Reference Auto

Well, if you got the choice between becoming a company chairman or a politician what would you chose (a Raju or a Raja in this case)? You might think yourself to be in a piquant situation. But actually, you’re not. If you’re in India, your clear choice should be A Raja. Let’s see why.

We’re talking about our erstwhile communications minister, who has drained the exchequer of an astounding Rs 1.76 lakh crore (an amount more than India’s defence budget) while allocating 2G spectrum. Yet what we got to see at the end of the day is just his resignation and that too after a lot of bickering between the Congress and Raja’s mentor and Tamil Nadu’s big man M Karunanidhi.

Our Raja has just become a Maharaja (thanks to the Congress and Karunanidhi). As long as Karunanidhi’s DMK remains a part of the coalition in the Central government, Raja can evade a jail term. He has the blessings of Karunanidhi, who keeps on harping, “What wrong has he done? He only went by the rules.”

The telecom scandal had been going on for almost a year and the Prime Minister’s office and the Congress party remained mute throughout. After all, who wants to lose a coalition partner and sit in the Opposition benches even if it costs the exchequer an amount that can wipe out the country’s entire fiscal deficit.

Raja had made history when he took over as communications minister three years ago. He issued a whopping 122 licences in a day in January 2008. Raja was hauled up by the Comptroller and Auditor General after it found that 75 of the licences issued were to ineligible companies. He also remained mum when asked why 3G auction was delayed by two years to 2010, resulting in huge cost escalation.

Among other charges are Raja did not consult the Prime Minister’s office, finance ministry or the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and also tampered with the first-come-first-serve telecom policy, flouting almost every norm in the book.

The end result: Losing his ministry, being greeted by supporters in Chennai and may be a party post in the state in the near term (to keep him away from the spotlight). But no jail term.

Now let’s switch over to India Inc’s Ramalinga Raju, accused in the Satyam scam. Raju, who founded Satyam Computer, was accused of fudging accounts of his company, overstating them by Rs 5,000-Rs 6,000 crore.

Satyam’s falsification of accounts saw its share prices skyrocket. Raju and other directors offloaded their stake (at these high prices) and brought vast tracts of land. In 2007, the company showed huge cash balances and fixed deposits in several banks of international repute. It actually had a major funds crunch and the promoters were scurrying to raise money to keep the company afloat.

Satyam had made a botched attempt in 2008 to acquire Maytas (Satyam spelt backwards), a company promoted by Raju’s family, which saw Satyam shares plummet.

Satyam was allegedly granted favours (to the tune of Rs 170 crore) while being given 50 acres in Andhra Pradesh. Maytas also hogged the limelight for getting “special privileges” from the Andhra government.

End result: Raju is languishing in jail for over a year even though the sum involved in his crime is minuscule as compared to Raja’s (Rs 6,000 crore against Rs 1.76 lakh crore). Moreover, Raju’s crime involved one company while the telecom scandal jolted the entire nation.

We are not justifying Raju’s crime but for corporate India’s scamsters there seems to be an escape route: a quick move towards politics could make them immune to a jail term. Had Ramalinga Raju been a part of Indian politics, he probably would have gone scot free just like Raja did.