The latest Wikileaks revelations will make many believe that the UPA government mustered a majority in Parliament last year in an unscrupulous manner and the Americans were prime witness to that crime, says Sheela Bhatt.
In New Delhi, reporters know that the issue is dead serious when the government completely denies allegations, puts up a fight as if war has broken out and when they even take on media to dare them come close to the real issue.
The Congress party, particularly, does it so every time when they want to save the prestige of its chief Sonia Gandhi and the credibility of the Gandhi family.
They have done it again on Thursday to thwart the political damage due to revealing Wikileaks cables.
Sonia Gandhi's extremely close confidante Satish Sharma stands exposed with the release of the latest Wikileaks cable published in The Hindu.
The Wikileaks cable reveals that how five days before the Manmohan Singh government faced a crucial vote of confidence on the Indo-US nuclear deal on July 22, 2008, Nachiketa Kapur, a political aide of Sharma, showed a US embassy employee 'two chests containing cash' that he said was part of a bigger fund of Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore that the party had assembled to purchase the support of MPs for the trust vote.
Kapur has also visited Satish Sharma's Rae Bareli office. It's surprising to note that Kapur, who is a school-dropout, was close to former National Security Advisor J N Dixit for a year when he was in the Prime Minister's Office.
In fact, Dixit sent him to Renuka Chowdhary, who was then minister for women and child development.
She tried to keep him as Officer on Special Duty but she was saved because his appointment was not approved by Department of Personnel and Training.
It was found that he is unfit for a sensitive post in government. A written note was sent to her ministry.
In fact, Kapur was appointed as deputy director general of protocol and media for the Commonwealth Games but due to PMO's intervention, he was removed from the post.
They, invariably, send them on junkets to America, thinking it would be a profitable investment.
In New Delhi, reporters know that the issue is dead serious when the government completely denies allegations, puts up a fight as if war has broken out and when they even take on media to dare them come close to the real issue.
The Congress party, particularly, does it so every time when they want to save the prestige of its chief Sonia Gandhi and the credibility of the Gandhi family.
They have done it again on Thursday to thwart the political damage due to revealing Wikileaks cables.
Sonia Gandhi's extremely close confidante Satish Sharma stands exposed with the release of the latest Wikileaks cable published in The Hindu.
The Wikileaks cable reveals that how five days before the Manmohan Singh government faced a crucial vote of confidence on the Indo-US nuclear deal on July 22, 2008, Nachiketa Kapur, a political aide of Sharma, showed a US embassy employee 'two chests containing cash' that he said was part of a bigger fund of Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore that the party had assembled to purchase the support of MPs for the trust vote.
Let us keep aside for the moment the debate over Wikileaks credibility or the ethical value of something that blatantly gives only a one side's view of the issue.
The claims made in the published cables sent by American diplomats, based in New Delhi, to Washington can be ignored only by the thick-skinned political class.
In a nutshell, the hidden meaning of the cables is that the Congress government paid money to Members of Parliament to get votes on floor of the house with the full knowledge of US embassy in Chankyapuri.
It's astounding to see that Americans were witnesses to a corrupt drama of buying of MPs in Indian Parliament. The last thing on their mind was value of democracy so finely inscribed in the American Constitution.
And despite being in the know of the UPA government's corruption to buy votes, they sent Kapur on an all-expense-paid junket to the US.
The claims made in the published cables sent by American diplomats, based in New Delhi, to Washington can be ignored only by the thick-skinned political class.
In a nutshell, the hidden meaning of the cables is that the Congress government paid money to Members of Parliament to get votes on floor of the house with the full knowledge of US embassy in Chankyapuri.
It's astounding to see that Americans were witnesses to a corrupt drama of buying of MPs in Indian Parliament. The last thing on their mind was value of democracy so finely inscribed in the American Constitution.
And despite being in the know of the UPA government's corruption to buy votes, they sent Kapur on an all-expense-paid junket to the US.
Of course, in New Delhi, shameless leaders frequently declare at noon that sun didn't rise in the morning.
Satish Sharma has declared that Kapur is not his aide while in fact is scores of Congressmen know Kapur as a lackey of Sharma, lately.
Kapur was a former chief of the foreign affairs cell of the Youth Congress when Satyjit Gaikwad was heading it. Now Rahul Gandhi heads it.
He came in close touch with the Americans because the US embassy has a habit of cultivating light-weight heads of foreign affairs cells of political parties.
Satish Sharma has declared that Kapur is not his aide while in fact is scores of Congressmen know Kapur as a lackey of Sharma, lately.
Kapur was a former chief of the foreign affairs cell of the Youth Congress when Satyjit Gaikwad was heading it. Now Rahul Gandhi heads it.
He came in close touch with the Americans because the US embassy has a habit of cultivating light-weight heads of foreign affairs cells of political parties.
Kapur has also visited Satish Sharma's Rae Bareli office. It's surprising to note that Kapur, who is a school-dropout, was close to former National Security Advisor J N Dixit for a year when he was in the Prime Minister's Office.
In fact, Dixit sent him to Renuka Chowdhary, who was then minister for women and child development.
She tried to keep him as Officer on Special Duty but she was saved because his appointment was not approved by Department of Personnel and Training.
It was found that he is unfit for a sensitive post in government. A written note was sent to her ministry.
In fact, Kapur was appointed as deputy director general of protocol and media for the Commonwealth Games but due to PMO's intervention, he was removed from the post.
They, invariably, send them on junkets to America, thinking it would be a profitable investment.
There is a complaint filed against him in the Parliament police station for 'stealing' government documents.
Now is it any surprise that this man was showing Americans the currency notes to be paid to MPs?
The cable claims that currency notes were shown to American diplomats and implies indirectly that the Americans in New Delhi were worried about survival of then government.
So the Congress party's important backroom boy Satish Sharma and his crony Kapur were assuring Americans that hey, don't worry! Look, we are doing everything to see that Dr Manmohan Singh's government survives and Indo-US relationship will endure.
Now is it any surprise that this man was showing Americans the currency notes to be paid to MPs?
The cable claims that currency notes were shown to American diplomats and implies indirectly that the Americans in New Delhi were worried about survival of then government.
So the Congress party's important backroom boy Satish Sharma and his crony Kapur were assuring Americans that hey, don't worry! Look, we are doing everything to see that Dr Manmohan Singh's government survives and Indo-US relationship will endure.
The world over Wikileaks is being discredited by establishments and the US government. This has ensured that they don't speak about it nor they allow any bilateral relations to get affected. So, the Indian government has taken an aggressive stand, very much like the Americans, that they don't recognise Wikileaks.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while speaking in Parliament, expectedly, didn't give credibility to Wikileaks.
In a weak defence, he said what American diplomats write to their headquarters in Washington gets 'diplomatic immunity' so, the Indian government can't take any action on basis of cables whose existence is not 'officially recognised'.
He also, defended in a bland legal way that the issue was related to the last Lok Sabha and can't be debated in the current Lok Sabha.
Opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Sitaram Yechury have strongly attacked government over the issue.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while speaking in Parliament, expectedly, didn't give credibility to Wikileaks.
In a weak defence, he said what American diplomats write to their headquarters in Washington gets 'diplomatic immunity' so, the Indian government can't take any action on basis of cables whose existence is not 'officially recognised'.
He also, defended in a bland legal way that the issue was related to the last Lok Sabha and can't be debated in the current Lok Sabha.
Opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Sitaram Yechury have strongly attacked government over the issue.
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