2G scam verdict: Why history is looking better for Manmohan Singh already
The “shadow over former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh” cast by the “second-biggest corruption scandal” in the history of India was always the subtext of any conventional reading of the 2G spectrum (allocation) “scam”. Now with the verdict of the Special CBI court tearing into the “misreading, non-reading, out-of-context reading” by the CBI chargesheet and the prosecution, the acquitting all the accused including DMK minister in UPA cabinet A Raja, and the party’s Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi, the shadow over ex-PM Singh seems to have suddenly vanished.
Manmohan Singh, with his quintessential dignity, has given out soft and sharp reaction to the verdict today, saying there was a “malicious propaganda” against his government and him, because of which the 2G (and also the Coalscam?) scam was manufactured piggybacking on “notional losses”. A short video clip of Singh finally feeling vindicated, as it were, is taking the social media by storm.
Watch Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh react to the #2GScamVerdict #CongressIsClean pic.twitter.com/83MyyfXZSr
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 21, 2017
While Singh, in 2011, had himself said that “coalition compulsions” had forced him to make compromises, the verdict today is more about the “prosecution paralysis” and the concerted attempt to drive home a narrative by fronting a staggering figure – the “notional loss” of Rs 1.7 trillion – than anything else.
That Manmohan Singh’s “passive morality” was much vilified then, and became the reason why the UPA was seen as a weak and corrupt government, giving in to the whims of the coalition partners, particularly the DMK with 18 MPs in Lok Sabha. This, in turn, became the pivot on which the anti-corruption plank was built and launched the movement called “India Against Corruption” with Anna Hazare as its mascot and Arvind Kejrwal pulling the strings.
That the anti-corruption plank led to the Congress being decimated in the 2014 General Elections and in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections is now stuff of lore, the turbulent political history of a rapidly changing country.
Much of that has come to a head today, with the trial court verdict tearing into the prosecution and its willful misreadings, out-of-context readings and plain fraudulent entries in the chargesheet. That this has happened when the CBI is under the Narendra Modi government is rather ironical, given the CBI’s penchant of being a stooge to the ruling regime. Are we to belive that the very basis of the “second biggest corruption scandal” was nothing but thin air, an edifice built of mere hokum, a matter of perspective only, a case of “presumptive corruption”?
AICC Press briefing by @rssurjewala on #2GScamVerdictWatch: https://t.co/sXx92UXV5s
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 21, 2017
As Manmohan Singh calls out “massive unfounded propaganda” against him and his government, we need to remember the 2012 Supreme Court-driven cancellation of 122 telecom licences and the re-auction later, which the Congress contended as a fruitless exercise causing loss to the exchequer. In fact, even though it’s said that it was the DMK minister Dayanidhi Maran who changed the “terms of reference” in the spectrum pricing regulations, the finance ministry under then minister P Chidambaram was supposedly in the loop.
Yet, as the court notes, the file notings and the exchanges have been read out-of-context, often. Does that mean the chargesheet was a matter of tweaking the weak (non-)evidence to suit a foregone conclusion based on the then CAG Vinod Rai’s report on the notional loss of Rs 1.7 trillion?
Justice has won, this is what M Karunanidhi had also said, opposition and media had put in all efforts to malign us in this case, all has been proved wrong: MK Stalin #2GScamVerdict pic.twitter.com/mK6AFd7FRK
— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2017
All the people of the industry who were accused have suffered enough, licenses cancelled, they were also unable to travel abroad: Mukul Rohatgi,former Attorney General #2GScamVerdict pic.twitter.com/ljEpIcOwXs
— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2017
With the Congress now demanding “apology” from former CAG Vinod Rai as well as PM Modi for his using the 2G case to the hilt, and sections of the mainstream media, particularly certain TV channels that helped build the “corrupt and weak Manmohan” narrative, what can we expect from the powers that be? Did the corruption “hype” help pile up the non-profitable assets (NPAs) of the telecom companies in PSU banks, since with the licences cancelled, the telecom industry went for a toss, witnessing competition pummeled in the process?
Yes, there was no loss.Former Union Minister @KapilSibal on #2GScamVerdict #CongressIsClean pic.twitter.com/9LlPnMV1mj
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 21, 2017
The CAG report allowed BJP to mislead the nation & play the role of a highly irresponsible opposition. This won them an election, but hurt India’s competitiveness & straddled banks with ₹4 lakh crore of debt resulting from license cancellations & auctions
— Milind Deora (@milinddeora) December 21, 2017
As Manmohan Singh stands almost vindicated today, many of the UPA era taints are being slowly washed away, if not completely. Though there are those who think licences were tweaked and rukes bent to favour particular companies, the size of the “scam” was as notional as the figure that was put forward by then CAG Vinod Rai, whose proximity to the RSS has not eluded astute observers. More important, PM Modi has continued to do business with those accused in the 2G case, particularly the Reliance ADAG group, who got a lion’s share in the questionable Rafale deal.
In the wake of Gujarat Assembly election results and the 2G verdict, a new and shinier Manmohan Singh is here. Will there be larger political and electoral impact of these temblors? Only time will tell.