Monday 27 May 2019

The 1978 Suresh Ram Scandal - Maneka Gandhi’s Orchestrated India’s First Political Sex Scandal

It’s not always the politicians themselves that engage in illicit activities.  Sometimes their own families are to blame for their political downfall.  Such is the case of Jagjivan Ram.  Jagjivan had the potential to become independent India’s first Dalit Prime Minister.  However, his son Suresh Ram was caught in a sex scandal that ruined those chances.


The Sex Scandal Breaks Out

Jagjivan Ram was deputy prime minister at the time of the scandal.  When Indira Gandhi was beaten in the 1977 Janata Party movement, Jagjivan was looked upon as the favorite choice for the post of Prime Minister.  Jagjivan had moved away from Congress and he had a strong reputation as an able administrator and experienced politician.

A magazine known as Surya published a two-page spread of nude photos of his 46-year-old son, Suresh Ram, and a college student named Sushma Chaudry.  They were seen in very compromising positions.  Unfortunately, his father bore the brunt of the ensuing scandal.  There is more to the story than just photos beings published in some magazine though.


Politics Behind Photos

The magazine that printed these photos was edited by Maneka GandhiManeka was Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law.  It was India’s first political sex scandal to be published.  The photos had been taken on a polaroid camera.  Many believe that this scandal coming out at such a critical point in Jagjivan’s career was nothing less than a plot to ruin his political career.  Some have even theorized that politicians from his own party had a hand in the scandal.

Kushwant Singh was the consulting editor of the magazine at the time of the sex scandal.  He stated that the polaroid photos were sent in an envelope to his National Herald office, which was run by Congress. Bear in mind that, at the time, obscenity tolerance was low and any media house that would have published these pictures risked being shut down.  So there had to be some kind of vested interest behind these photos being published.  Most agree that the photos appeared to be politically motivated.


It’s alleged that the photos were meant as a weapon to personally destroy Jagjivan’s political career.  Jagjivan had broken away from his 30-year career as cabinet minister of the Congress.  He then joined the Janata Party, giving an alternative to Indira Gandhi.

Accounts of the scandal say that Jagjivan would have given up the chance at being Prime Minister of the Janata Government, returning to Congress, if the photos remained unpublished.  However, he was asked to first leave Janata, which he did not do, and the deal fell apart.  It was then that Surya published the pictures of Suresh Ram.

The fallout was that Jagjivan’s political career fell, and the Janata Party split in two.  It was the downfall of the Morarji Desai government.  So, with the outside support of Congress, Charan Singh became the next Prime Minister.

A Case of Karma


Nearly 40 years later, in 2016, history seems to be repeating itself.  The very same Maneka Gandhi seems to be getting a taste of karma.  What she did to Jagjivan and Suresh Rash is now being done to her son Varun Gandhi.  The pictures look extremely doctored and many say they are photoshopped.  However, they have done their job in ruining the future political career of her son.

Reference Links-
 

The Bofors Scandal

One of the biggest political scams in India took place between the 1980s and 1990s between Sweden and India around a weapons contract and illegal illicit payments being made to a number of public servants and private investors in India.  It was referred to as the Bofors Scandal and the investigation into it lasted 31 years.


What was the Bofors Scandal?

In March of 1986, a contract was signed between Bofors, a Swedish arms manufacturer, and the Indian Government, for 410 Howitzer guns to be supplied to the Indian army.  One year later, allegations were made by a Swedish radio station that Bofors had bribed a number of top politicians, including the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, and defense personnel in India as a means of securing the contract.


At the beginning of 1990, an F.I.R (First Information Report) was lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigations against Bofors president, Martin Ardbo for forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy.  Included in these charges were middlemen Win Chadda and the Hinduja brothers.

The allegations stated that, between 1982 and 1987, a criminal conspiracy was entered into by a number of private individuals and public servants in both India and abroad.  At the time of the conspiracy, a number of illegal actions took place, including bribery, forgery, corruption, and cheating.


The first sheet of charges, in this case, was filed in October of 1999 against the following:

Win Chadda – an agent of the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors.

S.K. Bhatnagar – former defense secretary of India 

Ottavio Quattrocchi – Italian businessman who was the conduit for bribes in this case 

Martin Ardbo – president of Bofors

Rajiv Gandhi - former Indian prime minister 

Bofors company – Swedish arms manufacturer that paid illegal bribes to those involved

A secondary sheet was also made against Gopichand, Srichand, and Prakash Hinduja of Hinduja Group.


The Motive Behind the Bofors Scandal

There were two main motives surrounding the Bofors scandal.  For India, it was shown that Rajiv Gandhi wanted to use the commission from Bofors exclusively for meeting the expenses involved with running the Congress party.  However, upon investigation by the Swedish police, nothing was found to suggest that Gandhi had ever received any payments.  He was, however, guilty about having the knowledge that these illicit payments were happening and not taking action to report them.


For the Swedish gun manufacturer, a deal that would give them £802 million was far too good to pass up.  In their desperation to win the bid on this lucrative deal, they bribed many politicians to forge documents that would quickly pass the deal through and ensure that they won the bid.

It was also of the opinion that the Bofors scandal was created by those who wanted to see the continuation of the monopoly that the Soviet Union had over selling weapons and arms to India.  This was something that Rajiv Gandhi wanted to change, allowing purchases from other countries that he felt would be priced competitively.  The Bofors scandal had a large impact on politics in subsequent elections, all of which eventually led to Congress losing power.

Reference Links-


Thursday 16 May 2019

Raghavji Lakhamsi Savala Sex Scandal

Who is Raghavji Lakhamsi Savala?

Raghavji Lakhamsi Savala is a well known and long-serving veteran leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.  His political career began in 1946 when he joined this organization.  He also became a practicing lawyer in 1958 and was elected as an MLA for the constituency of Vidisha in 1967.  He twice served as an MP for Lok Sabha from 1977 to 1979 and then from 1989 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992, and then 1994 to 2000, he served in the Rajya Sabha.


 
During Raghavji Lakhamsi Savala's term as MP, he held roles serving in a number of ministerial committees.  After serving a term in the capital, he came back to state politics in 2003, when he was elected as an MLA.  Since 2003, Raghavji Lakhamsi Savala has been the Finance Minister.  During his time he has introduced 10 state budgets.  Another important role that he had was as part of the Empowered Committee of the State Finance Minister.  This committee was responsible for outlining the details of the Goods and Services Tax, which Raghavji was opposed to.

Raghavji has had a long and productive political life.  However, in 2013, this all changed when allegations of a sexual scandal were brought to light.  It would be the end of his political career, seeing him stepping down from his role as the Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh at the age of 79.

The Scandal Against Raghavji



On July 5th of 2013, a sex scandal broke out involving Raghavji and a male domestic servant called Rajkumar Dangi.  Rajkumar, whom was called Rajkumari in private by Raghavji, went to the police in Habibganj, where he accused Raghavji of sexual exploitation and sexually abusing him.  Rajkumar stated that he was promised a permanent job in the government by Raghavji. He claimed that the 79-year-old ex-minister had sodomized him, using these promises to coerce him into sexual acts.   He handed over a CD and demanded that he and his family be protected. 

There were two other servants who came forward, Sher Singh and Suresh Singh, who backed the victims' claims of sexual exploitation, which they said had been going on for years.  He was also accused of other unethical dealings by another servant.


The CD and allegations sparked political attacks that intensified.  An FIR was registered against Raghavji but he went missing soon after it was filed.  He had also submitted his own anticipatory bail plea.  When the state assembly session began on that Monday, Raghavji was nowhere to be found.  It is said that he was in Vidisha at the time of the FIR being filed.

On July 9th the police were tipped off that Raghavji's was hiding in a flat in the Kohifia district of Bhopal.  When they arrived to arrest Raghavji, they found that the main entrance to the apartment was locked from the outside, but believed he was still there hiding.  The door had to be broken down by the police and, once inside, they found and arrested the ex-minister.  He was then taken to a hospital to have a medical check before being brought to the Habibganj metro station.


On July 22nd the court sent him into custody.  Raghavji's bail plea was rejected so he applied to the High Court.  The High Court granted him bail on August 13th, based on the ex-ministers age. At this point, Raghavji had been in custody for 34 days. 

Many questioned why there was such a delay in arresting Raghavji.  The opposition claimed that this was due to him being protected by Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan.  It was also alleged, by Congress leader Ajay Singh, that the FIR was not registered for 6 hours after the discovery of the scandal.

The Chief Minister denied these allegations and claimed that, within one hour of the CD coming to light, he had called Raghavji to ask him to submit his resignation papers.  On the same day, the BJP suspended Raghavji.


The supporters and family of Raghavji have stated that this case is a politically motivated one and that the victim who made these accusations against the 79-year-old ex-minister had left his services a month prior to the accusations.  They believe that the man was supported by leaders in Congress.

The Effects of the Scandal

This was the first blemish against someone who had served in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly and in Parliament.  When a CD was released as proof of the sexual acts, Raghavji was forced to resign from his position.  The Minister of Water Resources, Jayant Malaiya, was given charge of the Finance Ministry when Raghavji resigned.



The sex scandal created a rift between Raghavji and the government that did not close, even after he was given bail.  A once powerful politician saw his career break apart like fragile glass.  He was seen sitting alone at the foundation celebration of the Vidisha Medical College with former colleagues keeping their distance.  Since then he has been marginalized by the government.  Should the charges against him be proven as true, he could face 10 years in prison.

References-

  1. https://www.ndtv.com/bhopal-news/madhya-pradesh-ex-minister-raghavji-accused-of-sexual-abuse-arrested-527827
  2. https://www.patrika.com/bhopal-news/mp-raghavji-sex-scandal-1365757/
  3. https://backbenchers.in/10-political-sex-scandals/
  4. http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2016/dec/14/sex-scandals-that-have-rocked-indian-politics-in-the-last-two-decades-1548990.html
  5. https://www.oneindia.com/india/sex-the-politicians-top-scandals-that-rocked-india-2291166.html
  6. https://www.newsgram.com/before-sex-tapes-of-sandeep-kumar-of-aap-a-list-of-5-indian-politicians-whose-sexual-indulgence-created-public-frenzy/
  7. https://commentwise.com/2017/11/19/dear-indian-politicians-sex-is-not-a-national-dirty-secret/
  8. https://www.ucnews.in/news/10-Indian-Political-Sex-Scandals-That-You-Might-Not-Be-Aware-Of/2984585775189347.html
  9. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/former-minister-raghavji-accused-of-sodomy-arrested/article4897975.ece
  10. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-expels-ex-minister-Raghavji-Bhai-over-sodomy-charges-FIR-filed/articleshow/20959382.cms
  11. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/glass-house/story/20130722-raghavji-sex-scandal-764726-1999-11-30
  12. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/sex-cd-scandals-politicians-obscene-raghavji-bhanwri-devi-nd-tiwari-169275-2013-07-05
  13. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/MP-sex-scandal-Ex-finance-minister-Raghavji-held/videoshow/20986260.cms