I was a fool to indulge in loose talk: Tarun Das
Niira Radia is said to be a corporate lobbyist. What is the specific job for this designation of work? Is it to talk with Tom, Dick, Harry and all - whoever is ready to use his power wrongly? And do you think the people in power would talk to Radia benevolently because they are all God send people to do good for Radia? Radia had detailed conversations with people like Tarun Das, Barkha Dutt, Vir Singhvi, and who knows how many others on the subject of portfolio distribution to ministers in the central government. Why these people, why not people close to the Prime Minister and Congress President are contacted? Would it be wrong to presume that there is vested interest for all the people, whose names have been revealed in the Niira Radia tapes?
Tarun Das, the chief mentor of Confederation of Indian Induatries (CII), considers him a fool now. In his words it looks that he is desperately trying to erase his name from the Radia tapes disclosure by saying “He was more than a bloody fool to indulge in loose talk about some Cabinet Ministers”. Where he stands now by telling that he was more than a bloody fool? The situation for him must be very awkward both in family and professional circles forcing him to state something to clear his name. Das termed his conversations with Radia as casual informal conversation. That means he had enough spare time to talk long on phone with a corporate lobbyist on subjects that matters little to him. If that is so, he should not have buckled down under pressure and made him a bloody fool; he should have remained firm by not trying show reasons for his talk with Radia. He also claimed that he was neither a fixer nor a lobbyist. If we have to believe him, then we have to do this blindly.
In the conversation he commented on the Surface Transport Minister Kamal Nath of taking 15% cut. This news report did not mention anything more on this, hence it was not possible to know cut from where, but sure it is that cut means a payback for service. This was too a loose conversation, for which he has apologized to Kamal Nath, he said. He admitted that the tape episode has brought lots of distressed to him and his family. Hope that he has learned some lessons from this episode; yet the matter may not be over for him, as he might be called by appropriate authority to justify his talking with Radia.