Your editorial (‘Licensed to make a killing’, October 31) on the telecom scandal makes an interesting comparison between the so-called undervaluation of spectrum (Rs 55,000 crore) and the Bofors scandal that brought down the Rajiv Gandhi government. As you have pointed out, the whole value of Bofors contract was a much smaller fraction of what is being talked of right now, and the commission even smaller.
Of course, the figure for Bofors will be much higher than what you have mentioned if you take into account inflation and exchange rates, but the larger point is that not too many in the country care about corruption in the manner they did earlier. With so much corruption being exposed every day, the common man has got used to corruption. Also, with politicians concentrating more on increasing communal tensions, they no longer want to focus on corruption. In any case, when each one comes to power, they cut similar deals, so why bother to upset the gravy train?
Alok Sinha, New Delhi
