NEW DELHI -- Time was when India's politicians never tired of bragging about their country's Internet revolution. But what happened the other week must have stopped them in their tracks and got them wondering whether such development was good for their political games and intrigues.
A small dot-com company, Tehelka, sent its journalists, masquerading as arms dealers, to the home of Defense Minister George Fernandes and reportedly clinched a deal by paying a paltry 2 lakhs (200,000 rupees or around $4,280) to his longtime associate and president of the Samata Party, Jaya Jaitly.
This unsavory exchange was secretly videotaped and telecast to a stunned nation. If Fernandes, a senior member of Samata, found his face splattered with mud, the party's position as a key partner in India's ruling National Democratic Alliance headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party dragged the government into shame and scandal.