(B Someswar Rao)
The Supreme Court has given two valuable verdicts on Thursday. The apex court’s verdicts are of great significance as they were pronounced by judges of great learning and wisdom and are the final words on the subjects. The first verdict is on a matter that has exercised the Indian Opposition a great deal and affected thousands of investors who have put several hundred crores of rupees in the equities in the stock exchange in the shares of the Adani group of companies. To the delight of the Opposition which has been attacking the companies of Adani for the simple reason that he belongs to Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modis home state of Gujarat, as does another Gujarati, Mukesh Ambañi, is the elder son of Reliance group founder Dhirubhai Ambani. The only relationship between Modi, Ambani, and Adani is that all three belong to Gujarat. The major traders of India are the Gujarati community which, like the Marwaris and Sindhis, dominated the nation’s business and industry. The Marwaris specialize in money lending and the Siddhis in retail trade, but none of the fields is exclusive to any sub-national group.
Billionaire Gautam Adani has said he considers Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani a role model and his son Mukesh Ambani. Mukesh and Gautam succeeded while Mukesh’s brother Anil Ambani failed, if success was due to favors by the government by inference failure is by not favoring. No one complained then.
True. Dhirubhai Ambani is said to have struck it rich by manipulating the stock market, some prefer not to buy from any Reliance outlet for this reason. It is a question of individual choice we cannot make it a public issue. There are set rules for the allotment of a contract or permission. None of the opposition campaigns against Adani cite any violation by the Adani group. Former Infosys director and one of that IT giant’s founders, Mr. Mohandas Pai is not a lightweight in matters of finance. He says no favor was shown to the Adani group. It is a. expert’s word against that of politician Rahul Gandhi who promised to put potatoes at one end of a machine for gold to come out at the other. .if the group got airports and sea ports – the latter even abroad where a Gujarati is not in power.
So if there were some irregularities involved, the SEBI probe committee will bring out the facts, as pointed out by the SC. Let us wait and see. One can only hope the committee will not, like courts, take decades to decide. The SC in another judgment wanted the Chief Justice of India to be a member of the panel that selects the Chief Election Commissioner. It is quite a valid suggestion. “If you win the Electronic Voting Machines were hacked, if I win they are good,” has been the opposition’s stand. Uddhav Thackeray, who became Shiv Sena boss only a son of Bal Thackeray said the Election Commission took a bribe of Rs 2000 crores to declare the Shinde faction as the real SS. Was it because he too paid to head the party? The CJI being on the selection committee would give the choice legal support and prevent such frivolous talk. Both verdicts, therefore, are welcome. The SC in another judgment wanted the Chief Justice of India to be a member of the panel that selects the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs. Some feel the SC has gone beyond its brief and asked if it would accept 0pliticians in the collegiums that select CJI. Are politicians and judges comparable? What are the politicians’ qualifications? The SC’s suggestion is quite valid and good. “If you win the Electronic Voting Machines were hacked, if I win they are good,” has been the opposition’s stand. Uddhav Thackeray, who became Shiv Sena boss only a son of Bal Thackeray said the Election Commission took a bribe of Rs 2000 crores to declare the Shinde faction as the real SS. Was it because he too paid to head the party? The CJI being on the selection committee would give the choice legal support and prevent such frivolous talk.
