Tarun Tejpal Pays for his Sins

Tarun Tejpal, Ex Editor in Chief and Publisher, Tehalka

Bangaru Laxman, Former National President, BJP

There is saying in Hindi “Jaisi Karni Vaisi Bharni’ (As you sow, so you reap). Tarun Tejpal, a blackmailer, operator and power broker in the garb of a journalist is headed for jail to pay for his sins. His attempt to rape a young journalist colleague working with Tehelka of which he is Editor-in-Chief shows the character of the man who has been masquerading in the corridors of power as a journalist; raising money taking huge amount as donations and contributions from powerful Congress leaders and ministers.

Tejpal’s first act as an agent of the Congress was to trap Bangaru Laxman, the then BJP President. In a preplanned manner, Tejpal wrote the script to trap Laxman to embarrass the BJP and the NDA Government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001. For this, he was allegedly paid by the Congress. After having denied that he has no stake in Tehelka, Kapil Sibal now admits that he had paid rupees five lakhs to Tejpal as ‘donation’ soon after the sting operation on Bangaru Laxman. Today, when the long arm of the law is catching up with the crime and the criminal, Sibal and one more Minister of State along with a host of powerful Congress leaders are trying their best to defend and protect Tejpal. But with exposure and relentless coverage by the media, Times Now in particular, there is deem chance that Tarun Tejpal would escape this time notwithstanding the attempt of his well wishers including some senior journalists to shield the man who committed the heinous crime of outraging the modesty of a young woman who happens to be daughter of a journalist.

Though it was clear from day one that Tehelka enterprise was a Congress sponsored journalism, Tejpal himself, in his fit of nervousness came out saying that the BJP was trying to frame him in the case since he was working against it and that he has a ‘secular’ credentials. What a crime has to do with secularism or communalism? Thankfully, the criminal journalist committed the crime of attempted rape in Goa. It is because of the BJP Government headed by a fair and honest chief minister Manohar Parrikar that Tarun Tejpal has been booked for the crime. It was because of the chief minister that the Goa Police lost no time and began investigation into the crime of Tejpal. Imagine what would have happened had Tejpal committed the attempted rape in a Congress ruled state? The entire government machinery would have stone walled investigation and Tejpal would never have been booked for the offence. People like Digvijay Singh and others are still apologists and shamelessly give political colour to the Tejpal case.

The girl works in Mumbai while her mother lives in Delhi. Tejpal tried to intimidate the mother to silence the victim but failed.

Some cynics ask question why the girl did not report the matter to the police. How many people can dare report matter to the police against his employer and boss. A man like Tejpal who is powerful enough under the Congress led government at the Centre that he can move any department to ruin and even to eliminate the victim of his lust. I must admire the courage of the girl who stood by her complaint to the Managing Editor of the Tehelka magazine, Shoma Choudhary first. When she failed to react, the exchange of e-mails were leaked and finally landed at the news desk of newspapers and news channels. The girl despite being under serious threat of Tejpal and his goons went ahead and deposed before Magistrate in Panji. The result, Tejpal will be behind the bars.

~ R. K. Sinha

Kejriwal and Aam Admi: Fake Claim, Fake Honesty

It is the fight against corruption that Arvind Kejriwal chose to build a career in politics and for this he used the ladder of Anna Hazare. Without Anna Hazare, Kejriwal would have remained a social activist. Before taking the plunge into politics the leader of the Aam Admi Party should have realized that politics is not all about honesty in monetary terms.

Kejriwal has painted the BJP and the Congress alleging corruption with the same brush realizing little that the BJP is not in power at the Centre and the States where the BJP is in power the governments have maintained a fair degree of clean rule. The record of Atal Behari Vajpayee Government at the Centre is considered best in the post Nehru era.

You need money, you need funds to run any political party. The Aam Admi leader has been boasting of  being a clean and honest man. People are being influenced to buy Kejriwal’s honesty as the “mool mantra” of his politics.

Well, now charges have come flying about siphoning of money by Kejriwal; the money that was raised in the name of India Against Corruption led by Kejriwal. He is alleged to have misappropriated crores of rupees that came in form of donations to fight corruption in government. The movement was led by Anna Hazare and the people poured money in the name of Anna and not for Kejriwal.

Shriom Gautam and several of his associates who took active part in the movement of Anna Hazare and were front rank members of the India Against Corruption have alleged that Kejriwal usurped more than Rupees 20 crores that were in the accounts of the IAC. Whether the charges are true or false can be established only after a probe, but for now Kejriwal and his company have not come out with convincing response. Gautam and others who undertook fast with Anna have challenged Kejriwal to join debate with them on this charge at Jantar Mantar on November 10, 2013.

Kejriwal worked under a well laid plan to launch himself as a politician and leader of a political party. For this he first went against the advice of Anna Hazare to keep the movement against corruption in public life apolitical. When Kejriwal announced to form a political party, Anna again advised him not to do so. But Kejriwal went ahead and formed AAP and cleverly sidelined Anna Hazare while claiming the legacy of Anna’s movement against corruption in public life. Not only that, huge funds that came to the kitty of India Against Corruption are also being used for elections in Delhi.

It is not wrong to say that Kejriwal and his Aam Admi Party are working against the BJP in a calculated way. Delhi voters who are totally disenchanted with the Congress government of Shiela Dixit in Delhi and the Government at the Centre led by Manmohan Singh would vote for viable alternative that is the BJP. By fielding candidates the AAP is set to take small share of anti-incumbency votes. The move is to sabotage the Opposition against the misrule of the Congress.

~R. K. Sinha