[Reader-list] letter to chidabaram

[Asit asitreds]

From: angrywal at hotmail.com<http://f5mail.rediff.com/prism/writemail?mode=mail_to_individual&email=angrywal@hotmail.com&output=web&els=e19619d1cdc29f0f483ac2baba039838>
To: hm at nic.in<http://f5mail.rediff.com/prism/writemail?mode=mail_to_individual&email=hm@nic.in&output=web&els=e19619d1cdc29f0f483ac2baba039838>
Subject: Re Interview on NDTV Response from a member of civil society
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 13:50:54 +0000

  Dear Shri Chidambaram,

This is in response to your repeated taunts on NDTV that the civil society
must respond to the wanton killing by the Naxals. It appears that the
interview was tailor made for getting the consent of the Cabinet for more
firepower and airpower to combat the Maoist. The diabolic support of Arun
Jaitly, be it by describing you an injured martyr, was designed to achieve
his ambition through the support of the mining barons of the BJP ruled
states.

As a member of society I hope I am being civil in disagreeing with you on
your hard line approach against the innocent tribal,. I also hope you will
not find it too shocking for being accused of being largely responsible for
the rise and growth of Naxalism, as the following happened on your watch as
Finance minister.

Is it not true that Naxalism grew exponentially in the last ten years to
become the present menace ? In fact you have yourself identified the time
frame of the last ten years in your interview with NDTV.

Is it not true that the rise in popularity of Naxalism is also coincidental
with the rise in iron ore mining profits which increased from around Rs50
per tonne to over Rs5000 per tonne in the last ten years?

Is it not true that the map of Naxalism is also the map of the Indian
Minerals. These minerals belong to the people of India but have been handed
over to mining barons and corporate in a relationship of mutual benefit,
more appropriately described as crony capitalism. It is for this reason that
Arun Jaitly is your staunchest supporter because the fate of four state
government ruled by BJP is dependent on the money from the mining mafia..

**

**

*Is it not true that during your watch as Finance Minister for four and half
years, corporate raked in a profit of over two lac crores through legal and
illegal mining, mostly in the iron ore sector*? *How was this profit shared?
*

*Is it not true that during your entire tenure as FM the royalty on iron ore
was not revised and remained at a ridiculous Rs 7 to 27/ tonne ( depending
on the type and grade of iron ore) with the average of around Rs 15 per
tonne.. This royalty was neither made ad valorem nor was it revised from
year 2000 onwards when the international price of iron ore rose to dizzy
levels. *

Is it not true that the minerals are owned by the people of the State? Is a
meager 0.5 % royalty on iron ore profits adequate compensation to the owner
of the resources? Would you sell your one crore property for Rs 50,000?

Did your fulfill the oath that you took as a Minister to abide by the
Constitution, in particular Article 39 (b) and (c) of the constitution which
directs the government to use natural resources owned by the people of the
country are used to subserve the common good?

*Would the Naxal problem have been there if 25% of the mining profit was
spent on the poor and the tribal living in the mining area and whose life
was uprooted by the greedy corporate/mining mafia with active connivance of
the law enforcers and policy makers ?*

What prevented the government from nationalizing the iron ore mine industry
and handing it over to a PSU or NMDC whose shares of Re1/- was lapped at a
premium of Rs300(30000% premium) and using the profit for benefit of the
people?

Are you aware that even a resource rich and affluent country like Australia
with a low population base is imposing an additional 40% windfall tax on the
mining profits? Can a poor country like India afford to forgo these windfall
profits?

Will you reveal as to how many times you have defended public interest
through PIL and how many times you have defended corporate interest during
your professional career as a lawyer? The question is relevant because of
your empathy for the corporate sector is in apparent conflict with that
towards the toiling masses.

Is it wrong for the civil society to conclude that both as Home Minister and
Finance Minister you have been protecting the corporate profiteers ( by
first allowing them to loot the mineral wealth belonging to the people and
now securing these mines for them) and not protecting the interest of the
poor and tribal people who are victims of corporate greed and crony
capitalism of the political parties? You in particular should have known
better having been a Director of Vedanta Resources!

In your appearance on NDTV you talked about the two prong approach and one
of them having been weakened. It is the prong of development which has been
weakened and is non existent. The royalty collected is not sufficient to pay
for the various types of direct damages done by the mining industry (
health, environment, water, roads, rehabilitation etc) let alone the cost of
security forces.

Is it not true that the killing of innocent security forces and tribal is
the direct result of the policy of securing the mineral wealth for the
corporate profiteers and political parties who share the loot?

It was shocking to know that you were more concerned about your CV falling
short by a few months of completing five years as Finance Minister when you
met your maker) refer the NDTV interview) than about the blood of the
innocent that has been spilled on both sides as a consequence of corporate
profiteering..

It is not surprising that all the State government which get reelected on
the money of the mining mafia are interested in using air cover to make
mining safe and profitable ever after. You should know better the role of
money in elections after having managed to squeak past the post while the
DMK MPs romped home with handsome margin. Mr Raja retained his portfolio!.

What is at stake is the credibility of the State : that it is using force to
benefit the mining mafia and that it has a vested interest in the
profiteering of the mining mafia which is prospering because of crony
capitalism.

To restore its credibility the Government should resume all the mines which
in any case belong to the people and give a solemn pledge that a minimum of
25% of the mining profits will be used for the benefit of the local people.
The solution is not only just but one mandated by the Constitution. It is
only after restoring its credibility that the State will have the right to
act. That one hopes, will not be necessary because honest development based
on the resources belonging to the people is the best contraceptive against
the Maoist ideology .( One is happy to note that according to newspaper
report the Mining Minister has made a similar proposal and not surprisingly
facing resistence)

What happened Mr Chidambaram, you used to be a nice guy? You resigned over
the Fairgrowth affair when you were not even guilty.

Life is not about arguing a brief in Court for money. It is about arguing
for what is right. You have wrongly accused us being “clever nor being
devious “ ( refer interview with NDTV), because we are not capable of it. We
cannot argue the way you do. Your arguments in Parliament over the oil for
food programme while shielding Reliance from being referred to the Pathak
Committee were indeed “brilliant.” Were you being clever or devious in your
arguments? ( Refer the book Reliance the Real Natwar written by the
undersigned for deciding the issue) Please do not use the civil society as
an excuse for your omissions and commissions. We have no vested interest
except that what belongs to the people should go to the people and that
innocents, whether the security forces or the people forced to join the
Maoist, should not die for corporate profits.. We are not powerful to tie
the State governments with legal cases on police excesses. Those trying to
uphold human right violations do so at considerable risk to their life and
liberty and deserve our respect and not condemnation as misguided romantics.


On a personal note Sir, Will you resign and argue my PIL before the High
Court involving three lac crores of iron ore being gifted by the State to
Posco and Arcelormittal ( as Palkhivala did to argue the Minerva Mill case)
. It will be difficult to lose the case because law, facts and most
important you will be on the same side.

**

*If you agree to do so, Sir, I am sure He will give you far more credit than
He would for the extra six months that you missed out as Finance Minister! *

In case you are interested I will send you a copy of the petition.

Looking forward to hearing from you. For far too long you have been shifting
the blame on the civil society. We too need answers..

AWith warm regards

A K Agrawal

E13/2 Vijaykiran Apartments

32 Victoria Road

Bangalore 47