Coldest Day in Mumbai in Three Years…needed a Heater !…NDTV 24*7 Big Fight Debate on ‘Bofors and After’ more than warmed me !

Its dipped to 12 degrees in Mumbai…effect of the Cold Wave up North….needed something to warm me up so I picked up the Remote on this Sunday Morning and thought maybe Katrina’s belly dance moves in ‘Sheela ki Jawani’ was pouring out from some channel…but was delighted and warmed by something even more Hot !…….The Big Fight Debate on ‘Bofors & After’ on NDTV 24*7 ! that was a repeat broadcast from yesterday….moderated quite well by Vikram Chandra

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-big-fight/bofors-have-we-learnt-our-lessons/186360?hp

The Panelists in the studio facing a live audience were

  • Dr Subramanian Swamy….yet again in the limelight because , as an individual, he has gone to court to unravel the 2G Telecom Scam and prosecute A Raja the ex Telecom Minister 
  • Tavleen Singh…..Columnist and Political Commentator….can actually feel her anguish
  • Joginder Singh….ex CBI Director….”I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth..so help me God “
  • Mukul Rohatgi….ex Additional Solicitor General who appeared for the Government in the Bofors case in 2004…now reveals the searing truth on Bofors
  • Manish Tewari…Congress Spokesman…a courageous one at that…appears battered and bruised by the current onslaught by the opposition on Bofors and 2G scams

 D Raja,National Secretary of CPI was also participating,though not in the Studio…while sound bytes captured earlier from Arun Jaitley of BJP and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha were played out

At one Point the moderator Vikram stated “my jaw is starting to drop now”…so did mine !….this was at Mukul Rohatgi’s disturbing disclosure that the High Court Judge who quashed the Bofors case on February 4,2004 had mentioned in the order that the ASG (Mukul himself was the ASG at the time who was representing the government and CBI) had stated that there was no evidence that political leaders had received any money as a kickback or a bribe in the Bofors deal…Mukul reveals that he never made such a statement in court !…and goes on to say that CBI had said they should appeal this order,but the Government changed in May 2004 ….and  the Judge retired on April 10,2004 and was promptly rewarded with a plump position !…these are all questionable,asserts Mukul !….truth has an uncanny way of coming out,says Mukul…nobody had realised that the Bofors matter was yet being investigated by another body,the Income Tax Appelate Tribunal (ITAT) otherwise it too would have been fixed ! stated Mukul….his anger and frustration at the very high level of corruption prevalent in India came out remarkably as did his guts on now revealing that though he defended the Government in the Bofors matter,the truth was just the opposite…there is corruption that every citizen lives with every single day…railway tickets,school and college admissions,gas cylinders….even 20% of our elected representatives in the Lok Sabha have criminal antecedents….you must clear and clean this rot first at the top and then hope it filters down thinks Mukul   read more