Vol 20 I No 10 October 2012 l Rs 20 www.opinionexpress.in A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE COVER STORY SAFFRON IN MODI FABRICS MODI IS THE FRONTRUNNER TO LEAD BJP'S CHALLENGE IN 2014 POLLS. WILL THE FAMILY LET HIM? RNI UP-ENG70032/92, Vol 20, No 10 Chidambaram caught EDITOR PRASHANT TEWARI ASSOSIATE EDITOR in sectrum web Dr RAHUL MISRA POLITICAL EDITOR he dark clouds of the 2G scam and the repeat- PRAKHAR MISRA ed evidence being given by A. Raja and other ac- BUREAU CHIEF cused of his tacit involvement and other acts of GOPAL CHOPRA (DELHI), VEELAAS omission and commission are menacingly clos- KENJALE (MUMBAI), SOUMEN ACHARYA T ing in on Chidambaram. Chidambaram's note as- (KOLKATA), DIVYASH BAJPAI (USA), KAPIL sumes significance in the light of Janata Party DUDAKIA (U.K.) RAJIV AGNIHOTRI President Subramanian Swamy's petition in the (MAURITIUS), ROMIL RAJ (DUBAI), HER- Supreme Court saying that the Central Bureau of MAN SILOCHAN (CANADA), YASHWANT AMIN [AUS/NZ] Investigation (CBI) should investigate CONTENT PARTNER Chidambaram's role in the 2G scam. Swamy alleges that Pratham Pravakta Chidambaram "fixed" spectrum rates along with Raja. The note shows that even if the LEGAL ADVISOR two didn't collude to fix the prices, Chidambaram wanted to treat it as a "closed chap- ASHOKA KUMAR THAKUR,GAURAV ter". BHATIA He is losing his cool, and more importantly, losing his carefully clipped English ac- MARKETING DIRECTOR cent to its more indigenous roots more often. And like his colleague Digvijay Singh, DIWAKAR SHETTY his mind seems to be disintegrating to a stage where he has started talking gibber- ADMINITRATION DIRECTOR ish. Take this, for example: in reply to the BJP demand for his resignation for his in- BAL MUKUND GAUR volvement in the 2G scam, Chidambaram claims that the BJP is targeting him since CORPORATE COMMUNICATION QUEENIE SINGH he initiated a probe by the NIA into Hindu terror. Can any rational person see the connection be- GRAPHICS & DESIGN On the positive note, he GREY CELLS tween the two? ONLINE PRESENTATION Chidambaram's special financial skills have di- is unfairly criticized for AMIT SONI versified into electoral politics also. He has the dis- his handling of home PHOTOGRAPHER tinction of having been declared defeated in the ministry but to his credit, K P SINGH last Lok Sabha election, after which he galvanized OVERSEAS MARKETING his special skills and local machinery, in particu- he has performed better OEMCL(Mauritius), OEHCL (DUBAI) lar, a data entry operator, and doctored a margin- than his predecessor al victory on the recount. That is quite a record for ADVERTISEMENT / PR / CIRCULATION Shivraj Patil by far. The fraud. Sadly, he has to confront with hostile state VINAY GOYAL terror attacks are drasti- government led by Amma that won the recent as- DHRUV JANAK & CO. R -51 BASEMENT, cally reduced, J&K situa- RAMESH PARK,LAXMI NAGAR,DELHI-92 sembly election in his home state. And can one for- TELE: +919871232631 FAX: 011-22056817 get how the Indian Bank was cleaned up and left tion looks under control, with only non-performing assets thanks to him and Telengana is a political VIJAY KALANTRI - ADVISOR his Tamil Maanila buddies? NEW EXCELSIOR BUILDING, 6TH FLOOR, Celebrity lawyer Ram Jethmalani recently hur- issue hence he should be A.K. NAYAK MARG, dled serious charges in an article stating - Being blamed for the mess... FORT, MUMBAI - 400 001 (INDIA). Finance Minister in the UPA government was his PHONE : 91 - 22 - 2201 9265 / 2201 9160 finest hour. He could fiddle around with share markets, capital markets, banks, fi- FAX : 91-22- 2201 9764 / 2201 9760 nancial instruments, such as, securities, participatory notes, tax treaties, not to speak of spectrum sale, and use his extraordinary innovative powers of black money The magazine is published and printed by magic to plunder our country with complete impunity. He assiduously cultivated the Rajiv Agnihotri for Opinion Express Communications & Entertainments Pvt Ltd, media with his clipped English accent (that led him down, now and then), occasion- from 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow And printed al freebies, and sustained shadows of the Enforcement Directorate that he com- at Kumpu Graphic Press. manded. On the positive note, he is unfairly criticized for his handling of home ministry but EDITORIAL & CORPORATE OFFICE to his credit, he has performed better than his predecessor Mr Shivraj Patil by far. The OPINION EXPRESS HOUSE terror attacks are drastically reduced, J&K situation looks under control, Telengana 24 - A Clyde Road, Lucknow-226001 (India) Ph: 91-522-4045728/4060880 is a political issue hence he should be blamed for the mess, North East is looking Fax: 91-522-2208242 fragile though manageable. We must understand that India's internal security is a 24x7 mobility +91 9984437000 Email: [email protected] huge challenge with micro dynamic changes every hour. We have open borders with Online presentation - Pantel Technologies many hostile states making the internal issue more complex. But his handling of pub- lic standoff with Pranab Mukherjee, Baba Ramdev mid night assault, Anna Hazare All content published may be subject to copyright, unexpected arrest prior to his historic fast, booking Subramanium Swamy for anti mi- seek written permission to re-produce. Opinion nority article, open support to suspended Gujrat cop Sanjeev Bhat questions his po- Express is trade mark brand of Opinion Express Communications & Entertainment Private litical intelligence. Limited. — Prashant Tewari OCTOBER 2012 COVER STORY SAFFRON IN MODI FABRICS Modi Is The Frontrunner To Lead BJP's Challenge In 2014 Polls. Will The Family Let Him? P6-21 IN NEWS BUDGET 2012 P5 POLITICS FREEDOM FOR EGYPT P49 P22 ENTERTAINMENT DESI HEART BEATS IN UK Economy: Libya unrest drives oil Lifestyle: Traditional ways to tackle P29prices in the world P39stress of daily life World Forum: Middle east unrest to Education: Japan emerges as a new P32hamper India’s growth story P43hub of global education Diplomacy: Obama sets sight on Post Script: GOPIO honour list P38India, China for US recovery P50 recognises achievers REFLECTION Francis Lobo s I reflect on my past life, I am faced with the harsh reality that success has eluded me for three Aquarters of a century. Even in the field of Corruption, which has been the subject of study by me for over half a cen- tury, I have been a failure. I haven't amassed a fortune through this route though it looks so easy, nor have I become a celebrity, like Anna Hazare, by exposing and fighting this phenomenon. However, since the whole nation is agitated on the issue, I am motivated to add my voice. Like pollution, which is the right materi- al in the wrong place, Corruption is the right wealth in the wrong hands used for the wrong purpose. The first lesson in Corruption is that money / wealth must first be created. Governments have learnt the art of making money --- they make it by the process called "Printing". The rising prices have nothing to do with improved quality, value or performance --- nothing whatsoever. It is connected with the per- formance and overtime work put in at the government printing press. To prevent the money put into circulation from causing in- Right wealth in flation, the governments take it out again by way of taxes. Fortunately in India we are more enlightened than in USA where the TEA [Taxed Enough Already] Party has wrong hands emerged to prevent the government from raising taxes. The Indians take out the ex- doesn't match up to the expectations you religion are: cess money in circulation themselves. The face the possibility of your voluntary offer- " All your sins past and future will old practice of hiding this under the mat- ing being sarcastically turned down. be forgiven if you get elected or work for tress has long since gone out of vogue and India has been the birth place of many the government. Nobody can accuse you the tax havens, which have emerged religions --- There are hundreds of reli- of any wrong doing. You have been raised around the world, enable the smart Indian gions practiced by the tribals and thou- above the mortals of this world. to keep it out of the hands of the govern- sands of Gods. There are also the well es- Unfortunately entry is restricted to just a ment, which would in any case waste it. tablished religions of Hinduism, Buddhism few and there is a heavy price to be paid to Modern education teaches the basic get admission to the club. You must show principle that anything and every service Like pollution, which is this ability even before you can even at- can be converted into one, common, un- tempt to get membership. derstandable unit MONEY. From earliest the right material in the " Your behavior will never catch up times we have seen that Sex has been a wrong place, Corruption is on you. It will take an eternity before any- money spinner when apples were used as one can find out what you really did or did- the medium of exchange. But today even the right wealth in the n't do. The truth will be buried under a the care and education of children and wrong hands used for the mountain of documents some of which senior citizens call for a lot of money. So may disappear and disintegrate with time. money has to be generated to meet all wrong purpose. The first " The tax havens are temples / one's needs. In the good old days we pitied sanctuaries which no one can violate to the poor government servant for the pit- lesson in Corruption is that discover what you have hidden there.