NEW DELHI, October 5: Tata Tea lobbyists didn't confine themselves to politicians and bureaucrats to get the company out of the ULFA mess. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was also one of those approached to reportedly intervene in the ULFA case. Transcripts of a conversation between Bombay Dyeing chief Nusli Wadia and Manekshaw suggest that the Field Marshal was contacted for his access to Governor Lt-Gen (rtd) S K Sinha. Manekshaw clarified to The Indian Express that he had contacted the Governor.Efforts were meanwhile on to ensure that Tata Tea Managing Director Krishna Kumar wasn't arrested. According to a conversation between Wadia and Ratan Tata, it was decided that senior executive Brajen Gogoi (who is currently in police custody) be sent to Guwahati to soften the Assam Government on the issue of bail for Krishna Kumar. We reproduce today excerpts (below) of a conversation between Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and prominent industrialist Nusli Wadia. And (alongside) those of a conversation between Wadia and Ratan Tata.Sam Manekshaw (S): Mr Wadia please?Operator: Who's calling?S: FieldMarshal.Operator: Yeah, kindly hold on.Wadia (W): Hello?S: Nusli, Sam.W: Hello, Sam.S: I tried to get you earlier but I couldn't get through. I spoke to the big boss. He was on his way to Guwahati. I told him I was very interested in this and could he please do something. He was just leaving for Guwahati and he said that, OK, FieldMarshal, but don't tell anybody that you are interested or you have done anything.W: HmmS: Hello, so I said no, I will not tell a soul that I rang you up or anything of that description. I couldn't get through to Ratan because I wanted Ratan to meet him but he was on his way to Guwahati.W: Was he willing to meet Ratan?S: What?W: Was he willing to meet Ratan?S: No,I couldn't get him because he was on his way to Guwahati.W: No, no, was the gentleman willing to meet Ratan?S: I didn't even ask him because he said I was just about to get into the car to get to get to Guwahati when your phonecall came. So I said, anyway, don't worry, but please do something. And he said, all right, but please don't tell anybody that you rang me up. So I said, no I won't tell a soul about it.W: How do we follow it up?S: Nothing more to be done. Nothing more to be done. I have told him about it.W: Yeah, did you, did you, explain our point of view?S: There was no time. I just merely told him I am interested in the whole thing and there is an absolutely bogus case.W: Did he get your letter?S: I didn't ask him.W: Because your letter has gone to him, eh?S: I didn't ask him.W: I actually did not send it by fax as you told me to. I actually sent it by courier because I thought it was better to protect you, Sam. If I sent it by fax and it leaked out it would have exposed you. So I sent it to him by personal courier.S: But I don't know whether he received it or not. He never mentioned it and I never asked him.W: He'll certainly receive it when he gets back to Guwahati.S: He is bound to get it. But I turned around and told him that I was most interested in the thing because they are a good company and they are, as you know my jaat waalas, compatriots, and therefore, please, do something. And he said, all right, Field Marshall, on only one condition. Please don't tell anybody that you have approached me.W: OK.S: I said, no I won't tell a soul about it. So I've already lied when I'm telling you.W: OK,I will confine it only to Ratan.S: Yes, you tell Ratan but keep it to himself. W: That's what I am saying. I'll confine it to him.S: I wanted to ring up Ratan to tell him but I couldn't get through. They've changed all the bloody telephone numbers.W: Yeah, that is why I sent you Ratan's number.you may not have. anyway, Ratan is on the plane coming back to Mumbai.I'll see him tomorrow.S: Yeah, when you see him, but please tell him not to tell a soul about it.W: I will, I will make sure of that, Field Marshall.S: OK.W: OK, Sam.S: OK, boy.W: Thanks a lot.S: Not at all.W: Bye.S: What are you doing there? Why aren't you home?W: I'm just about to leave for home.S: OK.W: Thanks, Sam.S: OK, Boy.W: Bye.Wadia talking to TataNusli Wadia (W): Ratan, they are moving the Supreme Court to cancel KK's (Tata Tea Managing Director Krishna Kumar) bail.Ratan Tata (R): OK, today?W: Yeah. Just a while, just now I'd seen him, five minutes, no not five, 15 minutes ago, Ryan rang me, they've..they are going to mention it probably tomorrowR: HmmmW: I mean that's the earliest they can do it, but they have given us notice.R: Who, the court or the..?W: No no, the Assam GovernmentR: I seeW: Yeah, that's one, the second thing is Dogra'a bail hearing is not taking place today, it's been postponed till tomorrow by the judge.R: I seeW: So, I mean, I think we need to discuss with KK. By the way I have already organised this morning for Gogoi's defence. I am sending, I mean Arun is sending his junior from Delhi.R: The same person, he spoke to you or.W: Yeah, because they hadn't done anything.so this morning I rang them and they said but no one decided, I said, of course, we decided!R: Yeah,I thought we did.W: So I said, now anyway, please just send him and he's going on tomorrow morning's flight because I have two roles for him. One role is that he does Dogra's defence, not Dogra, I mean Gogoi's defence, but the other one is we have now an independent source of information, independent of the company because the company will be.more and more difficult, they'll have more and more difficulties, so, and the other thing is that no one has set up Gogoi's defence, which is sort of, you know we thought, he's doing it himself, so I rang Sayeed during lunch and he said that no, it was decided that you all will do it, so I've spoken to Ryan and I've coordinated that.R: So who was Gogoi to get?W: Gogoi had arranged his own, was trying to arrange his own.R: Yeah.W: But he was told, there was some miscommunication, he was told the company is dealing with it.R: I see.W: And we are going to try and take the man who he himself had preference for which we, you were there I think when Arun spoke to his junior, no?R: Yes.W: You were?R: Dutta, Dutta, I think.W: Yes, Dutta, that's right. So we are trying to get hold of Dutta and send Arun's man as his junior, that will take place, but I think frankly we have to let Gogoi go to Assam tomorrow, notwithstanding Chowdhary's advice from Guwahati please don't send him, wait till Dogra gets his bail.R: But it can be an endless kind of thing, and for Chowdhary to say please don't send him almost implicates us.W: Yeah, that's one. The second thing that bothers, worries me, is that the grounds for KK to.see KK's bail is a bit tenuous.R: I thought, I thought Sayeed's was a bit tenuous.W: No, I tell you KK's is also tenuous in so much that it was not tenuous vis a vis the Assam Government if he'd been arrested in Assam but it is tenuous as far as the appeal is concerned that the Assam Government to say we were not heard and this is our first opportunity to be heard.pR: Will the anticipatory bail, eh, give the other party a chance to be heard?W: Of course! You have to give notice to the other side.R: But anticipatory bail is normally given in anticipation of.W: Yeah, but you can't get a blanket anticipatory bail.R: I see.W: There, there's no such thing as a blanket, you have to say that I apprehend that I will be arrested by, who? FERA? whatever it is, the specific authority, on a specific issue. It can't be that I want an anticipatory bail, period, you know. It has to be specific to the authority that you apprehend will arrest you and specific to the issue on which you will be arrested.R: I see.W: So in his case, it was specific, that's fine, but they will argue rightly that they have not been heard and therefore they want this vacated on whatever grounds they have now to get it vacated and one ground, in my opinion, and this is Ryan's opinion also, and Mahesh's who I was just talking to, one ground definitely will be that Gogoi has not surrendered, he is their employee and they're harbouring him and therefore, you know, this bail should be cancelled. So, I really believe we need to discuss, but we need to, I think I am in favour of sending Gogoi back tomorrow morning.R: Well, we have done what we had wanted to, prior to his.W: Absolutely.R: I mean, that decision we took yesterday.W: In fact our decision was actually.R: That it would have been done today.W: No, Sunday. He was supposed to go back on Sunday.R: No, no, no. I mean in terms of our putting this notice out, and be a little pro-active on.W: No, no, our independent decision was that after the Saturday meeting with the lawyers, Sunday morning he must go.R: No, but then we changed thatW: No, the lawyers changed it there.R: No no, we changed it as a hedge (not clear) if Surjeet's friend wanted to go. and meet him or he needed to go.W: No, no, that was all over by then.R: That was only over on Saturday.W: Saturday, yeah, and on Saturday itself, the lawyers decided to put it to Tuesday.R: Oh, I see, I see, OK.W: In fact, they had decided, we had, you are right, we had said that we will win but we had told (not clear) we had decided for Surjeet's friend that we'll wait maximum upto Sunday.R: That's right and he would go on Monday.W: And he'd go on Monday. But then we said that now that's off the table, we let him go on Sunday morning. And the lawyers changed it themselves, I mean independently, said no wait till Tuesday, let the Dogra issue be over.R: But now..W: Now I think it is too lateR: But now, what does Mr Chowdhary, what will Mr Chowdhary feel or Dogra feel when he shows up, will they say that, that prejudiced Dogra's release?W: If the lawyer's looking for an excuse, he'll find one (laughs) you know, but my concern, Ratan, is with KK, you know we can't afford.we can't manage without him at this point of time. you know, really cannot. You know, because he is really very, not only very competent but he knows everything.R: Yeah, that's right.W: You know.So I think.R: Was he aware of this?W: No, he's not aware of this, this happened just now, he's on the aircraft. I'm trying to get Ram in Doha because we are all of the opinion that we need to get Ram back for this.R: I see.For the bail issue?W: For KK's issue.R: For the bail of KK?W: Yeah, because it is that time that we'll use the opportunity to show the judges of the court, the Supreme Court, in camera, the documents that we have.R: When KK spoke to you, did he talk to you about NK's meeting?W: Yeah, he briefed me fully of that.R: And apparently our IB friends.W: Yeah, I've been already.NK was informed by Padam.Padmanabhaiah.R: That's interesting.W: Yeah, but you know NK is such a shifty b****r.R: No, but it's interesting that they should be informing.W: Yeah, because they are anxious.R: But you know what the good thing on that is, they're indicating that the one thing we do not have.(The recording ends abruptly)
