Apropos Vir Sanghvi’s defence (‘Radia tapes weren’t authentic...’, Nov 7), it hasn’t taken him one year to say the tapes were not authentic, he had challenged the veracity of the tapes in a statement in the Hindustan Times just a week after they were released. He has always stuck to the line that, yes, he and Radia did have a conversation as he did with many other PR agents but the tapes had been altered or doctored by vested interests to cause mischief. Nor did Sanghvi quite apologise on the Headlines Today show, all he said was he was sorry the controversy disappointed many of his fans. When the anchor tried to make him apologise at the end of the show, Sanghvi bitingly asked him not to put words in his mouth. The Radia tapes were always a red herring, selectively released to shield the main culprits, who’re now tumbling out one by one. It’s time we forgot the tapes and moved on.
Sachin Kapoor, Mumbai
Instead of introspection and remorse, Vir attempts to spin and obfuscate. This merely reinforces the fact that he peddled his bespoke journalism and pretty much sold himself to Radia and her rich clients. But why is Vinod Mehta giving him space to shamelessly promote his self-delusion?
G. Bulkogi, Madurai
A good try, but Vir Sanghvi’s explanation is hardly convincing. He says that the tape that was published differed significantly from his recollection of the conversation. But he does not provide any subsequent clue to the “recollection of his conversation”. And while one can understand a rival party doing in a politician, why would anyone want to do the same to Vir. Unless, like Digvijay Singh, Vir too prefers the flavour of the season—blaming the Sangh parivar. Looks like he decided to come out of the woodwork after he saw Barkha Dutt brazen it out.
U. Narayana Das, Hyderabad
Shame on you, Vir Sanghvi. One thought you had handled it better than Barkha Dutt. But with this, you prove yourself to be a disgrace to journalism. Have you no shame at all? Why can’t you just go on enjoying the hospitality of good hotels and writing those food columns?
Shabnam Ali, New Delhi
Even before the Bhushan CDs were circulated, doctored CDs to smear inconvenient opponents had been par for the course in political circles. The recently rehabilitated Sanjay Joshi of the BJP was felled by his own partymen with a doctored CD. Vir Sanghvi was not born yesterday nor is he a babe in the woods in the field of journalism. It’s strange that he had to wait to be inspired by the Bhushans to get the Radia tape CDs tested. Testing CDs has been nothing new since the Tehelka tapes. Further, Sanghvi admits that each of the three labs in the US and UK told him it is almost impossible to check high-tech CDs for being spliced. He says, with no irony, that each of them nevertheless submitted them to a test and came out with a positive verdict about them being doctored. Presumably they were made an offer of a fee they could hardly refuse. This belated clarification is well-crafted and well-timed. With the Radia tapes now ceasing to be an issue, the time was right for Sanghvi to nudge his ‘recollection’ faculties.
Manish Banerjee, Calcutta
I don’t think anyone would want to doctor the tapes of a Vir Sanghvi conversation. He’s too much of a small fry in the larger scheme of things. What did him in was a tendency common to all journalists: ingratiating themselves with people of influence.
V.R. Ganesan, New Jersey
I spy another controversy: in the timing of Vir’s article and Niira Radia’s decision to quit PR. The media should probe her role in the K-G basin scam as well, since RIL too was among her clients. It will be tough, though, as all media entities are on Mukesh Ambani’s pay list. It’s amazing that it has been two years since Radia’s phone-tapping but no big guns from these corporate establishments have been convicted, in a case where the corporate lobbyists were hand in glove with the netas and babus in something worse than insider trading.
Shyamal Barua, Calcutta
Barkha Dutt has already accepted that she “might” have made a mistake in doing what she did. So her conversation was not doctored but yours were? Nice. And while we are at it, is it safe to assume that in your conversation with Radia, only your part was doctored but not Radia’s? After the tape revelations, one sees your columns in a new light. Unfortunately, one cannot but agree with some on the Right who have been crying themselves hoarse all along: that you are a paid scribe for the Congress. Go back to writing about kababs and biriyanis.
Amit, Tucson
All the journalists featuring in the Niira Radia tapes could win an Oscar for hypocrisy. Once we had journalists of the calibre of C.R. Irani, Durga Das and Frank Moraes. Now we have toxic hacks who are more wheeler-dealers with an English education. Rather than trying to prove their innocence in this roundabout fashion, Vir would do better to repent. Perhaps his readers will forgive him in due course..
R.K. Singh, Gurgaon
Vir Sanghvi’s defence could just be plausible. You can tape a few conversations any of us have ever had on the phone, cut and paste bits and pieces to sound like we are doing something dreadful. Whoever leaked the tapes wanted us to swallow them whole, and we obliged, all too readily, as we were expected to. And frankly I didn’t have a quarrel with Sanghvi’s argument in that Counterpoint that no corporate house should control the core assets of the country; they collectively belong to the people of India.
Viraaj Khosla, Los Angeles
When the Radia-media nexus was exposed, one remembers Vir Sanghvi expressing deep regret for what the tapes revealed about his conversations with her. And there can be no doubt about the most damaging part of the tapes: his writing a certain column in HT exactly as he has promised Radia on one of the tapes. Hence, on his own say-so at the time, the tapes were essentially true. Whether they have been doctored in bits or parts does not matter.
Manish Anand, Delhi
Vir and Barkha are the kind of intelligent people who know when to be liberal and when to keep mum to respect the “sentiments of the people”. Even when they are caught red-handed, they are not worried. They will still have their continuous supply of kababs and endless parties with the bosses. Padmashris may even be upgraded to Padmabhushans. ‘We the people’ are already accustomed to leaders like Diggy and Laloo, so what’s wrong with a few Virs and Barkhas in the media as well.
Jaleel, Lucknow
A pathetic, laughable attempt at self-defence. Did it take him close to a year to look for top-quality laboratories abroad, seeking out investigators who knew nothing about the case, had never heard of him and had no axe to grind? The country is better off without the likes of Vir and Barkha. Let them stay hidden.
G. Vishwanathan, Chennai
As I said then too, the hoo-ha against both Vir and Barkha is grossly exaggerated and possibly ill-motivated. There’s nothing in their private conversations that is extraordinary or egregious.
Anwaar, Dallas
Clever move, Vir, using the Shanti Bhushan CD episode as a crack in the door through which to sneak in and resuscitate your damaged credibility. Pity there are so many holes in this beleaguered explanation. No amount of whitewashing will be enough to breathe life into your dead reputation.
Alakshyendra, Hyderabad
Since Niira Radia has decided to quit the PR trade, the UPA government will have to look for a new PR agency to outsource governance. Perhaps Vir could apply.
Gilbert D’Souza, Bangalore
Vir is damaged goods, and this piece is proof of his arrogance. I didn't expect him to insult the readers’ intelligence like this.
Ajit Tendulkar, Seattle
Credibility, Mr Sanghvi, is as fragile as an egg-shell...like Humpty Dumpty, you can’t be put together again.
D.L. Narayan, Visakhapatnam
So, a lab told Vir that the voice on the tape did not match his? See what a year’s worth of trauma does to your voice?
K. Suresh, Bangalore
Who will trust his word again, he has betrayed both his readers and his viewers.
Shesh Kumar Jha, Darbhanga
Maybe Sanghvi can call his next book ‘Making Conclusive Evidence Inconclusive for Dummies’.
Hari, Chennai
One fact is proven beyond doubt: Vir has an incredibly thick skin.
Bhagat Singh, Atlantis
Having read the coments of Nasar ,I am aghast at how these jokers interpret violation of all norms of journalism.Sick.
On what basis is this Broker(vir) being called a SECULAAAAR.
Why because he asked Cho what was the vermilon on his forehead for?.That was none of his business.
Question his double speak on corruption.
Learn to live with technology. The new age of transparency makes all of us to be honest at all times. If we can't accept that, then keep writing your food column
[[Why not start asking questions about who leaked the tapes? Were some corporate interests suited by their release? Let's get to the bottom of this.]]
That needs to be done alright, but it is an entirely different issue and in no way alleviates Vir's wrongdoings. It is like saying that just because someone videotaped a murder and leaked it to the public, the act of leaking is more grievous than the act of the murder itself.
It's pretty upsurd how every debate has to take a RSS vs Cong turn. Lets stick to topic please.
Vir is a gifted writer and has the power to upset many important people through his articles. I am sure he has an army of enemies who have the resources to go to any costs to malign his image and name. Why haven't all the other 5000 tapes that Outlook once said it had access to been put out in public. Why such selective leakage? Most of the people whose conversations were released talking to Radia, turned out to have nothing to do with the 2G scam. And the real culprits are behind bars. Why not start asking questions about who leaked the tapes? Were some corporate interests suited by their release? Let's get to the bottom of this.
>> I said the tapes are ambiguous, not doctored.
So you're calling Vir a liar?
I thought you were his friend. Are you like Agnivesh, who like to stab "friends" in the back?
Nagaraj,
[[Despite being an Indian and a Hindu himself,it was a deliberate act on his part to insult an orthodox Hindu.]]
This is the unique hallmark of the "liberal Indian Hindu". He or she must denigrate symbols that are dear to a practising Hindu. All this, to be accepted as a secular Hindu by conservative non-Hindus.
I hate this Vir Sanghvi for one incident when he insulted Cho Ramaswamy at the begining of an interview by asking him what was all that on his forehead pointing to the vibhuti he had applied.Despite being an Indian and a Hindu himself,it was a deliberate act on his part to insult an orthodox Hindu.He surely did this act to please his Catholic benefactors,Sonia and Rahul.Will this fellow dare ask a Muslim as to why he is wearing a fez cap and sporting a beard? My comments are not connected with the article in question,but it is only to show the low calibre of this great journalist.
“Why is she (Kiran Bedi) being mercilessly attacked? “Not in this forum!”
But definitely by our resident hypocrite!!! Why is he hiding behind others now?
"If Vir and Radia had the same take on an issue, it does not necessarily mean one influenced the other.”
Our resident hypocrite sees what he wants to see, or rather, sees what’s convenient to him. Vir is asking something like “what slant do you want me to give”. If that’s not influencing or getting influenced, I don’t know what is.
“No columnist would pass such scrutiny. You are just laying it on thic!. In any case, we can just agree to disagree instead of going back and forth indefinitely.”
Our resident hypocrite is running out of arguments now. He is looking for a hole to run into. “I said the tapes are ambiguous, not doctored. I think we have exhausted this topic.”
Where oh where is the hole!!!
Vir, you say tapes are 'doctored'. What then is the original content of tapes? The crux of the whole controversy is the import of the 'content' of the tapes, tampered or not. This is a diversionary tactic similar to 2G scam, where the controversy was diverted to 'FCFS vs auction' whereas the scam related to 'dubious way FCFS was implemented'.
Alakshyendra,
>> the onus is on Vir to prove that the tapes were doctored.
I said the tapes are ambiguous, not doctored. I think we have exhausted this topic.
Anwaar,
[[The tapes are ambiguous.]]
We can debate that till the cows come home, but the onus is on Vir to prove that the tapes were doctored and thus far, he hasn't been able to do that.
>> As the tapes reveal, the so-called "coincidence" was not merely an innocent convergence of views.
The tapes are ambiguous.
For those who feel Vir waited a year to say the tapes weren't authentic- please read his statement in the Hindustan Times the week after the tapes were released (one year ago). He challenged the veracity of the tapes even then. He has always stuck to the line that yes- he and Radia did have a conversation as he did with many other PR agents - but the tapes had been altered or doctored to cause some mischeif by people with vested interests.
One thing I want to clarify. I clearly remember Vir Sanghvi "not" apologizing on the Rahul Kanwal show, as many people think. He said he is sorry that this controversy disappointed his fans etc but he "certainly" did not apologize. He mentioned the tapes did not sound right. When Rahul Kanwal tried to make him say sorry at the end of the show, in fact, Vir Sanghvi gave him a biting comeback, asking Rahul not to put words in his mouth.
I think this whole Radia tape, which has nothing to do with the 2G scam, should be put to rest. Anybody who has followed this will know that the Radia tapes were a mere smokescreen, put out to take people's eye off the main culprits.
And now, the main culprits are tumbling out, one by one.
And we are still stuck talking about the red herring -- the Radia tapes. Grow up peaople.
[[If Vir and Radia had the same take on an issue, it does not necessarily mean one influenced the other.]]
Nor does it mean the absence of influence. It is one thing for you to argue that the tapes were doctored as Vir is doing, in which case the whole argument (that Radia influenced Vir's column) would fall flat on its face, quite another to say that the coincidence of views is not a case of one influencing the other. As the tapes reveal, the so-called "coincidence" was not merely an innocent convergence of views. So it is not clear why you're defending him.
I friend asked me back then, what do you guess, what might happen to Outlook, Open magazine, Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghavi?
I was difficult to predict (especially the future) :D, but I thought; Outlook will take the storm gracefully; Open Magazine might be in trouble for lack of resources; Barkha will keep on doing the shows, but less shining; Vir is in Rajya Sabha within 2 years.
Now I guess Vir's Rajya Sabha ticket is in trouble, mainly after the Anna thing. Thus this all ho-hulla.
>> And in this case, it is glaringly evident.
Please see commeent No 119.
Amit,
>> he has not broken any laws. But so hasn't Kiran Bedi. Why is she being mercilessly attacked?
Not in this forum!
>> There is something called journalistic integrity.
As I said, "chumminess between journalists and political operatives is highly undesirable, but it is neither uncommon nor fatal." If Vir and Radia had the same take on an issue, it does not necessarily mean one influenced the other.
>> there is hardly a peep from him when it comes to Sonia ji and her shenanigans.
No columnist would pass such scrutiny. You are just laying it on thic!. In any case, we can just agree to disagree instead of going back and forth indefinitely.
[[As I said before, "chumminess between journalists and political operatives is highly undesirable, but it is neither uncommon nor fatal."]]
That is your opinion and yours alone. There is enough evidence to suggest how proximity to power and money has corrupted the media and its footsoldiers, the journalists. And in this case, it is glaringly evident.
No one here is asking for a noose for Vir. People are just voicing their disgust, if a little strident and personal at times. True, he has not broken any laws. But so hasn't Kiran Bedi. Why is she being mercilessly attacked? There is something called journalistic integrity. In fact, one can now even question Vir's celebrated secular credentials--that they were a convenient prop to curry favors with the Mummyji and Co., because for all his objectivity, there is hardly a peep from him when it comes to Sonia ji and her shenanigans. Before this incident, I would have probably read his opinion about Anna and co. Now, I don't even bother. I know what this charlantan is going to dish out. What we particularly find galling is being taken for a ride by this holier-than-thou fool.
We may disagree with what you term as slip-shod journalism. In my dictionary, that defines exactly what Vir has been accused of: he agreed to changes in his opinion piece to suit a particular individual/concern.
If you have to reflexively oppose everything that the people here support and blithely distribute labels, then that is your choice, but then you are allowing stray comments to unhinge your judgement. Not a hallmark of a fair person.
As I have said, if Kulkarni has done what he has been accused of, my respect for him has increased ten fold. I never knew he was capable of such bravery. I will make sure to read his articles now, which I found insufferably boring before.
>> Now that we're discussing Vir Sanghvi, I wonder where this logic disappeared? We are still discussing him. The point is that this forum is so quick to tear down a secular liberal journalist who has not broken any laws, has not exhibited any slip-shod journalism and who is being raked over the coals because of a taped private phone convesation! As I said before, "chumminess between journalists and political operatives is highly undesirable, but it is neither uncommon nor fatal."
[[I just want to point out how you guys have no problem with a sanghi journalist who is in prison but have to trash a secular liberal journalist who has not broken any laws, has not exhibited any slip-shod journalism and who is being raked over the coals because of a taped private phone convesation!]]
Anwaar, I remember not too long ago that when someone brought in the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in a discussion on the Gujarat riots, you were quick to downplay it by saying that if the discussion was on Gujarat, why should anyone bring in Kashmir?
Now that we're discussing Vir Sanghvi, I wonder where this logic disappeared?
"I just want to point out how you guys have no problem with a sanghi journalist who...but have to trash a secular liberal journalist who..."
Our resident mullah is distributing tags!!
Come one come all!!
Please stand in a queue!!
Please wear your credentials, either a saffron or green chaddi, over your pants to facilitate easy recognition and tagging!!
Good luck!!
>> Kulkarni is in jail. What do you want him to do? Hang himself?
I don't want him to do anything. I just want to point out how you guys have no problem with a sanghi journalist who is in prison but have to trash a secular liberal journalist who has not broken any laws, has not exhibited any slip-shod journalism and who is being raked over the coals because of a taped private phone convesation! None of us will look very good if our private phone conversations were taped. Reaching a concensus in this forum is as easy as herding a flock of sheep on a plain field. (BTW, between you and me, I rather like Sudheendra Kulkarni).
“A BJP-ite journalist, Sudheendra Kulkarni, is currently in jail and yet no one is badmouthing him here.”
We have a strange habit of NOT badmouthing whistleblowers. Instead we badmouth the government that throws whistleblowers in jail. Any problem with that?
“Kulkarni, a journalist, hatched a criminal plot (with Advani) to entrap MP's”
We don’t think that hatching a plot to entrap criminals is a criminal plot. Any problem with that?
Nasar Ahmed,
[[If VIR had been in Sangh parivar's camp then these charlatons would havedefended him.]]
And does the same logic apply to the people who support him? That because he isn't in the Sangh Parivar's camp, some charlatans here are backing him to the hilt?
>> >> A BJP-ite journalist, Sudheendra Kulkarni, is currently in jail and yet no one is badmouthing him here.
And what does this article have to do with Kulkarni?
Isn't this the logic the stuck pigs raise when people talk of 84 or Kashmiri Pandits in an article about Gujarat?
Kulkarni is in jail. What do you want him to do? Hang himself? And, if he is in jail for trapping corrupt politicians, I have a new found respect for him. Better than this smoozing hirsute jackass. You are choosing a wrong guy to defend, mate. I feel ashamed in admitting that I used to think highly of Vir. He is just one of them. I don't know why he is going through all these jugglery, and to prove what? If the technology to manipulate Vir's chat was so sophisticated, one has to ask who did it? RSS? ISI? Mossad? And why? Because he had a million followers of his tweets? What a twit!
Vir,
Just accept that you are in the Rahul baba's chaddi washing club and move on.
>> A BJP-ite journalist, Sudheendra Kulkarni, is currently in jail and yet no one is badmouthing him here.
By this logic, it's okay to bad mouth all terror suspects rounded up after terror attacks, who have been denied bail by courts.
For some reason, the jehadis apply different yardsticks in such cases.
>> Kulkarni has not come out with a long column explaining ,,,,
Trashing of Vir Sanghvi started in this forum before the long column came out.
>> Why should Kulkarni be badmouthed?
A reputable journalist lands himself in jail, but he is a sanghi, so let us change the subject!
Kulkarni has not come out with a long column explaining how he was misquoted so I am not sure why he should be badmouthed. Your logic reminds me of a match between West Indies and New Zealand at Jaipur where the bored crowd started chanting "Pakistan Murdabad!" Why should Kulkarni be badmouthed? No one here is abusing Telecom Raja as well. Does that imply that he gets a nod from us? Don't be silly.
Vir Sanghvi's supposedly balanced columns can now be interpreted in a different light. He often goes on anti Pakistan rant, which is a sure way to garner support. Wait for him to come out with another such article to get a toehold with the readers.
Irreverent,
>> Kulkarni is in jail for the sting operation on 'Cash for Votes'.
Kulkarni, a journalist, hatched a criminal plot (with Advani) to entrap MP's.
>> What a scumbag!!
Why do you have to show your gutter origins all the time?
>> "A BJP-ite journalist, Sudheendra Kulkarni, is currently in jail and yet no one is badmouthing him here." - Imteyaz
What a scumbag!! Kulkarni is in jail for the sting operation on 'Cash for Votes' while the puppet who allegedly bought the MPs gives mumbling speeches on Republic Day!! Why should one bad-mouth him for something done in interest of nation?
But, then, I should not be expecting any appreciation from the jokers who cannot see beyond the prism of their religion.
DC,
>> Anybody who supports Muslim causes, does not criticize jehadi terror and caters to Muslim votebanks is secular.
If that is supposed to be a description of Vir Sanghvi, it is patently unfair. As far as this forum is concerned, the reaction to whatever wrong he did is certainly exaggerated. A BJP-ite journalist, Sudheendra Kulkarni, is currently in jail and yet no one is badmouthing him here.
" Most of the commentors who are pouring vitriol against VIR are the same who were waiting to pounce on him due to his secular credentials."
Ha ha ha...When Azharuddin was sacked after the cricket match fixing investigations, his best defence was that he was victimized because of his communal identity.
And now in your definition anybody who is criticizing a journalist for his role as a power broker (that he now denies) must be RSS sympathizer because VIR has secular credentials. WOW
Anybody who supports Muslim causes, does not criticize jehadi terror and caters to Muslim votebanks is secular. And anybody who is either a critic of a so called secular or a supporter of the Hindu causes is defined as communal.Why did you and your fellow thinkers from any religion coin such a perverse definition of secularism? If you guys had not tried to play politics of the minority communalism in the name of secularism then the majority communalism would never have got so much political power in India in last two decades.
Get your facts right. Criticize someone for that person's deeds not for his religious or political affiliations. (And define secularism as the value of being indifferent to any religion.) This is why I criticize Anwaar at times when his view is colored with his pre-conceived beliefs sans rationale.
"If the dozens of books and exceptionally brilliant articles are any indication, the very survival of secularism is under threat."
-M.L.Gupta New Delhi, India
I totally disagree. By and large Indian society for centuries has been tolerant of multiple religions and cultures despite clashes from time to time. If secularism means a culture of live and let live in people's respective faith then secularism will always survive in India because of the very nature of average Indians .However, if secularism means reaping the religious minority vote banks and if communalism means playing religious politics of the majority then both of them should disappear.
Vir & othrs have been used for political purposes....
You have to be either too naive or too shrewd to portray them as victims of politics. If power brokers in the disguise of journalists are caught with their pants down they do not deserve bail outs. Note that criminals join Indian politics because they can claim immunity from prosecution citing any legal action against them as politically motivated.
Good, that Vir now certifies the veracity of the conversations he had with Radia, which otherwise would have been treated as the creativity of the dirty tricks department of the ruling parties or opposition. But surprising that such a renowned Editor doesn't know who would have ordered tapping and for what purpose, having watched the court machinations in Delhi from closer quarters than others. It has achieved a valuable political objective. Well done, better conceived and executed. Sanghivi & others were just used, as politics uses everyone ruthlessly,to lend credibility to corruption of a magnitude that appears fictional(176000 crores ! heard of it never before !!).Journalists have lost people's trust, or to be precise in our own language bharosa kho diya hai. The Establishment wanted to rein them in and has succeeded in achieving that goal. We the 99%, who have so far depended on the Fourth Estate, mourn the demise of independence of the Press. Justice Kathju may not be too far away from the truth.
But more important for us is the fact of "corporatization of corruption" in India. So long as it was an individual venture in delinquency, there was less to worry. Now it is a successful corporate level business with high investment and higher stakes, with fancy names(like Radia's companies), exotic addresses, highly qualified staff(better skilled than those they are supposed to deal with e.g. ministers or bureaucrats or media persons, who are falling over each other just for a drink or other worldly pleasures. Once upon a time it was a simple affair called "liaison". Then it became PR. Now it is Lobbying. Incidentally, lobbying is a legal business in America and even the govt of India engages the lobbying firms by paying them in foreign exchange.But one may be legal, the other illegal and even immoral.These corporate magnates deliver prized appointments, promotions and high value contracts. They cut through all security considerations for the right price and can deliver anything from 2G to civil nuclear deal.Their latest foray is in highly sensitive areas like "secularism". Get some retired judge to write a desired anti-secular report and trash secularism in practice as conveniently as any business deal. If the dozens of books and exceptionally brilliant articles are any indication, the very survival of secularism is under threat.Capturing the centres of control of the economy is essential for the success of any social take over of governance. In that sense both corruption and secularism can be used exactly as Vir & othrs have been used for political purposes.India today is highly vulnerable, politically, economically and ethically.
Vir Sanghvi seems to be suggesting, "your should believe me when I sling mud at others because I am a journalist; you should also discount when mud was slung at me, because I am a lily-white 'secular' journalist, true to the Queen, my management and anyone else who pays me." Is this a new definition of India's "SICKULAR" journalism?
Or did he decide to come out of the woodwork after he found Barkha brazened it out and went on strutting like a peacock in season?
Vir says, "the tape that was published differed significantly from my recollection of the conversation" but he did not provide any clue to his "recollection of his conversation." One could understand the taped conversation of a politician being doctored (by his enemies) but who would like to do Vir in? Or does he recruit - like Digvijay Singh - the entity for all seasons, the Sangh Parivar to take the rap?
Sorry, Vir. It was a good try, but your explanation is unconvincing. You can't erase the stigma. You will have to live with it.
Ok! you want us to believe this piece of crap! not sure anyone will buy that.....tell us who did it?
"Most of the commentors who are pouring vitriol against VIR are the same who were waiting to pounce on him due to his secular credentials.This nation needs to be cleansed of this communual RSS sympathisers to see the truth."
@ Nassar Ahmad! So you want the majority who crticise VIR to go because they are communal RSS sympathisers. Then you will have only people having names like yours. This is the country where a party like Muslim League or Kerala churches issuing dikats to common man are not communal but Secular. Naturally you will support Vir Sanghvi.
I guess, Laloo and Mulayam and Raja are all innocent. They were all anti-RSS; ergo this haste to blame them as corrupt when they were as innocent as the babe unborn. Never knew RSS was so efficient. I am inclined to give them a try at the center. Or maybe Indira Gandhi, horrible PM that she was, was right in her assesment of journalists: that they are upmarket stenographers. I have heard that some members of this tribe were ready to sell themselves for 500 rupees cash to cover "iron-man" Advani's yatra.
Vir, don't take yourself so seriously. It's O.K. to lie and cheat sometimes. Just be upfront about it.
Instead of introspection and remorse, Vir attempts to spin and obfuscate. Such merely serves to reinforce the fundamental character flaw in him in the original as he sought to peddle his bespoke journalism and prostitute himself viz Radia and her rich clients. A prison like bitch for Ambani and Raja will always be a prison like bitch for Ambani and Raja as stated in comment #73. I ask the same question as a reader before me: why is the Vinod Mehta giving Vir space in Outllook to shamelessly promote himeslf in a piece that reeks of narcissism and self delusion? Listen to the tapes again and tell me this guy has any credibility.
Most of the commentors who are pouring vitriol against VIR are the same who were waiting to pounce on him due to his secular credentials.This nation needs to be cleansed of this communual RSS sympathisers to see the truth.There is no point in trying to reason out with them.If VIR had been in Sangh parivar's camp then these charlatons would havedefended him.Do not worry VIR we are with you and truth will triumph but at a cost.
>> "Radia was a damn successful Indian woman".
She has to be shown her place!
I just heard the news about Nira Radia retiring from PR.
Why she do that? It is clear by now -- except to fools who understand nothing about 2G and only want to malign whoever they can get their hands on -- that Radia had NOTHING to do with 2G.
I guess every bit of paper, every bank account etc in her name has been overturned and gone over with a fine-toothed comb by the CBI.
And still, they found NOTHING that connects her to the 2G scam.
So they had to exonerate her. Dismiss all charges against her.
But the public hounded the woman until she had to retire from her job. Shut down an office full of people who made a living there. Why? For nothing.
Sure, she must be a rich woman and she won't hurt for money. But that is not the point. Radia was a damn successful Indian woman who paid the price of public lynching.
No amount of "NOT GUILTY" statements by the CBI, by her or by anybody else will stop people from calling her filthy names.
Shame on India and Indians. Shame shame shame.
Can anybody here stand up in court and say these words: "Vir Sanghvi is a paid journalist!"
Any of you dare do that? Oh, no. You would not even dare to reveal your name, email and phone number of this page, after you say stupid things like that?
WHO has ever claimed that Vir or Barkha or any other of the journalists mentioned in the tapes were PAID?
WHO?
Which person has gone on TV or written a newspaper article under his/her own by-line to make this absurd and unsubstantiated claim?
NOBODY.
Only people who comment in forums like this dare to say things like that, hiding behind anonimty..
Basically, YOU people are all cowards.
If the mantle of liberalism rests on the such lying characters like Vir and Barkha, then may God help us all.
Any rational person who have listened to these tapes, can easily conclude that Vir, Barkha are corrupt journalist working just for one motive like politician.
In this Barkha got away becuause NDTV need her for its own survival, but for Vir, HT decided to be good without him.
I expect Vir to join any other occupation but the journalism again, if he still cares about this profession.
And I again request Outlook to provide the tapes as one download so that if anybody has some doubt they can still listen to these cheats again and again.
DR, Toronto
A lot of criticism has been made of Burkha Dutt as well. While I think she is a leftie and has an agenda, that does not make many of the criticisms made against her on this issue valid. She at least showed guts by allowing herself to be questioned on camera by competent people.
That speaks a lot more for her than others who simply run away.
The lesson here for journalists is to draw a line. Professional engagement is different friendship and when you become friends, you sometimes become collateral damage.
I think Vir Sanghvi is personally honest. What did him in is the tendency present in all journalists-to make themselves important. They do it in various ways and one way is ingratiating themselves with people of influence. Friendship with the powerful gives them access to other powerful people and information. Nothing stirs the blood of a journalist than quoting "sources" to make a point. Vir Sanghvi is no exception and in an effort to become important, he fell. The game was much bigger than he realized.
He makes a charge that many tapes have been doctored. I think that is a distinct possibility. Because no one is going to go thro' the trouble of doctoring tapes just to implicate Sanghvi who is a minor fry in the larger scheme of things.
The whole thing needs further investigation. As for Sanghvi, I feel sorry for him. He made a mistake but the punishment to him does not appear to fit the mistake.
>> Vir Sanghvi,if he was innocent, would have reacted sharply immediately after the Raadiagate and would have tried to fight in courts to defend his reputation.
It is difficult to fight insinations. If a concrete charge had been made against him, e.g. that he had accepted a cheque for writing a certain article, that would have been easy to fight. The fact that he took a position which was also Radia's position does not mean much.
>> ever ready to fool his readers with deliberately manipulated information.
Which information was deliberately manipulated?
>> don't tell us that somebody was trying to doctor even the cross references on the tapes.
Self-vindication may have become an obsession with Vir Sanghvi, but I myself don't think that the doctoring angle was even necessary.The tapes as posted by Outlook, when seen in context, were not as egregious as many people thought. BTW, chumminess between journalists and political operatives is highly undesirable, but it is neither uncommon nor fatal.
>> If the mantle of liberalism rests on .....
Mountains out of molehills!
Anwaar at times makes good remarks -analytical and informative .But he often tries to defend a position solely based on his political beliefs and affiliations that weakens his stance questioning if his is an educated opinion from an open mind.
Vir Sanghvi,if he was innocent, would have reacted sharply immediately after the Raadiagate and would have tried to fight in courts to defend his reputation. He would not have been lying low for almost a year looking for an opportune moment to resurface, when Raadia gives up her PR consulting and the national media already has educated the readers about the controversy surrounding technological manipulation of Bhushan's CD.
Many of us are aware of the power broking roles of Indian journalists- some of them peddle biased news from the vested interests. However, Vir Sanghvi for many of us was different, a journalist with impeccable reputation. However, Radia tapes prove beyond doubt that he was one of them, ever ready to fool his readers with deliberately manipulated information. He insulted us, his avid readers, once for trying to appear as a responsible journalist and again now for underestimating his readers' intelligence. The column referenced in his conversation with Raadia and the reference of Vir's column in Raadia's taped conversation with others are ample proofs that Vir compromised his journalistic independence.
Please don't tell us that somebody was trying to doctor even the cross references on the tapes. And for God's sake, please stop names dropping - referring to foreign companies (that evaluated the tapes) to prove authenticity will not restore your credibility to your readers. Instead of revisiting Raadia tapes you should rather have trust in our short memories. We may not forgive but can forget you sooner.
>> Are you the one who manufactures and distributes those tags?
Also Dog collars for DogVijay Singh and other poodles of the dynasty, and pig collars for stuck pig jehadis.
Saxena,
>> Vir Sanghvi carries the tag of a 'Paid Journalist"after the leakage of Radia tapes.
Are you the one who manufactures and distributes those tags?
Vir, your name in Hindi means "Bahadur" i.e. the brave one. Last year when these tapes came out and you were no where to be seen in media then I thought this guy at least has some shame that he has retired from media business. But you come out now after a year saying that all that everyone has heard on those tapes is manipulated; you are making an ass of yourself. Please don't insult our intelligence; you have already sold your character that journalistic profession demands, please spare us and more importantly India.
And you Mr. Mehta, it should be more shameful for you to rehabilitate traitors like Vir. Shame on you as well. I fully support justice Katju's comment in last couple of days that media in India is sold, there is no ethics; you guys have no morals left.
I cry for my beloved nation!
As a common citizen where do we go; politicians have messed up, media is corrupt; justice - forget that!
Even if we believe that Mr. Sanghvi is saying the truth; It's a known and old fact that journalist in India have been using so called 'credible sources' to carry the stories for and against political formations. Many of such stories were fabricated, half cooked etc etc.
Its only now that, these journalist are being payed back in the same coin.
If the accused and implicated persons' opinions are to be given legitimacy, we might as well abolish all prisons.
Why would someone go thro' all the trouble to frame a minor fry like Vir Singhvi or a Burkha Dutt?
A desperate attempt attempt at rehabiliation. For Vir, he's always smarter than the rest of us who can be easily fooled by spin. The dude is a pimp with no integrity. In prison, Vir would serve as Ambani's bitch.
The Fact is that Vir is Broker and a man who can write anything for Money.
He himself in the Tapes asked Radia what he should be writing on Mukeash and RIL.what was that all about.
Vinod Mehta is giving Vir a column to reinvent himself.
Now who is a true journalist all are Brokers.
Outlook India-- ‘Radia Tapes Weren’t Authentic, They Were Manipulated’: Vir Sanghvi
Vir Sanghvi carries the tag of a 'Paid Journalist"after the leakage of Radia tapes. He went into hibernation as he was caught off guard. Now he says the tapes were doctored. Instead of writing a column as this,he must file a defammation suit against all those he perceives as conspirators. Let him file a complaint with the Press Council of India or, better still, the court of law and prove his innocence. Quoting the second opinions of voice experts from the USA and the UK, is irrelevant. One wonders what was the provocation of writing this column immediately after Nira Radia announcing her decision to dissolve her Consultency Communications Services and quit as the Corporate lobbyist for the Tatas and the Ambanis.No use blaming the intra- union Cabinet war, between two ministers for alleged wire tapping.This does not absolve Vir Sanghvi from the allegation of brokering or promoting the cause of big Business Houses for a price as part of Quid pro quo ! But, we would like him to come clean and resume his columns as earlier. A K SAXENA (A retired civil servant) aksaxena@nic.in
Vir Burqa are the kind of intelligent people who knows when to be liberal and when to keep mum to respect "sentiments of people". Vir Burqa knows how to ensure the endless list of yummy kebab holidays in the choicest of hotels. They will shed buckets and buckets of tears lamenting India's shabby treatment of MF Hussain and magnanimity of Quatar when that Mulladom granted Hussain its citizenship. But they always ignored to ask the simple question, will Qutar show the same magnanimity with Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin too? And if you remind it to them, you will be labelled a sanghi, a saffron moron. They ritualistically kick a Narendra Modi at each and every chance, while ignoring the the cruelest and biggest ethnic cleansing of modern times that happened in Kashmir, where the Kashmiri pandits were murdered, hounded out of the valley by the shit-eating mulla thugs and the kashmiri pandit women were raped by the camel brained jehadis.
Ask them about the pogrom in Gujarat, and you will know that they are 200% sure of Narendra Modi's involvement.
Ask them who were responsible for Godhra where the innocents were burnt alive, that sparked the subsequent butchery of even more number of innocents. Then you are sure to get an answer that will read, "we don't know. we don't have conclusive proof. we want one more commision to get the truths. but we do feel most probably those were deaths by self-immolation"
While these Vir Burqas are eternal haters of Indian Armies in Kashmir or else where, they are ever ready lick the boots of a butcher like Yasin Malik. While they talk of fresh air in Kashmir, they don't care what kind of air the Kashmiri pandits are made to breathe in the refugee camps.
Vir Burqas are none but some opportunistic thugs who are hell bent on destroying each and every Chyetanya Kunte. And these people talk of freedom of expression! Shameless!
People had and inkling about where their loyalties lie. Radia tapes proved that. But even when they are caught red-handed they need not be worried. They still will have the continuos supply of yummy kebabs and endless parties with the bosses. Only brighter things at the horizons, padmashris will be upgraded to padma bhushans, padma bhushans to vibhushans and more. We the people are already accustomed to have leaders like Diggy and Lalloos, so what wrongs having Vir Burqas in the media as well.
I say "2+2=4". Record it on CD
A month later, I change my voice and say "2+2=4". Record it on another CD
I cut half from one CD, another half from the other CD and put them together to form "2+2=4".
Now the CDs are manipulated, voices don't match. So 2+2 does not equal 4. QED.
I have always been a fan of Vir's writings, so much so that for decades I have made it a ritual to be the first to go through his column and articles. I have often felt that he is often unduly critical of the BJP (I know it is obligatory for me to give a disclaimer that I am no BJP sympathiser), often harshly sarcastic, his absurd liking for Diggy and Mani is well-known so much so that he goes to extraordinary lengths to defend the antics of the two learned men. You also get an uncomfortable feeling that he is little too forgiving when it comes to commenting on the Congress. Nonetheless my respect for his writings never went down.
Coming to this explanation, let me regretfully say that this was not needed as it is least likely to wash. Either unwittingly or because of hubris, he did cross the line and this is clear. It is difficult to demolish this perception, however hard and genuinely he tries. The best thing would be to just forget it and move on with his life, instead of attemting make a feeble explanation and ending up stoking the almost forgotten sense of outrage and resentment. Did anything happen to Barkha? Did she have to pay the price for her acts triggered by her inflated ego? I am not suggesting that both these leading journos are corrupt, but surely excessive self-love and an inflated opinion about themselves cost them the most important thing: their credibility. All the best to both of them. God bless
Do we have authentic Journalist now? I feel, India has stopped producing authentic and honest journalists!! OR Indian media has stopped promoting authentic and honest journalists!! At this juncture do we have to believe Statements of journalist of stature SINGVI and BARKHA any more???? They are also scam tainted as of Radia!!!!
Shame!!!!!!!
"Private conversations of many of us, if revealed, may not sound very pretty."
This is from the same hypocrite who wanted to hang people based on their conversation about "Nanavati is our man!"
Mr.Sanghvi's next book would be likely titled "Making conclusive evidence inconclusive for dummies".
>> (Vir Sanghvi).... a recepient of corporate money to write specific articles in support of the company's mission.
Is this an allegation or a fact?
>> Vir Sanghvi is a paid political columnist for Congress.....
One fact is proven beyond doubt. Vir Sanghvi has a very thick skin.
Maybe what Mr Sanghvi say's is right and the tapes are fake.bit it is equally a fact that he as a journalist of public standing has been ( and probably still is ) a recepient of corporate money to write specific articles in support of the company's mission. let him publicly deny that. Proof exists that he has been paid under the guise of " services rendered" and ' advisory services'.
Nira on the other hand has comitted no crime prima facie as she is a PR professional and has never hidden that fact but Mr Sanghvi is a journalist and he should be above taking money for writing articles either in support of or against a specific issue based on who's paying him.
There is another conspiracy angle to the timing of Mr.Vir Sanghvi's article, which was posted simultaneously with the surprise announcement, that controversial corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, the owner of the PR firm which has Tata group and Mukesh Ambani-led RIL as its top clients, has decided to exit from communication consultancy business.
Media must probe her role in KG Basin Scam as well.She works for RIL as well.That will never be done,all media houses are on Mukesh"s pay list. Without the backing of TATAs' and RIL, Radia is nothing, but surprisingly, it's beenalmost 2 years since the tapping of Radia phones in 2008-2009, no big guns from those corporate giants have been convicted, in a case in which the lobbyists and Govt. ministers & bureaucrats were hand in glove, worse than insider trading in the stock market.
I do not know much about RSS or their ideology but If RSS is being credited with expose after expose then it is the most patriotic organiztion in India. They are the real well wishers of India. We have seen how congress has ruined this country
Since Vir Sangvi is anti RSS I suspect them." Nasar Ahmed
If you go through the History of 2G ,CWG scam or any other scam they never happened .There was no loss to the Nation .It is all RSS- BJP propaganda . How tragic that Courts,CBI ,News Papers,GAG and Indians are being misguided by RSS-BJP . You have also forgotten the biggest culprit that is USA who masterminded this campaign specially against Vir Sangvi.
Who tampered the tapes ?? Congress ?? Or some one who circulated the tapes ??
Since Congress could not have tampered so must be RSS and BJP tampered tapes to give a bad name to Secular Sagvi and also invented 2 G to tarnish the image of MMS and his Secular Govt.
Alakshyendra >> I fail to understand what Vir Sanghvi's defense has to do with the RSS/BJP. This is typical of "liberal" Hindus and some Muslims; they have to bring in RSS/BJP even if we're discussing the weather
The most astonishing thing in India is that the RSS/BJP is now the most commom bogeyman that is invoked by the so called pseudo intellectual leftists in India, whenever they fail to push any argument or debate in their favour.
It is bit like Anti Semetism . Anything bad, should be some how related to RSS/BJP.
Nazir Ahmed >> Since Vir Sangvi is anti RSS I suspect them.
A closet jehadist and Hindu hater like you will find any thing and everything bad in India and attribute it to RSS. Tsunamis occur due to RSS, AIDS outbreak is due to RSS and yes, there are too many power cuts in my home due to the evil RSS.
The contents of tapes are politically motivated and the circulation of tapes has been mysterious. Who knows may be Vir Sanghvi is innocent !! When Vir Sanghvi is a paid political columnist for Congress, such slander about him gains circulation a bit faster.
who is going to trust your version.you have betrayed the reader and viewer.
Notwithstanding your continued claims of innocence, I have these questions to ask of you, Vir:
1) Where were you all these days? Why did you withdraw your regular column in HT, give up [or were you forced to give up?] your directorial position with HT, and go underground for some time? Paradoxical though it may seem, I must say this in your favor. At least you had the grace to shut up for a while unlike a certain Barkha Dutt who continues to brazenly anchor shows on <hold your breath> “corruption in public life" vis a vis Team Anna. How about a show on “Corruption in We, the Indian Media”?
2) As the editor of Open magazine had asked back then, if you were a conscientious journalist, why did you not expose the biggest scoop of the decade along with its major players, namely the corporate-government-media nexus in cabinet formation aka corporate lobbying? I can assure you that your constant “I was merely stringing my source all along” refrain does not cut much ice with anyone with even an iota of intelligence.
>> "The article CLEARLY says the labs took samples from the Outlook website. THIS website. " - Viraaj
What an idiotic statement!! If the samples were taken from this website, those tests have absolutely no validity. Poor Sanghvi has to get this crap done all over again. Hopefully, he will have the common sense to use the original file that got mailed to them and sundry.
Even if they were doctored Singhvi had no bloody business discussing politics and being a broker for Radia.
Singhvi and Barkhaa are the two dark sides of Indian ethics being pawned for Gain.
Barkhaa should have been sacked by NDTV ,was she.No.
Prabhu Chawla made some disparaging remarks about the Judiciary,he lost his job with India Today,but continues his nonesense on Tv.
Now who should be sacked or resign .We are just not going to have any of that stuff coming.India has so many fixers and brokers in Journalists that every thing being done has a malafide intent.
The coverage or nothing of that in KG Basin Scam.Yet to hav a panel discussion on the Scam till date.
Times Now and NDTV are front runners in the whole battle of double speak.
All the three journalists mentioned in the Radia tapes can win an Oscar or equivalent award if there was one for hypocrisy. What a pity, only till the other day we had journalists of the class,integrity and calibre of CR Irani,Durga Das, Frank Moraes and more. Now we have toxic hacks who are more of a wheeler and dealer with English education than an honest and dedicated journalist.Rather than making so much efforts to prove your innocence, you should repent. Maybe your readers will forgive you in due course.
[[I do agree with Vir Sanghvi.]]
Why aren't we surprised?
[[But to find the culprits one need to find the beneficiaries.That will determine the motive.RSS has very good grip of the beauracracy including RAW.They have been able to camouflage many of their terror activities and pass on the blame on innocent Muslims and also help BJP in its political advancement.]]
I fail to understand what Vir Sanghvi's defense has to do with the RSS/BJP. This is typical of "liberal" Hindus and some Muslims; they have to bring in RSS/BJP even if we're discussing the weather.
[[The castrated Congress is clueless simply because it is run by the same RSS sympathetic cotire that surrounds the Gandhi dynasty.]]
This has to rank as the mother of all conspiracy theories!!!
@Viraaj Khosla,
"He compared a sample of my voice with the voice on the tape"
It is not so CLEAR as you make it out to be. It the lab has sourced it NOT through Sanghvi I stand corrected though.
Another conspiracy theorist, and as always, a sickular one. A few months back, these sickular jokers were lambasting the Bhushans for association with RSS. Now, they are using there reference to buttress their case.
Dear K. Suresh, READ the column before making idiotic comments. The article CLEARLY says the labs took samples from the Outlook website. THIS website.
Sanghvi, you may be right about the CDs being doctored. But it would just mean you fed the labs doctored CDs.
A minor point abt my earlier post, # 24. The HT piece in which Vir Sanghvi presented Radia's "suggestion" or "idea" as his own objective, independent opinion was not actually an "editorial" but a column on the paper's edit page.
Before the Bhusan CDs were circulated , in political circles doctored CD to smear inconvenient opponents is par for the course. Sanjay Joshi of BJP who was was recently rehabilated was felled by his own partymen wilth doctored CD.
Mr. Vir Sangvi was not born yesterday nor he is babe in the wood in journalism. It is not a convincing story that he was inspired by the Bhusans to get the Radia tape CDs tested by appropriate lab. Defaming CDs was regular feature in this political paradigm & contesteting their veracity is also via lab. test also nothing new since the Tehelka tapes.
Vir Sangvi said each of the three labs in the US & UK told him it is almost impossible to check high-tech CD for being spliced. Each of them nevertheless undertook them for test & came out positive verdict about them having been doctored. Presumably an offer of a fee was made to them which they could hardly refuge.
This belated clarification is well-timed & well-crafted. "The problem was that while I did indeed speak to Radia, the tape that was published differed significantly from my recollection of the conversation." The radia tapes are now history. It has ceased to be an issue. Right time for Mr. Sangvi to give nudge his 'recollection' faculty.
"Technology can make fools—and liars—of us all" says Vir Sangvi. A great piece of wisdom dawned on so late on virgin soul which never knew which way his breads were buttered.
Secular Chore Journalist like others who looted us under the grab of Seculars . Now Vir should show some Virta and go to Court and prove his allegations.
By declaring Tapes Manipulated Vir is once again defending Radia
But sudheendra Kulkarni is not Brokering any deal with Radia on behalf of BJP/ LKA or any tom dick and harry...
Kulkarni was shouting for full three years that he was involved in votes for cash in Parliament. He is not a hypocrite.
Delhi Police took Coagnisance of Kulakarni after 3 full years...Ah the "Delhi ki Police"...
Vir Sanghvi had to be vilified because of his being an outspoken liberal and secular journalist. Another journalist, BJP-ite Sudheendra Kulkarni, is currently in jail, but nobody is badmouthing him!
Outlook should be ashamed for carrying the articles of "yellow journalists and paid journalists".
We patriotic Indians will strip Vir Sanghvi of his Padma Sri in near future.
--YES- NOT ONLY RADIA TAPES but 2G SCAM was manipulated.
--CWG SCAM was also manipulated.
---The LOOTED INDIAN BILLIONS in SWISS banks are also manipulated.
--The ISRO SCAM is also manipulated. Even BOFORS was manipulated.
-- ALL SCAMS till date are all "manipulated".
When the SCAM involves 1000s of CRORES, a "few CRORE here and a few CRORE there" can buy anyone- Media, Investigation agencies, Political leaders, BABUS etc etc. Wait for TEN YEARS and all the above SCAMS will be WHITE WASHED- white washed with the SCAM generated wealth itself.
I do agree with Vir Sanghvi.But to find the culprits one need to find the beneficiaries.That will determine the motive.RSS has very good grip of the beauracracy including RAW.They have been able to camouflage many of their terror activities and pass on the blame on innocent Muslims and also help BJP in its political advancement.
The castrated Congress is clueless simply because it is run by the same RSS sympathetic cotire that surrounds the Gandhi dynasty.Breft leadership they are digging their graves.
Since Vir Sangvi is anti RSS I suspect them.
People like Vir Sanghvi are the real scum of the earth. They lead their dirty lives and stand on a self-erected moral pedestal until they are caught with their pants down. Now, since the public memory has faded, he is eyeing a comeback on some of the very forums (like Outlook) to do what he was doing before the faux pas happened.
Just remember: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me"
29
"So why was everybody so upset?"
Why dint Singhvi come out in his own self defence until now?
Something else I never quite understood aboiut this controversy. The content of the column, which Sanghvi is supposed to have taken dictation on, talks in favour of the common people of India. His argument in the column (which I read twice over) was that no corporate house should control the core assets of the country like gas etc. These assets belong to the people of Indi. To everybody. Not just some corporate houses.
So why was everybody so upset? When Anna Hazare talks about the interests of the common people, then that should be a bad thing as well. How do we know who many people are advising Anna Hazare on what to say and how to say it? How would we react if we heard tapes of Anna's private conversations? Would we call him a dalaal as well?
In my own job, I often pass off a company decision as a "favor" to a specific client. Everybody does it, to keep the business of the clients, nothing like making them feel grateful and well-disposed to my company.
In the Radia tape, all I could hear was Sanghvi doing the same thing. The column he wrote was perfectly logical and correct from a national or patriotic viewpoint. So why the fuss?
Also, we have to remember that Sanghvi clearly mentions in his column that he tried to get in touch with the Anil Ambani camp and they refused to cooperate.
It is just that we don't hear tape recordings of those conversations.
For the life of me, I could not see what Sanghvi had done that was so wrong. We all do what he did. Make a contact or client feel good about something he is going to write anyway.
I don't understand. On what grounds can the government claim a recording is authentic if it (or the labs it relies on) also says any manipulation cannot be traced?
Can't have it both ways!
Whoever leaked these doctored tapes wanted us to behave like "puppets", dancing to the tune they had planned for us. And that is what we precisely did.
These reports from top forensic agencies in the world, clearly prove that the few "select" tapes released anonymously were cut-and-paste jobs. You can tape a few conversations ANY of us ever have on the phone, and then cut-and-paste bits and pieces to sound like we're doing something dreadful.
Now we should lay this stupid controversy to rest, once and for all and move on.
All these people who claim to be followers of truth-finders like Anna Hazare beat the drum of fairness and goodness, and then level the most henious charges against individuals without a shred of evidence to support the evilness they are transmitting over the internet. Just because they can, with a press of a computer button. Makes them feel powerful.
To me, that reveals how base and unworthy WE are as people. Before trying to change the world, we should change ourselves. Ask ourselves, if we can stand in a court of law and disgrace other people without a shred of proof to support our accusations.
I am happy that Sanghvi has chosen to rekindle this controversy, which had died, and lay evidence out for all of us. Framkly, I never believed this whole controversy was an open-and-shut ase to begin with. Too many loose ends did not tie up.
Asking WHO leaked the doctored tapes and WHY is a fruitless exercise. Clearly nobody knows, so asking that stupid question over and over is a waste of time.
Let's move on.
The conversations did not reveal any wrong doing. Columnists and correspondents whose conversations were not taped may not fare so well if they were.
Nice. Contrast this hypocrite's reactions when talking about those he thinks are against Congress. Like Kiran Bedi or Arvind Kejriwal, for instance.
And the conversations did not reveal any wrong doing? Wow. So a client dictating what a columnist should write and the columnist saying he has done it, and the client and her colleague laughing about how it is a verbatim cogging is not "any wrong doing". I wonder what is. Wait, yes. I think supporting the anti-corruption movement of Team Anna is.
Bloody shameless toadies.
Ramki,
>>>> I said at the time Outlook published Radia tapes, I think the hoo-hah against both Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Dutt was vastly exaggerated and possibly ill motivated >> reminds one of Iran's President who said that Holocaust probably never happened.
You and Ahmadinijad can believe in conspiracy theories. I don't. Actually it was not even necessary to raise the possibility of doctoring of the tapes. Private conversations of many of us, if revealed, may not sound very pretty. To think that Vir Sanghvi or Barkha Dutt did not have friendships with the Delhi in-crowd is to live in a fool's paradise. The conversations did not reveal any wrong doing. Columnists and correspondents whose conversations were not taped may not fare so well if they were.
When the Radia - media nexus was exposed, one remembers Vir Sanghvi expressing deep regrets for what the tapes revealed about his conversations with her.. And there can be no doubt at all about the most damaging part of the tapes from Vir Sanghvi's point of view : Vir Sanghvi's writing in a certain editorial in the H.T. exactly what he had promised Radia on one of the tapes. Hence, on Vir Sanghvi's own say-so at the time, the tapes were essentially true. If they had been doctored in bits or parts is another story and doesn't seem to matter a whole lot.
Lab told voice in tape does not match Sanghvi's ? See what a 12 month period and trauma does to one's voice.
Anwaar >> I said at the time Outlook published Radia tapes, I think the hoo-hah against both Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Dutt was vastly exaggerated and possibly ill motivated
Your statement reminds one of Iran's President who said that Holocaust probably never happened and whole Holocaust was Jewish Media inspired exaggeration.
Birds of same feather Think Alike !!!
Reputation once tarnished is hard to regain. Barkha Dutt has already accepted that she "might" have made a mistake in doing what she did. So, her conversation was not doctored but yours were? Nice. Are you that important? Really? And while we are at it, it's safe to assume that in your conversation with Nadia, only your part was doctored but not Nadia! Very nice. Forget that, after the tapes revelation one sees your column in new light and, unfortunately, one cannot but agree with some on the right who have been crying themselves hoarse all along: that you are a paid scribe for the Congress. Please don't insult your readers intelligence by coming up with such fatuous theories. Go back to writing about kebabs and biryanis and running down honest movements.
By the way, 90% is not considered statistically safe. Your worthy investigators should be able to conclude with at least 95% confidence to make an honest judgement. Just go back to Ambani and Amul Baby's arms. Please.
Oops, I meant Bhushan...
Clever move!! Vir Sanghvi is using the Shanti Bhushjahan CD episode as the crack in the door through which to sneak in and resusicate his damaged credibility. But there are so many holes in his belabored explanation -- which has been brought to light by other posters here so bears no repetition -- that no amount of whitewashing would be enough to breathe life into his dead reputation.
Shame on you Sanghvi & shame on you Anwaar for supporting him...
Yes, it's sad to see my once-favorite columnist prove himself to be a mere mercenary working as a spin doctor on the payrolls of Mukesh Ambani and Congress party. I thought he was at least more graceful than the others who decided to brazen it out, but by this transparently desperate attempt I am left wondering whether my once-favorite columnist is really not all that smart. Or does he think that his readers are idiots who would believe his bullshit?
<< ... I did indeed speak to Radia, the tape that was published differed significantly from my recollection of the conversation. Obviously, it had been edited, doctored and manipulated.>>
Mr Shitvi please don't bother to explain yourself. We know you are an Award Winner of the Congree Crooks Ltd and your integrity and respectability cannot ever be repaired. Not because of this tape, but because of the crap you have been regurgitating over the years. Please concetrate on your blurpy food columns. And let us be at peace.
Credibility, Mr. Sanghvi, is as fragile as an egg-shell......and all the King's horses and all the King's men, could not put Humpty Dumpty together again.
Shame on you Vir Sanghvi. One thought you handled it better than Barkha Dutt. But with this you prove yourself to be a disgrace to journalism. Have you no shame at all? Why can't you just go on enjoying the hospitality of good time hotels and writing those food columns?
Bahut dino ke bad singhivi ko yad ayee tape mein cher char kiye gaye the.Log jante hain ki unka kis kis se tar jure rahe hain.pratista banane mein bahut samay lagta hai lekin ek bari bhool sab nast ker deta hai.jab satta ke galiyare mein malai kha rahe the to anand aa raha tha to ab kis bat ka afsos.atam manthan aur galti ko sweeper kar praschit karna uchit hoga.logon ka viswas tuta hai.
Yes, tapes were doctored. Do you want the matter should be investigated for the deeds of the people who were involved in conversation under SC's supervision? No sir, you will definitely not like this. Why?
I think Vivian Norohna has nailed it. It is interesting to see the very first message against this article from a Congress flunky, but then it is not surprising to see the attempt to toe the Ahmed Patel line here. As for Vir, he is damaged goods. This piece is proof of his arrogance. Did not expect that he would insult the intelligence of his readers like this. I agree with Vivian, the Radia-Warrier conversation corroborates and pretty much nails the lie. Unless Singhvi wants to prove that someone went to the extent of doctoring 1000 or so tapes that were released in public domain.
Never mind Radia tapes manupulated, Vir Sanghvi. Tell us who is manupulating you these days. Is it still Niira Radia?
If earlier one thought Vir Sanghvi had behaved with at least some grace compared to the brazen defiance of that full of herself upstart Barkha Dutt, Mr. Sanghvi has now with this column ensured that even an iota of respect left for his earlier work would be done to dust.
There can be no comparison with the Shanti Bhushan CD.
That was proven to be doctored independent of any lab tests as it was shown where the very short audio clips in it were taken from.
The original CD where the conversations were taken from was a clear exoneration of the Bhushans and damned the government.
That was the corroborating evidence.
In Mr Sanghvi's case, we are not even sure what his claim is.
So what did he say? What did he not say?
And thank you Outlook for putting up those three audio tapes right there for us to refresh our memory.
Interestingly Mr Sanghvi only talks about his tapes. Is it his case that the tape of Ms Radia and Mr Warrier in which they are discussing his column is also doctored?
They cannot stop laughing how he has reproduced their brief to him 'verbatim' in his column.
Not even a nice try.
Congress cutlery is making some noise and it is jarring! We all know that Vir Sanghvi is a stooge of the establishment then who would try to implicate him? If they wanted to throw media off they would have made a tape of P Chidambaram talking to Radia on the deal or some such thing. And why does Vir Sanghvi care to even offer an explanation...I mean what reputation or prestige is he trying to salvage? If he had any he would have some scruples and principles. The only thing I believe is that some one within Govt leaked the tapes and the tapes are genuine proof of the levels to which these power brokers can stoop to make some quick buck, To think of it a beggar on the street is earning his living in a more respectable fashion than these journalist power brokers. As Noam Chomsky said "mass media in the United States largely serve as a "bought priesthood" of the U.S. government and U.S.-based corporations, with the three intertwined through common interests". The case is no different in India with our worthies sinking to new lows.
Given a chance one can prove they are authentic in 180 different labs and in 180 different countries. The best thing in this situation is come clean and disclose all the under-hand deals you ever brokered. But....Once a Congress stooge always a Congress stooge!
Barkha Dutt said many things to explain her conversations with Radia. But never did she say the tapes were doctored.
Boond se gayi woh haud se nahi aati. Vir, you were scum of a Journo and remain so..
radia.. media.. maar diya...
would have thought this piece would have been just a web special.. rather than a full fledged print edition one...
dear Editor, kissing and making up.. even HT has stopped featuring his stuff except for Rude Food... if this is a syndicated article let it be printed in HT also
A pathetic attempt at self defence. It is laughable. Did it take him close to 1 year to look for top-quality laboratories abroad, seeking out forensic investigators who knew nothing about the case, had never heard of him and had no axe to grind? He and the other pseudo secular have only agenda. In the name of secularism, they literally get away with everything. The Country was better without the likes of VS & BD. Why did he need to surface again? Let him go back to wherever he was.
Vir Sanghvi does nt obviously belong to the 'kiss and tell' category. He does nt even remember what he was talking!
The 'illusion' of power can make bigger fools—and liars—of us all. Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Dutt have lost the only power that a journalist has - credibility. How many ever times he tries to display his laundered reputation, the spots will always remain. No lab in US or UK can wash that!
As I said at the time Outlook published Radia tapes, I think the hoo-hah against both Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Dutt was vastly exaggerated and possibly ill motivated. I thought that their private conversations were not that extraordinary or egregious. I am glad Vir has adduced additional proof strongly indicating that the tapes were doctored.