Political wrong numbers

REVELATIONS linking BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan with the Reliance Infocomm RIC shares controversy could have potentially lead to ...

REVELATIONS linking BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan with the Reliance Infocomm RIC shares controversy could have potentially lead to fireworks in Parliament8217;s budget session. But luckily for Mahajan, there is no unified strategy. Barring the CPIM and the Shiv Sena8217;s Sanjay Nirupam in his individual capacity, no one is planning to take it up just yet.

But first the story. The country8217;s largest business empire, now riven by a fratricidal feud, enters the telecom sector by setting up Reliance Infocomm. In September 2002, it transfers one crore of its shares 8212; at Re one per share 8212; to three small companies. The main man behind these companies is Ashish Deora. He is a friend and business associate of former telecom minister Pramod Mahajan8217;s son and son-in-law.

There is another link. One of the three companies, Prerna Auto, is owned by Lalit Goyal, brother-in-law of Sudhanshu Mittal, close associate of Mahajan.

Since there was a perception during the NDA years that Mahajan was close to Reliance 8212; he was even allegedly dropped from the Union cabinet because of this closeness 8212; the story has only spread faster in Delhi8217;s power circles.

MAHAJAN insists there was no quid pro quo because there was no quid in the first place. 8216;8216;I have not taken any decision directly or indirectly favouring any telecom company, leave alone RIC,8217;8217; he says see interview.

Mittal is on similar ground. 8216;8216;I have nothing to do with Prerna Auto. My brother-in-law is a professional who owns shares in many companies. It is most unfortunate that I have been linked to it. The media should have established my participation in the transaction before dragging my name.8217;8217;

Mittal further argues there was nothing wrong in the three companies receiving RIC shares at Re 1 per share. 8216;8216;At that time, the company had not even started it8217;s commercial launch. It had no revenue, no subscriber base. If at such a time 8212; when shares of much bigger telecom companies like Bharti and Tata were trading at 50 to 65 per cent below issue value 8212; what was wrong with RIC issuing shares at issue value?8217;8217;

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MAHAJAN is hoping politicians, unlike the media, will be more understanding. His hope might just come true. The Congress, for one, has confined itself to asking for an inquiry and left it at that. AICC spokesman Anand Sharma says, 8216;8216;If there is any violation of law or subversion of processes by Pramod Mahajan or any of his kin or cronies or kin8217;s cronies, it is for the concerned agencies to take note of and conduct an inquiry.8217;8217;

The Congress does not want to get involved in a 8216;8216;family feud8217;8217;. 8216;8216;The stories against Mahajan have come out as a result of the family feud. One Ambani brother is pitted against the other. We do not want to be seen taking sides,8217;8217; a senior Congress leader says.

Attacking Mahajan and the BJP is fine 8216;8216;but we have to be clear on how valid the charges against him actually are8217;8217;.

SAMAJWADI Party general secretary Amar Singh is laying off for the same reason. 8216;8216;I have got a personal relationship with the Reliance family which is well known. Salman Khurshid and Laloo Prasad Yadav have openly accused me of being the architect of the family feud.

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Therefore, anything I say will only add fuel to the fire,8217;8217; Singh told The Sunday Express.

8216;8216;I would like to maintain neutrality on this issue unless pushed to a wall,8217;8217; Singh added, 8216;8216;if I make a comment on the Pramod Mahajan case it will be misconstrued.8217;8217; His party, though, might take a stand later, Singh said, pointing out that 8216;8216;on all economic issues we toe the Left, particularly the CPIM, line.8217;8217;

SO far, only the CPIM has taken up the case. In an article in People8217;s Democracy, Harkishan Singh Surjeet demanded an investigation into 8216;8216;the whole Mahajan episode8217;8217; and warned 8216;8216;this is something the UPA government can ignore only to its peril8217;8217;.

Mahajan, sources say, got in touch with CPIM leaders following Surjeet8217;s article. But CPIM leader in the Rajya Sabha Nilotpal Basu says, 8216;8216;We will definitely raise the issue, not just about the RIC shares but the entire telecom policy.8217;8217;

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MAHAJAN8217;s real problems lie elsewhere 8212; much closer home actually. He has been under a cloud for his 8216;8216;five star8217;8217; ways and was the fall guy for the failure the 2004 hi-tech election campaign. Uma Bharati, acting on the behest of RSS and Swadeshi Jagran Manch hardliners, had publicly attacked the decision to retain him as general secretary.

For the ideological purists as well as his many 8216;8216;second-rung8217;8217; rivals in the BJP, the RIC controversy provides more fuel. The UPA might spare Mahajan, but the sniggers within the Sangh Parivar aren8217;t going to end soon.