PRAGOTI

All of us in the know of political affairs in India are aware that Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party represents the worst form of cronyism in the country. This member of parliament gets a free pass in the investigations on the cash-for-vote scam because of a nonsensical technicality that prevents Lok Sabha members from summoning Rajya Sabha members for a committee investigation. Not long ago, Amar Singh's name figured in the list of contributors to the Clinton Foundation, headed by the erstwhile scandal-tainted (remember Whitewater, the dubious Wag-the-dog bombings in Sudan and what-not) president Bill Clinton. The shameful circumstances in which the Nuclear Deal was passed through, and the government survived a trust vote over the issue, and Amar Singh's name getting splashed all over the place in the allegations and counter-allegations; the lobbying (a legitimate illegitimacy in the United States) for the Indo-US Nuclear deal, Amar Singh considering himself a close friend of Messrs Clinton -- all these add up to an intriguing story.Vijay Prashad wants to figure out where (and where from) Amar Singh's supposed contributions to the Clinton Foundation ended up.