The big idea is “fool the people”

Q: Pratap Bhanu Mehta asks boldly in a new column called “Whats the big idea?”

A : The big idea is to take the simple mechanics of the 2G scam outside public scrutiny and in the process carry out the largest mass hypnosis known to mankind.

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Note : We love PBM but this piece is a big disappointment. Anyone who does not focus on the mechanics of the scam has made peace with corruption. [Updated]

His latest column too is a blur of subcontinental prose that requires the patience of a spider to decipher.  Let me help you here. Here is what this he is saying.

• Its about the BJP stupid
• Corruption is all over the place including judiciary
• BJP dare not try to make it a political issue because it is doomed to fail
• The CAG figures are grossly inflated

plus enough propellant to get about half of what he was trying to say out.

The key take away is he is joining the rest of the compromised media. They really do not think much of the 2G scam and want the country to do so too. Whether they are paid to take this line is for the public to decide. I dont know about these guys – I would demand to be compensated if someone were to ask me to disregard my commonsense.

A call to take it easy :

What this means is that while there is a desire to hold the prime minister accountable, there is little political clamour to see him humiliated. He has got away with so many sins of omission. This is not just because of the support of the Congress president, but also because there is still a residual sense of the alternatives not being too palatable. The BJP will have to play this game delicately; it has to force accountability without appearing to be obsessive in a way that comes across as unsympathetic.Finally, the one dramatic shift at the current moment is that large swathes of the ruling classes have lost their credibility: journalists, bureaucrats and even judges are coming into the line of fire.

Source : Whats the big idea ?

We are asked to first ignore the bizarre idea that the BJP should be the topic of a major op-ed column instead of the mechanics of the scam. Next, he tries to make the point that the BJP should control its actions while conceding that there is national outrage at the scam.  In other words, it is wrong for the BJP to reflect the national outrage.  Guess what,  if they do that, PBM and friends will go for the kill and announce that the BJP is dead because they cant demand accountability for a national loss of at least 60,000 Cr (based purely on instant resale).

Again, the truth will not be at issue. What will emerge is a “plague on both your houses” kind of syndrome. Second, the CAG report’s overdramatic figure of a “loss” around Rs 1,70,000 crore has caught the public imagination. But strictly speaking, it is a figure based on contestable assumptions. But it also includes the cost incurred by policy decisions taken during the NDA’s tenure. There is also now a great confusion about the different levels of this issue. There is the issue of auction being the right policy choice; there is the issue of whether within the framework that government settled upon there were procedural anomalies; and finally there is the issue of corruption per se. Unfortunately, all three issues are now being treated on par as an undifferentiated whole.

Yes exactly – truth will not be an issue because it is not the issue.  The mechanics of the 2G sale is the issue.  You media guys are promoting the absurd plague on both your houses line.

The CAG had to cite the 1,70,000 Cr figure because otherwise their report would be incomplete.  Going purely by the resold value which determines end-user pricing the loss is 65,000 Cr. Clearly this is indisputable. There, Are you feeling much better now ? If Pratap Bhanu Mehta and friends focused on the mechanics for one week and removed their BJP obsession, the absurdity of extending it to 2001 will be in plain sight.

So – there are two possibilities :

1. The blindingly obvious “Quacks like a duck” (default) :  A scarce national resource was sold dirt cheap by a dubious mechanism.  No good faith measures were undertaken to maximize the value of the resource. The Congress-led UPA governments had the full ability to change or recalibrate any process including first-come-first-serve.
2. The innocent policy follower (what we are being sold by PBM & media) : The NDA policy was blindly followed because – well, don’t you know it is like the Bible.   What is more – the NDA policy only in Telecom is like the Bible – in all other departments they can nuke it. The so called “level playing field” argument advanced in favour of the 1,600 Cr price is laughable – because darlings Docomo paid 13,000 Cr – so the price to aam-admi will be based on that.

To make a long story short – either the Congress led UPA is

1. Corrupt on a unprecedented historical scale. So much that leaving them in power can cause tens of billions of dollars loss & drive millions into starvation.
2. Stupid & incompetent to such an extent that leaving them in power can cause tens of billions of dollars loss & drive millions to starvation

Choose your poison.

Reality Check and the rest of the internet bloggers – increasingly referred to as the ‘non-sold Indian media’ see through this scheme perfectly. We happen to know what the big idea is, thank you very much. We are on top of this. The only way to defeat us is by throttling information & data – so you all know what needs to be done.  The socialist state has half a century experience in this area.