Arun Nehru

Mar 31, 2010

Arun Nehru
Chairman, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd
Mumbai

Exposé sans substance?

We just had the usual weekly excitement with India Against Corruption (IAC) making another “selective” exposé — this time it has flayed some of the country’s leading corporates for laundering their illicit money running into thousands of crores of rupees though multinational bank, HSBC.

Regional stirring, Central heating

With the Cabinet reshuffle just carried out, the Congress has embarked on mid-term course correction — both in the government and in the party — in preparation for the 2014 polls. There are 10 crucial Assembly elections due in the coming months, and a volatile situation exists both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

A million mutinies

With TV channels in the country beha-ving more and more like the tabloid press in the West, the Salman Khurshid episode was waiting to happen. Competition builds its own peculiar pressure and someone somewhere loses control at some point.

Significant ‘Others’

The UPA-2 is defending itself with a late burst of reforms initiatives. No doubt the results are positive, but the BJP in Opposition, with equal effort, will oppose these measures. The regional parties, to protect their turf, will do what suits them, depending on the issue.

A political war on FDI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s war on “policy paralysis” is a welcome step. Although a political storm has begun after the government’s nod to allow FDI in retail and aviation, the moves show the government’s return to governance and mid-term surgery after the damage it had to suffer because of alleged scams, particularly the one concerning allocation of coal blocks.

From moral sermons to national logjam

Election season is round the corner and expectedly, several election surveys have been commissioned. All that these surveys say is not Gospel truth though, since we are not going to have the general elections in the immediate future.

Ramdev’s flip-flops

Anna Hazare has retired hurt and now we have the Rashtriya Swaya-msevak Sangh-sponsored Baba Ramdev who, in addition to his yoga expertise, is also a business tycoon with a turnover in excess of Rs 1,000 crore and extensive property.

Real arena dares Anna

Anna Hazare and Team India abandoned their indefinite fast as the Congress-led UPA-2 government refused to blink and give in to political blackmail laced with moral issues. All political parties will welcome the decision of Mr Hazare to enter the political arena, and I think Team Anna may find this rather tricky, as they are used to taking the public’s support for granted.

Course correction and Pawar play

Pranab Mukherjee has won in the presidential race by a mile, so will Hamid Ansari when the election for the post of the vice-president is held next month. It was good to see West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee extend her support, even if somewhat grudgingly.

Political cauldron on a slow boil

The presidential election continues to claim our complete attention because of the latest controversy over two unlike signatures of UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee — one on his letter of resignation from the chairmanship of the Indian Statistical Institute, the other on his presidential nomination papers — which may well lead to a legal battle.

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