A new book on the corporate lobbyist claims she was very close to former aviation minister Anant Kumar and used her influence to settle aviation deals.
A new book on corporate lobbyist Nira Radia claims she was very close to former aviation minister Anant Kumar and used her influence to settle aviation deals.
In return, she helped arrange “sacks” of money for his election campaign, the book claims.
Close Encounters with Niira Radia has been authored by senior advocate RK Anand.
Ananth Kumar became aviation minister in March 1998.
Niira, the books claims, “did not hide her closeness to him. Friends often saw them together at Sudesh Farm, Asola, in Delhi, where Niira was still living with Rao Dheeraj Singh - a former Sahara executive.”
However Radia’s association with Anant Kumar, the book said, had taken the colour of a scandal and his wife Tejaswani made a personal complaint to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who promptly reassigned Kumar to culture and youth affairs and sports ministry in October 1999, and later to culture and tourism in 2000.
According to the book, Radia had influenced government policies during Kumar’s tenure. “During the time that the aircraft acquisition policy was being changed Niira was a frequent visitor to Kumar’s official residence at 10, Prithviraj Road.
According to intelligence reports, Niira and Kumar frequently travelled abroad. Kumar was actually a country bumpkin — a hayseed as the Americans put it — who learnt sophistication and speech and social graces from Niira. If the roles in Pygmalion had been reversed, Kumar would have been Eliza Dolittle and Niira Henry Higgins.”
Anand claims that during the 2G scandal “she even persuaded Ratan Tata to become a lobbyist for former telecom minster A Raja... At the behest of Niira, Tata wrote to M Karunanidhi, giving full marks to Raja.”
He also mentions, “Radia’s deep involvement in Tamil Nadu’s DMK politics and her attempts to create a divide in the first family of the state.”
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