After the elections, the media started reporting about Rahul Gandhi's ownership of 83% in a "mystery firm" Backops. Although the news was all over but the analysis of the news was not done convincingly. The readers who are just readers gave a very cold response which in a nutshell can be described as "we don't care".

So what is so special about this piece of information? Is something wrong about Rahul Gandhi or with his ownership of 83% or something wrong with the firm. There may be nothing wrong with the individual components but all the components together can be a dangerously interesting equation and worth giving a thought to.

The whole equation is not equivalent somehow because of the dubious actions taken by the owners of the Website and the company. First, the Website (http://www.back-ops.com), which is the best source to reach people, has not listed the address. The company has no fax number and the primary phone number is a mobile phone number, which the media reported as unreachable. The company, which claims to have done some heavy projects, at least needs a contact number and the address listed on the Website. The Website is registered to Backops since May 6th, 2002 and the whois info gives the address as Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005. The address and phone number is not something major. What seems to be disturbing is the fact that the business associates of this company stated counter to what was said or implied in the Website and the pages were removed and or modified subsequently. An effort to reach the company in order to get an official brochure was not answered. All these facts can make people feel that something is unusual about a company.

After media reported extensively, Rahul Gandhi started damage-control recently. He was reportedly looking for a CEO and gave details about the share break-up. Gandhi said Backops was a call centre-like operation providing engineering detail and structural planning services to large overseas civil engineering firms (foreign trade organizations). The information seems to be coming in bits and pieces. So why this damage-control? Probably he has sensed that the ever-vibrant media can make a big issue out of anything. Also the image of a future Prime Minister needs to be clean.

Everyone knows the next major revolution in India is the development of infrastructure. New roads and highways, power installations, linking of river, bridges, airports etc. will add to billions of Dollars in Government spending for the next few years. 83% in any firm makes a person an unopposed owner and a firm can be a turbocharger for the personal and political ambitions. 83% of 1% of $100 billion is a whopping $830 million. So how can all this be achieved? Here is a small case.

Politicians' embarkment on business is becoming interesting nowadays. There is a very interesting case study practiced in the American market. Vice President Dick Cheney was a CEO of energy and construction giant Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. He is allegedly involved in providing favours to this company. Also Halliburton was given contract to rebuild Iraq recently in a closed bid, which means that all the favourite companies were called and were given share of the project. Nigeria has launched an investigation into claims that Halliburton paid a $ 180 million bribe to secure a natural gas contract. It has also been investigated for overcharging the military by $ 61 million for fuel. Was this case study ever implemented or will be implemented in India? Only time can tell.

The enterprising capabilities of the Gandhis is documented in the book 'The State within a State: KGB and its hold on Russia - past, present and future' by Yevgenia Albats; translated by Catherine Fitzpatrick, printed in 1994 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York. Here is an extract from the book, (chapter 5, Realities of the Glasnost Era, page 223) which is sourced form KGB archive, f. 5, op 6, por. No. I2, d. I3I , t. I, l.d. I03-I04.

"A letter signed by Victor Chebrikov, who replaced Andropov as head of the KGB in 1982, noted, 'The USSR KGB maintains contact with the son of Premier Minister Rajiv Gandhi [of India] ... R Gandhi expresses deep gratitude for benefits accruing to the Indian firm he controls in cooperation with Soviet foreign trade organisations. R Gandhi reports confidentially that a substantial portion of the funds obtained through this channel are used to support the party of R Gandhi."

Isn't it the time for us to face the ultimate truth?