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Formation of UPA
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed after the general elections in 2004. UPA is a coalition of center-left political parties of India and the single largest party is the Indian National Congress. -
Iraqi Oil for Food Scam
The first scandal that rocked the UPA, soon after its formation, was the Iraqi ‘Oil for Food’ scam in 2005. An independent inquiry committee headed by Paul Volcker said that former Minister for External Affairs, Natwar Singh, and his son, Jagat Singh, were the “non-contractual beneficiaries” of the United Nations ‘Oil for Food’ program. Anil Mathrani, the then Foreign Minister to Croatia, pointed out that “Natwar Singh used official visits to Iraq to procure oil coupons for Jagat Singh from th -
Scorpene submarine deal
The Scorpene submarine deal was a 16,000 crore deal signed between India and France in October 2005. It was suspected that one of the accused in the Navy War Room Leak case contacted the manufacturers of the submarines and, on behalf of Congress, demanded that they pay 4 percent commission to negotiate the deal. Many government agencies and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated the allegations. But, they could not find evidence of any kickback payments. -
Cash for vote scandal
Another scandal that affected the credibility of UPA was the ‘cash for vote’ scam. It was alleged that UPA bribed the MPs to “survive” the very first confidence vote on July22, 2008 in the Lok Sabha after the Left parties withdrew support for the government. They withdrew support because the Government had approached the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for an Indo-US nuclear deal. The BJP demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. -
2G Scam
The 2G scam involved the allocation of 2G spectrum licenses at a throw-away price to several telecom companies. The Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) of India first exposed this scam. Several politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, corporations and journalists were accused. The Minister for Telecommunication A. Raja resigned and was taken into custody by the CBI. -
CWG Scam
India faced humiliation before the world after the commonwealth games scam, popularly known as CWG scam, was brought to light. The organizing committee, headed by Suresh Kalmadi, was accused of “irregularities like increasing the cost and meddling with the official documents to favour private firms.” -
Adarsh Society Scam
Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai had flats that were reserved for widows of Kargil martyrs. But, it was the politicians and bureaucrats who got the apartments. Ashok Chavan was the Revenue Minister of state when he reportedly asked the Adarsh Society to change the rules to include civilians.
Chavan denied the charges, but it was found that his mother-in-law owned a flat there. The Congress asked for his resignation and he resigned. -
CoalGate
Of all the scams that rocked the nation, it is safe to say that Coalgate is the ‘mother of all scams’. At least 155 coal blocks with millions of tonnes of coal reserves were allocated at throw-away prices, when compared to their market value. 76 of these blocks were sold to private companies and the rest were distributed among public sector enterprises. According to Tehalka, this scam had “greater implication for the UPA than the 2G swindle.”
