Wordsmiths & Newsplumbers

By R.K.MISRA   A lie has many variations, the truth has none, or so goes an African proverb. The eighth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 unfolded-January 10 to12, 2017- with all the razzmatazz associated with a Narendra Modi event. It has ,in any case, been carrying his indelible stamp from his chief ministerial days, gaining in size, pomp, grandeur and reach with every biennial happening. The figures of proposed investment triumphantly trotted up at the end of each event, have  gained in girth from  a robust Rs 65,000 crores worth in 2003(80 MoUs), to an obese  Rs12 lakh crore in 2009 (3574 MoUs) to an  obscene Rs 21 lakh crore in 2011(8380 MoUs) to subsequently ‘disappear’ in the 2013(17719 MoUs), 2015(21305 MoUs) and 2017(25578 MoUs).These were ‘lies’ clothed as half-truths, designed to fulfill a specific purpose which it did. One of the main reason that the then chief minister, Modi stopped announcing proposed investment figures after 2011 was the

BY R.K.MISRA   A call centre racket operating out of India has been conning gullible Americans through bluff, bluster and fraud and by last estimates the accumulated amount may have crossed $500 million. First  brought to light in October; the revelations so far constitute a mere tip of the iceberg of such fraudulent operations flourishing in India, even after a belated crackdown.  Though initially detected in Maharashtra, it is Gujarat which is emerging as the epi-centre of this nationwide, totally fraudulent operation which has been spewing black money like the persistent Delhi smog. Skimming callers from these con-call centres impersonating a host of US official services officers would intimidate, bully, even cajole their victims in the US to pay up. Official agencies of both the central and state governments sat placid with their officers either complicit or ignorant until the American government brought matters to the notice of the Indian authorities.  Five Ahmed