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General Forum: Current 'Affairs' | | Naidu's scam capital | |
| Naidu's scam capitalNaidu's scam capital
By Syed Amin Jafri
Anti-climax after the climax. This is what politics is all about.
Even as Chief Minister and Telugu Desam boss N Chandrababu Naidu was
gloating over his success on completing a record eight years in
office last week, little did he know what was in store for him.
The dramatic arrest of former minister and sitting MLA C Krishna
Yadav by the Maharashtra police in the multi-crore rupee fake stamp
paper racket has soured things in Naidu's party literally and
figuratively.
Naidu had least expected that the Krishna Yadav episode would
explode even as he had been losing his patience with Congress
leaders, targeting them for all the evils in the world and ticking
them off for indiscipline, factional squabbles and corruption.
Naidu took pains to project himself as Mr Clean and touted his
partymen as a disciplined lot who were miles away from the scourge
of corruption.
But his claims of providing a Smart (simple, moral, accountable,
responsive and transparent) government through better governance and
e-government initiatives have been undermined through various
scandals that surfaced periodically during his eight-year rule.
Ironically, the myriad surveys conducted by different agencies at
the behest of Naidu have pointed to rampant corruption in high
places, including the top echelons of the political executive and
the administration.
Multi-crore rupee scams that have hit the headlines under his benign
stewardship include Yeleru land compensation scam, counterfeit
currency racket, cyclone relief rice diversion scandal, various
cooperative urban bank scams, frauds by dubious finance companies
and chit funds, loot of Food for Work rice meant for drought relief
operations, scholarships scam and fake stamps paper racket. The list
goes on endlessly.
All these scams involved some Telugu Desam men or those close to the
party bosses. Beneficiaries of the massive loot under the Food-for-
Work programme happened to be yellow shirts of all ranks, including
some MPs, Ministers, MLAs and other functionaries.
The Administrative Staff College of India and Engineering Staff
College of India have unearthed thousands of cases of irregularities
during their sample audit of the works taken up under Food for Work
scheme.
The maximum number of urban bank collapses in the country occurred
in AP. Krushi, Charminar, Vasavi and Prudential Urban Cooperative
Banks are prominent examples.
Nowhere else have lakhs of people, including thousands of old
persons, retired officials and widows been deprived of their savings
amounting to crores of rupees by dubious finance companies which
were patronised by ruling party men.
The scholarship scam turns out to be the most glaring example of
loot of the public exchequer in the most brazen manner. In the name
of thousands of fictitious students enrolled in bogus colleges run
by self-styled promoters, a dozen scamsters — working in various
departments — defrauded the State exchequer to the extent of Rs 75
crore in a matter of four years while the hi-tech administration
failed to detect the loot in time.
Now, the evidence tumbling out of the police cupboards indicates
that the fake stamps paper racket has been flourishing in the State
for the last several years. The Hyderabad city police had booked a
case and even nabbed the kingpin of the racket Abdul Kareem Telgi in
August 1999.
After the case was entrusted to them, the CID officials `forgot' to
complete the investigations and file the chargesheet for four long
years till they were jolted by the arrest of Krishna Yadav.
Though the alleged links of Krishna Yadav were obvious to the top
political and police bosses, they feigned ignorance and apparently
tried to divert the probe towards lesser functionaries. But for the
Maharashtra police's painstaking efforts, the deeds of Krishna Yadav
would not have come to light.
The State police kept away from Krishna Yadav, despite complaints of
land-grabbing and other activities against him and instead booked
his younger brother in a petty case of extortion in July this year.
Krishna Yadav allegedly tried to evict a property owner through
strong-arm tactics but no case was registered.
Even as the names of some ministers and legislators were linked to
several scams, the Lok Ayukta disclosed in August that his office
was conducting preliminary investigations into allegations of
corruption and abuse of official powers by three ministers in the
Naidu cabinet and three other legislators. The Lok Ayukta would
conduct a public probe against the erring ministers/legislators if
prima facie evidence was found against them.
While reiterating his "unflinching commitment" to eradicate
corruption, Naidu has hardly been doing anything to contain the
menace in the top echelons of his administration. The IAS, IPS and
Indian Forest Service officers are treated as "holy cows" with the
government stonewalling the attempts of the Anti-Corruption Bureau
to bring 40-odd senior officers to book for amassing ill-gotten
riches and indulging in huge scandals.
The ACB, no doubt, has been pursuing a vigorous drive against the
corrupt staff at the middle and lower levels with most of the
corrupt officials booked in recent times happening to be crorepatis
though drawing salaries of a few thousand rupees a month.
But there is nothing that the ACB can do to catch the all-India
services officers. Even the Income Tax Department is keeping mum
after preparing dossiers on a dozen such officers.
Perhaps, if the Naidu government announces general amnesty and a
voluntary disclosure scheme for all-India services officers and
other functionaries to regularise their illegally acquired assets,
the State would be saved the trouble of approaching the World Bank
for assistance for all and sundry schemes. As a token punishment for
their wrong-doing, the government can post these officers to "non-
focal" or loopline posts which are not lucrative enough for them.
Due to lack of cooperation from the State agencies, more
particularly the police, the Central departments are unable to bring
the culprits to book.
The Department of Company Affairs, for instance, is unable to pursue
the cases against the promoters of several bogus finance companies
who vanished after raising
Rs 105 crore from the capital market by way of fixed deposits or
initial public offers of shares in the last few years.
Naidu, who loves to call Hyderabad as the IT, biotech, healthcare,
pharma, tourism, entertainment and cultural capital of India, needs
to add another key word to his list. Truly, under his rule,
Hyderabad has emerged as the "scams capital" of India.
Posted by: Mr. Konu Venkat At: 10, Sep 2003 3:53:23 PM IST
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