Kirit Somaiya ko gussa kyon aata hai?

The BJP leader has built an elaborate network of journalists and an IT-enabled feedback system, which keeps him abreast of potential scams

Kirit Somaiya ko gussa kyon aata hai? That must be a question in the minds of some “creative” entrepreneurs, advertising copywriters and rival party politicians these days. For Somaiya, the activist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian, can take you to the cleaners before you understand what hit you.

A First Information Report (FIR) here, a public interest suit there and some television interviews, brandishing incriminating documents, garnished with spicy language and delivered with a lisp, the alleged “scamsters” are consigned to their doom. And, then there is a Facebook page with close to a half a million likes and a Twitter handle with 77,600 followers.

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Last week, Pune–based builder Maple Shelters came in the cross hairs of the Somaiya machine. Its crime: Issuing advertisements of low-cost houses it was marketing and using photographs of the prime minister and the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis. It allegedly misrepresented itself as a government scheme by using the term Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the advertisement. Unlike the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which registered a protest in its own way, Somaiya got the PMAY mission director to issue an order for enquiry (The order even mentions that Somaiya is on the case!!!). He then got an FIR registered in Pune. Not content, he told PTI that proceedings to arrest the promoter were on.

The rattled builder wrote a long letter to Somaiya, apologising profusely to the prime minister, chief minister and everyone below, and trying to explain how there has been a wrong perception about the ad. It also explained how the advertisement had a disclaimer which clearly said that it was not a government scheme. It is not clear if Somaiya is convinced.

In another recent case, Somaiya did not have to think much before declaring the offer by ‘Freedom 251’ mobile phones a ‘ponzi scheme’. The cell phone makers are now contesting a suit filed by Somaiya. Earlier, he also trained his guns on the Security and Exchange Board of India, claiming over 200 ponzi schemes were still in operation.

A chartered accountant himself, Somaiya has been taking up investor and consumer issues for several years. He has a dedicated team to go into these issues, dig out the official filings and use the Right to Information Act where necessary. He has also built an elaborate network of journalists and an information technology-enabled feedback system, that keeps him abreast of potential scams.

Yet, the 62-year-old has not in the past had such successes as he has been enjoying in the past few months. He has arrived at a sweet spot, with his party firmly in the saddle both at the Centre and in Maharashtra, where he hails from. Government officials, regulators and police now ignore him at their peril. Often, they are only too happy to oblige. Last week, he tweeted a photograph with two cops smiling from inside the Shivaji Nagar police station in Pune.

But, rivals are fuming. In a legal notice, Nationalist Co ngres Party leader Nawab Malik accused Somaiya of wanton allegations, without verification of facts, in the matter of the Anna Bhau Sathe Corporation. There was not an iota of truth, the notice claimed, and demanded an unconditional apology in two days. Somaiya stuck to his guns and reiterated his allegations. “In similar manner, Shri Chhagan Bhujbal had also given me Defamation Notice & threatened to take me to court…..&….. now all misdeeds of Bhujbals exposed by me proved correct.”

Rivals might attribute the string of recent successes to his political affiliation, rather than thoroughness of his research or strength of documentation. It is important for Somaiya to build a Chinese wall between his two important roles, to bolster his credibility in both areas.