Firoz.T.Totanawala The Bangalore Metro Reporter SHASHI THAROOR EPISODE WHAT ABOUT REDDY BROTHERS?

FIROZ.T.TOTANAWALA

THE BANGALORE METRO REPORTER 

 SHASHI THAROOR EPISODE  WHAT ABOUT REDDY BROTHERS? 

 The AICC spokesman Abhishek Singvi was right to question the double standards and hypocracy of the BJP leadership and their so called ‘Moral High Standards in not taking action against the BJP ministers in Karnataka the Reddy Brothers who are accused of serious crimes. He wanted the BJP leadership particularly BJP’s National President Nitin Gadkari, senior leader L.K.Advani, Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj etc. to drop the Reddy Brothers from the cabinet. Abhishek Singvi’s poser came in the wake of the Congress directing the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor to resign following a controversy over his involvement in building the Kochi Team for the IPL. 

It may be recalled that Shashi Tharoor had played a decisive role in getting the highest bid for Kochi Team in IPL. He has mobilised businessmen and other monied people to pool their resources to purchase Kochi team for an astronomical 1300 crores! Needless to say that his ministerial power has come in handi in this resource mobilisation. More than anything, it is the name of Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of Tharoor and the “Sweat Equity” of 75 crores given to her by the Rendezvous company that purchased the Kochi team that became controversial. It was alleged that Tharoor was the beneficiary of the ‘Sweat Equity’ through his proxy Sunanda Pushkar. 

Sunanda Pushkar is not in big name either in India or in Dubai where she claims to run real estate business. More than anything she could not have induced industrialists, and money bags to pool 1300 crores to purchase the Kochi team. This is simple common sense. Even Tharoor himself had admitted that he had played a prominent role in the Kochi team purchase. It was an open secret. It is Tharoor who had sweated it out to mobilise the funds for the purchase of Kochi team. If at all, if there is provision for ‘Sweat Equity’, that should have gone to Tharoor. Nobody would have taken exception if Tharoor received the ‘sweat equity’ and may be the opposition have raised the issue of abuse of ministerial powers. As this phenomenon is the ‘in thing’ in power politics, nobody would have taken the issue seriously. Tharoor, a Keralite would have become an instant hero in Kerala for having raised the Kerala Team. He would have earned greatness had he donated a part of his ‘Sweat Equity’ to sports activities in Kerala. 

But he did not do so. Instead Sunanda Pushkar was brought into the picture to become the beneficiary of the ‘Sweat Equity’. It is an open secret that Tharoor is all set to marry her after he gets divorce from his foreign wife. Even Tharoor had admitted that Sunanda Pushkar was his ‘Close friend. And the Sweat equity given to her is nothing but a proxy partnership to Tharoor. It is this fact that became controversial. The BJP stalled parliament proceedings for two days demanding the resignation of Shashi Tharoor. 

 Infact, the Income Tax department swung into action and raided the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s offices and started digging about Kochi team owners. And the next day, Sunanda Pushkar returned her sweat equity to the owners of the Kochi team. Tharoor was not even allowed to defend himself in the parliament. The other day, he was summoned by the Prime Minister and asked to put in his papers. And Tharoor did as directed by resigning from the cabinet. 

The Congress High Command has patted its own back for having followed High moral stand by asking Tharoor who is ‘only indirectly accused’ to put in his papers. Definitely it can claim the credit for upholding moral values in public life. 

And Abhishek Singvi, the AICC general secretary who is also the spokesman for the Congress has now taken the issue to the BJP camp. Everybody knows that it is the BJP who took up spirited fight against Tharoor and accused him of abusing his ministerial powers and the sweat equity given to his friend Sunanda Pushkar. Abhishek Singvi has demanded the BJP leadership to take similar stand on the Reddy Brothers who are controlling the BJP government in the state as they are facing serious charges and running politics as business. 

But the BJP leadership including its top leaders simply do not have the guts to touch the Reddy Brothers let alone any action against them. They knew well that once they even hint at action against the Reddy Brothers their first ever government in South India is as good as dead! As on today, no BJP leader worth the salt would even dream of diciplining the Reddy Brothers. With the Leader of the Opposition in the Loksabha Sushma Swaraj being the godmother and the pillar of strength to the Reddy Brothers, it is unthinkable that the BJP is going to oblige Singvi in taking high moral stand. 

It is no secret that it is Reddy Brothers mountains of ‘mining’ money that brought the BJP to power in Karnataka. It is also true that it is the same Reddy Brothers money that almost toppled the Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa from the gaddi. It is the leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj who half heartedly enforced a cease fire between BSY and Reddy Brothers. Sushma Swaraj’s word was law to the Reddy Brothers. It is she who provided the ‘Delhi Connections and Links” to Reddy Brothers to prosper both in politics and business. Everybody knows that Reddy Brothers money bags are regularly delivered to many national (?) leaders of BJP. 

Ofcourse, the Reddy Brothers have become a law unto themselves. They have created their own state and fiefdom in Bellary and surrounding districts. Their illegal mining business is well known throughout the length and breadth of the country. Their strong arm tactics, use of muscle power, abusive of their ministerial powers etc. have become a sort of folklore. They have their ‘personal loyal’ bureaucrats in their Bellary district. Not a single official is prepared to raise their finger against their illegal activities. They have raised an army of loyal bureaucrats in Bellary whose duty is only to ‘serve’ the Reddy Brothers and not the public or the state. That is why when BSY effected enmass transfers of Reddy Brothers ‘loyal’ officials’, the Reddy Brothers declared ‘war’ on BSY and succeeded in not only getting back their loyal hordes of officials back to their seats but also grabbed the remote control of the government. All these were inevitable for their survival in political business. 

At the same time, the Reddy Brothers were facing troubled times in AP. The AP government and the entire opposition were united against their mining business in AP. The AP government ordered CBI enquiry into the illegal mining activities of Reddy Brothers -The CBI had already raided the offices of their flagship mining company. Obalapuram Mining company bordering Karnataka. There are serious charges against Reddy Brothers of encroaching the Karnataka area by destroying the boundary stones. The AP government had banned mining by Reddy Brothers and even the Supreme Court had upheld the ban. In addition to this, the Supreme Court had ordered joint survey of the area. The Survey team had already detected encroachments by Reddy Brothers. The Survey team is conducting survey to fix the state borders also. 

Tapal Ganesh, another mine owner who is hounded by the Reddy Brothers as he did not sell his mines to them, has taken the matter to the SC also. Even when the survey team was preparing to go out to the spot to survey, Tapal Ganesh who was to handover ‘sensitive’ survey records to the team was attacked in broad day light and was to be hospitalised. Everybody knows that the attack on Tapal Ganesh was to prevent him from accompanying the Survey team and to hand over vital documents. The SP of Bellary, a handpicked man of Reddy Brothers did nothing in the matter. Even after two days, he had not made any efforts to nab the attackers. Finally, the government to avoid embarrassment, promoted the SP as DIG and sent him out of Bellary. 

 If one goes on listing such instances, the list will be endless. What more, the Reddy Brothers have forced BSY to withdraw many serious criminal cases against them! As on now, the Reddy Brothers have been given immunity by BSY from the purview of the law of the land. They have abused and misused their offices in every conceivable means. At the height of their dissident activities, the Reddy Brothers uttered upprintable abuses against BSY which went against the collecting responsibility of the cabinet. In another case, when BSY took the decision to levy a special toll fee of Rs.1000 per load for the ore carrying lorries, the Reddy Brothers who are party to this cabinet decision, cried foul as they would have to pay around 200-300 crore for their mining lorries. Finally, BSY had to ‘defer’ the levy of the toll fee. As ministers in the BSY cabinet, the Reddy Brothers have acted against the interests of the state. 

In a way, Tharoor becomes a Saint before the Reddy Brothers. Tharoor’s was an action of impropriety while Reddy Brothers actions all these years are everything but legal. The BJP which stalled the parliament proceedings and waged a high pitched fight for the head of Shashi Tharoor taking the high moral ground should now has much to answer. It has to take up the challenge from the Congress. But the BJP leaders are not fools. They are not prepared to lose Karnataka, just for the sale of high moral ground!