Kerala High Court orders CBI probe into Rs 80,000 cr lottery scam

SIKKIM OBSERVER   Vol 20 No 14 Page 1 May 28 2011

Kerala High Court orders CBI probe into Rs 80,000 cr lottery scam 

Lottery agents in Sikkim, Bhutan involved

Observer News Service

Kochi, May 27: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday approved a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the multi-billion rupee lottery scam in the State.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said his government would extend all help to the federal agency to probe into the scam.

There are allegations against agents of Bhutan and Sikkim lotteries that they siphoned off Rs.80,000 crore in the last four years by violating tax laws and diverting unclaimed prize money.

Former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan was keen on a probe but his cabinet colleague and former finance minister Thomas Issac opposed it.

Isaac accused the Congress-led central government of reluctance to transfer the powers to states to ban lotteries.

Reacting to the High Court verdict, Issac while welcoming the probe said that one thing that should be included in the probe is the reason why the central government all this while was not keen on it.

“It must be recalled that in 2005 a public interest litigation demanding a CBI probe in the case had come up but the then chief minister Oommen Chandy (of the Congress) sat on that and saw to it that it never happened,” said Issac.

Achuthanandan had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram demanding a CBI probe. The Home Minister, however, asked him to register a case, issue a notification and follow the procedure, according to sources.

However, the Congress Party had accused Achuthanandan of going soft on the ‘lottery mafia’ under the influence of his son V A Arun Kumar.

State Congress President Ramesh Chennithala told reporters in Delhi that his party welcomed the decision on CBI probe since it will bring out the truth behind the lottery muddle.

Mamata likely to meet Gurung on Monday

“We love Darjeeling and its people”

Observer News Service

Kolkata, May 26: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely meet Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Bimal Gurung on Monday.

“Bimal Gurung has spoken to me over the phone. He will come to meet me on Monday,” said Mamata after her meeting with the delegation led by Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri.

Giri and three Morcha MLAs, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, Trilok Dewan and Rohit Sharma, met the Chief Minister here yesterday. Though the meeting was described as a “courtesy call” by Morcha leaders the delegation submitted three demands to the Chief Minister which included the release of Gorkha leader Chhatre Subba who has been languishing in jail for alleged attempt on GNLF chief Subash Ghising on February 10, 2001.

“We love Darjeeling and its people. We want a solution to the ongoing problems in the hills and the Jungle Mahal at the earliest. Today’s meeting, however, was a courtesy call,” said the chief minister, adding: “I have asked the chief secretary (Samar Ghosh) to set up a date for talks with the Morcha.”

Meanwhile, the Morcha leadership is keeping the statehood issue alive while giving enough time to the Mamata Government to solve the  problems faced by the people in Darjeeling hills.

Editorial

“TOTAL REVOLUTION”

And The Present Reality

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s historic 36-day date with the people of Sikkim has evoked mixed reactions. While it is high time that the Chief Minister acquaints himself with the ground reality at the grassroots level, particularly when there is a wide gap between the haves and have-nots, criticisms are pouring in from all corners of the State on the futility of embarking on such a journey whose outcome is predictable: “nothing will happen.” Ever since he came to power 17 years ago Chamling has often complained about the slow pace of work in the administration. He wants to move fast but the bureaucratic red-tapism has been a big stumbling block. At times the Chief Minister has complained – and rightly so – about the lack of will and directionless of his own legislators and Cabinet colleagues who fail to share his dreams of a better tomorrow for all Sikkimese.

Chamling came to power promising ‘total revolution’ and change in the system of governance. The mandate given to Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front in 1994 was for restoration of freedom, democracy, rule of law and eradication of corruption. In the past 17 years the people have witnessed mushrooming of local newspapers and yet how many of them are really free and independent. People’s participation in the democratic process has not made much progress and restoration of the rule of law is still a distant dream in a State where sycophants have thrived leaving the honest, competent and credible persons on the sidelines.

For fear of incurring the wrath of the powers-that-be no one will tell Chamling the real, hard, and bitter truth. And as Chamling moves around from village to village, district to district to re-discover his Sikkim with an open mind and sincere heart he should be reminded of what he once said in his book (published in 1992) of poems, Perennial Dreams And My Reality, : “Amid the pompous projects – And blue prints of progress – I see no safeguard, no security – For Common people’s rights.” The Chief Minister, who was then (1992) a member of NB Bhandari’s Cabinet, gives this conclusion in his poem: “No, all plans and projects – Schemed by the powers that be – Reflect cynical disregard – For the suffering millions – And for their agonies and woes. In the inmost core of my heart – I feel these tantalizing projects, Full of sound and fury, Are devised to serve the vested interests, And hoodwink the bleeding masses.”  Chamling alone cannot and must not be blamed for the reality that we see around us; we are all responsible for the death of our dreams.

NHRC likely to be downgraded by UN

“India desperately needs an effective, independent, transparent, and accountable national human rights institution”

Observer News Service

New Delhi, May 27: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), currently holding a status of participant (A status), is likely to be downgraded to the position of an observer (B status) when its accreditation renewal comes up for consideration before the United Nations (UN).

There are various reasons for this, including the corruption charges raised against Chairman, K.G. Balakrishnan, former Chief Justice of India. Other reasons that are expected to go against the NHRC include lack of (a) diversity in its composition, (b) transparency in its appointment process and (c) autonomy in having its own staff for monitoring and investigating human rights cases, Bar & Bench news network reported.

The Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institution (ANNI) in its report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia suggests that “India desperately needs an effective, independent, victim-sensitive, transparent, and accountable national human rights institution (NHRI) capable of providing effective leadership to the other 158 statutory human rights institutions in the country”.

The appointment of K.G. Balakrishnan as the Chairman of NHRC was widely criticized. The criticism stemmed from the numerous controversies surrounding K.G. Balakrishnan including blocking the prosecution of former Justice Nirmal Yadav, attempting to exempt the office of the Chief Justice of India from the purview of the Right to Information Act and delaying action against Justice P.D. Dinakaran even after the Parliament had initiated an impeachment motion against him, the report said.

Another aspect that will go against the NHRC is the lack of diversity in its composition. Members to the NHRC are usually appointed from the judiciary and the bureaucracy. Arguably, the NHRC should provide due representation to women members, persons with disability and civil society representatives.

The NHRC also lacks the resources necessary to run an effective, powerful institution that can protect and promote the human rights of over 1 billion people. The budget for 2010-2011 has been reduced. From Rs. 24.10 crore ($ 5.1 Million) to Rs. 18 crore ($3.8 Million). In other words, the Government of India has allocated a mere Rs. 0.158 ($ 0.003) per person per year, towards the protection and promotion of human rights.

The ANNI report points out that approximately 450 million people in India live below the poverty line while 46 percent of children in India are still under-nourished, double that of Sub-Saharan Africa. The report concludes by saying that NHRC has failed desperately to take the lead in the national discourse of human rights.

Complaints against ex-CJI made public by PMO

Observer News Service                                                                      

New Delhi, May 27: The Prime Minister's Office has made public the large number of complaints received by it, including those from two MPs and veteran jurist VR Krishna Iyer, demanding removal of the former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan from the post of NHRC chief on charges of corruption.

 During the first five months of this year, at least 15 complaints filed against Justice Balakrishnan have been received by the PMO, according to a RTI reply given to Delhi-based activist, Subhash Chandra Agrawal.

The complaints have been sent to the department of justice, the specialised arm of the law ministry which deals with all issues related to the judges, the PMO stated in the reply.

Iyer, a former Supreme Court judge, in a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister in February, slammed Justice Balakrishnan, calling him "unparalleled in the judicial world."

The 96 year-old Iyer wrote: "Inspite of the fact that worst has been said about the highest judicial office occupied ignominiously by Balakrishnan, who not only is said to have amassed a corrupt fortune, he is neither resigning from NHRC no agreeing for a probe."

This followed a letter from Janata Dal (United) Lok Sabha MP, Jainarayan Prasad Nishad on March 14 to the PM on corruption in judiciary. "To our great shock, Justice KG Balakrishnan was allegedly caught involved in multiple judicial scams..."

Nishad's complaint also names two sitting SC judges, whom he alleged "have connived with Justice Balakrishnan in different matters."

A letter by BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, Purshottam Rupala, written to law minister M Veerappa Moily has also been forwarded to the PMO. Rupala has referred to "rampant corruption in higher judiciary," which according to him peaked during Justice Balakrishnan tenure as the CJI.

An organisation of lawyers and former judges — Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform, in a detailed complaint to the PM, cited six grounds seeking Justice Balakrishnan's removal from the NHRC post.