On a sting operation to expose MPs renting out flats and bunglows in lutyens zone (yeah! Yeah!, we all know that's an old story but people admitting on camera that bunglows of ministers are rented out for petty cash has its own dimension) our prize catch was P A Swamy, a powerful wheeler dealer and PA to a number of MPs and ministers. We approached him as friends of a friend of his from Sikkim. Sikkim was a safe bet, our source suggested. Too far away, and Swamy hardly touched base with his Gurung, he said.
After the preliminary lies. My office is at J K Tyre, my little brother (the cameraman) was a good for nothing. I told Swamy we had come through Gurung, safe in our knowledge that Gurung was a zillion miles away.
"Oh! Gurung, my friend. Lets find out how he is" said Swamy and picked up the phone. He looked up at the notice board and Gurung's numbers were pasted prominently up there. It was that defining moment! Swamy, hand on the phone, about to pick up the receiver. What next? I needed an alibi and I needed it fast.
But the moment passed. Swamy thought the better of calling up Gurung and went on to give me some of the juiciest bytes I could think of "Army officials don't give out houses on rent, only MPs do that, they are prone to making some extra money before they retire. you can share the flat with the MP her self, a bedroom for you, a bedroom for her, a bathroom with nice tiles, and a geyser. you will live near Sonia Gandhi's house, opposite the Vice President's house opposite vigyan bhavan''
But a story we couldn't put on air was the story of people with open hearts and open minds, people willing to share their homes with complete strangers and that too for free. An old man at the MS flats near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Reddy, with a heart of gold, at South Avenue willing to give up his warm quilt so we could be comfortable while he slept in the cold.
Contrast this with our ministers and MPs. Their servant quarters range from six to 16 with plenty of room to spare. Yet, they are "prone to making that extra buck'', not sparing even their dhobis and malis
I rest assured in the knowledge that it is in these "little'' people, the dhobis and the drunkard, in the Reddy's and the malis, that India resides. As our Members of Parliament count every penny, it is these people, who grandly say, "Keep the change.''
first published:March 22, 2006, 12:22 ISTlast updated:March 22, 2006, 12:22 IST
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What does it feel like, when you are out to trap that wheeler dealer, doing a sting operation, posing as someone else, cooking up a plausible story, one convincing lie leading to another and at the defining moment.your cover is about to be blown!One small slip, a sudden visitor, a phone call . That gives the game away. Then your knees knock, your mouth goes dry, your heart beats faster and you prepare for disaster.
On a sting operation to expose MPs renting out flats and bunglows in lutyens zone (yeah! Yeah!, we all know that's an old story but people admitting on camera that bunglows of ministers are rented out for petty cash has its own dimension) our prize catch was P A Swamy, a powerful wheeler dealer and PA to a number of MPs and ministers. We approached him as friends of a friend of his from Sikkim. Sikkim was a safe bet, our source suggested. Too far away, and Swamy hardly touched base with his Gurung, he said.
After the preliminary lies. My office is at J K Tyre, my little brother (the cameraman) was a good for nothing. I told Swamy we had come through Gurung, safe in our knowledge that Gurung was a zillion miles away.
"Oh! Gurung, my friend. Lets find out how he is" said Swamy and picked up the phone. He looked up at the notice board and Gurung's numbers were pasted prominently up there. It was that defining moment! Swamy, hand on the phone, about to pick up the receiver. What next? I needed an alibi and I needed it fast.
But the moment passed. Swamy thought the better of calling up Gurung and went on to give me some of the juiciest bytes I could think of "Army officials don't give out houses on rent, only MPs do that, they are prone to making some extra money before they retire. you can share the flat with the MP her self, a bedroom for you, a bedroom for her, a bathroom with nice tiles, and a geyser. you will live near Sonia Gandhi's house, opposite the Vice President's house opposite vigyan bhavan''
But a story we couldn't put on air was the story of people with open hearts and open minds, people willing to share their homes with complete strangers and that too for free. An old man at the MS flats near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Reddy, with a heart of gold, at South Avenue willing to give up his warm quilt so we could be comfortable while he slept in the cold.
Contrast this with our ministers and MPs. Their servant quarters range from six to 16 with plenty of room to spare. Yet, they are "prone to making that extra buck'', not sparing even their dhobis and malis
I rest assured in the knowledge that it is in these "little'' people, the dhobis and the drunkard, in the Reddy's and the malis, that India resides. As our Members of Parliament count every penny, it is these people, who grandly say, "Keep the change.''
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