Deep Throat

New Delhi
Turf War Battles

While the defence ministry has maintained a discreet silence on former army chief-turned-minister General V.K. Singh’s not-so-veiled allegation that efforts were on to cover up the ‘biggest scam’ in the army, the services grapevine is abuzz with stories about a Lt- general based in New Delhi who has allegedly made ‘crores’ from a recruitment scam in the last two years. The general retires this month. Like many other officers, he too has applied for a ‘disability pension’ so that he does not have to pay income tax post-retirement. For the record, not much came out of V.K. Singh’s earlier charges against Gen Bikram Singh and Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, not to mention Lt Gen Tejinder Singh. But the latest charge, coming as it did in the midst of reports that documents relating to his date of birth were destroyed, shows that the turf war continues.

Chhattisgarh
Third Time Unlucky?

His third term as CM is proving to be a troublesome one for Raman Singh. The Visakha committee chairperson Manpreet Kaur’s complaint that minister Ajay Chandrakar’s behaviour towards women subordinates was ‘objectionable’ has rocked the state. This comes shortly after invigilators caught a woman impersonating the wife of another minister, Kedar Kashyap, in an exam. Ear­l­ier, the anti-corruption bureau raided the offices of the civil supplies department and recovered `2 crore in cash. That led to the food secretary being moved out. Adding to Raman Singh’s woes was the incident where 19 women  died at a sterilisation camp in Bilaspur. He has brazened it out so far but one more dubious act or stroke of misfortune could well turn out to be the tipping point.

Delhi
Old Order No More

Down and out after the electoral debacle at the hands of the aap, BJP leader and MoS in Vajp­ayee’s PMO, Vijay Goel, is trying some “reconstruction”. In his case, quite literally. He’s keeping himself busy refurbis­hing a haveli in Old Delhi, which he claims to own. In a couple of months, once it’s ready, he promises to throw it open to visitors. He was recently spotted in Khan market looking for some exclusive fittings. And also a discount which was politely denied. “This place is expensive and exclusive,” he ruefully remarked afterwards, adding: “It’s all about packaging.”

Himachal Pradesh
The Forbidden Fruit

Missing apples at his farm is what led CBI sleuths to CM Virbhadra Singh’s door at a time when he was stepping out to solemnise his dau­g­hter’s marriage in a temple. It’s a method as old as the hills: procuring farmland with ill-gotten wealth, getting a chowkidar to manage it, and not growing anything on it. Umpteen netas, babus and businessmen have mastered the art. The anger in the Congress camp is therefore not so much because their leader is ‘targeted’, but at the prospect of the scanner being tur­ned on many such defunct ‘orch­ards’ that generate crores of rupees as horticultural income. If pursued to its logical conclusion, the authorities should be able to recover fabulous amounts of unaccounted wealth passed off as agricultural income, not only by Virbhadra but many more.

Heard: Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung, French ambassador Francois Richier among the select few who have (A-) blood group in the capital

Overheard: Follow rules or the bosses? IIT-D director candidate stuns HRD minister Smriti Irani, says he’ll ensure bosses know the rules

Contributed by Uttam Sengupta, Yashwant Dhote, Mihir Srivastava, Chander Suta Dogra and Pritam Sengupta