Arun Shourie confirms Nira Radia tapes leak

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New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Telecom Minister Arun Shourie claimed that senior party leader Venkaiah Naidu was lobbied, to ensure the BJP wouldn't oppose 2009 Budget proposals that allegedly favoured billionaire businessman and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.
Shourie confirmed Nira Radia tape revelation to Karan Thapar on 'Devil's Advocate' on CNN-IBN This is the first concrete proof that Nira Radia's influence extended to the Opposition ranks as well. Here's a brief transcript:
Karan Thapar: Let's start with the Nira Radia tapes, you yourself are a subject of discussion. The voice speaking to Nira Radia reveals that he has arranged for you to be replaced by Venkaiah Naidu as the lead speaker from the BJP side in the Rajya Sabha on the 2009 Budget. Let me first ask you did this actually happen?
<a href='http://connect.in.com/arun-shourie/profile-27421.html' target='_blank'><font color='#307dc3'><u>Arun Shourie</a></u></font> confirms Nira Radia tapes leak
Arun Shourie: Yes, there is no doubt in that. I was asked to open the debate on the budget, I worked for one week to speak of the matter and at the last minute after I reached the house I was told that the previous night Mr Venkaiah Naidu had decided to speak suddenly. Therefore as he had been party president he will speak first. My turn would come after all the 13-14 speakers have spoken and then I would be the second speaker for the party.
Karan Thapar: Now the second thing that the tape suggests that if you would have been the lead speaker you might have taken a hard position on a proposal in the budget which was going to help Mukesh Ambani hugely. But by replacing you with Mr Venkaiah Naidu the person had ensured that the line taken by the BJP would be more accommodating and understanding?
Arun Shourie: Yes, it was certainly their objective, I mean its clear from the tapes that was the objective. They may have apprehended this because I had spoken about that particular proposal in an adverse way in a party meeting...I may or may not have spoken about this on the floor of the house.
Karan Thapar: But this was their fear?
Arun Shourie: This was their fear.
Karan Thapar: Now the voice speaking on the tape speaking to Nira Radia, who I have been referring to all along hasn't been identified. Have you recognised that voice?
Arun Shourie: No doubt everybody who listens to the tape and I hope that everyone listens to the tape will know that it is my good college friend NK Singh. What is the problem with that?
Karan Thapar: The gentleman who was secretary to the Mr Vajpayee at one point of time?
Arun Shourie: He was secretary to the Prime Minister, he was I am sure finance secretary at one stage, he was a member of the Planning Commission and my college friend. 

Source:CNN-IBN

Comments

J.J said…
Seems that this is never going to end. Arun Shourie is one of the strangest cases on the Indian intellectual landscape if not its most disappointing. A living, walking, moving advertisement of how rabid ideology can addle even the most riveting of minds, stripping it of all its nuance and pretence; its very soul and humanity
11:27 PM
Roxy said…
I think that Arun Shourie has inflicted a festering wound. He basically punctures the huge false propaganda. Who has asked for his opinion. This is man who sold the Indian PSU and now he is talking this bullsh@@it
11:34 PM
Riti said…
Shourie is the man! free market, nationalism, & sovereignty rhetoric and vague allegations
11:36 PM
SAM said…
Arun Shourie represented one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated in the name of investigative and whatever journalism in India. He tried to pretend himself as a voice of down-trodden and masqueraded to champion against everything evil with the congress government of Indira Gandhi. It was a spectacle to see his mask come off so-easily and hard-cored chauvinistic features were in open display. Did Ram Nath Goenka know that his one-time protege is a literal wolf in sheep’s clothing?
11:37 PM
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