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-8-
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Pant also gives instructions about what kind of gifts
to take for the Generals. He says he knows everything
about their dealings inside out. |
PANT: Give him some gift, that is it. That would be
much, much better because both of them know me personally.
They may not take anything in my presence, but as a gift wrap
you give him then.
SASHI: Let's pick up a nice gift.
TEHELKA: Okay, what gift do we give?
PANT: Give anything.
TEHELKA: You tell us…what gift?
PANT: Gold chain or something like that.
TEHELKA: Okay, okay, sir. Costing is around?
PANT: Must be around 9-10,000.
TEHELKA: That's all?
PANT: Yes, right now only this much. Not all at once.
Again I'll tell you and then you give more.
SASHI: Then we'll give later. Okay?
SASHI: Sir, New Year is also coming in December. Then
we can more…we can cultivate more things.
PANT: General Choudary's wife basically, and the daughter,
they have been doing all this. You have to move through them.
TEHELKA: Okay.
PANT: We will take you to his residence. I know about
all their transactions and what all they do. That's why I
say, "Saala, where did you get so much from?"
|
Pant also takes a bribe of Rs. 20,000 in the first meeting
and says that it's Choudary's wife and daughter who sometimes
act as his middlemen. |
PANT: No problem.
TEHELKA: Nothing, I want give a…present a small presentation.
SASHI: I didn't go to the shop also.
[Tehelka hands over two bundles of hundred-rupees note
amounting to Rs. 20,000.]
TEHELKA: Twenty thousand.
[Pant gets up from the seat.]
PANT: No, that's what I said. We will make a presentation
for that, then we will go for this.
SASHI: I forgot the shop, I recognized the little girl's
voice; I thought I'd have to go again for her to Mehrasons.
PANT: No, no, no. Not that. I will prepare the brief…on
the basis you discuss with them.
TEHELKA: Okay.
PANT:
For General Choudary we will meet at Vasant Vihar.
TEHELKA: Okay.
PANT: Vasant Vihar.The flat he has bought little recently.
We will meet there. But he doesn't meet there at his house.
TEHELKA: Yes, yes.
PANT: So, the place where he will meet, you know. So,
you have to arrange like this only, because this is such a
thing.
TEHELKA: Sir, if they need any kind of funds also,
we can arrange it also.
PANT: That we…let us get something out of it, let us
get some orders only, after that only we will…
SASHI: Evaluation or some movement.
PANT: We will discuss everything with them, yaar.
They are very open on all this.
TEHELKA: Okay.
PANT: That's why I said there are certain places where
they meet. I know the places where they meet. His daughter
and his wife, they basically look after these things. You
know, there is a channel, everybody…everybody is acting on
those.
SASHI: And, we can take a gift. This gold coins? Small…
PANT: Gold coin; last time I have sent one MMTC coin.
SASHI: Okay. MMTC coin, like that we…Mehrasons, I think…
TEHELKA: That…that I will arrange.
*
* *
|
While
Pant is busy organizing meetings of West End with Major
General Bhatnagar, Infantry chief, Major General Shankar
Prasad, Major General S.K. Choudary, and Additional Secretary
of Defence L.M. Mehta, on numerous occasions meetings
fail to take place for mundane reasons. Eventually it
was felt that there was no point meeting Bhatnagar as
he was retiring in December. As for General Prasad, he
called West End a couple of times basically to say that
'his' work would start only after the evaluation trials
were ordered by Choudary. However, Pant introduced us
to two big defence middlemen. RSS trustee R.K. Gupta,
his son Deepak Gupta and the Consulate General of Belize,
Mohinder Pal Sahni. Here's how R.K. Gupta's
name first comes up. |
PANT: I have introduced him to him. I said, This is
the man. I know his father. I know his…both, son and father.
Both. And, of course, he is very younger to us, but his father
has cultivated him like this. And he says, he's not shown
much. But his father knows everybody. In fact, PM and he used
to stay in their house in GK in '77…'75, '76, '77. I have
seen him there. Vajpayee used to live there in his house [R.K.
GUPTA's house]. And he's given one of his Jhandewalan
buildings to RSS. That building was owned by R.K.Gupta. He
has donated to his RSS people.
TEHELKA: This man is doing…Mr. Gupta is doing some
kind of liaisoning also? For big people?
DEEPAK CHHABRA: Yeah, for big people.
TEHELKA: Sir, we are not a small people.
*
* *
On
November 26, Pant
takes us to meet Deepak
Gupta at his Mehrauli farmhouse residence. Deepak
Gupta, son of R. K. Gupta, the RSS trustee,
talks in detail about how he will help West End bag the
order and also
talks about his sphere of influence in the government.
|
DEEPAK GUPTA: Whatever you want in the Ministry of
Defence…I am using the word "Ministry of Defence"
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: I am not using…not using the word "user".
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: I may not be able to help you at the
user level…because there may be clash of interest…
TEHELKA: Yeah.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Plus also, I don't use the user. I use
other people to handle the user.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: That is why there is a…there could be
a clash of interest.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: The entire ruckus is because of that.
We will take over the MoD. We don't get into the user. If
user, he can handle himself…
PANT: Hmm.
DEEPAK GUPTA: …and the bureaucracy looks at you…. You
see, unless the user clears you…
TEHELKA: Hmm.
DEEPAK GUPTA: …as a vendor…
TEHELKA: Hmm.
DEEPAK GUPTA: You see, first step…I don't know what
the stage of your project is. You will have to submit your
project…you will have to go through….
[Pant's
mobile phone rings and he talks to caller while Gupta and
Tehelka continue their conversation]
DEEPAK GUPTA: Tatkal.
TEHELKA: Yeah.
DEEPAK GUPTA: MGO normally has three suppliers.
TEHELKA: Yeah.
DEEPAK GUPTA: You have to be one of them.
TEHELKA: Yeah.
DEEPAK GUPTA: If you become one of the three…
TEHELKA: Hmm.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Then it is my job to pick you up.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: You see, what happens is, that whole
report is sent to the MoD.
TEHELKA: Pardon?
DEEPAK GUPTA: User sends the report to the Ministry
of Defence.
TEHELKA: Yeah.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Say, I have short-listed three suppliers.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: And let's say, you are one of the three
suppliers.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Now once you are one of the three suppliers,
then they will have the tendering process.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: After which they have their PNC. That's
where we can help you.
TEHELKA: Hmm, hmm.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Where we can tell you what to fill; what
are the other rates that are likely to come.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Because unless you are the lowest, or
you are a supply holder, nobody will help you.
TEHELKA: Okay.
DEEPAK GUPTA: Now, political help comes only in areas
where either you are L-1 or you are single vendor.
TEHELKA: Yeah.
|
