By: V SUNDARAM
http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=33
Monday, 16 June, 2008 , 04:03 PM
‘We in India seem to be living in an age of shamelessness and gracelessness. One of the misfortunes of our time is that in getting rid of false shame, we have killed off so much real shame as well’ — Venkatraman Sundaram.
A fearlessly patriotic journalist with a social conscience, A.Suryaprakash has rightly observed: ‘Members of the Congress Party never tire of telling their audiences that a ‘reluctant’ Sonia Gandhi was forced by them and circumstances to lead the party. This story of Sonia’s ‘reticence’ would seem credible if one were oblivious of some events in the past that point to the contrary. These events shed light on the kind of ambitions that Indira Gandhi’s ‘reticent’ bahu nurtured for long and how she flouted Indian Laws while retaining her Italian Citizenship’.
Of course, the most diabolical and criminal of these events was her illegal entry into the Voters’ List in India while being a citizen of Italy in January 1980. The facts I am presenting below are based on a landmark article titled ‘Sneaking into our Voters’ List’ by A. Surya Prakash. It all began when the Electoral Rolls of the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency were revised in 1980, with January 1st of that year as the qualifying date. How certain sections of the media exposed this fraud of Sonia Gandhi in the early 1980’s and how later Sonia’s name was removed from the Voters’ List as a face saving operation is too well known to all concerned excepting to our most disgraceful Supreme Court of India today which will view this criminal fact as ‘stale’. Sonia’s original illegal and anti-national inclusion in the Voters’ List in 1980 using the official and political clout of ‘immortal’ Indira Gandhi’s ‘mortal’ Prime Ministerial Office, will be viewed as ‘stale’ by the Supreme Court of India. The subsequent deletion of her name would be viewed as sublime by the same judicial tribunal. So much for the sacred commitment of our anti-national judiciary to the Law of our Constitution. The ‘staleness doctrine’ upholds the primacy of our Supreme Court over the Law of the Constitution. Thus, tragically for the mute and helpless millions of India, the Law of our Constitution has been ridiculed and reduced to the ignominy of a tenant-at-will by this most abominable doctrine in the history of jurisprudence.
Right from day one in 1968, Sonia Gandhi violated the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). Her great saga of tremendous self-sacrifice began with the launch of a shady Company called Maruthi Technical Services Pvt. Ltd. (MTSPL) on November 6, 1970. As an outstanding Technologist of global fame, Sonia Gandhi established this Company along with her brother-in-law Sanjay Gandhi (the greatest creative genius India has produced ever since the dawn of Indian History!) to provide technical know-how for the design, manufacture and assembly of a wholly indigenous motor car. Sonia Gandhi (half-owner) was the Managing Director of this Company. She was an Italian national at that time (unless the UPA Government today wants to tamper with the records with retrospective effect to alter or efface this fact!) and yet was able to get all the illegal clearances with lightning speed for holding that position, by virtue of her super-constitutional authority as the bahu of dictatorial Indira Gandhi, the then tyrant Prime Minister of India. This illegal and wholly anti-national company’s story provides valuable insights into the mind of Sonia Gandhi, who is often credited with child-like innocence and gullibility by the childish and infantile sycophants — I mean the slavish, deaf and dumb and mentally retarded, Union Cabinet Ministers of today— around her. The illegitimate birth of MTSPL, preceded that of another company, Maruthi Ltd., which was politically created to avail of the former’s global ‘know-how’ to produce the cars. The Articles of Association of MTSPL named Sanjay Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi as the first and permanent Directors of the Company. These two original entrepreneurs between them held 20 shares of Rs.10/- each. In other words, its paid-up capital was Rs.200/- at the time of its launch. It should not therefore be surprising that 37 years later, a shining symbol of supreme self-sacrifice, Sonia Gandhi declared her bank balance as Rs.20, 000/- in a savings bank account when she filed her nomination for her Parliamentary Elections in the first half of 2007. She also said with humility and reverence that she does not even own a car!
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On November 21, 1970, just a few days after its incorporation MTSPL entered into an agreement with Sanjay Gandhi who owned 50% of it. Under this agreement, Sanjay agreed to render ‘technical know-how’ to the Company for a consideration of Rs.3, 00,000/-. In June 1971, Maruthi Ltd. was incorporated under the Companies Act, and Sanjay Gandhi became its Managing Director. On December 15, 1971, MTSPL allotted 1500 equity shares of Rs.10/- each to Sanjay Gandhi. On June 2, 1972, MTSPL entered into an agreement with Maruthi Ltd. according to which MTSPL was to be paid Rs. 5,00,000/- in lump sum by the latter for providing the ‘technical know-how’. This document described MTSPL of which Sanjay Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were the only Directors, as a technical Company ‘which has the capability of imparting technical know-how for the design, manufacture and assembly in India of a wholly indigenous motor car’. It was also entitled to an annual technical fee of 2% of the net sales of motor cars.
Six months after this corporate world shaking agreement, Maruthi Ltd. paid the promised Rs.5, 00,000/- to MTSPL. Later MTSPL kept its solemn ‘paratrooper’ word and paid Sanjay Gandhi, its half owner, Rs.3, 00,000/- in order to purchase ‘technical know-how’ from him. The next adroit and audacious move came about a year later. MTSPL appointed the owner of its other half, Sonia Gandhi as its Managing Director. This happened at an extra-ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders held on January 25, 1973. Suffice to say that Sanjay Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, the two Directors, were the only shareholders of the Company at that time.
Soon thereafter, MTSPL signed an agreement with Sonia Gandhi as per which she was to remain the Managing Director of the Company for five years. She was to get a modest salary of Rs.2000/- per month and 1% commission on the net profits of the Company, subject to a limit of 50% of her annual salary plus perquisites. Later, the Company allotted 2000 shares to Sonia Gandhi. For some reason this was later sub-divided into two share certificates of 1900 shares and 100 shares respectively. 1900 shares were allotted to her on February 4, 1974. On the same day, 4000 shares each were allotted to Priyanka and Rahul, the two minor children of Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. These are all some of the minor initial milestones in the glorious life of Sonia Gandhi in India—a hallowed life of unmatched and unsurpassed self-sacrifice, studded with the virtues of rectitude, integrity, probity and purity which can put Mahatma Gandhi and even Jesus Christ to an eternal shame!
Even more exciting was the decision of the Nehru-Gandhi family to launch yet another company, to make among other things, road rollers, and to appoint Sonia Gandhi as Managing Director of this firm as well. This Company, called Maruthi Heavy Vehicles Private Limited, had 13 shareholders but the Nehru-Gandhi’s had the controlling shares, having their ever-permanent regard for the non-existent and vaporous public interest. This Company was incorporated on February 22, 1974 and Sonia Gandhi (in a classic moment of rare self-effacement!) acquired 5000 shares in it. She entered into an agreement with this Company on September 28, 1974 in regard to her appointment as its Managing Director. But this agreement was not implemented and she did not draw any salary. In 1975, this road roller company too sought out Maruthi Technical Services Pvt. Ltd (MTSPL) in search of know-how to make road rollers. An agreement was signed on April 1, 1975, between the two companies, according to which the road roller company was to pay the know-how MTSPL Company 2% of net sales of road rollers and spare parts. Anything ranging from aeroplanes to atom bombs to hydrogen bombs —all kinds of technical and engineering services relating to all known and unknown areas of manufactures—anything and everything from this mysterious terrestrial earth to the unreachable galaxy of stars in the boundless Universe — all these things came under the private universe of MTSPL, which stood in the forefront in an assertive posture of combat readiness to triumph against all odds, at any cost, under the dynamic and cosmic leadership of Sonia Gandhi (ably assisted by no less a giant like Sanjay Gandhi!).
Any third class Magistrate in any other civilized country would have declared that Sonia Gandhi, as a citizen of Italy from 1978 to April 30, 1983, violated all the Indian Laws by becoming the Managing Director of many Indian Companies and by acquiring shares in those companies. In what way MTSPL politically floated by Sanjay Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, was competent to provide technical know-how to make a wholly indigenous motor car and road rollers? Did Sonia Gandhi study in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (apart from Cambridge University plus Lenox School!?), which gave her the technical authority to preside over a global company like MTSPL for offering technical services? These questions were raised by a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice A C Gupta, who proved the Maruthi Scandal and submitted its report in 1978. Justice A C Gupta gave resounding answers to all these simple questions relating to a group of callous, contemptible and condemnable citizens.
To be contd…)
(The writer is a retired IAS officer)
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