In a nation known for countless bizarre creatures, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalitha stands out.
Obnoxiously arrogant, shamelessly corrupt and a living goddess for millions of idiots, Jayalalitha got her comeuppance today when the Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader) was convicted in a 18-year-old Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets (corruption) case and sentenced to four years imprisonment.
The disproportionate assets amassed by Jayalalitha included gold jewelry, real estate, bank deposits and cash.
Besides the prison term, judge John Michael D’Cunha also imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore, failure to pay which will add an extra year behind bars.
Puratchi Thirudi (revolutionary thief), who was present in court when the verdict was announced, developed chest pain upon hearing the verdict.
Jaya’s conviction means she will be forced to quit as Chief Minister and be taken to jail.
One can only hope that the verdict will send shivers down the spines of other Indian politicians, most of whom are no different from Jayalalitha in their lust for illegal pelf, power and privilege.
Jayalalith’s associates K.Sasikalaa and two others were also convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.
Conviction – A Miracle
Jayalalitha’s conviction today is one of those rare Indian miracles as the nation’s politicians rarely ever pay a price for their wrongdoings.
Recent Indian political history is rife with corruption scandals – Bofors, 2G Case, Coalgate, AgustaWestland Defence Scam, Stamp Paper Scam, Bihar Fodder Scam, ad nauseam.
In 99% of the cases, injustice prevails and the corrupt politicians go scot-free.
That the Jayalalitha case has dragged on for 18-years is a testament to the behind-the-scene maneuvers by vested interests to derail the case.
Orgy of Violence
A big time thief’s conviction would be a moment of joy anywhere else but in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu it was cause for an orgy of violence.
Across Tamil Nadu, tens of thousands protested the conviction of Jayalalithaa.
It’s a strange world we live in when the conviction of a thief triggers mayhem and a wave of violence.
Jaya Earns a New Name – Puratchi Thirudi added by SearchIndia.com on
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SI calls her Puratchi Thirudi , TV Channels in Bangalore are running the news with the Caption “Jail Lalitha” written in Kannada.
The Assets amount of Rs.66.6 Crores (assume it was estimated when the case was registered) must be worth more than 300 Crores in today’s prices, so, disposing of the 2000 Acres at Today’s prices can easily pay off the 100 Crore Fine imposed by the Judge. No big deal eh?
Like, Supreme court has put pressure on Sahara chief Subrata Roy to sell three hotels abroad by extending his stay in the makeshift office room inside Tihar Jail – but has clarified that “he stays inside as long as he does not deposit Rs 10,000 crore”.
Judiciary is asserting itself and going strong now a days, Man!
Indians will Love to see all other looters – of public money receive a similar fate !
BTW, SI can we expect to hear your side of the coverage of Modi’s visit to USA ?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. “Jail Lalitha” sounds good!
Very apposite. 😉
2. You write: “Judiciary is asserting itself and going strong now a days”
Sweetie, don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.
I will believe Indian judiciary has teeth only if Jaya serves at least two years in prison like any common prisoner without Z-grade security, outside food, special rooms with TV, cell phones, air-conditioning etc.
I suspect Jaya will get bail and come out soon.
2. On Modi’s visit, I think he’s here primarily to buy defense equipment and address nuclear power related and drug patents issues. Of course, they will not be disclosed as such publicly.
Pakistan and China will never allow India to live in peace and India faces serious power shortages. So defense and nuclear power must be on top of his agenda. It’s hard to say how successful Modi will be on both and what he must give U.S. in return.
Plus, U.S. is also increasingly worried about China. China’s growing prosperity and muscle flexing must be triggering alarm bells in U.S. power circles. I doubt India and US can do much to stop China. Only Chinese can derail China with some kind of a coup or some kind of revolution. There’s already talk of plots and counter-plots in China.
3. As for Modi’s new mantra of “Make in India,” that’s just a pipe-dream. India lacks both the infrastructure and the supply chain network to get it going. China is too far ahead in the manufacturing game.
As I see it, India will continue to limp along.
“As for Modi’s new mantra of “Make in India,” that’s just a pipe-dream. India lacks both the infrastructure and the supply chain network to get it going. China is too far ahead in the manufacturing game.
As I see it, India will continue to limp along.”
Ultimately, it all comes down to incentives. You get what you set up the system to produce. In a hyper-regulated socialist economy like India that means poverty and filth- of body and mind. Roads, Railways, Electricity aren’t cutting-edge technology with very steep learning curves. If you have the right incentives they can be built in a short span of time- say within a decade. And these incentives aren’t some magical secret either. They are freedom for the businessman to conduct their business and make a profit from it. As simple as that. With License Raj, Inspector Raj, Tax terrorism, tyrannical Labor laws and rolling blackouts is it any wonder why India is just limping along?
Nehru set us down this path. Her daughter made it much much worse when other Asian countries had wizened up and started prospering. India lost four decades that way. When things became unbearable we loosened up just enough to limp along and here we are. When the Naxal Action Committee (NAC) under Sonia madam enacts such brain dead laws as NREGA, FSB, RTE, LAB that are not just useless but actively sabotaging the interests of the very people they intend to serve I am surprised we can even limp along.
The disease is however hardly restricted to one party or other. It is very prolific across the board and thus unlikely to be challenged in any significant manner in the near future. Meanwhile, the incentives work their magic and Indians become more and more like the way they are set up to be 🙂
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/07/moral-effects-of-socialism.html
http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/filthy-india-photos-chinese-netizen-reactions.html
“In two months in India, I went from south to north, visiting some tourist towns that I had read about. I also went by train and bus to countless towns and open fields that weren’t so famous, and everywhere there were people had something in common — dirty, messy and stank.”
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Ultimately, it all comes down to incentives. You get what you set up the system to produce. In a hyper-regulated socialist economy like India that means poverty…. And these incentives aren’t some magical secret either. They are freedom for the businessman to conduct their business and make a profit from it.
The problem with Capitalism is that like the Caste system it abhors Homo Aequalis.
2. Let’s be clear now. What India has now is not socialism but Kakistocratic governance where those in power assist capitalist princes like Marans, Ambanis etc through preferential treatment in one way or the other.
For example:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/30/india-telecomunications-dayanidhimaran-m-idINKBN0GU08420140830
3. As for your ‘Chinese’ link on poor hygiene in India, that has nothing to do with capitalism or socialism but more to do with poverty, ignorance and lack of investment in sanitation.
“The problem with Capitalism is that like the Caste system it abhors Homo Aequalis.”
I have my doubts about capitalism. Rather than blindly sticking to any one particular ideology, economic policy should be pragmatic. Capitalism abhors Homo Aequalis only if you believe creation of wealth is the sole purpose of every human life and thus the most important criterion for valuing an individual. I certainly don’t. Neither do any capitalist that I know. The founding fathers of United States were anything but socialist yet they were instrumental in bringing into the world-consciousness such divinely beautiful ideas as:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
“Let’s be clear now. What India has now is not socialism but Kakistocratic governance where those in power assist capitalist princes like Marans, Ambanis etc through preferential treatment in one way or the other.”
Indeed. But this a feature of the socialist system not a bug. All the crony socialists like Marans and Ambanis get preferential and exceptional treatment from the socialist laws of the land that other lesser mortal citizens have to obey. And this is not ‘fixable’ either. It is how India manages to limp along. If not for crooks and cheats there wouldn’t be any productive activity in the socialist system. There is absolutely no honest business in India. If you have to survive you have to peddle influence, bribe, lie and so on. The people who are most dishonest thus often comes to rule over the rest and has vast influence. Take any socialist law, say RTE again. There will always be those who are exempted from them- legally or not. In the case of RTE, while it effectively nationalizes all Hindu schools in the country forcing thousands of it to close and others to barely manage to survive (often by exceptions i.e cheating), The powerful and influential minority run schools have managed to get an exemption from the law through the courts so that they have autonomy. Thus they become crony socialists- doing the laudable service of making sure at least a fraction of the elite classes are literate when otherwise we would be left with a country of fools. And India can continue to limp along. Like wise with other laws. If not for the crony socialists under UPA-I like Maran I wouldn’t able to comment on this extraordinary blog 🙂
“As for your ‘Chinese’ link on poor hygiene in India, that has nothing to do with capitalism or socialism but more to do with poverty, ignorance and lack of investment in sanitation.”
Yes. These are the proximate causes. Like if I step out of my house and fall into a pit the fact that I didn’t see the pit is the proximate cause. But who dug the pit there in the first place? Why was it dug? Whose interests does it serve? Why wasn’t it covered or filled even though it is common knowledge that open pits are a serious health hazard? Likewise, why is their poverty in India? Or ‘ignorance’? Or lack of investment in sanitation?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: The founding fathers of United States were anything but socialist yet they were instrumental in bringing into the world-consciousness such divinely beautiful ideas as:….that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,….
Rubbish.
Some of the key founding fathers like Washington and Jefferson were hypocritical to the core. While talking about equality of men, they were slave owning moral cretins. Jefferson was also a child molester, repeatedly screwing and repeatedly impregnating his young slave Sally Hemmings who if I recollect correctly was younger than his daughter.
And do you know who wrote the Declaration of Independence that you cite above as “divinely beautiful”- Jefferson.
Talk is cheap.
Other than Gandhi and the Jain monks, I’ve not heard of anyone practising what they preach.
After Jefferson wrote your “divinely beautiful” words, it took nearly 90 years for slavery to be abolished and for all men to be truly equal. Even after slavery’s abolition, White supremacy continues to this day.
It’s important not to be swayed by the glitter of the words but look beyond to the meaning and reality behind them.
2. You write: Capitalism abhors Homo Aequalis only if you believe creation of wealth is the sole purpose of every human life and thus the most important criterion for valuing an individual. I certainly don’t.
Save wealth creation and accumulation, there’s nothing in capitalism.
3. You write: If not for crooks and cheats there wouldn’t be any productive activity in the socialist system.
Good lord, you live in a la la land where you think corruption is unique to India. If there were no corruption, the U.S. would not have privatised defense and intelligence and handed them over to contractors in a huge way. Why would we wage constant war if not to help the military-industrial complex.
4. Ignorance and poverty have many causes and to blame them on non-existent socialism in India is ridiculous. Over the last two decades, India’s economic model has been anything but socialist. Yet neither sanitation nor the lot of the poor have improved in India.
It’s important not to lurch to any extremes – Socialism, capitalism etc because there are deep failings in all of them. The sensible course is to draw upon the best features of all ‘isms.
She could still get away as the Supreme Court has said a convicted person can contest an election if his/her conviction and ind sentence are both stayed by a superior court.
Anyways the dasara holidays will leave her at least spend a week behind bars.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I hope jail will give Jaya ample time to introspect on how her looting the state coffers leaves that much less for the “Aam Aadmi” (common man) and the deprived sections.
The pomp and grandeur with which Jail-Lalitha celebrated the marriage of her foster son was a disgrace. Where did the money come from?
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/jayalalithas-foster-son-married-off-amid-extravagance-and-controversy/1/289926.html
Damn!!
I’m traveling to Chennai in a few hours.. Hope there’s no bandh or crap like that..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Have you written your will? Please ensure it’s notarized! 😉
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-comes-to-a-standstill/article6453270.ece