Arun Nehru

Mar 31, 2010

Arun Nehru
Chairman, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd
Mumbai

Internal chaos

Sachin Tendulkar has achieved the impossible by scoring his 50th Test century. For the public, Sachin has earned the Bharat Ratna many times over and yet the best of his career is far from over. We may just witness another century before the year is over.

Messy business

The 2G spectrum scam continues to draw fire, so much so that Parliament’s Winter Session was adjourned after 23 days of constant conflict. I already see signs of “fatigue” in this battle, and the reason for this could be the raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on former telecom minister A. Raja and his aides and that the telecom ministry, now headed by Kapil Sibal, has started taking corrective action on the issuing of 2G licences.

Raids, Raja, Radia

Should we be surprised by the number of scams which have surfaced in the last few months? No, but it is difficult to ignore the 2G spectrum scam.

The web of scams

The 2G spectrum scam is like an octopus with a hundred tentacles niggling the United Progressive Alliance government in a hundred different places.

The Trigger Effect

The outcome of the Bihar Assembly election is very much a victory for Nitish Kumar and the alliance of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I am not surprised at the success of the JD(U)-BJP combine and a great deal of credit for this must also be given to senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who, along with Mr Kumar, worked hard in the state. Also, I must admit that over the last two elections their electoral predictions were more than accurate.

Storm warning

Two years after an estimated loss of `1,76,000 crore to the exchequer from former Union telecom minister A. Raja’s allocation of 2G spectrum, he has finally been ousted from the Cabinet. The 2G scam is like a theatre owner buying the entire lot of tickets available for a Bollywood blockbuster like Dabangg on the first day and then selling the tickets in black, on a “first come first serve” basis to the public.

Coalition casualties

U.S. President Barack Obama may have lost Congress majority in the US, but in India, during his three-day visit, he was a clear “winner”. The visit was a great success and will propel our bilateral relations to a new level on all fronts.

Leader’s integrity no cure for corruption

Maharashtra is going the way of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka with “financial interests” prevailing over political authority.

Majority stakes

Much has happened in the past week. On the political front, after the second phase of polling in Bihar the situation remains unchanged with Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) and Arun Jaitley of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) addressing joint meetings. The Congress is working hard to gain an advantage while the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav, indulges in a great deal of hysteria. One can already sense insecurity in his poll speeches. Ram Vilas Paswan, on the other hand, is relatively quiet. I wonder if we will see another new alliance in the future for the Lok Janshakti Party.

Asset test

The battle for Bihar has begun and all parties are throwing political punches at each other. While it is good to see a spirited political battle in the state, the results are not easy to forecast as several political trends remain uncertain. But my hunch is that we might be in for a surprise or two.

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