SO, WHODUNNIT? The byzantine rumour bazaar of power-crazed Delhi is rife with wild conspiracy theories about who leaked the Radia tapes and for what purpose. Here go some of the most imaginative ones: THEORY #1 Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had the tapes leaked to kill two birds with one stone: upstage Home Minister P Chidambaram and teach 10, Janpath, a not-so gentle lesson about nuisance value. Rumour has it that there is a bitter rivalry between the UPA’s two most powerful ministers. The finance minister is whispered to be close to Mukesh Ambani; the home minister apparently prefers younger brother Anil. Both would like the PM’s post. There is already talk of Defence Minister AK Antony being the regent. It did not help that Rahul Gandhi mentioned Antony at a meeting with youth leaders in Ahmedabad as the most honest politician and not Mukherjee. It did help that both the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax departments come under the finance ministry. THEORY #2 Chidambaram had the tapes leaked for exactly the same reasons. Show the finance minister — and his camp — in bad light. Send a signal to 10, Janpath. Shake up power equations. Particularly creative theorists say the plot was to fell the government and cobble a Third Front with Chidambaram in the PM’s chair. The home minister is certainly capable of such precisions. THEORY #3 Anil Ambani’s able man Tony Jesudasan leaked the tapes. Some say the intention was not just to fix Big Brother but his uber-able lobbyist Niira Radia: the rivalries of the second rung. Other rumours have it that Ambani Jr needed a smokescreen to hide his own wrongdoing and sliding fortunes. He is in big money trouble and needs a bailout. It would help to have Chidambaram as PM. THEORY #4 Former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran leaked the tapes. Classic revenge tale: he lost the telecom ministry to A Raja, outmanoeuvered by Radia, her corporate clients and the powerful Kanimozhi faction in the DMK. Besides, he was piqued that Raja refused to share the spoils of the spectrum money with the K-family. In one stroke, the leak educated them all: Radia, Raja, Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi and the Congress. With Raja disgraced, Maran is now back in the family bosom, attending all public functions and meeting the K-family regularly. He has even buried the hatchet with Azhagiri and Stalin, brokered by Selvi, Karunanidhi’s daughter. It’s also being rumoured that restored trust always comes at a price. THEORY #5 Airtel honcho Sunil Mittal had the tapes leaked. Maran was his man; Raja was hostile to him. The latter’s policy opened up the market, brought in too many players and pooped his party. Raja may have scammed the country, but Mittal stood to lose a lot of money and business and his cosy spot in the sun. The end of Raja and all those who supped with him must seem a sweet dessert.
J.BALASUBRAMANIAM
