Tit for tat
Malik’s corruption allegations backfire
Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik’s outspokenness seems to have landed him in trouble. He had made sensational allegations of corruption at a public meeting in Haryana. The governor had claimed that during his tenure as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, two files were presented to him for clearance. He was informed by officers that a bribe of Rs 150 crore would be paid for each file on approval. He said one of the files was being pushed by a person connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the other by a top industrial house. The CBI has now been asked to investigate his allegations. Sources say the CBI probe may not remain confined to his allegations alone. The agency is likely to look into other allegations of corruption in J&K which may send the CBI knocking on Malik’s doors. Realising that his headline hogging statements have backfired, Malik is now threatening to spill more beans saying “ye agar keechad mein patthar marenge, to unke bhi kapde gande honge (if you throw stone on dirty water, you’ll get soiled too)”. He said there are many more things apart from the two deals he has mentioned. Malik said many people would land in trouble if he spoke out. He said he is no sitting duck, and people should not be under the wrong impression that they can get away after attacking him. He should be left alone, he said. Looks like the Satya Pal Malik vs Modi government story has just begun. There’s much more to come. Keep watching this column.
India-Aus Trade
Adani among biggest beneficiaries
The trade deal signed between India and Australia last week has brought cheer to a wide range of Indian exporters. The deal would provide zero-duty access to more than 96% of Indian exports. The biggest benefit of the deal on the India side would, however, go to the Adani Group. As part of the agreement, India has lowered duty on import of almost 70% of goods, including coal. Duty on coal has been reduced to zero. Coal constitutes two-thirds of Indian imports from Australia. After braving years of opposition from environmental activists, the Adani Group is ready to export coal from its Carmichael mine in Queensland, Australia. The company has also built a rail track to carry coal to the seaport, which was bought and rebuilt by Adani, to ship the coal abroad. The trade deal, Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, aims to double trade between the two countries from the present level of US$ 27 billion to US$ 50 billion in the next five years. To reach this target, India would need to import a lot of coal from Australia. That’s more good news for the Adani Group.
Appeasement politics
Kejriwal’s Dalit trouble in Punjab
After the Aam Aadmi Party won Punjab, the picture of Mahatma Gandhi went missing from government offices in the state and that of Bhagat Singh made an appearance. One photo that remained on the walls was of B R Ambedkar. AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has been careful not to annoy the Scheduled Castes as Punjab has the largest population of SCs among all states. In Delhi too, his government has been hosting special screening of a play on Ambedkar to keep the community engaged. Some AAP functionaries have, however, expressed concern over Delhi chief minister paying “mere lip service to the Dalit cause”. They point out that Kejriwal had promised to give Punjab an SC deputy chief minister which did not happen. There was no member from the community among the five members he sent to Rajya Sabha from Punjab. There is no SC in his party’s top leadership. The AAP functionary said Kejriwal misses no opportunity to publicly pay respect to Babasaheb, “but he needs to match his words with action if he wishes to enjoy continued support of the community”.