Fraud or Genuine: SpeakAsia.com operations remains a mystery in India

Is SpeakAsia.com a genuine company that really brings a member sudden riches and showers him with loads of cash?

The company entered Indian market recently as a marketing survey group that claims to conduct online surveys for other major mutli-national companies.

The style is the same as employed by earlier chain marketing companies including Amway. But Speak Asia's supporters claimed that it can turn you millionaire within months.

What's the reality? A Hindi newspaper Pradesh Today has recently published a story about the company's operations and it shows that all is not well.

Jobless and unemployed youths find any such chance as a gold opportunity. The company says initially you have to pay a sum to become member. Later you keep filling survey forms and as you bring more members, your earning will increase, rather skyrocket.

But is it the truth. The paper says that it is not so. The dividends aren't as much as SpeakAsia's die-hard fans make us believe. Frankly, filling forms that require no brain, just saying Yes or No to answers, which even a person with Zero IQ can do, at random, is not something that can bring you lakhs.

However, it is the financial ministry, RBI and government of India that should clear the air. If the company is genuinely giving profits and somehow people are earning money without any shady practice, then it should be given a clear go-ahead.

Else, there should be a proper inquiry and action taken against the company if claims are false. The company officials have held press conferences in the recent past. They should be asked for more proof about their claims.

There are thousands in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Bihar and even Delhi, who feel that the membership will turn their fortunes. Will they even get their basic investment back? The controversy must end and ordinary investor must not be cheated.

Minal Residency targeted, Raj builders' mall demolished in Bhopal

In the biggest anti-encroachment action in Bhopal, the Raj builders' Minal mall was blown up using dynamite.

Hundreds of shops turned into debris within seconds in what seemed more like a targeted action driven by vengeance. The action in Minal Residency was unprecedented.

The question most asked was what was the fault of those who bought the land and shops. The administration hadn't objected when they got it registered and obtained other permissions.

If it was illegal construction, why this huge structure was allowed to come up. Raj Homes is owned by builder-turn-newspaper baron Arun Sahlot.

But if some bureaucrats or sections within the government (and ruling party) were cross with him, the ordinary  citizens who had bought the shops shouldn't have been made pawns in this game. Sahlot's paper was publishing stories and reports that attacked certain ministers and bureaucrats.

No doubt, the paper was irresponsible at times. The issue of an IAS officer, Anurag Jain, whose involvement in the proposed medical college of a Jain trust, had been taken up by the paper as a personal agenda. Some ministers' corrupt practices were also targeted.

But does that justify this action? There is no dearth of illegal encroachment in Bhopal. Raj group has said that it will compensate all the victims. But we will have to see if the promise materialises. The action must have got the nod from the top in the BJP.

One just wished that all other encroachments, be it by political bigwigs or other local strongmen are also removed and razed. Selective action sends a wrong message. Already hundreds of families have suffered hugely, as they had used their lifelong savings to buy a shop but in one go, it all went into air.