LOBBIES AND LOBBYING - PART II
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    • LOBBIES AND LOBBYING - PART II
    The media is agog with rumors about the alleged clout of Niira Radia with politicians, officialdom and also some of the self styled torch bearers of investigative journalsim. Some of the media celebrities like Burka Dutt of NDTV, Vir Sanghvi, Prabu Chawla have made bare their influence over politicians in the tapes intercepted and now put in the Public domain by Outlook a pro- congress magazine. Vir Sanghvi reportedly obliges Radia by writing a column addressed to the Prime Minister about protecting national assets in the feud between Ambani Siblings over sharing of Gas, while it was out and out lobbying for the Ambani Senior who chose to renege on a promise made to his Mother Kokila ben. another bureaucrat turned politician N.K.singh claims to have lobbied for tax exemption to gas discoveries with retrospective effect - which he now claims was done in the interest of energy security for the nation- while the fact was it was plain lobbying for the Ambani Senior asking for money from the exchequer for private benefit. I am not sure if ever this carried favors with powers that be, but it is astonishing that such causes of private enterprises could be lobbied by our peoples representatives. 

     

    Niira Radia is alleged to have amassed wealth in a short span of time which has prompted the Finance Ministry to order taping of her phones on the basis of an anonymous complaint. Parekh argued that tapping of phone for a longer period of time, this time it extends to well over two years amounts to invasion of privacy for he alleged that the powers that be should be able to gain some evidence to justify the complaint in the first place within a few interceptions. Tata talks about keeping Maran out by speaking out to this woman but in reality he could have just spoken to Dr.Manmohan singh and Ms Sonia Gandhi himself.  else he could have directed some of his lower rung officers to interact with Radia as Mukesh Ambani did. Poor Ratan was caught napping when his voice was identified in the tapes and he was talking about fixing ministerial berths in the Cabinet. 

     

    In the whole episode, corporate houses have come tarred beyond redemption. Tata's have suffered an enormous tarring to their impeccable reputation assidously built over decades. Nothing more needs to be said about R Comm who were indicted even in the CAG report.  

     

    Let us study the pattern in the selective leaks to the media

     

     

     

     

     

     
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