When L. K. Advani raised the question of many billions of Indian money being stashed away in secret accounts in banks all over the world, specially in Swiss Banks, the Congress was quick to react saying it was an election gimmick and asked why raise the question now, after more than two decades?

Not surprisingly, the losers of this stolen money, the citizens of India, asked a counter question: Why not ask the question now? The spokesperson of Congress blushed. Unwittingly, Advani, in retrospect, seems to have acted as a last whistle blower on this scam. The Congress, sensing trouble in case it loses the Parliamentary elections, was quick to get the CBI write to the Interpol asking it to remove the name of Ottavio Quattrocchi, the man who ran away with $ 7.3 million as his illegal commission in the Bofors gun deal, from the Interpol’s wanted list, thus lifting the red corner notice which was issued against Quattrocchi.

This action on the part of the CBI, apparently at the behest of the UPA Government led by Congress, has raised the hornet’s nest. The reaction was strong and barbed. I would just give the reaction of three highly rated and acclaimed journalist-columnists of our country as a sample:

1. This is from S. Gurumurthy, the well - known commentator on political and economic issues, published in The Indian Express dated May 5, 2009. The sting is in the tail of his article titled, “Shy Rao, Shameless Singh”. He proves the title of his article convincingly:

"QED: Manmohan Singh today does what Sonia wants like Narasimha Rao did then what she wanted. Yet, there is a difference between how the two obliged her. Rao felt shy to do what she wanted. So he did it stealthily. Singh does what she wants openly and shamelessly. Even a Sonia family retainer like H. R. Bharadwaj feels shy to own up the shameless withdrawal of the Red Corner Notice on Q; but the PM owns it proudly. Singh is shameless about what Rao used to feel shy. Why? Unlike Rao, Singh is not an elected Prime Minister but a nominated one; he is not chosen by democratic process, but selected by the dynasty; he is not backed by the people, but backed by the family. So the shift from shyness to shamelessness, from Rao to Singh."
[QED, Quod Erat Demonstrandum, is a Latin phrase meaning, “Which was to be demonstrated”]

2. The second one too is from The Indian Express dated May 6, 2009. It was titled, “It's the Bofors ghost, again”, written by Seema Mustafa, the well - known commentator on political affairs, having personal contact with many political bigwigs and people who matter in the bureaucracy. I rate this article of hers, especially the opening paragraph, as one of the best I have read, almost in the fashion of Charles Dickens in his book “A Tale of Two Cities”, which I read during my graduation days way back in late 1950s. Let me quote Dickens:

"It was the best of Times, it was the worst of Times, it was the age of Wisdom, it was the age of Foolishness, it was the epoch of Belief, it was the epoch of Incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of Hope, it was the winter of Despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

I guess today in India we find a situation similar to the one described by Dickens quoted above.

I must indeed congratulate Seema Mustafa for her style of language and its effective use to convey the idea in all its dimensions, not only about Bofors scandal but also about the present election. Here is what she has written:
"Bofors is a story that will just not go away. It cannot for reasons that Congress President Sonia Gandhi cannot fathom. And the reasons are many. It was the first case where kickbacks in a defense deal were confirmed. It was the first case that the Indian media pursued in great detail, and with tremendous enthusiasm. It was the first case that actually established a trail between middlemen, high flying foreign connections and the Nehru - Gandhi First Family of India. It was the first case that brought down a government that astounded not just the middle class but also the villagers, and that assumed a dynamics of its own that is still able to generate heat during an Indian election.

It is a true story where the middlemen might be dead but the Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, a close friend of Sonia Gandhi, is alive and kicking. During his days in Delhi he told this columnist on more than one occasion that he was not really such a good friend of Sonia Gandhi, at a time when his was one of the few names to have been cleared for free entry into Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s residence. Quattrocchi has subsequently changed his tune, and now when he is actually not such a good friend of Sonia Gandhi, he makes it clear to any reporter who manages to meet him abroad that they are great friends, and know each other extremely well. Obviously, in saying so the wily Italian businessman has managed to make it clear that he knows a lot more than he is saying, and that if the Indian government does manage to get his head into the noose, he will talk. And talk happily."

Here the last sentence is indeed deadly. It has just three words and talk happily. It is a highly loaded sentence which simply means that Sonia’s friend Quattrocchi will not hesitate to spill the beans if the Indian government gets his head into the noose, which indeed will be too bad for the future of India’s first political family and the dynasty.

3. The third columnist is B. G. Verghese, the journalist par excellence with a sharp analytical mind and a pen as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel. In his column in the Deccan Herald dated May 5, 2009, titled “Subverting the course of law, Disgraceful cover – ups”, he has not spared NDA, Congress, CBI, the Law Minister H. R. Bharadwaj, the Attorney General Milon Banerji, mainly for acquiescing with the vested interest groups.

Surprisingly, he seems to have selectively avoided the names of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Let it be. This is what he writes in the opening part of his article:
"The Quattrocchi cover - up is not surprising but disgraceful. This has been going on from the very start and the NDA’s record in pursuing some of the guilty is not a great deal better than that of the Congress. Each government has protected its own friends and used the CBI as a cat’s paw. The reputation of the CBI, India’s premier investigation agency, is in tatters as weak officials have bent before scheming and dishonest superiors. The Bharadwajs and Milon Banerjis will be swept into the dustbin of history but they will have left their mark by their betrayal of the majesty of high office. The Attorney - General, a Constitutional functionary, is there to give independent advice and has the right to address Parliament, thus making him a servant of the people and not a lackey of the government.

The damage done to the CBI over the years is irreparable. It needs to be totally reconstituted under a new charter that guarantees the autonomy of its personnel and functioning. It must also be equipped with independent prosecution machinery that is self - actuating so that it can act on its findings without taking partisan directions from the government of the day."

Jai Ho...
Tailpiece:
Quotable Quotes:
1. "Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime." Michael Merkasey, US Attorney General, saying former Justice Department Staffers won’t be criminally prosecuted for politicising hiring practices.
2. Definition of a politician: "If a man dodges cars, he is a pedestrian. If he dodges taxes, he is a businessman. If he dodges responsibilities, he is an Executive. And if he dodges everything, he is a politician." Anon