Satyam fraud blot on India Inc; Govt to unravel scam: PM

Describing the Satyam episode as a "blot" on India's corporate image, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government is determined to get to the bottom of the fraud and punish the guilty.    

Asking the industry to prevent fraudulent activities, he said India Inc should come out stronger from the Satyam fraud by keeping a close watch on their systems.    

"Satyam episode is a blot on our corporate image. It indicates how far malfeasance in one company can inflict suffering on many and can also tarnish India's image," Singh said at The Economic Times Awards function here. 

He said the government is determined to "unravel the full nature of the fraud and punish those who are involved..."    

Acting swiftly after Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admitted to cooking the company's books, the government disbanded the Satyam board and nominated six eminent persons to the board to nurse it back to health.    

Different wings, including the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and market regulator SEBI, have launched separate probes into the Satyam scandal which has brought uncertainty to the future of investors and 53,000 employees. Raju has been arrested and will spend four days in police custody starting tomorrow.    

Singh asked industry captains to "look closely into their operations to ensure that their systems are fully operational and fraudulent activities are effectively prevented." He said actions of corporate leaders and management "have reputational impact much beyond the reputation of their companies."    

Singh said the industry should support the government in setting the highest standards "so that the world can say we emerge from the Satyam scandal stronger and more credible. I have no doubt we can do it and we shall do it."

In its first formal response to India with regard to the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan had on Friday said it had initiated a "series" of actions in connection with the probe into the
terror strikes and claimed to have shut down five training camps of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa and arrested several LeT leaders.

In his address at The Economic Times awards function here, the Prime Minister said the barbaric attack was not without deeper intent and was meant to be an attack on "our very concept of nationhood". The function, slated to be held in November, was deferred after the Mumbai attacks.

"Mumbai is the best-known symbol of free, pluralistic, dynamic and cosmopolitan India. That is precisely why the terrorists chose to attack it," he said.

But the terrorists should know that the civilized world is against them and that no country can or will tolerate their onslaught, the Prime Minister said.         

India has shared the evidence that it has gathered so far on the incidents with Pakistan and others. "Pakistan has admitted that the arrested terrorist (Ajmal Amir Kasab in
the Mumbai attack) is their national".   

"We expect Pakistan to take all the consequent next steps against all those who have planned, organised and executed these horrific crimes," he said.         

Noting that "the Pakistan government has announced that the results of their investigations will be made public in a few days," he said, "I urge the Pakistani authorities to come out with a full and complete disclosure of all the facts surrounding the case, without attempts at denial, diversion or obfuscation".        

Asking Pakistan to discharge its obligations under international instruments and honour the bilateral commitments it has given to India at the highest level, he said it should
ensure that nothing like Mumbai, or the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul ever happens again.

Seeking the assistance of the international community, the Prime Minister said it should use its full weight to see that the investigations are pursued vigorously and brought to a speedy and logical conclusion and that terror groups operating from Pakistan are "completely shut down".         

"If Pakistan is sincere in its words, it should show through its actions that it will not tolerate these assaults on civilized norms of behaviour," he said.         

Singh admitted that at the end of the day, this is a problem that "we will have to tackle ourselves with our own sources and our own determination. We need to strengthen our
own ability to deal with such attacks and our intelligence capability to anticipate them".         

Describing the Mumbai attacks as "painful" and horrific", he said although the barbaric attack was behind everyone, the scars it has left remain.        

The Prime Minister recalled that he was a resident of Mumbai for "three happy years and I feel keenly the pain and anger of the city. To the people of Mumbai, I can only say that we will no effort to ensure that their city does not suffer any such attack in the future".

Singh said he particularly wished to salute the breavery and sacrifice of the men of the Mumbai police and the NSG who laid down their lives fighting the terrorists.