The Central Executive Committee of the All India BSNL DOT Pensioners Association (AIBDPA) will be held on 18th and 19th August 2011 at Kolkatta. The Reception Committee has been formed for the same with Com. Sisir Bhattacharjee as Chairman, AIBDPA President Com. Ananta Bhattacharjee as Advisor Com. Supriya Mitra Working President and Comrades Susanta Ghosh and Mihir Das as Joint Conveners and S.Siddique as Treasurer. Details are put in the BSNLEU website: http://www.bsnleuchq.com

The cat is out of the bag! Former Comminications Minister A.Raja has stated in the court today, 25th July, that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and then Finance Minister P.Chidambaram were party to the decisions taken on the allotment of the 2G Spectrum. A media report in the matter is given below:

” New Delhi: Former Telecom Minister A. Raja, who is presently lodged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail, on Monday said the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram were in the loop on decisions related to the release of 2G spectrum, and that he alone could not be an accused in the corruption-related case.

“Where is the crime? Where is the conspiracy? Telenor buying a stake in Unitech Wireless and Etisalat buying a stake in DB Realty was totally legal as per the corporate law. The Finance Minister approved the sale in the presence of the PM. Let the Prime Minister deny it,” NDTV quoted Raja, as telling the court.

“What the telecom companies do after I give them spectrum is not my domain,” he added.

Stating that he had done nothing wrong, Raja also put the onus on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, saying he was merely following the policies pursued by his predecessors.

Senior Advocate Sushil Kumar, who appeared for Raja, opposing the framing of charges, said: “If policy pursued by me was wrong, then all former Telecom ministers since 1993 should also be in jail with me (Raja).”

A. Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet last year after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that the government had probably lost Rs.1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue.”

Now the role of the Prime Minister and former Finance Minister stands exposed.

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All About: A Raja, New Delhi, Tihar Jail, Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, 2G Scam, Topnews

The Rupees 20,000 crore project for National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) proposed by the Government of India has been approved by the Department of Telecommunications. This will be funded through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) which has got about Rs.25,000 cores at its disposal collected from the telecom companies including BSNL. The preparatory work is being entrusted with the BSNL as per the statement of Kapil Sibal, Communications Minister. BSNL is the only telecom operator which has got network in almost all the gram panchayats, villages etc. and hence this responsibility.
However, Minister also stated that the work may be entrusted with the private telcos also at a later stage. We can not allow this.
BSNL has to implement the project effectively in such a way that the question of any private operator entering at a later stage is avoided.

The move of the UPA II government to outsource work instead of recruiting in the the thousands of vacant posts in All India Radio and Door Darshan is strongly being opposed by the employees unions. They have jointly decided to organise boycotting of duties on 9th August against this outsourcing. They have submitted an eight point Charter of Demands. Already the 20,000 employees of AIR-DD have organised three ays dharna in the matter.

The UPA II government is aggressively moving with its disinvestment policy which the government of India started 20 years back on 24th July 1991 by starting to implement the neo-liberal policy of globalisation and privatisation. The Finance Minister who presented the LPG in 1991, Dr. Manmohan Singh is the present Prime Minister and wants to go ahead disregarding the opposition from the Left and the trade Unions.
Now it is the turn of the Port Trusts. Government wants to corporatise the port trusts which are directly under the government now. Government says that it will improve the functioning. But the people have understood what is the intention of corporatisation from the experience of VSNL, MTNL, BSNL etc. It is only to privatise later. That is why the unions in Port Trusts are strongly opposing the corporatisation move.
I completely support the struggle of the Port trust Unions against the corporatisation.

I am at Mumbai for attending the Circle Conference of the BSNL Employees Union. It is being held at New Panvel. After landing at the Mumbai Airport along with the General Secretary Com. P. Abhimanyu, we were taken to Panavel in car by our comrades. It took more than one and half hours to reach New Panvel, because by the time it was about 1000 hours and peak traffic time.
But there was one more thing that I observed. The usually good roads of Mumbai were completely damaged and were due for repair. Yes, the repair has started but everywhere it is half way. In the torrential rain that Mumbai is having, the roads have become such a mess that with the usual traffic jam, water logging and the half repaired roads, it was something of a disaster.
Next day I went for a morning walk from the hotel where we were staying. There was drizzling in a small way. I could not proceed much because here also the road was neither fit for traffic nor for walking. I returned after buying some newspapers.
Whether the Municipal Corporation is doing something to ensure better roads for the people of Mumbai and restore its efficiency?

” If the state is soft to a large extent, especially in terms of the unholy nexus between the law makers, the law keepers and the law breakers, the moral authority and also the moral incentives, to exercise suitable control over the society would vanish. Large unaccounted monies are generally an indication of theat” – Observation of Supreme Court on 4th July in Black Money case.
A true picture of the present day affairs of the Government. The government is not only a silent spectactor, but in fact seems to be against taking any action on black money since many of the top politicians of both the ruling and the main opposition party are involved it in a big way.

The UPA II government is taking interesting decisions. Now the Finance Ministry has refused to compensate BSNL for the development/expansion of services as part of the social commitment of the government. It means that the BSNL need not take works with out getting the compensation.
Both ways it means that the government is withdrawing from its social commitment.

It has once again been proved that the CBI is not that independent. The last two days CBI drama is a complete evidence to this. Even before examining Amar Singh, SP leader, the CBI has given the statement that neither Congress nor SP leaders are involved in the cash-for-vote scam. And the media reports indicate that the questioning of Amar Singh later was only an eye wash.
The government which made a cover up of the Boffors scam can easily do another cover up. Whether the Supreme Court will be able and prepared to do an aggressive action as done in the case of 2G scam? Whether another public cry as in the case of ‘Justice for Jessica’ an be done to expose the cash-for-vote scam?

The Anti-PFRDA Convention held at Delhi today, 22nd July has decided to organise sustained struggles against the PFRDA Bill presented in the Parliament to ensure that it is defeated or withdrawn. The Convention decided to submit a memorandum signed by lakhs of workers and people to the Prime Minister to drop the anti-worker bill. A one day strike is also decided, the date for which will be decided by a Steering Committee elected by the Convention.
The Gujarathi Samaj Hall, New Delhi, where the convention was held was full to the brim. A presidium consisting of Coms. Kulkarni (AISGEF), P.R.Menon (AIRF) S.K.Vyas(Confederation) and myself conducted the proceedings. The Resolution against the PFRDA Bill was presented by Com.Sukomal Sen (AISGEF). Comrades Basudev Acharya, M.P., Tapan Sen M.P., M.K.Pandhe (CITU) and other leaders addressed. From BSNLEU, Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS, spoke and supported the resolution. Com.K.K.N.Kutty, SG, Confederation presented the action plan.
The resolution was unanimously adopted along with the action plan.
The Convention has given the call for strugle. The PFRDA Bill has to be defeated.
( For Detailed report visit BSNLEU website http://www.bsnleuchq.com )