How many of us know that the 23-day Parliament logjam cost the nation Rs 146 crore (Can the House Ever Win?, Dec 20). In fact, a total of Rs 527.45 crore was set aside this fiscal for the functioning of Parliament. And all for a JPC probe. Having politicians probe a case is like asking the thief to investigate his own robbery. In the name of a JPC, a few more crores will go down the drain. It will just be an opportunity to settle political scores and score brownie points against each other.

Avijith A.P., on e-mail

Outlook’s ignored, perhaps deliberately, the Opposition argument that the issue of spectrum allocation has been debated in Parliament on many occasions over the last two years. Yet, the PM and his boss delayed the decision to sack A. Raja for months.

K.C. Sharma, Delhi

Not allowing a JPC can only deepen the suspicion that Sonia, Rahul and even Manmohan Singh are involved.

Kunal Roy, Mumbai

The Congress ought to have come clean by responding to the call for a JPC. Instead, law minister Kapil Sibal wants to sweep everything under the carpet by appointing an ex-judge, perhaps a party faithful, to look into the matter.

Tusar Kanti Kar, Howrah

Scam after scam in 2010.Govt. going at snails pace on scams and  alleged fraudsters. Unholy   coalition ally, painted   as rougues by media. Media too is hungry for promiinance on day to day basis. Picking up worthless news  while leaving the  news of importance  of national interest, people. Opposition empty handed, has run out of topics, It is not constructive opposition but destructive. Stalling parliament proceedings days and months.  The opposition  spokepersons  show hatred in their face and speech.Looks ready for street fight.A religion(Hindutva) based  political party might have found  space in national politics   with Mandir ,Masjid topic for a while  by touching the sentiments of the elderly majority, who have  vanisshed at greater speed.  Do India, Indians  deserve  Democracy? Are we the people, respecting  our laws,judiciary and legistlature.? For any strike, we destroy the National property. damage T^V   Air station ,transport vehicle causing inconveinence to public, elderly, the sick  and expecting mothers. Let politiciens propagate National Pride ,self respect,Unity. bring in fresh blood into politics with education.

 "Weren't you defining your parameters of who should and who should not have freedom of speech just a few days ago?"

Of course!! When idiots like you hail Taliban or when lousy-brains like Geelani, Nasar Ahmed and Munusamy choose religion/ caste before nation in guise of 'freedom of speech', I think it is important for me to point this out. Though, it makes no sense to you or your fellow-thinkers.

>> We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says.

The honest, nationalist crowd.

>> We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says.

That's true. People who accuse him certainly don't want him to defend himself, or explain his policies or thought process. Fits perfectly with their Jihadi worldview.

 "We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says." - Anwaar

People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.

>> Arun Shourie explained the policy ....

We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says.

>> The DoT even questioned the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter, saying “the issue of allotment and pricing of spectrum falls squarely in the domain of executive policymaking

Yet some secular dimwits were suggesting that it is a legislative function.

And so much for SC monitored CBI investigation. Instead, they don't want courts to look into it at all.

>> Arun Shourie explained the policy of NDA in his interview to Shekhar Gupta ...So the onus is now on Congress to prove how this policy resulted in a massive loss to the exchequer

What Mr. Raja has been saying is that he followed the same policy of his predecessors. Here is a report about the Affidavit filed in SC:
"On the allegation that Mr Raja had caused huge losses to the exchequer by allocating UAS licences for 2G spectrum at 2001 prices in 2007, the affidavit claimed that the whole calculation about alleged losses of `1.4 lakh crore or `70,000 crore was just speculation.
These projected losses were “unrealistic calculations” as the main emphasis of the policy devised by the government, after due consultation with TRAI, was on expanding teledensity in rural areas and widening it further in urban areas, the affidavit said.
DoT further claimed that there could not be any comparison between the price of 2G spectrum and 3G spectrum to calculate revenue losses as the real benefit in terms of revenue would be felt over years, with the increase in teledensity and allocation of 2G spectrum being a great success in this regard.
After the sale of UAS licences of 2G spectrum in 2007, the total number of phone users in the country had increased drastically to 723 million people, far higher than the 600 million projected by the end of 2012.
Teledensity in rural areas rose from six per cent in 2007 to 28.46 per cent by September 2010: the country’s overall teledensity went up to 69.99 per cent in this period.
The DoT even questioned the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter, saying “the issue of allotment and pricing of spectrum falls squarely in the domain of executive policymaking, and in which the scope for judicial review is highly restricted.”
 

>> Arun Shourie explained the policy of NDA in his interview to Shekhar Gupta

If the govt felt that the 2001 policy was bad, why did it not change it?

 ""Perhaps the BJP is unhappy that the probe would extend to 2001"

Arun Shourie explained the policy of NDA in his interview to Shekhar Gupta

"In 2001, tele-density in India was 3.8 per cent of the population. Today, it is nearly 50 per cent. At that time, spectrum was not short. Mobile telephony had just come. To encourage that, there was a policy. The whole sector had collapsed because of the fixed licence fee. So there was a transition to 1999. Okay, you don’t pay the fixed fee, you pay a share of the revenue. It saved the sector and led to growth. At that time, that price was discovered. In 2003, if you look at the figures, there was hardly any growth, 3.8 went to about 5 per cent (tele-density). Now, when you have this enormous growth, to say that this asset costs only that much, and a very interesting point also, the licences which were given were not being used in some parts of the country, northeast, I think Orissa or West Bengal, one of the eastern states and Kashmir also. So we said, we should move towards auctioning. We should separate licencing from spectrum. In the meantime, don’t hold up this process, go with the 2001 price. All this was done not by me alone, but by the group of ministers, by the cabinet."

So the onus is now on Congress to prove how this policy resulted in a massive loss to the exchequer and a loot happened. Let the SC investigate side by side. Let us also form a JPC and get to the bottom of this. 

>> Perhaps the BJP is unhappy that the probe would extend to 2001

Expected lies from the hate peddler.

>> "If parliament cannot conduct its business, democracy becomes a joke."

Parliament did conduct its business. This was the first time the govt did anything, even though small, on the 2G issue.

I hope this conduct continues in future sessions.

Response to Anwaar's post # 41

"The UPA was willing to have a debate on 2G but the opposition insisted on having a JPC."

Repeating sub-text from post # 40 in bold: They forced the opposition to resort to this by continually dodging all requests for debates in 2008 and 2010.

Nothing stops the JPC to engage experts, relevant agencies or seek evidences etc. The simple reason for the ruling party to avoid JPC is that they don't have the requisite strength in Rajya Sabha as well as to avoid embarrassment of the PM.

"JPC's have not accomplished much in the past."

The same holds true for CBI investigations as well!! Credibility of CBI is even worse. As I see it, this is now a simple game of "Who blinks first".....

I can also assure that this will drag on for eternity - like all other cases involving the political class. The unspoken rule of Indian politics is "Bark as much as you want, but never bite your opponent".

Personally, I hate the current scenario of puppet President, puppet PM, puppet CVC... 

"Well the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe....."

CBI probe with Uncle Thomas donning the CVC role!?!!

"Don't you understand anything?"

No. As you have said before, I am a Sanghi. Forget issues of national import, I don't even understand why I discarded my Khaki shorts for these ass-kissing denims!!

Irreverent India,

>> The onus of ensuring the functioning of the parliament lies with the ruling party.

That's why the Speaker should have more powers to curb those who disrupt the work of the Parliament. The UPA was willing to have a debate on 2G but the opposition insisted on having a JPC. JPC has no investigative powers. Eventually the JPC would have recommended a CBI probe. Well the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe, which the SC shall itself supervise. The SC would be a better supervisor than a JPC. JPC's have not accomplished much in the past.

>> why do you support Kashmiri stone-pelters and Maoists?

I do not support stone pelters. I oppose people like you who advocated genocide to deal with them. I do not support Maoists. I support their right of free speech. Don't you understand anything?
 

 "If parliament cannot conduct its business, democracy becomes a joke." - Anwaar

The onus of ensuring the functioning of the parliament lies with the ruling party. They forced the opposition to resort to this by continually dodging all requests for debates in 2008 and 2010.

In this particular case, please take this twist on your comment: If parliament had conducted its business, a joke would have become 'democracy'.

If you are so pained at "democracy becoming a joke", why do you support Kashmiri stone-pelters and Maoists?

Shenoy,

>> How about (you) advising Madam Sonia to declare emergency and have a designer parliament?

Sad to see that you do not consider disruption of Parliament serious. If parliament cannot conduct its business, democracy becomes a joke.
 

 Saba did you met any version of Radia

 "How about (you) advising Madam Sonia to declare emergency and have a designer parliament?" - BVSHENOY

With all key offices like President, CVC, Election Commission and CBI compromised, we already have a modern and sublime version of 'Emergency'. 

Anwaar (post#9),

you have said, "She (madam speaker) should have adequate security force at her command to bodily remove any member trying to disrupt the work of the House by staging demonstations in the well of the house or trying to shout down legitimate speakers. She should have the powers to expel miscreants for a certain period of time, fine them or censure them."

How about (you) advising Madam Sonia to declare emergency and have a designer parliament?

 Saba Naqvi has ignored, perhaps deliberately, the opposition's argument that the issue of spectrum allocation has been debated in the Parliament on many occasions over a period of two years. Even after the sandal became unmanageable the PM and his boss delayed the decision of sacking Raja for months. So Saba's leanings are clear from this piece.

I feel congress-UPA by not allowing JPC are actually deepening suspicion of common man that Sonia and Rahul or Manmohan are involved in the scam. If that is not real they should accept JPC. BJP will and should exploit weakness of Congress.

>> People are confused, elsewhere and in this forum. Lack of knowledge how the country is governed is astonishing

It is your own ignorance of facts and history that should be astonishing

* Yes, enactment of law is in the domain of parliament. But the primary responsibility of enacting laws lies with the ruling government. Because, it is the ruling government that understands the ground situation at best and has the necessary inputs from the bureaucracy to enact the right laws to enable the industry grow

* Your mentioning that Raja's tenure saw the industry become world competitvie is hilarious. You seem to be using this forum to display your ignorance of telecom history.

Let us go back to recent history. The NTP 1994 was a disaster. In first five years, the telecom industry simply failed to deliver results. The NTP 1999 was modified to enable industry grow and integrate and compete. The results did not show up. Even in 2001, barely a few million Indians used cellphones. The real game changer was the years 2002-2006 - a series of decisions like awarding license to BSNL, migration of WLL into proper CDMA licenses, allowing pan india operation, moving to a revenue share regime etc, helped. From a few million cell phone users in 2001, we had 150 million in 2006, that is nearly a 50 fold growth. Tariffs crashed by 90% in that period. Raja's era of tariff cuts wouldnt have happened if we did not live through the era of 2001-2006.

The basic issue is that once Mobile phone Industry in India became hugely profitable even with low tariffs, (that was the case by 2006), spectrum, a public resource should have been priced at a premium. Raja's mistake was aboutpricing a scarce public resource at a throwaway price, awarding same arbitrarily to some businesses. Most importantly, those who were awarded have failed to use it effectively and bring the telephone connectivity to the masses in rural India. Your Class/Caste argument simply falls flat, because it is the telephone license holders before Raja's tenure which are giving service to rural India (incl BSNL).  Sibal may have done a poor job, and he may not be a good telecom minister, but that does not make Raja's decisions right in any way.

The bottomline is that awarding public resource to private parties at throwaway prices without any public benefit is a crime of highest sort.

stupid indeed ..seconded.

straight out of the british'raj' handbook ..because our ministers here are incapable of thinking on their own. Its our ministers you twat who make 'illegal' look like 'legal' and sadly its 'majority' folks like you exactly they manage to fool; they spend their entire lives honing that skill and THEN only then they become fit to be ministers of this great nation. Policies need to be DYNAMIC its not optional!!, ..like answerable officers running a corporate they have to be ON THEIR TOES 24/7 ..congress legacy finds that too much hard work; Rajas associates' billion dollar holdings in telco companies was all over the news. yes india did benefit from cheap spectrum but not so that it all ends up in scammers' bank accounts ..and not so that 3g gets delayed by 5 years!! I am saddened for the delay than the immediate monetary gains.

>> First a lesson on how the government functions...

What a stupid post.

 People are confused, elsewhere and in this forum. Lack of knowledge how the country is governed is astonishing.

First a lesson on how the government functions.. Enactment of law is in parliament's domain. That telecom law was not amended in 2008 was the parliament's failure. All parties failed with congress sharing the most blame. But there is nothing illegal happened. Parliament enacts or not enacts lot of good and not so good laws. Raja was also member of this parliament but he cannot be singularly blamed for not amending the telecom law.

Now there is another branch of the government called the executive branch. Raja's job was to implement the laws enacted by the parliament and he did it superbly. Under his watch the telecommunication flourished to become the most competitive in the world. 

Sibel, who recently took charge of telecom ministry, has very different record. He is responsible for the education and India fairs terribly here. India still has most illiterate in the world. Higher education, his favorite area, is also in no better shape. Forget about the world, no Indian university is ranked among top even in Asia. But media's hero is Sibel, not Raja. Because Sibel belongs to the same class as the media people.

Since this is now turned into a forum ..let me reiterate, if it wasnt for the BJP going the 'progress' first corruption later way, congress would've been worse because now they have to somewhat perform (as they would be pitted against another performer) even if just for the cameras ..because their manual always read 'corruption first' progress later or never if they had it their way which they did for many years, no need to go there ..because thats where we are ha ha; And where do you think lie the origins of Babudom??? and who you think failed to put a leash on it when it spiraled out of control?? that is where foreign-lingo-to-the-government terms such as 'administration', 'accountability', 'deft management' come in...taking those 'tough decisions', learning from china if we have to (and not always criticising them).. instead our govt says hey we will give you freedom of speech so you can knock yourself out writing/discussing/venting about our behaviour instead of responsible administration, wheres the fun in that? ..if you look into nitish kumars idea of change it starts from babus and ministers ..putting his foot down where it needs put down ..unlike a certain mock PM who is afraid to face the jury, the nation, the challenge ..shriveled up in his lil cocoon aw poor thing .. I would be so relieved if everybody just stopped ranting about his honesty!! my maid is honest too!  what good is it without courage and a clear conscience? So i ask what is his actual job? the telecom minister does what he wants which means so do  other 'ministers'.. twiddling thumbs count as a job? maybe yes for an honest man because an un-honest one would be out there doing dishonest stuff... so is he to india/government what shah rukh khan is to fairness creams? hmm ..somebody light needs shed here ..omg i do not know what ms's job is? if i were him and half as honest as people think, i would just climb atop qutub minar (drunk optional) or some high 'post' because i couldnt take it anymore dish out one helluva speech to the people of this nation about 'the truth' and quit because clearly in all fairness, i do not deserve that post.. 

"shekhar kapur very aptly put it that the last 20 days has proven we dont need them really"

CITIZEN,

It is the POLITICIANS who have been thrown out in each SCAM- Chavan in Adarsh Scam, Raja in 2G etc. Such massive SCAMS like 2G, CWG, ADARSH etc can NOT occur without the active connivance of the BABUS. But none of the BABUS have been held accountable.

The politicians have to face election every five years and WE THE PEOPLE can throw out any of them- WE did it to Ms Indira Gandhi, Mr Morarji Desai, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh, Vajpayee etc etc. WE THE PEOPLE even rejected the present PM- MMS when he contested from Delhi, and he had to get into RAJYA SABHA via backdoor stating that he is an "ORDINARY RESIDENT OF ASSAM". But can WE THE PEOPLE get even a Peon thrown out??? The maximum that BABUS face for not being "party to corruption with politicians" is a transfer. If the newly posted BABU insist on being HONEST, the transfer will lose its value. So it is the BABUS who should be MADE MORE ACCOUNTABLE to reduce corruption. 

Sonia Gandh - The BJP is more corrupt. They have no right to point fingers at the Congress

L K Advani - Lobbyists appoint ministers, the Congress is a party of corruption.

Manish Tiwari (how can any decent human being stand him on TV?) -Mr. Goswami will you let me respond? the DMK has to answer this. We cannot speak for them.

Ravi Shankar Prasad - This is not acceptable in a democracy

Kapil Sibal - It was in the BJP regime in 2001 that all his scam started.

Jayanthi Natarajan (another one not meant for TV cameras) - Madam Sonia and our Prime Minister have condemned this (did she mean condoned) in the strongest terms.

Raja - I have submitted my resignation to the Prime Minister

Sharad Pawar - I don't know anything, I was in Lavassa.

Pranab Mukherjee - We wll have double digit growth in GDP.

Arun Jaitley - Look at Andhra Pradesh, Adarsh, 2G, we need a P M who is accountable.

Veerappa Moily - We will pass a law in the next session (!!!) of Parliament.

Sushma Swaraj - We cannot promise you that the budget session will run.

Prakash Karat - Why is no one asking me anything?

You and me - it is their corruption vs 'their" corruption. We are getting $#@*ed in the middle. Does anyone bother. Will anything change in India?

The biggest disappointment is the PM. A man of great integrity, but where is the action?

Jai Hind.

well all that makes sense ..the raja ministry did it the 2001 way so that when questioned it can wiggle its way out by using exactly that as an excuse - that rules were set by the BJP! thus showing complete faith in the one constant - indian peoples short term memory ..not anticipating what it was going to snowball into fast forward to present 'Jam' session.

"Raja was directed by PM 'not to do it'"??? who are you? i am inclined to presume your mental age to be not more than 15 unaware of worldly ways..well that was the PMs escape hatch to wash his hands off the affair as he could see what was to come ..thus in techno accepting we have not one but several parties running the show each after its own pound of flesh. btw india needs a Nitish Kumar not a MMS ..at best mms can manage a few individual portfolios efficiently but definitely not pm material.

..no truly is it still about money and figures and how much it costs to run the parliament and how much for allowances and silly math where everybody trying to be the next expert on the union budget..? WAKE UPP! as shekhar kapur very aptly put it that the last 20 days has proven we dont need them really".. well let some university run the countrys affairs ..lets outsource governance and make them accountable.. Lets stop using the word 'RULE' (as in 'ruling party'..disgusting..even chetan bhagat does it).. let an organisation 'hold office' ..anything less than a revolution is not going to do for a country the size of India..  hire infosys or wipro or heck even ibm ..why limit UIDs to Nandan, let him do it all!! 'india' is a profitable franchise ..i know i sound crazy but not half as loony as indias ministers.. 

"How our MPs undermine our democracy". What a silly statement.

--   RADIA tapes have proved that it was "manipulators" who decided who become MINISTERS and WHAT portfolio each got.PM had no say in the cabinet formation. So the GOVT was formed by blatently "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY"

-- When RAJA commence to indulge in SPECTRUM SCAM he was directed by PM not to do it but he totally disregarded the PM and the PM did NOT dare to act aginst RAJA till opposition pushed him to do so.  That is "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY"

-- Charge sheeted CVC was appointed "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY".   

-- The opposition did not undermine democracy. They just demanded to find out, through JPC, how the LOOT occured and how the LOOTED national wealth can be recovered. It was stated somewhere that Parliament costs Rs 25 Crore per day. So 20 Days would have cost Rs 500 Crore. Any fool will agree that spending Rs 500 Crore to recover Rs 1,70,0000000000 Crore  LOOTED is neither "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY nor bad INVESTMENT.

what is and always has been business as usual - is corruption.

Oh and the government CAN sell petrol at 2001 prices if it wasnt for people-pleasing-vote-bank-politics unaffordable kerosene subsidies - and worse still trying to make up for those subsidies from petrol prices treating as all falling in the same basket ..and then misleading people by saying INTL OIL prices have gone up when they have been at historical lows. Oh btw KEROSENE BLACKMARKETING!!! how can a 5 BILLION dollar/year theft go unnoticed FOR SO LONG???? AMAZING - in this country and in this country only!  that is one scam going on for decades and nobody even talks about it!!! 

>> I think Congress should go ahead and reconvene the parliament, with or without BJP, and conduct business.

That would be valid. The govt certainly has this privilege, though it might be without the entire opposition, and not just the BJP. Wonder if this error on your part is genuine, or deliberate.

After all, the govt didn't care about the opinion of the leader of the opposition, while appointing a crook as the CVC. It is morally bankrupt anyway. Ignoring the biggest scandal and going ahead with business as usual would be par for MMS, PC etc.

>> Even today nobody alleges government flouted rules 2 years ago.

Eh?

Everyone has been saying that Raja flouted rules. Have you been sleeping?

#19,

It appears amusing to see people defending the Telecom Scam of 2008 on grounds that rules of spectrum were set in 2001.

Clearly, NDA Govt, whatever its fault was gone for good in May 2004 and it is 6 and half years since UPA Govt has taken over. What really stopped the UPA govt from changing spectrum allocation rules in last 6 and half years ? If UPA is all about following the rules set by previous NDA govt, why did we vote UPA in first place?

Also, it must be remembered that there is no point in taking 2001 rules as a guidelene for present day scenario. It is like comparing Windows 3.1 Operating system with Windows 7. The Mobile Phone Industry in 2001 was a marginal player. Till 2003, majority of people were using landlines (now those adults who refuse to recognize this should try to see movies of those era). The rules set for spectrum allocation in 2001 were made to encourage an industry that was in its infancy and seriously in red. But this is not the case in 2007-2008 , when industry had fully evolved into a mature adult.  An adult is not supposed to depend on infant food for his appetite. So the spectrum in 2008 should have been priced differently , since industry had evolved to maturity and started showing huge profits.

Whether Parliament is  blocked by BJP or whether Congress convenes the house irrespective of parliament block is not relevant now. What is relevant is that the Government of the day has sold a public asset (spectrum) at 2001 prices. This is the root of the scam . If government is so generous, why cant they sell Petrol, Diesel , LPG et al at 2001 prices to the public ? Can they ?

The BJP was right here in India maybe Rajesh wasnt. SET RULES? so you mean what was good in 2001 was good enough to be carried out in 2008? Its surprising folks make comments based on shockingly short term memory. Do you realize that for 2001 standards the license fee was set so high there was fear that service providers would never break even. The worse though is the stalling of 3G licenses to make up for 2008 2g fiasco delaying modern tech in a country trying to sell IT to the world. what parliament its a joke anyways.

Where were BJP in 2008 when 2G happened? The rules for the spectrum was set during BJP's regime. Even today nobody alleges government flouted rules 2 years ago.

Now BJP wants to stall parliament on this? I think Congress should go ahead and reconvene the parliament, with or without BJP, and conduct business. Constitution does not give opposition the veto power.

 In post no. 15, Anwaar deliberately mis-spelled my name to read as "Irrelevant India".

Anwaar, I can understand if you call me "Irrelevant". But, to tag "India" along with it exposes you as an apologist of the Anti-India brigade. You have nice company in Bin Laden, Dawood, Taliban, LeT, JuD et al. Keep going!!

The Congress must be demanded accountability and a JPC for the LAST 50 YEARS!!! 50 years of absolute disaster, and not just the 2g scam. Congress dare not ever blame any other party let alone the BJP for the disaster they have led the country into all these decades through mismanagement, arrogance and corruption. Their ministers are and have always been full of horse s#*t. Look at them behaving like little children 'oh the other party does it too boo hoo hoo' . If it wasnt for the BJP in the last 10 years or so to have risen as a credible opposition India would be languishing in much worse a situation with the ministers going on a worse rampage with arrogant corruption ..what were people thinking in the last elections?? and ignorant newbies like Rahul Gandhi can get away with statements like 'my father always said only a small percentage of funds end up with the intended beneficiary'.. so uhm dude how is administration separate from government?? what charm?? the guys absolutely imbecile, clueless, and shamefully unsuitable ..in the west he would'nt even qualify to be a clerk in an administrative office. The BJP in comparison may not be the noblest or may not be able to completely root out evil but does have a stellar starcast in leadership; comprising people of cleaner image and progressive mentalities ..India shining if not the perfect ad campaign atleast gave an idea of their intentions. 

>> You are in effect saying that nothing should be done about Parliament being brought to a halt by the opposition again and again.

Something should be done. Like, constituting a JPC.

Irrelevant India,

>>  why does the ruckus hurt you NOW? Was it Okay when the seculars were doing it?
 

No, it wasn't. You are in effect saying that nothing should be done about Parliament being brought to a halt by the opposition again and again.

 ""If you had any brains,..."

Sanghis don't have brains. All brain-power has been monopolized by the seculars. 

"The same raucous scenes occurred in the House before Meera Kumar became a Speaker."

So, why does the ruckus hurt you NOW? Was it Okay when the seculars were doing it?

The point is simple - Congress hasn't delivered much in 50+ years of its rule. So, believe me, nothing radical would have happened during those 20 odd days as well.

Irreverent India,

>> Facilitating orderly Parliamentary proceedings is the first responsibility of the Speaker..... ..... of time, fine them or censure them. " - Anwaar

>>  We have a speaker whose voice is so feeble that her command won't reach even her own ears, leave alone the marshalls/ guards.

If you had any brains, you would have understood that I was talking of strenghthening the powers of the office of the Speaker, not about an individual. The same raucous scenes occurred in the House before Meera Kumar became a Speaker.

 "Facilitating orderly Parliamentary proceedings is the first responsibility of the Speaker..... ..... of time, fine them or censure them. " - Anwaar

What a dumbass comment!! We have a speaker whose voice is so feeble that her command won't reach even her own ears, leave alone the marshalls/ guards.

PS: As per Manmohan Sangh, Meera Kumar is sitting on that chair by virtue of  being a lady from a backward caste. A more capable person on that post may have helped the Congress. Not now!!

 in practice even the act is an act of courage! the way our mandates are given , it is tough to act against the corrupt as if you do, you will end up implicating 80% of the MPs! here we are talkin about a PM not acting on its alliance partner. we have parties in this country who dont act on their own ministers. people choose to comment on whats currently hot news. everyone in the scam should be punished right from paswan days and mahajan days. because the seeds for the simmering corporate rivalry was sown then . why does rahul mahajan still dance and get married every other year , have drugs and still have the whose who in power circles lining up for him? why does the cabinet lift charges against its ministers in karnataka? they insult the lokayukta. The cbi was the same in NDA times yet no reform was done. their ministers walked scott free in so many scandals right from ayodhya to defence to bangaru scam and bjp had no issues with cbi then. The JPC they are so adamant on has a dubious record itself. advani and the gandhis came out of JPC unscathed. DMK chief seems to have given indications that he is ok with JPC and yet congress doesnt relent . why? as JPC is a forum were the sides decide on how to give each other a way out. every state institution is undermined . as if the courts were different when bjp was in power. jharkhand and karnataka are examples of what bjp preaches and does. andhra , under YSR has also scaled new highs in corruption . when ysr son declares income of hundreds of crores , some people say , wao he is an honest tax payer! no side can claim to be clean in this entire muddle. Manmohanji is a man of impecceble repute. india should consider itself lucky it has him as PM. atalji too worked with people with very dubious records but the man's integrity was never in doubt. we wont understand how politics works in a country were people like lalu , mulayam , paswan , pawar , reddys , raja , jaya etc etc etc get chosen into parliament . surely then , you need someone with chanakya neeti tu rule . i think in that light soniaji has done a wonderful job as she is slowly cutting the feathers of all these regional satraps. india should give a full mandate before raising fingers at any party. each party should be held responsible for its own flock

 @ THE IRREVERENT INDIAN

u said...."You are expecting too much from the BJP"

See hope can keep my belief intact on democracy...... Keeping double mind will only further Congress' cause ...... 

As far as Left is concerned, ideologically they are constructive as u said but too deplorable to add anything positive to nation or society....... And see their hypocrisy in connection with India's relations with US or china, the format of selective secularism they espouse with or the apathy they render to developmental activities.......

Facilitating orderly Parliamentary proceedings is the first responsibility of the Speaker. She requires the necessary power to enable her to do so. She should have adequate security force at her command to bodily remove any member trying to disrupt the work of the House by staging demonstations in the well of the house or trying to shout down legitimate speakers. She should have the powers to expel miscreants for a certain period of time, fine them or censure them. This is important because if the opposition, either the BJP or the Congress, can hold the Parliament hostage in order to have what they want, democracy itself becomes subject to ridicule.

Please find the attachment of my email communication to the Supreme Court of India cited as a reply to this piece as below

• According to official figures, the total budget for Lok Sabha for the current fiscal year is Rs 347.65 crore while it is Rs 172.33 crore for the Rajya Sabha : We can reduce this cost by having India Parliamentary System online. It will substantially reduce cost and there will be no damage to the furniture atleast.

Jai Ho
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Koranad 16 minutes ago

• BY emphasising the cost aspect, the emdia is only putting up the congress stand. This expenditure is nothing comapred to thes treamrolelr with which the congress has refused to accede to the request of a JPC to investigate the 2G scams. That is a cold murder of parliamentary democracy. If anyone is to be held responsible for this stastge of affairs, it is the congress which is heading the upA.
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Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal 20 minutes ago

• A 1% flat interest on the 2G scam worth about Rs176 000 crores is about Rs 1760 crores per year or about Rs 5 crores per day or about Rs 100 crores in 20 days without the recovery of the capital- which is Rs 176,000. It is a good idea to teach the Indian English speaking journalists some basic mathematics. In other words the people of India lost about Rs 100 crores in interest alone during the 20 days when the JPC was not constituted by the UPA government to protect Sonia Gandhi's "privacy" and "reputation"!!! Indian tax payers are not paying taxes to underwrite the reputation of some Sonia Gandhi or Ratan Tata or that of the Supreme Court Judges but to get value for money. What is the problem in constituting a JPC?

Sonia's so called privacy has been protected by not investigating her connections to the ISI and the KGB, even her religious orientation given to the Indian Census department is not published because it would somehow infringe her "privacy", even Sonia's extra constitutional position as the UPA cum NAC chairperson on whose pleasure the Union Cabinet headed by the Indian Prime Minister and his cabinet and its members retains power is not investigated because it would infringe Sonia's so called privacy? Sonia's dual citizenship cannot be investigated despite her holding both Indian and Italian Passports along with her children Rahul and Priyanka as it would infringe Sonia's privacy.............What about the protection of the Indian Constitution from indirect abrogation and dilution through the UPA Chairperson Mr.Supreme Court Judges?
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Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal 7 minutes ago in reply to Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal

• If the Supreme Court and High Court Judges do not uphold the integrity of the Indian Constitution to protect Sonia's so called "Right to Privacy" over and above the "Right to Constitution" "Right to Rule of Law", "Right against Corruption through bullying, harassment and persecution" it would not be long before the aam aadmi of India would march to the courts in India for protecting one individual's privacy over and above the interests of the nation. Bill Clinton too could have hid under this kind of so called "privacy" during the Monika Lewinsky scandal but the US Judiciary stood its ground and enforced the US Constitution. The Indian Judges' comments about "imperilling" the Indian media through coercive "Contempt of Court" and other draconian judicial measures ought to be fought and defeated. After all corruption is a rule of law problem where the Judges failed to uphold rule of law by inventing and spin doctoring the concepts of "privacy". India needs good journalists bold and courageous instead of those who shrink like violets before the threats of a few Supreme Court Judges who want to white wash the 2 G scam to protect the Sonia family against the informed interests of the 1.2 billion Indian citizens. Those who are corrupt ought to pay the price and they cannot be exonerated by the courts or the regulators in India. They have to stand trial and get punished under the due process. Period!!!!
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Dearindia 10 minutes ago in reply to Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal

• This is Sad and True state of India, However what can be done when Govt. is adamant and has become indifferent to these scandal . Not to mention zero safety and security of its citizens.
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 Dear Sir/Madam,

Re:Right to Privacy, Right to Reputation, Right to Good Will of Citizens Versus Right to Constitutionalism, Right to Rule of Law, Right Against Corruption of 1.2 Billion Citizens and the Supreme Court Judges' Strictures

Further to the above I write to convey my deep concerns about the Supreme Court's and their Judges' stand against corruption in India. It is fact that the Supreme Court Judges' over the top in protecting the so called Right to Privacy and Right to Reputation of the prominent citizens in India against the Right to Rule of Law, Right to Constitutionalism, Right to Equality Before Law enjoyed by the 1.2 billion citizens of India.

The Supreme Court's strictures against the Indian media is a draconian transgression of the Right to Freedom of Expression to protect the Prime Minister, the UPA Chairperson and her family against the informed best interests of the citizens of India. The Supreme Court which even went to the extent of describing the Allahabad High Court as having something rotten there due to the Judges' affiliations ought to explain to the aam aadmi of India- the Indian citizenry of 1.2 billion whether it respects the so called privacy of individuals above national interest.

Mr.William Jefferson Clinton the former US President too could have taken shelter under a perverted interpretation of privacy to check mate the Monika Lewinsky allegations besides his role in the perjury, perversion of the course of justice, false deposition in Paula Jones' case which undermines Rule of Law. The US Judiciary stood its ground and did not obstruct public debate through the media or through the US Congress or through hundreds of chat rooms. This being the case the Indian Supreme Court Judges have a duty to declare their interest in protecting the privacy of selective litigants whilst it is not available to all citizens of India. The Supreme Court and the High Court failed in their duty to be the true custodians of the Indian Constitution and their citizenry at large as is evident from the installation of extra constitutional authorities ultra vires the Indian Constitution such as the UPA cum NAC Chairperson cum ruling party President upon whose "Doctrine of Pleasure" the Union Cabinet headed by the Indian Prime Minister functions.

A Supreme Court which stood helplessly watching this indirect abrogation of the Indian Constitution and its Parliamentary system forfeited its right and authority to comment about the denigration of the office of the Indian Prime Minister by A Raja due to his purported disregard for the counsel of the PMO in the 2 G scam.

I adduce my comments in Hindustan Times as an exhibit for necessary action.

Thanking you in anticipation of this favour,

Johnson Thomas K

formerly,

Advocate Supreme Court of India

Solicitor Supreme Court of England and Wales

Exhibit 1

Hindustan Times Report on Parliamentary Stalemate and the Loss of Money and My comments about the Supreme Court's concept of Privacy favouring the few against the citizenry even at the expense of the integrity of the Indian Constitution.

The Copy of the Attachment for the Email Above

 "But, they must keep a clear conscience that nation's interest are safe-guarded and her public better served............" - Ethereal Aroma

You are expecting too much from the BJP. Except the Left front, no party can be considered to have any kind of constructive ideology. And the Left ideology is no longer relevant. The choice today is between the devil (Congress) and the clown (BJP). Currently, it seems that BJP will cause less damage to the nation.

Mr author, so much of money has been drained out of public exchequer into the pockets of corrupt Congressis thru such scams of whopping extent and unimaginable levels that nobody can feel to sit and listen to their ridiculous arguments full of stinks and illogicality....  All know it well they have big mouthed sibbals & tewaris of the world who have expertized in diversionary tactics, and of course a media to provide them logistics thru regular hoodwinks .....  Opposition has never shied away from debate...... But, more  than  a debate, its a time to act on these shameless scams...... Sonia's Congress has already caused irreparable damage to the professionalism of  our public institutions whether it be CBI, CVC,EC and media..... Today, their  credibility is at rock bottom and Congress, if allowed to work the same way will for sure cause it to doom to extinction, once and for all...... 

I think, BJP should do whatever they can to stop Sonia's Congress from looting this country and thwart their sinister agenda......But, they must keep a clear conscience that nation's interest are safe-guarded and her public better served............

Today we see Sonia Gee saying BJP is more corrupt than us, we atleast ask our ministers to resign. Will she ask the Dhritharashtra-like PM to resign?

The scale of these scams warrant a thorough, long-legged, enduring probe. As R.K. Raghavan says, regular whistle blowing is an anxiety-producer for the dishonest. 

If the Congress wanted the Parliament to function, they could have been like the good mother in the Judgement of Solomon.

Why does the Congress resist a JPC? A good summary on a TOI blog.

Here is my query. Why is everyone saying that the house didn't function?

The purpose of the house is not just to sit and talk. It (particularly the opposition) also acts as a check on the govt. To this extent, "stalling" of the parliament by the opposition has been much much more effective than its "functioning".

For Kapil Sibal,national interest is only when Sonia and her family are under scanner.

No JPC has ever been convened without parliament being disrupted by the opposition. The articulate Kapil Sibal pronounced in his typical style that a JPC is necessary only to equire into matters of national interest. Does he not think a monstrous loss to the exchequer, whether it is 1.76 lakh crores as estimated by the CAG or 22,000 crores as per the CBI's calculation is immaterial, a matter of national interest? Perhaps he could give us some examples of when he thinks a JPC is justified.

No JPC has ever been convened without parliament being disrupted by the opposition. The articulate Kapil Sibal pronounced in his typical style that a JPC is necessary only to equire into matters of national interest. Does he not think a monstrous loss to the exchequer, whether it is 1.76 lakh crores as estimated by the CAG or 22,000 crores as per the CBI's calculation is immaterial, a matter of national interest? Perhaps he could give us some examples of when he thinks a JPC is justified.

For Kapil Sibal,national interest is only when Sonia and her family are under scanner.

Here is my query. Why is everyone saying that the house didn't function?

The purpose of the house is not just to sit and talk. It (particularly the opposition) also acts as a check on the govt. To this extent, "stalling" of the parliament by the opposition has been much much more effective than its "functioning".

Today we see Sonia Gee saying BJP is more corrupt than us, we atleast ask our ministers to resign. Will she ask the Dhritharashtra-like PM to resign?

The scale of these scams warrant a thorough, long-legged, enduring probe. As R.K. Raghavan says, regular whistle blowing is an anxiety-producer for the dishonest. 

If the Congress wanted the Parliament to function, they could have been like the good mother in the Judgement of Solomon.

Why does the Congress resist a JPC? A good summary on a TOI blog.

Mr author, so much of money has been drained out of public exchequer into the pockets of corrupt Congressis thru such scams of whopping extent and unimaginable levels that nobody can feel to sit and listen to their ridiculous arguments full of stinks and illogicality....  All know it well they have big mouthed sibbals & tewaris of the world who have expertized in diversionary tactics, and of course a media to provide them logistics thru regular hoodwinks .....  Opposition has never shied away from debate...... But, more  than  a debate, its a time to act on these shameless scams...... Sonia's Congress has already caused irreparable damage to the professionalism of  our public institutions whether it be CBI, CVC,EC and media..... Today, their  credibility is at rock bottom and Congress, if allowed to work the same way will for sure cause it to doom to extinction, once and for all...... 

I think, BJP should do whatever they can to stop Sonia's Congress from looting this country and thwart their sinister agenda......But, they must keep a clear conscience that nation's interest are safe-guarded and her public better served............

 "But, they must keep a clear conscience that nation's interest are safe-guarded and her public better served............" - Ethereal Aroma

You are expecting too much from the BJP. Except the Left front, no party can be considered to have any kind of constructive ideology. And the Left ideology is no longer relevant. The choice today is between the devil (Congress) and the clown (BJP). Currently, it seems that BJP will cause less damage to the nation.

 Dear Sir/Madam,

Re:Right to Privacy, Right to Reputation, Right to Good Will of Citizens Versus Right to Constitutionalism, Right to Rule of Law, Right Against Corruption of 1.2 Billion Citizens and the Supreme Court Judges' Strictures

Further to the above I write to convey my deep concerns about the Supreme Court's and their Judges' stand against corruption in India. It is fact that the Supreme Court Judges' over the top in protecting the so called Right to Privacy and Right to Reputation of the prominent citizens in India against the Right to Rule of Law, Right to Constitutionalism, Right to Equality Before Law enjoyed by the 1.2 billion citizens of India.

The Supreme Court's strictures against the Indian media is a draconian transgression of the Right to Freedom of Expression to protect the Prime Minister, the UPA Chairperson and her family against the informed best interests of the citizens of India. The Supreme Court which even went to the extent of describing the Allahabad High Court as having something rotten there due to the Judges' affiliations ought to explain to the aam aadmi of India- the Indian citizenry of 1.2 billion whether it respects the so called privacy of individuals above national interest.

Mr.William Jefferson Clinton the former US President too could have taken shelter under a perverted interpretation of privacy to check mate the Monika Lewinsky allegations besides his role in the perjury, perversion of the course of justice, false deposition in Paula Jones' case which undermines Rule of Law. The US Judiciary stood its ground and did not obstruct public debate through the media or through the US Congress or through hundreds of chat rooms. This being the case the Indian Supreme Court Judges have a duty to declare their interest in protecting the privacy of selective litigants whilst it is not available to all citizens of India. The Supreme Court and the High Court failed in their duty to be the true custodians of the Indian Constitution and their citizenry at large as is evident from the installation of extra constitutional authorities ultra vires the Indian Constitution such as the UPA cum NAC Chairperson cum ruling party President upon whose "Doctrine of Pleasure" the Union Cabinet headed by the Indian Prime Minister functions.

A Supreme Court which stood helplessly watching this indirect abrogation of the Indian Constitution and its Parliamentary system forfeited its right and authority to comment about the denigration of the office of the Indian Prime Minister by A Raja due to his purported disregard for the counsel of the PMO in the 2 G scam.

I adduce my comments in Hindustan Times as an exhibit for necessary action.

Thanking you in anticipation of this favour,

Johnson Thomas K

formerly,

Advocate Supreme Court of India

Solicitor Supreme Court of England and Wales

Exhibit 1

Hindustan Times Report on Parliamentary Stalemate and the Loss of Money and My comments about the Supreme Court's concept of Privacy favouring the few against the citizenry even at the expense of the integrity of the Indian Constitution.

The Copy of the Attachment for the Email Above

Please find the attachment of my email communication to the Supreme Court of India cited as a reply to this piece as below

• According to official figures, the total budget for Lok Sabha for the current fiscal year is Rs 347.65 crore while it is Rs 172.33 crore for the Rajya Sabha : We can reduce this cost by having India Parliamentary System online. It will substantially reduce cost and there will be no damage to the furniture atleast.

Jai Ho
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Koranad 16 minutes ago

• BY emphasising the cost aspect, the emdia is only putting up the congress stand. This expenditure is nothing comapred to thes treamrolelr with which the congress has refused to accede to the request of a JPC to investigate the 2G scams. That is a cold murder of parliamentary democracy. If anyone is to be held responsible for this stastge of affairs, it is the congress which is heading the upA.
• Flag
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Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal 20 minutes ago

• A 1% flat interest on the 2G scam worth about Rs176 000 crores is about Rs 1760 crores per year or about Rs 5 crores per day or about Rs 100 crores in 20 days without the recovery of the capital- which is Rs 176,000. It is a good idea to teach the Indian English speaking journalists some basic mathematics. In other words the people of India lost about Rs 100 crores in interest alone during the 20 days when the JPC was not constituted by the UPA government to protect Sonia Gandhi's "privacy" and "reputation"!!! Indian tax payers are not paying taxes to underwrite the reputation of some Sonia Gandhi or Ratan Tata or that of the Supreme Court Judges but to get value for money. What is the problem in constituting a JPC?

Sonia's so called privacy has been protected by not investigating her connections to the ISI and the KGB, even her religious orientation given to the Indian Census department is not published because it would somehow infringe her "privacy", even Sonia's extra constitutional position as the UPA cum NAC chairperson on whose pleasure the Union Cabinet headed by the Indian Prime Minister and his cabinet and its members retains power is not investigated because it would infringe Sonia's so called privacy? Sonia's dual citizenship cannot be investigated despite her holding both Indian and Italian Passports along with her children Rahul and Priyanka as it would infringe Sonia's privacy.............What about the protection of the Indian Constitution from indirect abrogation and dilution through the UPA Chairperson Mr.Supreme Court Judges?
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Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal 7 minutes ago in reply to Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal

• If the Supreme Court and High Court Judges do not uphold the integrity of the Indian Constitution to protect Sonia's so called "Right to Privacy" over and above the "Right to Constitution" "Right to Rule of Law", "Right against Corruption through bullying, harassment and persecution" it would not be long before the aam aadmi of India would march to the courts in India for protecting one individual's privacy over and above the interests of the nation. Bill Clinton too could have hid under this kind of so called "privacy" during the Monika Lewinsky scandal but the US Judiciary stood its ground and enforced the US Constitution. The Indian Judges' comments about "imperilling" the Indian media through coercive "Contempt of Court" and other draconian judicial measures ought to be fought and defeated. After all corruption is a rule of law problem where the Judges failed to uphold rule of law by inventing and spin doctoring the concepts of "privacy". India needs good journalists bold and courageous instead of those who shrink like violets before the threats of a few Supreme Court Judges who want to white wash the 2 G scam to protect the Sonia family against the informed interests of the 1.2 billion Indian citizens. Those who are corrupt ought to pay the price and they cannot be exonerated by the courts or the regulators in India. They have to stand trial and get punished under the due process. Period!!!!
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Dearindia 10 minutes ago in reply to Johnson Thomas Karingozhakal

• This is Sad and True state of India, However what can be done when Govt. is adamant and has become indifferent to these scandal . Not to mention zero safety and security of its citizens.
• Flag
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Facilitating orderly Parliamentary proceedings is the first responsibility of the Speaker. She requires the necessary power to enable her to do so. She should have adequate security force at her command to bodily remove any member trying to disrupt the work of the House by staging demonstations in the well of the house or trying to shout down legitimate speakers. She should have the powers to expel miscreants for a certain period of time, fine them or censure them. This is important because if the opposition, either the BJP or the Congress, can hold the Parliament hostage in order to have what they want, democracy itself becomes subject to ridicule.

 @ THE IRREVERENT INDIAN

u said...."You are expecting too much from the BJP"

See hope can keep my belief intact on democracy...... Keeping double mind will only further Congress' cause ...... 

As far as Left is concerned, ideologically they are constructive as u said but too deplorable to add anything positive to nation or society....... And see their hypocrisy in connection with India's relations with US or china, the format of selective secularism they espouse with or the apathy they render to developmental activities.......

 in practice even the act is an act of courage! the way our mandates are given , it is tough to act against the corrupt as if you do, you will end up implicating 80% of the MPs! here we are talkin about a PM not acting on its alliance partner. we have parties in this country who dont act on their own ministers. people choose to comment on whats currently hot news. everyone in the scam should be punished right from paswan days and mahajan days. because the seeds for the simmering corporate rivalry was sown then . why does rahul mahajan still dance and get married every other year , have drugs and still have the whose who in power circles lining up for him? why does the cabinet lift charges against its ministers in karnataka? they insult the lokayukta. The cbi was the same in NDA times yet no reform was done. their ministers walked scott free in so many scandals right from ayodhya to defence to bangaru scam and bjp had no issues with cbi then. The JPC they are so adamant on has a dubious record itself. advani and the gandhis came out of JPC unscathed. DMK chief seems to have given indications that he is ok with JPC and yet congress doesnt relent . why? as JPC is a forum were the sides decide on how to give each other a way out. every state institution is undermined . as if the courts were different when bjp was in power. jharkhand and karnataka are examples of what bjp preaches and does. andhra , under YSR has also scaled new highs in corruption . when ysr son declares income of hundreds of crores , some people say , wao he is an honest tax payer! no side can claim to be clean in this entire muddle. Manmohanji is a man of impecceble repute. india should consider itself lucky it has him as PM. atalji too worked with people with very dubious records but the man's integrity was never in doubt. we wont understand how politics works in a country were people like lalu , mulayam , paswan , pawar , reddys , raja , jaya etc etc etc get chosen into parliament . surely then , you need someone with chanakya neeti tu rule . i think in that light soniaji has done a wonderful job as she is slowly cutting the feathers of all these regional satraps. india should give a full mandate before raising fingers at any party. each party should be held responsible for its own flock

 "Facilitating orderly Parliamentary proceedings is the first responsibility of the Speaker..... ..... of time, fine them or censure them. " - Anwaar

What a dumbass comment!! We have a speaker whose voice is so feeble that her command won't reach even her own ears, leave alone the marshalls/ guards.

PS: As per Manmohan Sangh, Meera Kumar is sitting on that chair by virtue of  being a lady from a backward caste. A more capable person on that post may have helped the Congress. Not now!!

Irreverent India,

>> Facilitating orderly Parliamentary proceedings is the first responsibility of the Speaker..... ..... of time, fine them or censure them. " - Anwaar

>>  We have a speaker whose voice is so feeble that her command won't reach even her own ears, leave alone the marshalls/ guards.

If you had any brains, you would have understood that I was talking of strenghthening the powers of the office of the Speaker, not about an individual. The same raucous scenes occurred in the House before Meera Kumar became a Speaker.

 ""If you had any brains,..."

Sanghis don't have brains. All brain-power has been monopolized by the seculars. 

"The same raucous scenes occurred in the House before Meera Kumar became a Speaker."

So, why does the ruckus hurt you NOW? Was it Okay when the seculars were doing it?

The point is simple - Congress hasn't delivered much in 50+ years of its rule. So, believe me, nothing radical would have happened during those 20 odd days as well.

Irrelevant India,

>>  why does the ruckus hurt you NOW? Was it Okay when the seculars were doing it?
 

No, it wasn't. You are in effect saying that nothing should be done about Parliament being brought to a halt by the opposition again and again.

>> You are in effect saying that nothing should be done about Parliament being brought to a halt by the opposition again and again.

Something should be done. Like, constituting a JPC.

The Congress must be demanded accountability and a JPC for the LAST 50 YEARS!!! 50 years of absolute disaster, and not just the 2g scam. Congress dare not ever blame any other party let alone the BJP for the disaster they have led the country into all these decades through mismanagement, arrogance and corruption. Their ministers are and have always been full of horse s#*t. Look at them behaving like little children 'oh the other party does it too boo hoo hoo' . If it wasnt for the BJP in the last 10 years or so to have risen as a credible opposition India would be languishing in much worse a situation with the ministers going on a worse rampage with arrogant corruption ..what were people thinking in the last elections?? and ignorant newbies like Rahul Gandhi can get away with statements like 'my father always said only a small percentage of funds end up with the intended beneficiary'.. so uhm dude how is administration separate from government?? what charm?? the guys absolutely imbecile, clueless, and shamefully unsuitable ..in the west he would'nt even qualify to be a clerk in an administrative office. The BJP in comparison may not be the noblest or may not be able to completely root out evil but does have a stellar starcast in leadership; comprising people of cleaner image and progressive mentalities ..India shining if not the perfect ad campaign atleast gave an idea of their intentions. 

 In post no. 15, Anwaar deliberately mis-spelled my name to read as "Irrelevant India".

Anwaar, I can understand if you call me "Irrelevant". But, to tag "India" along with it exposes you as an apologist of the Anti-India brigade. You have nice company in Bin Laden, Dawood, Taliban, LeT, JuD et al. Keep going!!

Where were BJP in 2008 when 2G happened? The rules for the spectrum was set during BJP's regime. Even today nobody alleges government flouted rules 2 years ago.

Now BJP wants to stall parliament on this? I think Congress should go ahead and reconvene the parliament, with or without BJP, and conduct business. Constitution does not give opposition the veto power.

The BJP was right here in India maybe Rajesh wasnt. SET RULES? so you mean what was good in 2001 was good enough to be carried out in 2008? Its surprising folks make comments based on shockingly short term memory. Do you realize that for 2001 standards the license fee was set so high there was fear that service providers would never break even. The worse though is the stalling of 3G licenses to make up for 2008 2g fiasco delaying modern tech in a country trying to sell IT to the world. what parliament its a joke anyways.

#19,

It appears amusing to see people defending the Telecom Scam of 2008 on grounds that rules of spectrum were set in 2001.

Clearly, NDA Govt, whatever its fault was gone for good in May 2004 and it is 6 and half years since UPA Govt has taken over. What really stopped the UPA govt from changing spectrum allocation rules in last 6 and half years ? If UPA is all about following the rules set by previous NDA govt, why did we vote UPA in first place?

Also, it must be remembered that there is no point in taking 2001 rules as a guidelene for present day scenario. It is like comparing Windows 3.1 Operating system with Windows 7. The Mobile Phone Industry in 2001 was a marginal player. Till 2003, majority of people were using landlines (now those adults who refuse to recognize this should try to see movies of those era). The rules set for spectrum allocation in 2001 were made to encourage an industry that was in its infancy and seriously in red. But this is not the case in 2007-2008 , when industry had fully evolved into a mature adult.  An adult is not supposed to depend on infant food for his appetite. So the spectrum in 2008 should have been priced differently , since industry had evolved to maturity and started showing huge profits.

Whether Parliament is  blocked by BJP or whether Congress convenes the house irrespective of parliament block is not relevant now. What is relevant is that the Government of the day has sold a public asset (spectrum) at 2001 prices. This is the root of the scam . If government is so generous, why cant they sell Petrol, Diesel , LPG et al at 2001 prices to the public ? Can they ?

>> Even today nobody alleges government flouted rules 2 years ago.

Eh?

Everyone has been saying that Raja flouted rules. Have you been sleeping?

>> I think Congress should go ahead and reconvene the parliament, with or without BJP, and conduct business.

That would be valid. The govt certainly has this privilege, though it might be without the entire opposition, and not just the BJP. Wonder if this error on your part is genuine, or deliberate.

After all, the govt didn't care about the opinion of the leader of the opposition, while appointing a crook as the CVC. It is morally bankrupt anyway. Ignoring the biggest scandal and going ahead with business as usual would be par for MMS, PC etc.

what is and always has been business as usual - is corruption.

Oh and the government CAN sell petrol at 2001 prices if it wasnt for people-pleasing-vote-bank-politics unaffordable kerosene subsidies - and worse still trying to make up for those subsidies from petrol prices treating as all falling in the same basket ..and then misleading people by saying INTL OIL prices have gone up when they have been at historical lows. Oh btw KEROSENE BLACKMARKETING!!! how can a 5 BILLION dollar/year theft go unnoticed FOR SO LONG???? AMAZING - in this country and in this country only!  that is one scam going on for decades and nobody even talks about it!!! 

"How our MPs undermine our democracy". What a silly statement.

--   RADIA tapes have proved that it was "manipulators" who decided who become MINISTERS and WHAT portfolio each got.PM had no say in the cabinet formation. So the GOVT was formed by blatently "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY"

-- When RAJA commence to indulge in SPECTRUM SCAM he was directed by PM not to do it but he totally disregarded the PM and the PM did NOT dare to act aginst RAJA till opposition pushed him to do so.  That is "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY"

-- Charge sheeted CVC was appointed "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY".   

-- The opposition did not undermine democracy. They just demanded to find out, through JPC, how the LOOT occured and how the LOOTED national wealth can be recovered. It was stated somewhere that Parliament costs Rs 25 Crore per day. So 20 Days would have cost Rs 500 Crore. Any fool will agree that spending Rs 500 Crore to recover Rs 1,70,0000000000 Crore  LOOTED is neither "UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY nor bad INVESTMENT.

well all that makes sense ..the raja ministry did it the 2001 way so that when questioned it can wiggle its way out by using exactly that as an excuse - that rules were set by the BJP! thus showing complete faith in the one constant - indian peoples short term memory ..not anticipating what it was going to snowball into fast forward to present 'Jam' session.

"Raja was directed by PM 'not to do it'"??? who are you? i am inclined to presume your mental age to be not more than 15 unaware of worldly ways..well that was the PMs escape hatch to wash his hands off the affair as he could see what was to come ..thus in techno accepting we have not one but several parties running the show each after its own pound of flesh. btw india needs a Nitish Kumar not a MMS ..at best mms can manage a few individual portfolios efficiently but definitely not pm material.

..no truly is it still about money and figures and how much it costs to run the parliament and how much for allowances and silly math where everybody trying to be the next expert on the union budget..? WAKE UPP! as shekhar kapur very aptly put it that the last 20 days has proven we dont need them really".. well let some university run the countrys affairs ..lets outsource governance and make them accountable.. Lets stop using the word 'RULE' (as in 'ruling party'..disgusting..even chetan bhagat does it).. let an organisation 'hold office' ..anything less than a revolution is not going to do for a country the size of India..  hire infosys or wipro or heck even ibm ..why limit UIDs to Nandan, let him do it all!! 'india' is a profitable franchise ..i know i sound crazy but not half as loony as indias ministers.. 

Sonia Gandh - The BJP is more corrupt. They have no right to point fingers at the Congress

L K Advani - Lobbyists appoint ministers, the Congress is a party of corruption.

Manish Tiwari (how can any decent human being stand him on TV?) -Mr. Goswami will you let me respond? the DMK has to answer this. We cannot speak for them.

Ravi Shankar Prasad - This is not acceptable in a democracy

Kapil Sibal - It was in the BJP regime in 2001 that all his scam started.

Jayanthi Natarajan (another one not meant for TV cameras) - Madam Sonia and our Prime Minister have condemned this (did she mean condoned) in the strongest terms.

Raja - I have submitted my resignation to the Prime Minister

Sharad Pawar - I don't know anything, I was in Lavassa.

Pranab Mukherjee - We wll have double digit growth in GDP.

Arun Jaitley - Look at Andhra Pradesh, Adarsh, 2G, we need a P M who is accountable.

Veerappa Moily - We will pass a law in the next session (!!!) of Parliament.

Sushma Swaraj - We cannot promise you that the budget session will run.

Prakash Karat - Why is no one asking me anything?

You and me - it is their corruption vs 'their" corruption. We are getting $#@*ed in the middle. Does anyone bother. Will anything change in India?

The biggest disappointment is the PM. A man of great integrity, but where is the action?

Jai Hind.

"shekhar kapur very aptly put it that the last 20 days has proven we dont need them really"

CITIZEN,

It is the POLITICIANS who have been thrown out in each SCAM- Chavan in Adarsh Scam, Raja in 2G etc. Such massive SCAMS like 2G, CWG, ADARSH etc can NOT occur without the active connivance of the BABUS. But none of the BABUS have been held accountable.

The politicians have to face election every five years and WE THE PEOPLE can throw out any of them- WE did it to Ms Indira Gandhi, Mr Morarji Desai, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh, Vajpayee etc etc. WE THE PEOPLE even rejected the present PM- MMS when he contested from Delhi, and he had to get into RAJYA SABHA via backdoor stating that he is an "ORDINARY RESIDENT OF ASSAM". But can WE THE PEOPLE get even a Peon thrown out??? The maximum that BABUS face for not being "party to corruption with politicians" is a transfer. If the newly posted BABU insist on being HONEST, the transfer will lose its value. So it is the BABUS who should be MADE MORE ACCOUNTABLE to reduce corruption. 

Since this is now turned into a forum ..let me reiterate, if it wasnt for the BJP going the 'progress' first corruption later way, congress would've been worse because now they have to somewhat perform (as they would be pitted against another performer) even if just for the cameras ..because their manual always read 'corruption first' progress later or never if they had it their way which they did for many years, no need to go there ..because thats where we are ha ha; And where do you think lie the origins of Babudom??? and who you think failed to put a leash on it when it spiraled out of control?? that is where foreign-lingo-to-the-government terms such as 'administration', 'accountability', 'deft management' come in...taking those 'tough decisions', learning from china if we have to (and not always criticising them).. instead our govt says hey we will give you freedom of speech so you can knock yourself out writing/discussing/venting about our behaviour instead of responsible administration, wheres the fun in that? ..if you look into nitish kumars idea of change it starts from babus and ministers ..putting his foot down where it needs put down ..unlike a certain mock PM who is afraid to face the jury, the nation, the challenge ..shriveled up in his lil cocoon aw poor thing .. I would be so relieved if everybody just stopped ranting about his honesty!! my maid is honest too!  what good is it without courage and a clear conscience? So i ask what is his actual job? the telecom minister does what he wants which means so do  other 'ministers'.. twiddling thumbs count as a job? maybe yes for an honest man because an un-honest one would be out there doing dishonest stuff... so is he to india/government what shah rukh khan is to fairness creams? hmm ..somebody light needs shed here ..omg i do not know what ms's job is? if i were him and half as honest as people think, i would just climb atop qutub minar (drunk optional) or some high 'post' because i couldnt take it anymore dish out one helluva speech to the people of this nation about 'the truth' and quit because clearly in all fairness, i do not deserve that post.. 

 People are confused, elsewhere and in this forum. Lack of knowledge how the country is governed is astonishing.

First a lesson on how the government functions.. Enactment of law is in parliament's domain. That telecom law was not amended in 2008 was the parliament's failure. All parties failed with congress sharing the most blame. But there is nothing illegal happened. Parliament enacts or not enacts lot of good and not so good laws. Raja was also member of this parliament but he cannot be singularly blamed for not amending the telecom law.

Now there is another branch of the government called the executive branch. Raja's job was to implement the laws enacted by the parliament and he did it superbly. Under his watch the telecommunication flourished to become the most competitive in the world. 

Sibel, who recently took charge of telecom ministry, has very different record. He is responsible for the education and India fairs terribly here. India still has most illiterate in the world. Higher education, his favorite area, is also in no better shape. Forget about the world, no Indian university is ranked among top even in Asia. But media's hero is Sibel, not Raja. Because Sibel belongs to the same class as the media people.

>> First a lesson on how the government functions...

What a stupid post.

stupid indeed ..seconded.

straight out of the british'raj' handbook ..because our ministers here are incapable of thinking on their own. Its our ministers you twat who make 'illegal' look like 'legal' and sadly its 'majority' folks like you exactly they manage to fool; they spend their entire lives honing that skill and THEN only then they become fit to be ministers of this great nation. Policies need to be DYNAMIC its not optional!!, ..like answerable officers running a corporate they have to be ON THEIR TOES 24/7 ..congress legacy finds that too much hard work; Rajas associates' billion dollar holdings in telco companies was all over the news. yes india did benefit from cheap spectrum but not so that it all ends up in scammers' bank accounts ..and not so that 3g gets delayed by 5 years!! I am saddened for the delay than the immediate monetary gains.

>> People are confused, elsewhere and in this forum. Lack of knowledge how the country is governed is astonishing

It is your own ignorance of facts and history that should be astonishing

* Yes, enactment of law is in the domain of parliament. But the primary responsibility of enacting laws lies with the ruling government. Because, it is the ruling government that understands the ground situation at best and has the necessary inputs from the bureaucracy to enact the right laws to enable the industry grow

* Your mentioning that Raja's tenure saw the industry become world competitvie is hilarious. You seem to be using this forum to display your ignorance of telecom history.

Let us go back to recent history. The NTP 1994 was a disaster. In first five years, the telecom industry simply failed to deliver results. The NTP 1999 was modified to enable industry grow and integrate and compete. The results did not show up. Even in 2001, barely a few million Indians used cellphones. The real game changer was the years 2002-2006 - a series of decisions like awarding license to BSNL, migration of WLL into proper CDMA licenses, allowing pan india operation, moving to a revenue share regime etc, helped. From a few million cell phone users in 2001, we had 150 million in 2006, that is nearly a 50 fold growth. Tariffs crashed by 90% in that period. Raja's era of tariff cuts wouldnt have happened if we did not live through the era of 2001-2006.

The basic issue is that once Mobile phone Industry in India became hugely profitable even with low tariffs, (that was the case by 2006), spectrum, a public resource should have been priced at a premium. Raja's mistake was aboutpricing a scarce public resource at a throwaway price, awarding same arbitrarily to some businesses. Most importantly, those who were awarded have failed to use it effectively and bring the telephone connectivity to the masses in rural India. Your Class/Caste argument simply falls flat, because it is the telephone license holders before Raja's tenure which are giving service to rural India (incl BSNL).  Sibal may have done a poor job, and he may not be a good telecom minister, but that does not make Raja's decisions right in any way.

The bottomline is that awarding public resource to private parties at throwaway prices without any public benefit is a crime of highest sort.

I feel congress-UPA by not allowing JPC are actually deepening suspicion of common man that Sonia and Rahul or Manmohan are involved in the scam. If that is not real they should accept JPC. BJP will and should exploit weakness of Congress.

 Saba Naqvi has ignored, perhaps deliberately, the opposition's argument that the issue of spectrum allocation has been debated in the Parliament on many occasions over a period of two years. Even after the sandal became unmanageable the PM and his boss delayed the decision of sacking Raja for months. So Saba's leanings are clear from this piece.

Anwaar (post#9),

you have said, "She (madam speaker) should have adequate security force at her command to bodily remove any member trying to disrupt the work of the House by staging demonstations in the well of the house or trying to shout down legitimate speakers. She should have the powers to expel miscreants for a certain period of time, fine them or censure them."

How about (you) advising Madam Sonia to declare emergency and have a designer parliament?

 "How about (you) advising Madam Sonia to declare emergency and have a designer parliament?" - BVSHENOY

With all key offices like President, CVC, Election Commission and CBI compromised, we already have a modern and sublime version of 'Emergency'. 

 Saba did you met any version of Radia

Shenoy,

>> How about (you) advising Madam Sonia to declare emergency and have a designer parliament?

Sad to see that you do not consider disruption of Parliament serious. If parliament cannot conduct its business, democracy becomes a joke.
 

 "If parliament cannot conduct its business, democracy becomes a joke." - Anwaar

The onus of ensuring the functioning of the parliament lies with the ruling party. They forced the opposition to resort to this by continually dodging all requests for debates in 2008 and 2010.

In this particular case, please take this twist on your comment: If parliament had conducted its business, a joke would have become 'democracy'.

If you are so pained at "democracy becoming a joke", why do you support Kashmiri stone-pelters and Maoists?

Irreverent India,

>> The onus of ensuring the functioning of the parliament lies with the ruling party.

That's why the Speaker should have more powers to curb those who disrupt the work of the Parliament. The UPA was willing to have a debate on 2G but the opposition insisted on having a JPC. JPC has no investigative powers. Eventually the JPC would have recommended a CBI probe. Well the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe, which the SC shall itself supervise. The SC would be a better supervisor than a JPC. JPC's have not accomplished much in the past.

>> why do you support Kashmiri stone-pelters and Maoists?

I do not support stone pelters. I oppose people like you who advocated genocide to deal with them. I do not support Maoists. I support their right of free speech. Don't you understand anything?
 

Response to Anwaar's post # 41

"The UPA was willing to have a debate on 2G but the opposition insisted on having a JPC."

Repeating sub-text from post # 40 in bold: They forced the opposition to resort to this by continually dodging all requests for debates in 2008 and 2010.

Nothing stops the JPC to engage experts, relevant agencies or seek evidences etc. The simple reason for the ruling party to avoid JPC is that they don't have the requisite strength in Rajya Sabha as well as to avoid embarrassment of the PM.

"JPC's have not accomplished much in the past."

The same holds true for CBI investigations as well!! Credibility of CBI is even worse. As I see it, this is now a simple game of "Who blinks first".....

I can also assure that this will drag on for eternity - like all other cases involving the political class. The unspoken rule of Indian politics is "Bark as much as you want, but never bite your opponent".

Personally, I hate the current scenario of puppet President, puppet PM, puppet CVC... 

"Well the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe....."

CBI probe with Uncle Thomas donning the CVC role!?!!

"Don't you understand anything?"

No. As you have said before, I am a Sanghi. Forget issues of national import, I don't even understand why I discarded my Khaki shorts for these ass-kissing denims!!

>> "If parliament cannot conduct its business, democracy becomes a joke."

Parliament did conduct its business. This was the first time the govt did anything, even though small, on the 2G issue.

I hope this conduct continues in future sessions.

>> Perhaps the BJP is unhappy that the probe would extend to 2001

Expected lies from the hate peddler.

 ""Perhaps the BJP is unhappy that the probe would extend to 2001"

Arun Shourie explained the policy of NDA in his interview to Shekhar Gupta

"In 2001, tele-density in India was 3.8 per cent of the population. Today, it is nearly 50 per cent. At that time, spectrum was not short. Mobile telephony had just come. To encourage that, there was a policy. The whole sector had collapsed because of the fixed licence fee. So there was a transition to 1999. Okay, you don’t pay the fixed fee, you pay a share of the revenue. It saved the sector and led to growth. At that time, that price was discovered. In 2003, if you look at the figures, there was hardly any growth, 3.8 went to about 5 per cent (tele-density). Now, when you have this enormous growth, to say that this asset costs only that much, and a very interesting point also, the licences which were given were not being used in some parts of the country, northeast, I think Orissa or West Bengal, one of the eastern states and Kashmir also. So we said, we should move towards auctioning. We should separate licencing from spectrum. In the meantime, don’t hold up this process, go with the 2001 price. All this was done not by me alone, but by the group of ministers, by the cabinet."

So the onus is now on Congress to prove how this policy resulted in a massive loss to the exchequer and a loot happened. Let the SC investigate side by side. Let us also form a JPC and get to the bottom of this. 

>> Arun Shourie explained the policy of NDA in his interview to Shekhar Gupta

If the govt felt that the 2001 policy was bad, why did it not change it?

>> Arun Shourie explained the policy of NDA in his interview to Shekhar Gupta ...So the onus is now on Congress to prove how this policy resulted in a massive loss to the exchequer

What Mr. Raja has been saying is that he followed the same policy of his predecessors. Here is a report about the Affidavit filed in SC:
"On the allegation that Mr Raja had caused huge losses to the exchequer by allocating UAS licences for 2G spectrum at 2001 prices in 2007, the affidavit claimed that the whole calculation about alleged losses of `1.4 lakh crore or `70,000 crore was just speculation.
These projected losses were “unrealistic calculations” as the main emphasis of the policy devised by the government, after due consultation with TRAI, was on expanding teledensity in rural areas and widening it further in urban areas, the affidavit said.
DoT further claimed that there could not be any comparison between the price of 2G spectrum and 3G spectrum to calculate revenue losses as the real benefit in terms of revenue would be felt over years, with the increase in teledensity and allocation of 2G spectrum being a great success in this regard.
After the sale of UAS licences of 2G spectrum in 2007, the total number of phone users in the country had increased drastically to 723 million people, far higher than the 600 million projected by the end of 2012.
Teledensity in rural areas rose from six per cent in 2007 to 28.46 per cent by September 2010: the country’s overall teledensity went up to 69.99 per cent in this period.
The DoT even questioned the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter, saying “the issue of allotment and pricing of spectrum falls squarely in the domain of executive policymaking, and in which the scope for judicial review is highly restricted.”
 

>> The DoT even questioned the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter, saying “the issue of allotment and pricing of spectrum falls squarely in the domain of executive policymaking

Yet some secular dimwits were suggesting that it is a legislative function.

And so much for SC monitored CBI investigation. Instead, they don't want courts to look into it at all.

>> Arun Shourie explained the policy ....

We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says.

 "We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says." - Anwaar

People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.

>> We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says.

That's true. People who accuse him certainly don't want him to defend himself, or explain his policies or thought process. Fits perfectly with their Jihadi worldview.

>> We now have the CBI and the Supreme Court looking into it, so who cares what Shourie says.

The honest, nationalist crowd.

 "Weren't you defining your parameters of who should and who should not have freedom of speech just a few days ago?"

Of course!! When idiots like you hail Taliban or when lousy-brains like Geelani, Nasar Ahmed and Munusamy choose religion/ caste before nation in guise of 'freedom of speech', I think it is important for me to point this out. Though, it makes no sense to you or your fellow-thinkers.

Scam after scam in 2010.Govt. going at snails pace on scams and  alleged fraudsters. Unholy   coalition ally, painted   as rougues by media. Media too is hungry for promiinance on day to day basis. Picking up worthless news  while leaving the  news of importance  of national interest, people. Opposition empty handed, has run out of topics, It is not constructive opposition but destructive. Stalling parliament proceedings days and months.  The opposition  spokepersons  show hatred in their face and speech.Looks ready for street fight.A religion(Hindutva) based  political party might have found  space in national politics   with Mandir ,Masjid topic for a while  by touching the sentiments of the elderly majority, who have  vanisshed at greater speed.  Do India, Indians  deserve  Democracy? Are we the people, respecting  our laws,judiciary and legistlature.? For any strike, we destroy the National property. damage T^V   Air station ,transport vehicle causing inconveinence to public, elderly, the sick  and expecting mothers. Let politiciens propagate National Pride ,self respect,Unity. bring in fresh blood into politics with education.