A day after the Supreme Court told the Tata Group that it could not put an injuction on the publishing of the ‘Radia tapes’, Outlook magazine re-opened the Pandora’s Box.
A day after the Supreme Court told the Tata Group that it could not put an injuction on the publishing of the ‘Radia tapes’, Outlook magazine, which had earlier released more than 105 tapes of alleged conversations between corporate lobbyist Nira Radia and industry as well as media bigwigs, re-opened the Pandora’s Box.
It released a fresh set of recordings which, Outlook claims, comprise only a few of the nearly 800 new ones it has in its possession.
The new tapes underline the nexus between the corporate world and politicians, raising questions about a high-profile cabinet minister who appears habitually corrupt, according to an alleged conversation between Radia and a former head of India’s biggest industry federation, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The tape, among the 20 released by the magazine on its website on Saturday evening, plays out a conversation which discusses, among other things, the great ‘fall’ of a former trade minister to a less glamorous portfolio. “He needs to build some roads,” the alleged voice of CII chief comments on the transfer of portfolio.
The minister had been considered a ‘success’ in his previous avatar as the trade minister, and commended for his skills as a negotiator in international trade fora.
Both participants in the conversation seem to agree that the ‘demotion’ was intended to put the minister in his place. “He needed to be told that he has gone overboard,” suggests the female voice, while the alleged voice of the CII chief adds: “This is a very strong message.”
The alleged voice of the CII chief then goes on to point out that the new portfolio is not so bad, especially if the minister wants to make money.
“You can make your 15% on this. You can do national service and also make money... And really do something worthwhile,” the male voice suggests.
Then, in another part of the recording, the alleged voice of the former CII chief says, “Baalu has screwed us for five years,” apparently referring to another minister, DMK leader TR Baalu, who remained in charge of surface transport for many years. Baalu’s reign saw slow progress on many of India’s premier roads and infrastructure projects — a fact regularly rued by industry association chiefs.
It may be recalled that the interception of phones was done by the income tax department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while probing an alleged “criminal conspiracy” between certain public servants and private individuals in the grant of telecom licences in 2007-08. Ratan Tata (Tata Group is a client of Radia’s) had approached the Supreme Court to prevent further publication of the tapes.
The court, however, refused to grant an immediate injunction, but has asked the government to respond to Tata’s concerns. The I-T department, which had only recently promised prevention of leaks, had allegedly tapped Radia’s phone on suspicion that she was involved in financial crimes, while the enforcement directorate has grilled her subsequently on the same issue. With agency inputs
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