A brief look at the series of scams that have hit the UPA government

A list of the scandals that hit UPA government

 A brief look at the series of scams that have hit the Congress-led UPA government so far.

The cash-for-vote scam:

The opposition slammed the UPA government over WikiLeaks cables revelations Thursday that the UPA -I paid some MPs to vote in favour of the July 2008 trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The 2G spectrum scam:

The 2G licenses were issued in 2008, but the scam came to public notice when the Income Tax department investigated political lobbyist Niira Radia and the Supreme Court took Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy's complaints on record. The scam rocked the UPA government, leading to the ouster of A. Raja as communications minister and his subsequent jailing.

Black money:

Hasan Ali Khan, a businessman charged with money laundering, has reportedly $8 billion of unaccounted money stashed in foreign bank accounts. The opposition BJP has accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of being part of a 'conspiracy of silence' in the matter.

Appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner P.J Thomas:

The appointment of P.J Thomas as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner was quashed by the Supreme Court over a Kerala corruption scandal in which his name figures.

Thomas was selected by a three-member committee of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and opposition leader Sushma Swaraj in September last year. Sushma Swaraj had recorded a dissent note.

Adarsh society scam:

Adarsh Housing Society, a cooperative society in Mumbai, was reserved for the war widows and veterans of the Kargil War. However, the flats were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to do with the Kargil War.

The 31-floor high-rise is also alleged to have been built in violation of environment rules. The scam led to the resignation of Ashok Chavan as Maharashtra chief minister.

Devas-Antrix deal:

The allocation of precious S-band spectrum without any bidding to Devas Multimedia, a private firm, in a deal between Antrix Corporation, the commercial wing of ISRO, led to a furore. The government scrapped the controversial deal to avoid the loss of Rs.2 lakh crore to the exchequer.

Commonwealth Games scam:

Allegations of wrongdoing and corruption in the holding of the Commonwealth Games last year rocked the government. The Games had a total budget of Rs.28,054 crore, according to the union urban development ministry.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe has detected irregularities in various areas like merchandising, catering, CWG Village and accreditation. The agency has arrested officials of the Games' Organising Committee on corruption and delays in the construction of main Games' venues.

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The Revitalization of Governance Forum
India.

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