THE HINDU EDITORIAL – 21st AUGUST 2017
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THE HINDU EDITORIAL – 21st AUGUST 2017
a) Separate ways
On the credit side of his long political ledger, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been able to carry with him most of his party’s State legislators through his flip-flops. Whether he made or broke alliances, whether with the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a majority of the Bihar unit of the Janata Dal (United) stayed with him. The only blot in his drama-filled copybook so far is the revolt of senior leader Sharad Yadav, who took some of the moral sheen away from the attempt to portray the break-up of the ‘grand alliance’ with the RJD and the Congress as a principled stand against corruption. Indeed, Mr. Yadav, in describing the dissolution of the alliance as a betrayal of the people’s mandate of 2015, has pressured Mr. Kumar into dropping all pretence and formally joining the National Democratic Alliance of the BJP. The prospect of ministerial berths at the Centre might have persuaded some of the JD(U)’s Members of Parliament to go along with Mr. Kumar, but Mr. Yadav appears to have generated some political momentum on his own. With the formalisation of the split, the JD(U) could be in danger of losing its election symbol, the Arrow. Mr. Yadav has made it clear he is not leaving the party he helped found, and led for some time. A BJP-JD(U) electoral alliance is formidable, but if the 2015 Assembly election proved anything, it was that the RJD retained its core support base. Mr. Yadav knows he can retain his relevance in Bihar’s politics by siding with the RJD’s Lalu Prasad. The series of corruption cases against him and his family members notwithstanding, Mr. Prasad, with his own brand of backward class identity politics and wooing of the minority community vote-bank, remains a vote-catcher in Bihar. The present turn in the State’s politics presents an opportunity for Mr. Yadav to strike out on his own, and find a niche for himself. To go along with Mr. Kumar at every turn would have cramped the political space for Mr. Yadav at the national level. Also, in spite of what he likes to believe, Mr. Kumar might have played into the hands of the BJP. At the time of the next Lok Sabha election, the BJP will most likely call the shots in seat apportioning and constituency selection. Mr. Kumar needs the BJP more than the BJP needs him. Without an alliance partner, Mr. Kumar might just sink; the RJD-Congress combine is sure to take the anti-BJP political space. Thus, in making his decision Mr. Yadav seems to have factored in a possible souring of Mr. Kumar’s relations with the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo. The prospect of an immediate ministerial berth was probably weighed against the possibility of long-term political marginalisation.
b) Missing investors
It has been about five years since the Supreme Court ordered the Sahara Group, led by Subrata Roy, to refund money that it borrowed from investors without sufficient regulatory clearance. But the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which was tasked by the Supreme Court to oversee the actual transfer of money from the Sahara Group to investors, is clueless about where to find those investors. The total amount, including interest on the initial principal, that needs to be refunded to investors has bulged to about ₹40,000 crore now. Of this, SEBI has received an aggregate amount, including interest earned on deposits, of about ₹14,487 crore from the Sahara Group. But according to SEBI’s latest annual report, as on March 31, 2017 only about ₹85.02 crore, including interest of about ₹38.05 crore, of this amount has actually been returned to investors. As a background to the case, it is notable that Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd., entities that come under the Sahara Group, were directed by SEBI in 2011 to return about ₹24,000 crore that they had raised through the issue of optional fully convertible debentures. The entities had collected the money without seeking SEBI’s approval, which led the regulator to order the money to be returned to investors with appropriate interest. The Sahara Group argued that it had sufficient approvals from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for the issue. But the Supreme Court, on August 31, 2012, upheld the 2011 SEBI order. The fact that very few investors have come forward to reclaim their money is bizarre. SEBI has been requesting genuine investors in Sahara to step forward and claim their money since at least May 2013. This obviously raises questions about the authenticity of Sahara’s investor base, which needs to be investigated thoroughly. The Sahara Group earlier claimed that it had already returned 95% of the capital that it borrowed from investors even before the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision — it says this is the reason much of the refund money remains unclaimed. But the Group failed to satisfy the Supreme Court’s request to provide evidence of the source of funds used to make the claimed return payments. It was always clear that the Sahara case was hardly about investor protection, one that could be handled by SEBI. Yet, even as crores of rupees remain unclaimed from SEBI, investigations into the case from the angle of possible money laundering have been slow. The Enforcement Directorate began proceedings in 2014 against the Sahara Group under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, but has had very little to show for its efforts. The government must step in to expedite a probe into what could be a massive money laundering exercise. This will yield better results than waiting for millions of missing investors to turn up. Finally, the Ministry’s rationale for approving Sahara’s initial fundraising efforts should not be left uninvestigated either.
WORDS/ VOCABULARY
1) Flip-flops
Meaning: Make an abrupt reversal of policy.
Example: The candidate flip-flopped on a number of issues.
2) Alliances
Meaning: A union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations.
Example: A defensive alliance between Australia and New Zealand.
Synonyms: Association, union
3) Sheen
Meaning: A soft lustre on a surface.
Example: Black crushed velvet with a slight sheen.
Synonyms: Shine, Gleam
Antonyms: Dullness
4) Betrayal
Meaning: The action of betraying one’s country, a group, or a person; treachery.
Example: The betrayal by the French of their own refugees.
Synonyms: Disloyalty, Perfidy
Antonyms: Loyalty, Faithfulness
5) Pretence
Meaning: An attempt to make something that is not the case appear true.
Example: His anger is masked by a pretence that all is well.
Synonyms: Make-believe, Act
Antonyms: Reality, Honesty
6) Persuade
Meaning: Induce (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument.
Example: It wasn’t easy, but I persuaded him to do the right thing.
Synonyms: Coax, Convince
Antonyms: Dissuade, Deter
7) Relevance
Meaning: The quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate.
Example: This film has contemporary relevance.
8) Notwithstanding
Meaning: Nevertheless; in spite of this.
Example: She tells us she is an intellectual; notwithstanding, she is a beauty queen.
Synonyms: However, Still
9) Wooing
Meaning: Seek the favour, support, or custom of.
Example: Pop stars are being wooed by film companies eager to sign them up.
Synonyms: Pursue, Chase
10) Niche
Meaning: A comfortable or suitable position in life or employment.
Example: He is now head chef at a leading law firm and feels he has found his niche.
Synonyms: Calling, Vocation
11) Cramped
Meaning: Uncomfortably small or restricted.
Example: Staff had to work in cramped conditions.
Synonyms: Restricted, Confined
Antonyms: Spacious
12) Apportion
Meaning: Divide up and share out.
Example: Voting power will be apportioned according to contribution.
Synonyms: Allocate, Distribute
13) Sour
Meaning: Make or become unpleasant, acrimonious, or difficult.
Example: A dispute soured relations between the two countries.
Synonyms: Embitter, Anger
Antonyms: Improve
14) Marginalisation
Meaning: Treatment of a person, group, or concept as insignificant or peripheral.
Example: He worked hard to eliminate social and economic marginalization.
15) Reclaim
Meaning: Retrieve or recover (something previously lost, given, or paid); obtain the return of.
Example: You can reclaim £25 of the £435 deducted.
Synonyms: Recover, Regain
Antonyms: Forfeit
16) Bizarre
Meaning: Very strange or unusual.
Example: A bizarre situation.
Synonyms: Strange, Peculiar
Antonyms: Ordinary, Normal
17) Expedite
Meaning: Make (an action or process) happen sooner or be accomplished more quickly.
Example: He promised to expedite economic reforms.
Synonyms: Accelerate, Hurry
Antonyms: Delay, Hinder
