manoj Modi, Reliance Industries
* Barkha Dutt, Group editor, English news, NDTV
* Vir Sanghvi, HT advisory editorial director
* M.K. Venu, Senior business journalist
* Tarun Das, Former CII honcho
* Prabhu Chawla, editor of India Today magazine
* Suhel Seth, management guru and columnist
* Rajdeep Sardesai, CNN-IBN.
BLACK MONEY SCAM: Hasan Ali Khan, a businessman charged with money laundering, has reportedly $8 billion of unaccounted money stashed in foreign bank accounts. The scrap dealer who became billionaire. His meteoric rise is stuff that movies are made of. Hasan Ali the scrap dealer who became a billionaire and one of the biggest tax evaders in the country. Famous for his lavish parties and horse racing, Hasan Ali accepts that he earned around Rs 30 lakh per year from his scrap business.
From a humble beginning as a punter at the Mahalaxmi race course in Mumbai, Khan was involved in several failed ventures: a travel agency, a car-wash plant that never took off, a metal trading company named Great Ventures that went bankrupt and a business in selling artifacts.
Hailing from Hyderabad, Hasan Ali made headlines after the amount he stashed in Swiss bank came to light. It was rumored that he had $ 8 billion stashed only in one Swiss bank account.
According to the data provided by the Swiss Banking Association Report (2006), India has more black money than the rest of the world combined. Indian Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt.
APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER P.J Thomas: The appointment of P.J Thomas as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner was quashed by the Supreme Court over a Kerala corruption scandal in which his name figures.
The former secretary in the telecom ministry, which is at the centre of the 2G spectrum storm, was appointed CVC on September 7 by a three-member panel consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the home minister and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. The BJP leader is said to have opposed the appointment.
The name of Thomas figures in the chargesheet filed in a palmoleine export case.
The decision comes after the Supreme Court’s strong observations that a chargesheeted official doesn’t qualify as an outstanding civil servant.
ADARSH HOUSING SOCIETY SCAM: Adarsh Housing Society, a cooperative society in Mumbai, was reserved for the war widows and veterans of the Kargil War. However, the flats were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to do with the Kargil War.
Commonwealth Games scam: Allegations of wrongdoing and corruption in the holding of the Commonwealth Games last year rocked the government. Total scam cost was Rs 36,000 crores or $8 billion scam! And this in a country where 400 million live below the official poverty line or simply put, in sub-human conditions.
Commonwealth Games Scam List
* Liquid Soap Dispensers rented for Rs 9,379 a piece or $206!
* Operating Expenses were Rs 1,628 crore finally.
* Medical equipment including tread mills have been bought or rented at 6-7 times their original price.
* Allegations that funds meant for India’s most deprived sections – the SC/ST – have been diverted to the games funds. Stealing from the poor to fund the elite’s luxuries?
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe has detected irregularities in various areas like merchandising, catering, CWG Village and accreditation. The agency has arrested officials of the Games’ Organising Committee on corruption and delays in the construction of main Games’ venues.