Talk:P. Chidambaram

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Controversy section[edit]

In January, the whole controversy section was deleted by User:25_Cents_FC and earlier some of that stuff was already removed. I'm not sure what the reason for this was, some of these allegations relate to Chidambaram and are sourced by newspapers. --Calypsomusic (talk) 16:27, 12 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2G spectrum scam[edit]

Main article: 2G spectrum scam

In September 2011, Subramanian Swamy moved to Supreme Court of India, after months of request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into Chidambaram's role in the 2G spectrum scam.[1][2][3] After having not had any favourable response from the Prime Minister he approached the Supreme Court and based on the fair credibility of preliminary evidence and documents, the court agreed to take up the petition.[4] Andimuthu Raja, the prime accused in the 2G spectrum scam, also revealed on tapped phones that Chidambaram received a lot of money for 2G spectrum allocation.[5]

In the same case an office memorandum from the office of the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was submitted to the Supreme Court which stated that Chidambaram collaborated in the under-pricing in the 2G spectrum scam during his tenure as Finance Minister. The memorandum said that if Chidambaram wanted, the 2G spectrum could have been auctioned.[6][7] On 2 February 2012, Supreme court left it to the special CBI sessions court to decide on whether to make Chidambaram a co-accused in the case or order a CBI enquiry.[1][8] On 4 February 2012, the special CBI court dismissed[9] The CBI court accepted Swamy's two allegations that Chidambaram and A Raja took decision jointly on fixing the price of the spectrum and offloading of shares. However, it dismissed the plea saying there were lack of evidences on Chidambaram's criminal intention behind these two acts. Swamy appealed against this order directly in the Supreme court but the plea was again rejected by Supreme Court of India and thereby giving a clean chit to Chidambaram.[10]

Aircel-Maxis deal controversy[edit]

In a press statement on 26 April 2012, Swamy alleged that Advantage Strategic Consulting, a company which is owned by Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram, received a 5% stake in mobile operator Aircel, as a condition for the 2006 Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval of Malaysian company Maxis Communications's investment in Aircel.[11] Even though shareholding in a large publicly listed company is easily verifiable, no evidence was produced to substantiate charges of Karti owning shares in any Maxis companies. Chidambaram then had statutory authority over the FIPB in his role as the Finance Minister. Subsequently the issue was raised on multiple times in Parliament of India by the opposition which demanded his resignation.[12] He and the government denied all the allegations.[13] However, according to The Pioneer and India Today reports, documents show that approval to the foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal was indeed delayed by about 7 months by P Chidambaram.[14][15][16]

Income Tax Matter In November 2005, ADMK in Tamil Nadu raised the matter of P. Chidambaram's wife, Mrs. Nalini Chidambaram, as Senior Advocate and Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department, had argued and lost a case on behalf of the Income Tax Department vs. Janakiram Mills & Others. ADMK wrongly charged Mrs. Chidambaram of favouring Sree Karpagambal Mills Ltd., a textile mill owned by Mr. P. Chidambaram's brother. It was later established that Sree Karpagambal Mills was not party to the case. Opposition parties disrupted the Lok Sabha for a day demanding an explanation from Mr P Chidambaram. Mrs. Nalini Chidambaram returned the fees of Rs 100,000 she had received from the Income Tax Department for arguing this case.

Controversial companies representation[edit]

He represented the bankrupt American energy giant Enron, as a senior lawyer in India, and is again set to revive its Dhabol power project.[17][18]

Chidambaram also represented the controversial British mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources in the Mumbai High Court until 2003 when he became the Finance minister of India. He was also a member of the board of directors of that company.[19]

Securities scam resignation[edit]

He resigned on 10 July 1992 from the Minister position owning moral responsibility for investing in Fairgrowth by his wife, a company allegedly involved in securities scam. His apparent deep links in the scam was never thoroughly investigated.[20]

Scheme for tax defaulters[edit]

In 1997, he announced a controversial Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) which granted income-tax defaulters indefinite immunity from prosecution under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, and the Companies Act, 1956 in exchange for self-valuation and disclosure of income and assets.[21][22] The Comptroller and Auditor General of India condemned the scheme in his report as abusive and a fraud on the genuine taxpayers of the country.[23]

Office of Profit inquiry[edit]

In August 2006, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave permission to enquire into the allegations that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had been holding office of profit at the time of elections. It has been alleged that they both had been the board members of Rajiv Gandhi Trust Foundation. The Election Commission has been authorised to enquire into the allegations.[24]

On 7 April 2009, P. Chidambaram was shoed by Jarnail Singh, a Sikh journalist during a press conference in Delhi. Singh, who works at the Hindi daily Dainik Jagaran was dissatisfied with Chidamabaram's answer to a question on the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.[25] Later, Jarnail Singh appeared on a few media channels and thanked Chidambaram for taking no action against him and said that he would apologise to Chidambaram if he got a chance to meet him personally.[26] He also said that his method of protest was wrong, but the issue was right.[27][28] He also declined to take money offered to him by the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Sikh political party.

Mr. Chidambaram has been in public conflict with other members of the UPA government on policy issues.[29] There have been several instances where his public positions have exposed confusion in the policy agenda of the UPA government.[30] In the past he has regularly announced plans to end Naxalism in the impending future. The most recent announcement was on 30 Jul 2010.[31] Another previous such declaration was on 10 November 2009.[32]

Polls result vote fraud[edit]

In 2009, Parliamentary elections, it was alleged in 'The Hindu' that Chidambaram has pressurised the Returning Officer of Sivaganga and doctored the poll results in his favour. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate Kannappan who lost in the poll demanded recounting of votes, which was declined.[33]

Lathi charge and arrest of Anna Hazare[edit]

Chidambaram was criticised widely for ordering a police lathi charge at midnight on non-violent protesters at the Ramlila Maidan, Delhi. The protesters led by Baba Ramdev were protesting against widespread corruption in governance and demanding bringing back of black money to India stashed abroad in foreign banks.[34]

It is also alleged that Chidambaram planned Anna Hazare's arrest to lodge him in Tihar Jail during the recent Anti- Corruption Campaign in India, which sparked off mass protests all over India.[35]

Naxalite-Maoist insurgency[edit]

Chidambaram's effectiveness as the Minister of Home Affairs has been questioned on various occasions. Upon taking office, he promised to tackle left-wing Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. However, there has been no progress in preventing Maoist attacks in India. Chidambaram has been accused of callously sacrificing ill-equipped and unprepared Central Reserve Police Force jawans repeatedly. On 6 April 2010 76 CRPF jawans were massacred in Dantewada.[36] Besides condemning the attack, Chidambaram's ministry has made no progress in prosecuting the killers.

In 2010, there were several major attacks by Maoists including a 28 May 2010 train derailment that killed over 150 civilians, a 29 June attack that killed 26 policemen and dozens of other attacks that killed scores of security forces and civilians. Maoist attacks have continued in 2011, including the dismemberment of 10 police officials in Chhatisgarh state.

The RTI Act by advocate and activist Vivek Garg said that Chidambaram had been tasked to "supervise and deal with all financial matters" by a Group of Ministers in the run-up to the games.Documents accessed from PMO reveal that Chidambaram, the then FM, had been tasked with supervising all money matters pertaining to CWG which leads to a loss of 23.42 billion.[37]

2011 Mumbai bombings intelligence failure[edit]

Chidambaram was criticised for his ministry's failure to prevent the 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings, in spite of massive investments in security following the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Three years after the 2008 attacks, security preparations were proven to be inadequate with channel breakdown and failures in modernising, procuring and installing security equipment.[38] Chidambaram defended the agencies under his ministry against the charge of intelligence failure with the response:

Having no intelligence in this case, however, does not mean that there was a failure on part of the intelligence agencies.[39]
There has been no intelligence failure. There was no intelligence warning about 13/7.[40]

Black money[edit]

Chidambaram has been accused of hoarding black money abroad[41][42] and several petitioners have challenged Chidambaram in the open media and in several noted columns to file a defamation case against them if the allegations were untrue.[21] Chidambaram has not responded to this.

References

  1. ^ a b Supreme Court reserves judgement on Swamy's plea for CBI probe on Chidambaram's role in 2G scam – Economic Times. The Economic Times.indiatimes.com (10 October 2011). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  2. ^ 2G case: Subramanian Swamy submits documents on Chidambaram's role. The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  3. ^ Swamy goes after Chidambaram over 2G scam – Rediff.com News. Rediff.com. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  4. ^ 2G scam: Supreme Court to hear Swamy's plea seeking CBI probe against Chidambaram. Ndtv.com (27 September 2011). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ "2G scam: Finance Ministry's note puts Chidambaram in spotlight". Rediff.com. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  7. ^ The Tribune. 21 September 2011 http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110922/main1.htm. Retrieved 26 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ "2G scam: SC scraps 122 licences granted under Raja's tenure, trial court to decide on Chidambaram's role". The Times of India. 2 February 2012.
  9. ^ "2G scam-Swamy's petition to make Chidambaram co-accused dismissed". The Times of India. 4 February 2012.
  10. ^ "SC gives clean chit to PC". The Times Of India. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Chidambaram's son a direct beneficiary of 2G scam: Subramaniam Swamy". The Times of India. 26 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Aircel-Maxis Deal: Parliament Disrupted Over PC's Role". Outlook India. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  13. ^ "Aircel-Maxis Deal: PC Dismisses Charges as Reckless". Outlook India. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Document shows Chidambaram delayed Aircel-Maxis deal by 7 months". India Today. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Govt's defence of Chidambaram rings hollow". The Pioneer. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  16. ^ "Govt trapped in own web of deceit". The Pioneer. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  17. ^ Reviving Dabhol. Hinduonnet.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  18. ^ Zee News – Enron stalemate continues, conciliation process adjourned[dead link]
  19. ^ Vedanta scandal back to haunt FM. Hvk.org. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Chidambaram, a magnet to controversy". Rediff.com. 8 September 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  21. ^ a b "Friend, father & philosopher of black money is Chidambaram". The Sunday Guardian. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011. Cite error: The named reference "sg-blackmoney" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Voluntary Disclosure Scheme". capitalmarket.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  23. ^ Cut your tax bill to just 2–3%. Rediff.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  24. ^ Office of Profit now bites P.M & F.M. andhracafe.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  25. ^ "Journalist throws shoe at Chidambaram". The Times of India (1 January 1970). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  26. ^ I would say sorry to Chidambaram: Sikh journalist. Zeenews.com (8 April 2009). Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  27. ^ Method was wrong, issue is right. Newstrackindia.com (7 April 2009). Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  28. ^ Who is Jarnail Singh?. Ndtv.com (7 April 2009). Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  29. ^ "P. Chidambaram: The Flint In The Mosaic: Even in the malleable worldview of the UPA, one man causes unease". The Outlook.
  30. ^ "The goof-ups: The Trip Meter: Expectations were sky-high when P. Chidambaram took over from Shivraj Patil against the dark backdrop of 26/11. But..." The Outlook.
  31. ^ "PC vows to end Maoist menace in 3 years". The Indian Express.
  32. ^ "Control over naxal-infested areas in 2–3 years: Chidambaram". The Pioneer.
  33. ^ [2][dead link]
  34. ^ Chidambaram behind midnight swoop at Ramlila ground : North News – India Today. Indiatoday.intoday.in (11 July 2011). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  35. ^ Exclusive: Chidambaram, Sibal, Soni planned Anna Hazare's arrest – India – DNA. Daily News and Analysis. (17 August 2011). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  36. ^ "Nitish attacks Chidambaram's strategy to tackle Maoists". Rediff. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  37. ^ http://www.navabharat.com/videos/p-chidambaram-real-player-in-cwg.html
  38. ^ Bahree, Megha (16 July 2011). "Mumbai Response Points to Security Gaps". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  39. ^ "Mumbai blasts: Chidambaram denies intelligence failure". India Today. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  40. ^ "13/7 Mumbai blasts: Chidambaram rejects charges of intelligence failure". Yahoo! News. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  41. ^ 2G scam: No sleep till Chidambaram’s arrest, says Subramanian Swamy – Bangalore – DNA. Dnaindia.com (2011-10-20). Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
  42. ^ . Tehelka. 2011-07-30 http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws300711Government.asp. Retrieved 2011-11-01. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "Government on guard as Opposition armed with over a dozen issues" ignored (help)

Is he involved in any cases apart from 2G spectrum[edit]

I also noticed that he seems to be a friend of Arjuna Mahendran and seems to have also played a crucial role in Central Bank of Sri Lanka bond scandal too. Now he is given bail. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/congress-p-chidambaram-released-on-bail-tihar-jail-1625164-2019-12-04

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50655126 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 175.157.53.101 (talk) 17:11, 4 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

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