Most agree that the abrupt transfer of the income-tax official heading the probe into the multi-crore Madhu Koda scam is highly questionable given the circumstances. Ujjawal Chaudhary, observers say, was on the verge of unravelling the linkages between politicians and money launderers. The Madhu Koda scam involves not just the former chief minister of Jharkhand, but several other big netas, their compliant babus and some big corporates as well. The black money trail led to several other states, Delhi and well beyond.
Officially, of course, the tax authority claims that Mr Chaudhary’s transfer is a “routine” affair since even while based in Patna he will continue to oversee Jharkhand. But there are few buyers for this explanation. Babus are seldom transferred in the middle of a tax-related investigation, and whenever they are there is usually a dubious design. In Mr Chaudhary’s case too, those who are feeling the heat would benefit immensely if the troublesome income-tax sleuth was taken off the case. And given that several highly influential netas are under investigation, it wouldn’t be out of place to suspect that a cover up is underway. Or did the corporates do this? Keep watching this space for more.
***
No babus for Nilekani
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) may have got underway with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointing former Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani to head the ambitious project, but my favourite tribesmen apparently are less than enthused about it. According to sources, Mr Nilekani who had said he preferred to have Indian Administrative Service officers in positions of responsibility instead of denizens from the corporate world, as was widely expected from a giant of the private sector, is apparently struggling to fill the vacancies in UIDAI.
For some reason, babus have shown little interest in joining the United Progressive Alliance government’s pet project since it got off the mark. It could be that they are wary of working with a boss from the corporate world who may practice a “different” work ethic! Some observers suggest that the babus’ lack of enthusiasm could stem from their perception that a stint in Mr Nilekani’s office will lessen their chances of returning to the “mainstream” later on. But their existential dilemma notwithstanding, Mr Nilekani still needs to find joint-secretary level babus to keep the project on track.
By Dilip Cherian
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/content/dilip-cherian
