RAHUL GANDHI NOT INVOLVED IN AGUSTAWESTLAND DEAL: AK ANTHONY

Defence Minister, AK Anthony today expressed sadness as well as anger that Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi has been dragged into the  controversial AgustaWestland chopper deal.

“It is very sad…there is a limit for these kinds of allegations,” Anthony said, when asked about the BJP’s allegations dragging Rahul Gandhi into the scam. He nonetheless rubbished the allegations as “baseless” and said that the case is being investigated by the CBI.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has reportedly written to the CBI accusing that the relative of Kanishka Singh – a close political aide of Rahul Gandhi – owns Emaar MGF Land Limited and made profit from the chopper deal.  

“We have nothing to hide, CBI is inquiring into that, whoever is guilty will be punished and nothing can be said beyond that at this point,” the defence minister said.

A joint CBI team, as well as the Defence Ministry’s Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Air) Arun Kumar Bal, is slated to leave for Italy to investigate into the case of kickback given to officials in India to strike the 3,546 crore chopper deal.

Under the contract 12 helicopters were meant to be delivered for VVIPs’ travel by AgustaWestland, which is a UK-based subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica.

The chief of Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi has been arrested after an investigation in Italy found that the company bribed Indian officials to strike the deal.

In the controversy, the former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi has also been embroiled for allegedly tweaking guidelines to get Finmeccanica into the bidding process. Some of the revelations were unearthed during investigation of Finmeccanica officials during investigation in Italy.

Thereafter, India’s Defence Ministry issued to a show-cause notice setting a week’s time to AgustaWestland, asking why the contract should not be cancelled in view of the corruption charges.

Meanwhile, Anthony said that "making allegations and taking judgment positions" at this juncture is not correct. “Let’s have patience and let the CBI inquiry report come out and after that whoever is involved in the case will be punished,” he said.

Meghalaya youth says India a failed democracy surrenders Voter identity card

A youth from Meghalaya has surrendered his Election Voter Identity Card (EPIC) to the Election Commission of India with a dissent note stating that the bourgeoisie “democracy in India has failed” and doesn’t inspire him any longer to vote.

Likening the present governance of India as one for the bourgeoisie, Sajeki Passah, a law student from Meghalaya’s Jaintia Hills district in northeast India surrendered his EPIC (No.  BKX0651000), to the Election Commission of India, through the state election department here.

Passah lamented to the Commission that the “have nots” have been sidelined and ignored in the present democratic set-up with the government machinery only “favouring ‘the haves’ who in turn reap the benefits from the prevailing system of flawed governance.”

Speaking over the phone from Jaintia Hills district, Passah said he took the decision to surrender his EPIC and not to vote any longer a few days back as he “lost hope” on the present system of governance.

“I have lost hope on the present system of Governance in India. The politicians promise during every elections and forgets. They only work for the high and the mighty and the common men’s plight has not changed,” Passah added.

Citing that the present “failed democracy” is the cause of hardship of the ordinary Indians, Passah said, unless the system was drastically changed than rampant corruption, backwardness, and under-development would continue to further corrode the system and unhappiness would shadow the “have-nots.”

“Scores of ‘have nots’ are left with hopelessness and unfulfilled dreams,” he rued in his note to Commission. “Politicians instead of representing the people are representing for their self-interest and their parties. They have failed the people in addressing to their miseries,” Passah, who lives in Panaliar locality of Jowai in the coal-rich district of the state, said.

Due to the failure of the present Governance, Meghalaya has remained under-developed in terms of infrastructure development, health care, rising unemployment, corruption, law and order problems, and environmental degradation.

“Villages have remained unconnected for years now, some are left unrepaired despite money being sanctioned and work orders and deadlines being issued,” Passah said adding that such delays have resulted in huge losses for tax payers with reformulation of estimates.”

With regards to the youth, he asked, what is the need to pursue education, which only leads to years of struggle?  “The luckiest and not the fittest get jobs as nepotism prevails and the qualified are abandoned,” he said.

Moreover, on corruption he said in his note: “The democracy speaks of ending corruption and malpractices by only instituting malleable committees and commissions to inquire into matters and concludes with none being held liable.”

Similar dejections were noted in terms of health care, environment protection and other issues that are rocking the state and the country. “I am unaware in what way my decision not to vote would help the system, but I have made up my mind not to be part of the present failed democratic set-up,” Passah asserted.