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Press Briefing
Thursday, 14th July 2010
Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media today.
Shri Abhishek Singhvi said it is difficult to
believe that in a country like ours which we proudly
govern by rule of law, what I am going to describe
now, can truly happen. Karnataka is non-governed by
the mafia, it is non-governed by the colluders by
protectors who have become predators with impunity.
There is a complete failure of constitutional
machinery. There is no governance as per law. The
guardians have become the looters. To prove his
contention, Shri Singhvi gave the following example:
Many of these facts are also documented in a 2000
page report. These are not Congress Party’s
allegations, these are not political allegations. In
about four months i.e. from November 2009 to
February 2010, 35 lakh Tonnes of iron ore has gone
out illegally from the State i.e. 3.5 million tonnes
i.e. 1/10th of the full annual production of the
State of Karnataka of iron ore. Karnataka has
India’s largest production of iron ore. It produces
35 million Tonnes per year. In one year 1/10th is
illegally scrumptiously siphoned away. The global
price of iron ore is about US$ 130 per tonne. I am
taking it as 100 US$ per tonne. If we multiply 100
US$ per tonne with 35 lakh tonnes, it comes to 350
Million US Dollars i.e. 35 Crore US Dollars i.e.
1,750 Crores in Indian Rupees. The iron ore has to
come out of the earth. After coming out of earth, it
has to go through at least 1,000 checks. The Mines &
Mineral Development Act, 7 Check Posts, officials of
Mining Department, Geology Department, Forest
Department and Port authorities – so 100s of check
points, statutes, rules & regulations and an army of
officials – all these Departments except for Ports
are departments under the Hon’ble Chief Minister of
the State of Karnataka. About 5- 8 lakh tonnes just
temporarily and luckily got seized. How was it
seized? It was found lying hidden in the port about
to be exported. Mr. R. Gokul, Deputy Conservator of
Forests seized it. That person who enforced the law
and seized the unaccounted iron-ore is suspended for
enforcing the law. Who suspends him–Hon’ble Minister
for Ports? Mr. Janardan Reddy is the Mining &
Geology Minister. After the seized goods are kept,
Port Conservator who is In-Charge of the entire
Port, in writing says, I cannot safeguard this ore.
I cannot undertake to make sure that this ore is not
managed. What is all this happening? The answer is
welcome to ‘Goonda Raj’ in Karnataka. The Chief
Minister is helpless or more likely he is willfully
complicit, willfully, intentionally, knowingly
complicit. The constitutional machinery is impotent.
The law is supine. Now you are going to have lots of
nice dramas about enquiries, about investigations
and look at the blatant conflict of interests –
people with direct conflict of interests are holding
portfolios. This is the classic example of predators
in place of protectors or protectors becoming
predators. There is a well known old joke – which
applies – what do you expect when you make Dracula
the head of the Blood Bank. What will happen when
Dracula will be the head of the Blood Bank and
everybody is watching when nothing is happening in
Karnataka? Welcome to the new age definition of
democracy by the new age BJP. The new age BJP’s
definition of new age democracy is governance or
rather non-governance by the money, non-governance
of the money, non- governance for the money.
Ultimately we are all ashamed, India is shamed.
To a question how all this had happened despite the
presence of Customs and Navy, Shri Singhvi said that
Navy and Customs are not dealing with it. Multiple
check-posts of the State Government are dealing with
it. Each Department of the State Government which
has to sign the slips has to control, regulate and
scrutinize every movement. It is the State
Government which has admitted that nobody except
officials is concerned. But if this is so, the State
Government rather the Chief Minister is either
incompetent or collusively complicit. Shri Singhvi
further said that the Chief Minister should
immediately suspend and remove complicit officials
and remove Ministers who have conflict of interests.
Chief Minister of Karnataka should also declare that
he is setting up independent commission of enquiry
and going to refer the matter to CBI for criminal
proceedings. The BJP not only the Chief Minister but
the BJP as a party and Chief Minister as
constitutional authority – have both vigorously
opposed any enquiry by the CBI. They have followed
the typical path of shooting the messenger,
attacking the messenger, ignoring the substance and
the content of the message. This is day light
robbery and loot and all of us should be vigilant
and extremely outrage about it.
On the reaction of the Congress Party over the
arrest of the Gujarat Minister, Shri Singhvi said
that this is an extremely serious issue but at the
same time it is a subjudiced matter. Shri Singhvi
further said that this is a Supreme Court
investigation and under their orders the CBI and
other SITs are looking into the matter. They already
have categorical evidence that at least Abhay
Chudasama Banjara and several other police officials
collusively and deliberately eliminated Sohrabuddin
and even Prajapati in fake non-existent encounter.
Shri Singhvi said that now incriminating serious
evidence is emerging. It is extremely serious
because in two BJP States, in two different
scenarios – one economic and one physical – you have
classical cases of protectors becoming predators.
To a question whether the scam in Karnataka is the
biggest scams of the recent times, Shri Singhvi said
I am not here to discuss the issue of competitive
scam as the media makes it. I am certainly very
critical of trivializing the serious issues.
To a question whether Centre is going to invoke
Article 356 in Karnataka, Shri Singhvi said we are
not going to make them martyrs or objects of
sympathy. This has nothing to do with Article 356.
It is to do with complete breakdown of the normal
rules or running the State.
On further question whether the Governor of
Karnataka is also breaching the constitutional
mandate by openly going public; Shri Singhvi said
that this is a classic example of what I had said
earlier. The Governor of the State is fully within
his constitutional rights to address, to meet and to
talk with the President of India, which is what he
has done, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister
of India and Chief Minister of the State. This does
not indicate any talk or proposal for enforcement of
Article 356 in the State of Karnataka.
Tom Vadakkan
Secretary, AICC
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