The arrest of tainted former telecom minister A Raja and former telecom secretary Sidharth Behura for alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam had Dilli abuzz, wondering whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's belated attempt to clean up the image of his government would work
The arrest of tainted former telecom minister A Raja and former telecom secretary Sidharth Behura for alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam had Dilli abuzz, wondering whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's belated attempt to clean up the image of his government would work.
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But the Congress' moral high ground stance has found few takers; many believe it is a case of too little too late. Still, it is not often that a Union minister lands up in jail. That another former telecom minister, Sukhram, and a former power minister, Kalpnath Rai, too did stints behind bars many years ago would be cold comfort to Raja, who obviously hoped that coalition dharma would ultimately protect him from harm.
The question now on everybody's lips in Dilli is: Will the CBI heat also manage to reach beyond the rather obvious Kalmadi?
Egyptian surprise
The electrifying events in Egypt did not just catch the US on the wrong foot, but also the world's largest democracy. Even as the world reacted to the outcry of the Egyptian people against their repressive ruler, India maintained a long silence unbecoming, some say, of a nation aspiring to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Dilli's initial silence displayed confusion and fear of saying something wrong. Finally when Hosni Mubarak's position began to look untenable in the medium term, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna decided to back the "democratic aspirations" of the protesters.
But Dilli's worries go beyond support for democracy; it's really worried about the fallout of the Egyptian crisis, particularly the possible impact on petroleum prices and India's already ballooning oil bill. For a government which has miserably failed to contain inflation, rising crude prices will further aggravate the situation and invite the wrath of the aam aadmi.
