2G Relay Race Loot

With the 2G scam, the country was introduced to a new height in financial malfeasance. That said, it is entirely possible that there are bigger and better scams waiting to be unearthed. Growing economies run by corrupt politicians are especially vulnerable to such activities. Had it not been for A. Raja’s sloppiness and arrogant handling of the 2G allocations, the scam could have not come to light. It would be pertinent to look at the roots of this whole nefarious scheme.

It may be recalled Dayanidhi Maran was doing well as a Telecom minister when he was abruptly withdrawn and forced to resign from his ministerial post. Sighting a family feud, DMK then recommended A. Raja as the replacement. The reason given out by the DMK party was the survey conducted by Dinakaran the Maran familys news paper. The Dinakaran published results of a popularity survey between the Karunanidhi son’s M K Alagiri and M K Stalin, wherein Stalin was projected as the popular heir apparent. This was supposed to be the reason for the people of Tamil Nadu and the reason for Dayanidhi Maran’s dismissal from the Telecom Minister post. A poor excuse, this almost certainly was a way to divert the people’s attention from speculating the real reason. Could it be that the immediate family members of the Karunanidhi, namely Azhagiri, Stalin and Kanimozhi gang realized the money swindling potential of the plum Ministerial posting of Dayanidhi Maran and they might have wanted to increase their share of the loot. As per the Economics Times report “CBI evidence and material prove in the chargesheet filed with the SC that Kanimozhi “actively” lobbied for “re-appointment” of A. Raja as Telecom Minister in UPA II government as the process for allocation of 2G spectrum was initiated in his first tenure in the ministry in 2008”. Only difference being Maran executed the scam in a very polished and sophisticated manner leaving less room for undue suspicion. Maran’s actions were made to look like a corporate rivalry and takeover. Whereas on analyzing the actions of Kanimozhi and Raja we notice a bad reproduction of Maran events right from forming a rival TV channel, the Kalaignar TV to the other Telecom & Real-estate companies. It’s anybody’s guess the Karunanidhi clan could have become jealous of the Maran’s Sun TV enterprise phenomenal success or Maran’s didn’t share the booty as agreed. Who knows?

With the Dayanidhi Maran involvement in the 2G scam coming to light, this very much looks more like a Relay Race to Loot the Nation. Unlike a standard 4X100, this one seems to have many participants. Only two have been exposed so far, Dayanidhi Maran seems to have begun the race and A. Raja was the one to finish it. But who were the beneficiaries? As is the case in any organized crime like the Mafia in Italy, portions of any money stolen is given to various levels of the management. It goes all the way to the Godfather. It does not stop in the middle. In this case, A. Raja has not talked but with time, the dominoes seem to be falling. Of late, the recent exposure of Mr. P. Chidambaram involvement in 2G, is making him look like one the runners in the middle of this relay. Today we are hearing the name of Kapil Sibal. Now we are getting close to the top of the ladder. Ahmed Patel who is PA to Sonia Gandhi has been found to be a close friend of Hassan Ali who is a major player in the 2G scam. This gives you an idea, how far and wide this thing went. Obviously, the players are trying to protect themselves and the other VIPs. How long will they hold out is anybody’s guess. Hopefully, as the case progresses the nation gets exposed to other heavy weights. All the runners in this 2G relay race have not yet been exposed.