A notice gave birth to Duryodhan

NEW DELHI: A Cobrapost-Aajtak investigation titled Operation Duryodhan, unearthed 11 members of the Parliament accepting cash for asking questions in the Indian Parliament. Aniruddha Bahal, editor of Cobrapost.com and head of the investigation, denied that the operation was a TRP-boosting exercise. "It's an old theory that sting operations are launched to increase TRPs. I was very clear when we went ahead with this investigation. This concerned public interest and was not voyeuristic. I have always maintained that if used rightly, tiny, lens bearing apertures, can empower a citizenry by exposing democracy's toxic acreage."

 

However, while Bahal and Aajtak went to town about the dark story of corruption in Indian politics exposing 11 MPs, they didn't reveal the silver lining to this dark cloud. "There was one MP who refused the offer, but I do not want to drag him into the controversy," was Bahal's excuse. On being probed further on who this MP was, Bahal snubbed, "Don't behave like a cub reporter. I cannot reveal who this is. I refuse to answer any more questions to do with this."

 

This retort came despite Bahal's earlier assurance that the news was not aimed at creating a sensation. "If Aaj tak does a Tihar jail sting operation, nobody talks but when I do it, everybody sits in judgement and there is something for the media to chew on," he defends.

 

The sting operation involved 10 MPs, six from BJP, three from BSP, one from Congress. Clearly parties like Samajwadi and the Left were excluded? "We were not targeting any political party. As the investigation unfolded we went ahead with who our middlemen introduced us to and that's how the entire story developed. Moreover, we didn't have that kind of money to go to everyone" adds Bahal.

 

On using bribery as an instrument to do the expose, Bahal explains: "Bribery in this case is not an offence. The motive was to do an operation in the larger interest of the public."

 

 

Bahal explains the origin of the idea: "In case of Operation Duryodhan, it began innocuously, with a column I wrote for a newspaper on 20th March, 2005. I had expressed consternation at the casting couch series done by a news channel arguing that voyeuristic exercises would blur the public interest element and give the Government an excuse to frame guidelines. Thereafter I went on suggest some story ideas for the channel."

 

"One of the ideas dealt with the issue of how questions really get asked in Parliament. Apart from the seriousness, it would also generate good humour to watch an MP ask - Why was Gorilla International blacklisted by the Railway Ministry in spite of having bid the lowest for Tsu Tsu Diesel engines"

 

Bahal further adds "I received a notice from the Lok Sabha Secretariat (Privileges and Ethics branch) asking me to respond immediately to the allegations I had made. I sent a letter to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee that I had not commented upon actual happenings in the Parliament but they were mere story ideas. At the same time I decided to start the probe. Thus Operation Duryodhan was born"

 

 

"Narendra Kushwaha of the BSP even enquired - 'Hope you are not taping all this. Don't get me into trouble.' However his initial apprehension didn't deter him from accepting the bribe. Manoj Kumar's (RJD) middleman - Tripathi (Chotiwala) was a colourful character and his ponytail and vermilion smeared forehead could mislead everyone.

 

However he was a master of the trade and even suggested that when the 'packet' (money in this case) was being delivered the code should be 'Gulab Ka Phool'. During the meeting on 9th November with Pradeep Gandhi (BJP) at his residence, he got wary and suspected undercover reporters from the media are behind this. He proceeded to check the bags thoroughly and finally proceeds to take the cash.”