Vol: 28 | No. 10 | October 2020| R20 www.opinionexpress.in A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE Cover Story CORRUPTION CAULDRON It’s a way of life and an accepted evil in India, despite PM Modi’s best efforts Thank You BIPL %DODML,QIUD3URMHFWV/LPLWHG www.balaji.co.in www.dighiport.in editorial RNI UPENG01809 Volume 28, No 10 Institutional corruption kills EDITOR Prashant Tewari ASSOCiate Editor the soul of vibrant democracy Dr Rahul Misra orruption is so rampant in India that it has more or less become POLitiCAL Editor a way of life, an accepted evil, this is despite of the best efforts of Prakhar Misra Prime Minister Modi and his clean image. Now the mega political BUREAU CHIEF C Anshuman Dogra (DELHI), Diwakar Shetty scams are restricted but the crony capitalist have con- (MUMBAI), Sidhartha Sharma (KOLKATA), tinued their practice unabated leading to a slowdown Lakshmi Devi (BANGALORE ) DIvyash Bajpai (USA), KAPIL DUDAKIA (UNITED KINGDOM) in technological advancement, a lack of competition Rajiv Agnihotri (MAURITIUS), Romil Raj which could even border on collusion, and higher pric- Bhagat (DUBAI), Herman Silochan (CANADA), es for consumers. Dr Shiv Kumar (AUS/NZ), Nithya Ramesh (Fashion & Entertainment ) While we must give the present government some PRINCIPLE CORRESpondent credit for its implementation of the GST, we cannot Shakila Makandar ignore the fact that shadow economies lead to an un- CONTENT partner organized workforce, wherein workers face problems The Pioneer Pratham Pravakta regarding salaries, job security, contract agreements, LegaL AdviSORS working conditions, etc.An informal workforce hampers the growth of Vishnu Sharma Adv manufacturing firms through lower degrees of productivity. It should not Vijai Krishna Adv be surprising that India is a country which largely consists of an informal AdvertiSEMENT / MARKETING DireCTOR workforce, and the continuation of such which will have an effect on both Diwakar Shetty Gopal Chopra the quantitative and qualitative aspects of growth in the long run. ADMINIStrative DIRECTOR The present government was clear with its agenda when it came into Amit Pandey power six years ago, and to some extent the intention to rid society of cor- Bal Mukund Gaur ruption could be seen, namely through the two main economic reforms Corporate COMMUNICation / PR Sanjay Mendiratta that the government introduced (demonetisation and GST). The real- M M Upadhaya ity of the situation however reflects the plain and simple fact that either GraphiCS & DESign nothing has changed or it has merely gotten worse. The PNB scam is a Writeword Commuications (Studio 8) clear indication of this, and of course the situation has been reflected in Photographer the Transparency International’s global corruption index. A lower rank- Ratan Shukla ing for India compared to previous years is certainly a black mark on the OVERSeaS MARKETING OEMCL Ltd (Mauritius), OEHCL ltd (DUBAI) BJP government’s report card.Bofors Scam, Spectrum Scam, CWG Scam, AdvertiSEMENT / CIRCULation: Fodder Scam, FCI Scam, Coal Scam, Aircel Maxis Scam, National Herald Delhi / NCR - Hemant Sharma: D 239 Scam, Banking Scams of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Sande- Defence Colony New Delhi 110024 INDIA Tel – 011 49060350 sarabrothers have largely gone in sleep mode. Congress or BJP, fraudsters Mumbai - Vijay Kalantri – Advisor: New have mastered the art to over-power the system. ExcelsIor BUILDING, 6tH Floor, A.K. NAYAK All wings of the democracy are infected by corruption virus. Legisla- MARG, Fort, MUMBAI - 400001 (INDIA). tive, Executive, Judiciary and Media are overpowered by corporate money Phone: 91 - 22 - 22019265 / 22019160 FAX : 91-22- 22019764 / 22019760 power. Today, Lok Sabha elections are heavily funded by corporate money The magazine is published and printed by Rajiv hence the irrespective of the outcome, they decide the leadership issue. Agnihotri for Opinion Express Communications The prime posting in the key government positions for bureaucrats are & Entertainments Pvt Ltd, from Kumpu Graphic decided by third party in consultation with the ruling elites to secure their Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow & printed at Kumpu Graphic Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow – 226001 interest. In the recent times, appointment of Judges in the higher judiciary Tele : 91-522-4060880 & is pushed by vested interest groups to safeguard their interest and lastly, Nikhil Offset An ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified Company 223, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial Area Phase the national media is completely controlled by select big pocket corporate - I, New Delhi - 110020 Tele : 91-26812316, houses directly or indirectly to set up narrative that suits the interest of 26810097, 26810458, FAX:91 45792362 E-Mail : their business. The essence of democracy is crushed by the vested inter- [email protected], [email protected] Registered Office: OPINION EXPRESS HOUSE est lobbies and the common man on the street is left off-guard to secure 24-A Clyde Road, Lucknow-226001 (India) his basic rights guaranteed in the constitution. It is conclusively said that Phone: 91-522-4060880 Fax: 91-522-2208242 unless the nexus between the money and governance is smashed, com- # 24x7 mobility +91 9984437000 email: [email protected] mon citizen of the country will be treated as the consumer by the so-called All disputes are subject to be under jurisdiction of ruling elites and their super bosses and the dream of establishing an ideal courts in Delhi. democracy will remain an illusion. All content published may be subject to copyright, seek written permission to re-produce. Opinion —Prashant Tewari, Express is trade mark brand of Opinion Express Editor-in-Chief Communications & Entertainment Private Limited. OPINIon EXPRESS OCTOBER 2020 3 A Monthly News Magazine OCTOBER 2020 COveR STORY Graft Games India’s big corruption cases and its aftermaths P 5-12 PM Modi: The 14 planned rise to 50 Prime Minister Artist par The Genesis of excellence 20the Issue India and 26 China- The new 44 world order! Covid martyrs Himalayan in khaki 34 Rebellion The Deadly 2021 Virus And The 35 India Fit Cure 4 OCTOBER 2020 OPINIon EXPRESS Cover story GRAFT GAMES India’s big corruption cases and its aftermaths J Gopikrishnan ue to Covid-19 pandemic, many ongoing major corruption cases are de- layed and the Accused people might be relived. Be it 2G case appeal in Delhi High Court or former Finance Minister P Chidambaram involved bribery cases in INX Media and Aircel-Maxis deals or politically sensi- tive National Herald case in trial courts and its linked appeal cases by Dthe Accused persons Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Supreme Court on tax evasion and Herald House eviction. Now CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought daily hearing in the 2G case appeal in Delhi High Court citing the retirement of the current Judge Justice Brijesh Sethi on November 30. In corruption cases, what we see generally the backdoor games in the trial stage, after the public attention fizzles out later. Classic example is the Bofors case. When you look at the timeline of the past 22 years, politicians from Congress and BJP wanted to save their preferred accused persons in Bofors case. Congress leadership wanted to save OttavioQuattrocchi and BJP leadership of late 90s wanted to save Hinduja broth- ers. These two are the major kickback money distributors.Still the case filed by Adv. OPINIon EXPRESS OCTOBER 2020 5 Ajay Agarwal (BJP’s candidate against pending in Supreme Court. In 2018, ing to probe into the new angle aired Sonia Gandhi in 2014 Lok Sabha elec- CBI made a curious petition in Supreme in TV channel. Anyway Supreme Court tion in Rae Bareli) against the CBI Court to revive the case on a flimsy an- trashed CBI’s new flimsy funny petition closure report is pending in Supreme gle. The flimsy angle was based on a and still Ajay Agarwal’s petition pend- Court. Bofors scam was a turning point revelation in 2018 by retired Swedish ing. Don’t know why Ajay Agarwal lost in Indian politics which smashed out Police Officer in the newly launched interest. Congress party’s single party regime in Republic TV Channel. Fun is the same India. The scam linked to Prime Minis- CBI filed closure and facing the appeal After Bofors ter Rajiv Gandhi’s family collapsed the of Ajay Agarwal against closure in Su- After Bofors Scam, Jain Hawala prospectus of Congress party which was preme Court filing a petition based on Dairy Scandal shook the Country. Actu- having 425 MPs in Lok Sabha and got a Republic TV saying that they are go- ally this whole episode started with the reduced to 220 MPs in the 1989 Gen- eral Election, leading to the united Op- position from BJP to Socialists to Left parties led India’s first coalition Gov- ernment. Congress party’s downfall started with the exposes in Bofors scam from 1988. There were lot of twists and turns in Bofors case and Opposition lost steam on the matter after the assassi- nation of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991, leading to the re- turn of Congress party which remained in power up to 1996. Though BJP led Government came to power from 1998 to 2004, the situation has not changed. BJP’s Law Minister Ram Jethmalani became Advocate of Hinduja Brothers, who was part in the gang of middlemen in the Bofors deal. Next Law Minister Arun Jaitley was also not keen on the matter though he was the Additional Solicitor General in the case in 1989. Jaitley many times said publicly that he drafted the chargesheet in Bofors. Next Congress led UPA Government, simply forced CBI to close the case. Still the main petitioner Ajay Agar- wal’s appeal against CBI closure is 6 OCTOBER 2020 OPINIon EXPRESS arrest of a JNU student from Kashmir in connection with money trail from ter- ror linked outfits in late 1990 by Delhi After Hawala Diary scandal, two corruption cases Police.