Reference Auto

Manipulation has probably seen prices of vegetables such as onions and tomatoes along with fruits soar to unprecedented levels. This is the ideal time – just before Christmas and New Year – for hoarders to manipulate as the demand soars.

So, the unusual prices coupled with an uptick in demand have allowed hoarders, retailers as well as wholesales make a quick buck. Not that the issue is entirely stage-managed.

Yes, there may be an iota of truth in the inflation figures. As per data, food inflation shot up to 12.13 per cent this week from 9.46 per cent last week. And, a price rise is only natural.

But not the kind we see in newspapers which have reported that vegetable prices have risen 15.5 per cent in a year, while the figure for milk is 17.7 per cent, for fruits it is 20.1 per cent, for egg, fish and meat 19.4 per cent and for condiments and spices it is a whopping 32 per cent.

But, as the government does not have a proper mechanism in place to check manipulators, prices tend to head skyward.

Like stock market watchdog Sebi, which has brought a great deal of transparency into our bourses over the years, can we not have an autonomous regulator to check hoarding by traders and wholesalers? In fact, the body can declare retail price trends of vegetables on a weekly basis and put it in newspapers so that hoarding can be obliterated.

Yes, it is an insurmountable task to reach out to every nook and corner of the country, but once a mechanism is put in place, it could help find a long-term solution to check prices of vegetables.

Is A Raja’s CBI grilling too late?

Are we going to see the conviction of a once stalwart politician A Raja, who has drained the government coffers of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, in awarding telecom licences.

Well, even though the CBI has zeroed in on him (after Raja decided to give the investigating agency an audience), the probe has started late enough to allow destruction of evidence. So, now is it time for another politician (Raja) to go scot free?

Moreover, what’s baffling is that Raja’s party, the DMK, instead of reprimanding him, is campaigning in his support. And this could pave the way for other politicians to follow suit and garner support of friends, aides and party men to conceal their crimes.

Backing a politician under such circumstances is tantamount to supporting corruption. So, are we in India actually interested in weeding out corruption or are we still supporting it?

The CBI has also raided Suresh Kalmadi in Pune and found a CD which allegedly contained evidence against him. The person who had the CD in his possession was blackmailing Kalmadi and demanding Rs 4 crore.

This is something Kalmadi did not reveal to the police, clearly indicating that he could have been a party to the irregularities that took place during the Commonwealth Games.

Like the Raja case, the government has allowed the CBI to go ahead with its probe but has also given Kalmadi ample time to come clean (by destroying evidence?). At least, the Congress can claim that their partymen are not beyond the law.

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.