P Chidambaram's (troubled) son Karti Chidambaram: A political heir with no clear career plan

SANGEETHA KANDAVEL

There's an apocryphal story involving Karti Chidambaram, the 40-year-old son of India's home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, which has done the rounds for years in Chennai. And that is the junior Chidambaram telling a visitor to come to the "kottai" (to mean Fort St George, the seat of the Tamil Nadu Government) to meet him the next time.

The story sums up what people who have interacted with Karti already know, he is ambitious. But his ambition hasn't translated into any politically significant role until now, not even at the state level. In fact, the first time he was discussed nationally was last week, that too on the back of Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's charges that Karti was a beneficiary in the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal. Karti has since sued Swamy.

At his age, his father was already in his second year as member of parliament. Now, while the sons of his father's peers (those like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot) are already part of the Union ministry, Karti hasn't even taken the full political plunge. "He should have entered politics at an early age like his father. Even now he should take a constituency, nurture it and get into politics," says K Pandia Rajan, an MLA of the DMDK party.

A Dabbler

Rather, Karti has dabbled in many things including businesses. He runs a legal consulting firm called Chess Management Services (his profile mentions a bachelor's in business administration from the University of Texas and a bachelor's in law from Cambridge University). He is also the vice-president of the All India Tennis Association as well as the chief patron of the All India Karate-Do Federation. What more, he even heads the Tenpin Bowling Federation of India.

His businesses have been low-key affairs. Even those who know him told ET on Sunday they came to know of the full extent of his business interests (companies such as Ausbridge Holdings, Chess Health Care, Halidon, Kriya FMCG, Kaiser Surya Samudra, amongst others) only after the media reports during recent weeks.

Karti once started a public opinion forum called Karuthu (Tamil for opinion) with Kanimozhi, daughter of DMKleader M Karunanidhi, with much fanfare. It's now active just in the online space. The image of him being outspoken and debate-happy has stuck since then.

Fr Jegath Gaspar, who knows Karti for the past seven years, says, "He is one person with whom I can argue and still exist as a social political person. I have dealt with many young politicians but it's very difficult to criticise them and exist with them."

But critics call him brash. Political commentator Gnani Sankaran says, "Whenever he has been managing Chidambaram's election strategy, he has been known for having rubbed people on the wrong side, thanks to his aggressive behaviour."

Not Cadres' Man

The dynamics of politics in Tamil Nadu may not have been conducive for Karti's growth as a politician. Tamil Nadu is one of the few states in which Congress, the party that Karti and his father belong to, isn't one of top three parties. The party last held power in the State in 1967.

In the 2011 Assembly elections, Congress was part of a comprehensive alliance led by the DMK. Even then it was routed. Also, the local unit of the Congress is ridden with factionalism. In fact, two years back, the state Youth Congress leader charged Karti of an attempt to create groupism.

Whether he likes it or not, comparisons with his suave and sophisticated father are inevitable. Sankaran says, "Every year, during his birthday, you find a huge poster campaign around the city. But he is not considered to be popular with the cadres. That was the kind of image his father Chidambaram also had." What Chidambaram did manage to build was an impressive law practice.

A Congress leader in Tamil Nadu says, "His father is a big figure in the Congress and people always refer to him as PC's son. That's one reason why people assume he is still under his father's shadows."

The Aircel-Maxis controversy has surely not helped people change that opinion.

Investment Scam: Cicular trading of Aussie Bird

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-20/news/31214799_1_investment-scam-ponzi-circular-trading

Sangeetha Kandavel

CHENNAI: In Tamil Nadu, a highly literate and industrialised state with a propensity to fall for ponzi schemes, one more investment scam seems to be brewing. This time it centres around the emu, a large, flightless bird native to Australia and reputed to have as many uses as the wonder drug aspirin.

Across the southern state, indications are that there is a steady build-up of what is essentially circular trading of emus, something that is usually a precursor to an eventual collapse. Advertisements on television, Internet and pamphlets are touting the bird as the ultimate in investment.

Among those who fell for the spiel is Arjun, a 30-year-old software engineer from Chennai who bought 10 pairs of chicks investing Rs 2 lakh. He got his money back in two years, but now says there is something fishy about the whole scheme. "If everyone is selling the bird not to the end consumer but to people who are getting into farming, it doesn't sound good," he says.

Investment schemes for emus look remarkably similar to the ponzi rackets that have operated in the past. For an initial investment of, say, Rs 2 lakh for 20 pairs of chicks, an investor is promised total income of Rs 6.5 lakh in five years-essentially a tripleyour-money scheme. All an investor is supposed to do is return the 20 pairs to the company promoting the scheme every year and take a new set.

Emu farming is supposed to have debuted in India in the mid-1990s after emu slaughtering was banned in its home in Australia. Now, those in the business say there are 3,000 farms in the country, largely in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat.

It is in the past two years that the hype has grown. Afarm owner near the hill station of Kodaikanal boasted that he has sold over 1.5 lakh emus so far. No order below 25 pairs of chicks is worth his while and payment has to be upfront.

Doubts Over Mkt's Existence

Among those contributing to the buzz is Susi Emu Farms in Perundurai, near Erode, which calls itself one of the largest emu farms in India. Its sales pitch is that "it fulfils dreams of people who are in search of projects providing quick profits on investments in this competitive world".

For Senthil, who relishes quick profits, emus are just what he was looking for. Recently, he paid Rs 1.2 lakh for five pairs of chicks from a farm just outside Chennai. In two years, he believes, each emu will be worth Rs 45,000.

Emus can grow to be as tall as humans and weigh up to 60 kg. Related to ostriches, they can live for 40 years and are fertile for half that period. Those peddling emus say it is a golden goose-its meat, eggs, feathers, toenails, skin and even oil are all valuable.

While software engineers and farmers alike are being lured to emu schemes, they are not asking if there is a real market for emu products. Such concerns have arisen once in a while but formal complaints have not been made. VK Shanmugam, the collector of Erode district, says the emu business is a matter of "serious concern" but since there are no complaints, no action can be taken.

Shanmugam says he is also intrigued by the fact that he doesn't see any of the birds though people seem to be investing in them. "I hear that people are depositing money but are not able to get receipts for that," he says.

The administration recently had a meeting with top police officials about the emu problem. Tamil Nadu has a rich history of ponzi schemes. Among the more notable ones is the collapse in 1998 of the Anubhav group which duped investors who put money in a teak plantation scheme of around Rs 400 crore.

Last year, a PTI report said the Maharashtra government ordered a CID inquiry into a likely Rs 200-crore emu farming scam in Nashik district.

The controversial scheme, run by a private company, involved a promise to triple investment in 45 days. Farm owners in Tamil Nadu estimate the number of emus in the state at around five lakh, or one bird for every 130 people in Tamil Nadu. Sceptics such as Shanmugam, however, don't buy that number.

V Rajapandi, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Emu Association, said to be registered under the Societies Act and having 300 members, defends his business.

He says emu farming is a genuine business "if you do it in the right manner." "It has a huge market. Just because a handful of people say so, you cannot say the business is a ponzi scheme," he adds.