The house of Tatas is ruing the day (February 5, 2002) it put in that winning Rs 1,439.25 crore bid for a 25 per cent stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL). A triumphant minister of communication, Pramod Mahajan, then lionised Ratan Tata as the son-in-law of the government and Tata could not stop blushing. At Bombay House, the champagne never stopped flowing on the first floor which houses the offices of the directors of Tata Industries and on the ground floor, chocoaltes were passed around even to visitors in the reception area.
Six months later, there is bitterness and rancour all around. The overwhelming feeling is that they have been sold a lemon. Sources in the Tata group confirmed the