DMK

2G scam continues to haunt the Government – SC asks why PM did not follow through

The 2G scam continues to haunt the Congress party. For quite some time, the Congress evaded that there was any issue with the 2G scam issue, claimed that this was a policy decision (with the honorable purpose of reducing the telecom rates), that the CAG was off its rocker, that the Supreme Court had no locus standi. Next, the Congress tried to separate itself from the scope of the scam by claiming that all this was the work of a rogue minister, A Raja; the PM was helpless since he had to depend on the minister, was bound by the challenges of coalitions politics, and besides the poor PM was a single man, how could he monitor everything that was happening (thankfully, the PM did not repeat this particular line, else the charge of being a useless and non-caring PM would have stuck to his plate).
For quite some time, the Congress believed that this will work, that eventually the case will lost its media attention, and the CBI will be persuaded to back off or make the case much weaker (which is what the CBI is already being accused of). However, when other people smell blood, then it is difficult to stop them. So, the media is forever on the case, and Subramaniam Swamy is dedicated to targeting some of the senior members of the Congress in the 2G scam rather than be satisfied with the scalp of A Raja.
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The 2G scam – Internal fighting within the Congress refuses to die …

It seems so funny now. During the first 5 years of its reign, the UPA – 1 seemed very weak, buckling down to its allies for so many issues, until the Government finally developed some spine and withstood the left parties over the nuclear deal with the United States. It managed to get a majority for this purpose through some fine tuned voting in Parliament, with a lot of suspicion that some of the vote was bought. So, there was some relief when the Congress came into power with an enhanced majority in the form of the UPA2, and less dependence on allies. In this new form, the Congress promised to make things much better, starting with a 100 day plan to do much more. What is funny is, that after this increased number of seats, the Government seems to be in more of crisis situations, almost during the whole time of its existence.
The 2G scandal was simmering ever since Raja distributed a new seats of telecom license, and after the CAG report and the admonishment by the Supreme Court, the Government has been choking on the 2G scam ever since, sinking lower and lower in public opinion. Till some time back, the Government seemed to believe that it was able to get over the impact of the scandal, by getting Raja sent to jail, and by pretending that it was all a matter of the DMK and the Congress had nothing to do with the criminality committed by an alliance partner.
The first shock to the Congress came from the PAC report (headed by Murli Manohar Joshi), which severely castigated the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister for letting the 2G scam happen. The Congress managed to get a majority on the PAC which put the report in a limbo.
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What will the DMK do now ? – It’s ministers are under trouble and clan daughter is in jail

The DMK is in a huge amount of trouble. Everything was dependent on the DMK (in alliance with the Congress) winning the elections in Tamil Nadu; after all, the DMK has investigations against several of their leaders. Just 2 years back, the DMK was in a very good position, Jayalalitha was still sulking after her previous assembly election loss, the party had ministers in the center in good portfolios, was considered a good and stable part of the ruling coalition. The elections sops by the party in the previous election had caused it to believe that a grateful electorate would bring them in power again.
And suddenly, the 2G scam burst in the shape of a huge bomb that blew everything away. Well, slightly incorrect, the 2G scam did not come suddenly, it was being reported and the Government was denying that there was anything out of the ordinary – the normal behavior of the Government when faced with a difficult position. However, the momentum kept on increasing, and the media kept on piling pressure (corruption in the Government can make media people salivate like anything and keeps the public hooked). Then, the twin bursts of the pressure by the Court system and a huge adverse report by the CAG made the Government literally run for cover, and the CBI investigation suddenly seemed independent rather than being guided by the political influences of the Government.
The dominos started falling, first A Raja was arrested (after some severe strictures by the Supreme court on the Government and the investigating agencies), and then it seemed that the DMK was in for a huge shock. Kanimozhi, the daughter of the DMK leader, and a member of the ruling family, seemed to be in danger of getting arrested. The DMK chief fumed at the Congress, asking that she be prevented from being arrested, but it was not to be. The DMK had already lost the state election (the public apparently did not like being taken for granted to this degree, and booted the DMK out of power, and just for kicks, the party also lost in Pondicherry). And soon after the arrest happened, a shock for Karunanidhi, if there is.
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