RASHTRIYA KISAN MAZDOOR SANGATHAN (REGD.)

V.M. Singh

(Ex MLA, Pilibhit, U.P.)

Convener

W-127, Greater Kailash II

New Delhi – 110048

April 13, 2011


Shri Anna Hazareji,

SUB: Mr Shanti Bhushan being called “a man of integrity and somebody who has been credited of fighting for the cause, i.e. fighting against corruption”,

REG: This terming of Mr. Shanti Bhushan as a man of integrity and someone who is fighting for the cause may hold true for the handful of Sugarmill owners of the State of U.P, but the farmers who constitute 70% of the population of the State certainly cannot share the same sentiments. These poor farmers have been exploited by the millers whose interest has been promoted and protected by Mr Shanti Bhushan through his delaying and misleading tactics for the past over 15 years in Court. At times Mr. Shanti Bhushan has achieved this by suppression of the material facts and at other times getting by orders from the High Court by concealing the Supreme Court orders. Certainly a man who has been the brief holder of the Haves, i.e. the Sugarmills and has worked against the interest of the have-nots/farmers cannot be accepted as our representative. More so as the farmers’ legitimate dues/rights have been jeopardized on account of orders obtained by misrepresentation. These orders resulted in hardships and misery for the farmers, some of whom even lost their lives. In 1996, two farmers in Simbholi in Gaziabad District and three in Manderva in Basti districts lost their lives on 11.12.2002 in the agitations that took place after the court orders. The integrity of these persons who only believe in depriving the poor of their dues can be seen from the fact that the same orders that caused deaths were modified or set aside when the correct facts were placed by me before the Court. Mr. Bhushan has only contributed immensely by working overtime in making the farmers’ lives miserable by his conduct of giving anti-farmer advise to his clients.

Annaji you wanted the Draft Committee to be clean and wanted persons of impeccable integrity and caught the imagination of the country and the youth in particular. You have repeatedly sought Shri Sharad Pawar’s resignation from GOM as he has benefited the sugar Barons and has done nothing for the farmers. Mr Pawar even resigned from the GOM. But Shri Shanti Bhushan has protected the interest of the same very sugar barons over the last 15 years and caused misery and hardships to about 2 crores farmers of UP, yet he is termed clean and upright and worthy of representing the country of farmers . The farmers want tough laws to be made to get respite from the likes of Mr Shanti Bhushan. The nomination of Mr Shanti Bhushan to represent the farmers is only adding salt to their wounds and is in fact an ironical travesty of justice.

Annaji, we all want a powerful system where the legal system should not be frustrated. The very same people who on behalf of 40-50 mill owners are subverting and frustrating the legal system by their delaying and misleading tactics and have crushed the farmers( the backbone of the country) all their lives now cannot be allowed to be projected as the true representatives of the country.


Respected Annaji,

1) Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (regd) is a premier farmers organization of UP and I (convener) along with hundreds of members and leaders including trustee Mr. Ashok Darbari (IPS) Ex DGP Chattisgarh etc. came to Jantar Mantar to extend support to you in our fight against corruption. The workers carried hundreds of placards with only two slogans “Bandh karo ye Brashtachar-Kisan Mazdoor par atyachar” and “Anna samarthan me Rashtriya kisan mazdoor sangathan”.


2) About RKMS:

We are an organization that has been fighting corruption for the past 20 years and have achieved enormous amount of success in stemming out corruption in many fields which affects the civil society.

a) Corruption in the family planning programme in the year 1994-1996 was exposed when Nepalese women were brought to India in Govt. jeeps on the Indo-Nepal border and were auctioned and purchased by the officers who got them sterilised to fulfill the targets assigned to them by the Administration to enable them to get their salary. This was highlighted by Time & Washington Post amongst Indian media.


b) Curbing the Naxal movement on the Indo Nepal borders by getting hundreds into the mainstream (year 2009-2010), getting these persons rid of paying self imposed taxes by the Naxals;


c) Ensuring that the farmers of the State who were/are being looted by the middlemen and were/ are not getting the Minimum Support Prices of Wheat and paddy, get their dues by holding andolans, some of which, like the “paddy andolan in October 2000” have made history as lacs of farmers of Lakhimpur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Udham Singh Nagar Districts joined in and the result was that for the first time since Independence, the State was forced to purchase paddy at the MSP by setting up procurement centers benefiting the farmers by about Rs 200/ per qtl and about Rs 4, 000 crores annually on an average yearly production of 200 lac MT.


d) Only last year when the entire country was shivering with cold on 16th December about 20, 000 farmers including thousands of women sat on an indefinite dharna outside the Cane Commissioner’s office in Lucknow and lifted after the Dharna of 40 hours only after the Mayawati Govt. agreed to all our demands were met and accordingly the members of the same society got Rs 260-265/per quintal for their cane and the discrimination by the sugarmills was thus eliminated and farmers of UP benefitted by a few thousands crores.


3) Apart from fighting corruption in the local Administration/Police etc at the grass route level, our major fight against corruption has been against the sugarmills who have been looting the about two crore canegrowers of the State for the past about 20 years. Details of the crusade against the sugar mill owners are annexed as Annexure A.


I request you to please have the authenticity of the contents of the Annexure checked by some one that you trust other than the Bhushans.


4) You have repeatedly said that Mr. Sharad Pawar must resign as he has only benefitted the Sugar Barons and has done nothing for the farmers. As a result of the public pressure he has resigned from the GOM.


5) You will appreciate that exactly the same is the case of Mr. Shanti Bhushan who has promoted and protected the interest of the same very 40-50 Sugar Barons at the expense of crores of poor and marginal farmers for over 15 years. And to reach undue benefits to them he has resorted to all means at his command including suppression of material facts from the court and misleading the Courts by concealing the orders passed by the Supreme Court in his presence to obtain favorable order for his clients which resulted in severe hardships to over 2 crore farmers of UP who were deprived of their legitimate dues which also led to a loss of 5 lives.


6) Mr. Shanti Bhushan and Mr. Sharad Pawar are two sides to the same coin, if you have insisted on resignation of one, how can you, Annaji, support the nomination/ appointment of Shri Shanti Bhushan in the Committee and that too as a Co Chairman?


In fact after ascertaining the facts, I suggest that he should resign from the committee to avoid public scandal.


7) Annaji my team has been crusading against corruption for a very long time and the common man in UP is aware of the same. We have made many sacrifices and have had a simple goal to add on to every kitchen and we have made the difference. Last year, on this very day I was jailed by the Mayawati Govt. by planting fake cases only hours before the agitation against corruption in wheat procurement was to begin at Pilibhit. The farmers lost heavily.


8) Though I believe that fighting against corruption in UP and that too ensuring instant benefits is a different ball game, specially against the Mayawati regime, yet having a Sangathan of my own I chose to support you, primarily as you were very clear that there is no place for people with doubtful integrity.


9) I was impressed by the energy of the youth that supported the cause, they have faith in the movement and I fear that if we have someone at the helm of affairs in the Committee who has done disservice to society at any stage in life may not go down well with them. We cannot afford to take such a chance.


10) Annaji, I may state that Mr. Shanti Bhushan is responsible for the delaying and misleading tactics which have delayed justice. As you are aware that justice delayed is justice denied.


11) Mr. Shanti Bhushan is likely to take the plea that he was only acting on behalf of his clients, . That is exactly my point. If Mr. Shanti Bhiushan preferred to espouse the cause of his clients against the farmers and caused them misery, he was totally insensitive to the plight of two crore farmers who suffered because of his acts (even if it is professional), therefore Mr. Shanti Bhushan has no right to represent those farmers.


Moreover, if Mr. Shanti Bhushan had placed the correct facts and also not concealed the modified orders from the High Court, precious lives would have been saved.


12) Annaji, we owe it to the civil society which has supported us whole heartedly and to the Nation that has given us so much to place the correct facts before it.


Annaji, thank you for the inspiration and hope you continue to guide us in our fight against corruption by keeping a distance from all those who have a tainted reputation.


With Kind Regards,


V.M.Singh

Convenor


Enclosed: Annexure A.


ANNEXURE: A


We are a farming Nation and the farmers interest has to be paramount for any person who is nominated/ appointed to head the panel for creating a draft for fighting corruption. Mr. Shanti Bhushan has fought against the farmers all his life and has been adopting delaying and misleading tactics in the courts to ensure gains for a hand full of sugar mills and in the process has crushed the farming community. Can such a person who has been a party to the farmers loot represent the farmers of UP is the issue which needs to be addressed.


Has he been instrumental in adding misery to the already miserable farmer and can the farmers forgive him for the same?


1) The sugar mill owners seek Reservation orders from the State and take the supplies of the sugarcane from the farmers in accordance with the same but refuse to pay the cane dues to the farmers.


2) Since the law mandates that the farmers get their dues within 15 days of the supply of cane, the mills after taking the supplies resorted to filing petitions in the courts and engaged lawyers like Shri Shanti Bhushan, Shri Sudhir Chandra, Shri Jayant Bhushan etc.

The petitions are filed and argued by them for extension of time for payment and at times the farmers were paid after years and that too without interest whereas on the other hand the farmers have to pay interest to the Banks and other institutions for the loans taken by them to raise the cane crop.

3) After taking the supply of cane, the mills also challenge the cane price fixed by the State (SAP) and propose to pay the Central price (SMP). The mills invariably suppress the factual position that they have executed agreements (Form C) with the societies and were bound to pay the price fixed by the State which was in fact the agreed price.


4) The State Govt. which is usually in league with the sugarmills and in the absence of the correct facts being placed before the Court, orders favorable to the mill owners are passed. One such order was passed by the Allahabad High Court on 11.12.1996 (Shri Shanti Bhushan represented all the mills) that the farmers will be paid Rs 50/ per quintal as against the SAP of Rs 72/. Though the State filed the appeal in the Supreme Court, it suppressed the material facts and on 22.1.1997 the Apex Court refused to grant an interim order and the result of the same was that till 6th March 1997, the farmers who supplied their cane since November, 1996 were not paid a penny. The receipt stated that the payment would be made as per the Supreme Court directions and the value of cane was mentioned as ‘0’. (NIL). Needless to say that the farmers who had no voice resorted to agitation in which 2 canegrowers of Simbholi Mill in Gaziabad lost their lives.


5) The Allahabad high Court order of 11.12.1996 of the Allahabad High Court that was passed due to concealment and suppression of material facts was the law of the land as Apex Court vide its interim order dated 22.1.11997 was of the prima facie view that there was nothing wrong with it, therefore all the High Courts took the same view and millions of canegrowers all over the country suffered on that account.


6) Since the material facts regarding the Reservation Orders and subsequent agreements in Form C were suppressed/concealed, I filed a third party SLP against the order dated 11.12.1996 on behalf of the farmers and placed the material that was deliberately suppressed by the team led by Mr. Shanti Bhushan.


The Apex Court vide its order dated 31.1.2001 modified the 22.1.1997 order and paved the way for the agreed price.


7) In the season 2002-03, the mill owners approached the Allahabad High Court against the SAP/ cane price fixed by the State. They concealed the 31.1.2001 Supreme Court order and challenged the SAP on the basis of the 22.1.1997 order that stood modified on 31.1.2001.


Due to the concealment, vide its order dated 13.11.2002, the Allahabad High Court directed the mills to pay the farmers SMP of Rs 64/ as against the State’s SAP of Rs 95/ per quintal.


The lawyer who concealed the Supreme Court order was none other than Mr. Shanti Bhushan who was the sugar mills lawyer in the High Court as well as the Supreme Court and he deliberately concealed the order only to benefit the sugarmills whose interest for him is paramount. He could not care as to what effect the order would have on the farmers.


8) As a result of the order obtained by suppression of the Supreme Court order, on 11.12.002, 3 farmers lost their lives in the agitation in Manderva in Basti District. After my intervention, the High Court order was modified on 10.1.2003 and the Hon’ble Supreme Court also issued contempt Notices to all the mill owners for violating the order dated 31.1.2001 finally difference of Rs 517 crores for the year 2002-03 was paid to the farmers in 2005. Even for this Rs. 517 crores, it was falsely contended that the same had been already paid. But the precious lives were lost.


9) Finally on 5.5.2004 the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the order passed by the High Court in my petition and rejected Mr. Shanti Bhushan’s contention. The farmers were made to suffer, some lost their lives while Mr. Shanti Bhushan laughed all the way to the Bank.


10) Once the Constitution Bench order was passed and the SAP fixed by the State was upheld, one thought that was the end of the harassment of the farmers for all times to come, but it was short lived. The sugar mills started challenging the fixation of the SAP and the farmers misery continued. The farmers continued to suffer. Due to the interim orders passed by the courts about Rs 1500 crores is stuck (Rs 7/ per quintal for 2006-07 & Rs 15-20/ per quintal 2007-08) which the farmers can ill afford. Mr. Bhushan & others know that they will not succeed, but they could not care less, they are only interested in helping the mills to enjoy the money for a few years taking advantage of the time any legal battle takes. Certainly such persons who have been frustrating the legal process cannot be entrusted in framing laws to mitigate our hardships.


11) While my Sangathan has stood rock solid for the farmers and succeeded in trying to get the farmers their dues, Mr. Bhushan has acted as a rock of Gibraltar for the sugarmills to deprive the farmers of their legitimate dues.


12) Not only this, there are many more instances which go to show that Mr. Shanti Bhushan has no idea about the common man/ farmers plight.


He has opposed the farmers all through his life only because the sugar mill owners have the paying capacity as against the farmers who cannot even return the loans that they have taken to raise the crops.


13) When the High Court and Supreme Court passed orders to ensure that the law regarding payment of cane price within 15 days is implemented, Shri Shanti Bhushan worked overtime to assist the mill owners to subvert the law as well as the orders passed by the Apex Court. In the SLP filed by Agauta Sugar & Chemicals, Mr. Shanti Bhushan preferred to place incorrect facts before the court and reiterated the arguments that there were no agreements executed by Agauata Sugar Mill. The Apex Court impleaded me and accordingly the mill was directed to pay the SAP along with the interest for delayed payment within 8 weeks.

While the mill paid Rs about 25 crores of cane dues, it failed to pay the interest; therefore I initiated contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court against the mill owners. The court issued Notices and gave directions but due to the legal expertise of Mr. Shanti Bhushan and others, none of the defaulters were punished and only in the year 2009 after Mr. Shanti Bhushan was replaced by the Contemnors, after fighting for 14 years, the farmers of Agauta Sugar Mill, Bullanadshahar received Rs 2.18 crores as interest for the year 1995-96 and 1996-97.

Such is Mr Shanti Bhushan’s contribution to the cause of the society and certainly a man who has created hurdles by adopting delaying and misleading tactics to subvert justice only to benefit a handful of sugarmill owners cannot be acceptable as a crusader to fight corruption. Certainly not for the farmers.