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NATION:
HINDUJAS
Passport
Troubles
The brothers' troubles over Bofors are compounded by British minister
Mandelson's resignation
By Anita Anand in
London
A
dip in the Ganga during the Mahakumbha is said to be the ultimate act
of self-purification. Which is why lakhs of Hindus have flocked to Allahabad
over the past fortnight. Last Wednesday's pilgrims included the brothers
Hinduja-Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand-now on an enforced and extended
visit to India, courtesy the CBI and Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke hearing
the interminable Bofors kickbacks case.
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| British
minister Mandelson |
For one of
the wealthiest British Asian families, the Ganga dip was probably resonant
with expectations. Not only have the brothers been barred from leaving
India without the court's permission, they have been questioned by the
CBI as to why the money remitted by Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors
found its way into bank accounts controlled by the family.
But it's
not merely hiccups in their land of origin that is worrying the Hindujas.
A second front has been opened in London. They have been linked to a controversy
that has led to the resignation of cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, one
of the closest associates of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Worse, it has
nudged Blair into ordering an inquiry by former Treasury solicitor Sir
Anthony Hammond into whether or not the issue of a British passport to
Srichand in September 1999 "was properly dealt with in all respects".
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| SECOND
FRONT: The court has grounded the Hindujas in India |
The inquiry
follows dark hints of a link between the £1 million (Rs 7 crore)
Hinduja donation to the ailing Millennium Dome project of the Labour Government
and a British passport for Srichand. By the admission of a Hinduja spokesman,
"In the summer of 1998 Mr Hinduja asked Mr Mandelson informally if
an application by him to the Home Office for British nationality would
be considered." The query had a purpose: Srichand's passport application
had been turned down in 1990.
Mandelson
said he telephoned Home Office Minister Mike O'Brien in June 1998 and
"an innocent inquiry was made in a two-minute phone conversation".
The Hindujas were told that Srichand was eligible to apply. According
to Blair's official spokesman, when the Hindujas also "asked Peter
to endorse or support any application, he refused". The application
was eventually supported by former prime minister Sir Edward Heath, former
Liberal Democratic Party leader Sir Paddy Ashdown and former cabinet minister
Jack Cunningham-a testimony to the political clout of the Hindujas.
Where Mandelson
erred was in not admitting to the telephone call to O'Brien in the first
place. This led to Parliament being misled. When the truth emerged, Mandelson
put in his papers.
But it's
not Mandelson alone who has been forced to drop out of political life.
If the buzz in London is anything to go by, the Hindujas may find that
many of London's rich and famous will be keeping a discreet distance from
them.
There was
a time when an invitation from the Hindujas was an irresistible calling.
If you turned up you would inevitably be confronted with wall-to-wall
celebrity power.
Since moving
base from Teheran to London in 1979, the Hindujas have avidly wooed Britain's
political elite. They once courted the Conservatives and became close
to Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In 1999, they hosted Blair and wife
Cherie to a lavish Diwali celebration at London's Alexandra Palace. Says
an MP: "Wherever the Hindujas went, they had a damn camera in tow.
It will be very damaging if some of those photos now appear in the press."
That's a
squeamishness the Hindujas have to live with when they return. To be "outed"
as a Hinduja friend has become dangerous. The media have already turned
on Minister for Europe Keith Vaz who has admitted to writing letters on
behalf of the Hindujas to both Mandelson and Blair in 1997. "Even
more astonishingly," wrote the Daily Mail carpingly, "they were
actually drafted by them for his signature. He has refused to say what
these letters were about."
For the
media it's an open season on the Hindujas. News bulletins have been bringing
up archive pictures of the brothers with sinister music in the background.
Eerie lighting illuminates the faces of the men who are just referred
to as "the brothers".
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