Press Briefing Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Shri Manish Tewari addressed the media today.



Shri Manish Tewari said that the shock of defeat had stung the BJP so badly that it had started reflecting in their language. On Sunday the BJP President Rajnath Singh while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha meeting declared that the former PM and leader of the BJP Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee was not in control of his mental faculties. Shri Manish Tewari said that this was contrary to Indian values and culture. Yet another example of this was the unsavory comment made by Sushma Swaraj who called the newly elected young MPs of the Congress party “Gore, Chitthe, Chikne, Chupde, Chocolate Boys.” Such cheap, roadside language does not suit the Dy. Leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party he said. Making personal remarks was not the culture of the Congress party but it was most definitely the culture of the BJP he said.

Shri Manish Tewari said that the strong connection that the Congress party has with the youth of this nation is not a new one. It began 88 years ago when under the leadership and guidance of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the All India Student’s Federation was founded. Students of history would remember that its first session at Lucknow was also presided by Pandit Nehru. He reminded the press that this was the same Congress party which under the leadership of Shri Rajiv Gandhi empowered 5 crores youngsters with the right to vote by reducing the voting age from 21 to 18. He added that in this election, the youth of India had reposed their faith in the leadership of Shri Rahul Gandhi and ensured a resounding victory for the Congress party. He further said that many of those who head the government today have been products of the youth movement of the Congress party. Lastly, taking a dig at the BJP, Shri Manish Tewari said that the confidence and trust of the Indian youth cannot be won by merely lifting weights at a gymnasium but by giving them direction; something that the Congress party had done.

To a question on why the price of dal was touching Rs.100 per kilogram, Shri Manish Tewari said that the prices of essential commodities was a matter of concern for every government including this one but bringing prices under control was something that lies squarely in the domain of the state governments. He said that the powers which were taken away by the NDA government with regard to control of prices of essential commodities were restored by the last UPA government but unfortunately the state governments had not followed it up and had not enacted the requisite regulations to empower the concerned departments to be able to take stringent action. He said that if a de-hoarding operation and an operation against black marketers would be carried out the prices would come under control.

On being asked that whether this suggestion would be given to Sheila Dikshit, Shri Manish Tewari said that this was a suggestion that the Congress party holds across the board.

To a further question that this answer was being given for the last five years and there was no change in the situation except during the election time when the prices had halved; Shri Manish Tewari said that prices do go through a counter-cyclical motion and there was a demand-supply mechanism that determines the prices. He said that in his understanding of the issue, this current spurt in prices were due to purely speculative reasons. He said that if there would be a strong de-hoarding operation, the prices would definitely come down.

To yet another question on which Central ministry would monitor the state governments on this issue and why no action had been taken on this so far, Shri Manish Tewari said that an advisory to the state governments in this regard had been given already. Taking cognizance of the concern that had been expressed Shri Manish Tewari said that he would convey the same to ensure that the above could be followed up even more vigorously.

To a question, Shri Manish Tewari said that the President’s Address and the FM’s budget speech and his reply, read in conjunction with each other, clearly to signal the intent of the government to go ahead with disinvestment given the broad parameters that had been outlined. He said that in the reply to the budget too the FM had sketched out the broad purposes for which the proceeds of disinvestment would be utilized. He further said that the only thing the FM had not spelt out was the industries that would be disinvested. If at all the allies of the Congress party had any specific objections then they would cross the bridge of dealing with this when they (Congress party) get to it.

To a question on Varun Gandhi, Shri Manish Tewari said that the difference in the youth leadership of the Congress party and the BJP was that while the Congress leadership believed in uniting society and channelising its energies towards constructive activities the BJPs leadership wished to spread hatred and communal poison in society.

To a question Shri Manish Tewari said that any decision with regard to security of J&K was taken by the unified command in consultation with the government of J&K and the Central government. So if any decision would be made on this at any point of time, it would be based on the judgment of the security experts.

To a question on Air India, Shri Manish Tewari said that the management of Air India, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the highest echelons of government were seized of the difficulties that it was going through. He added that whatever was happening to Air India must be seen in the broader context to what was happening to the Global Civil Aviation Industry in this era of global economic meltdown. He said that Air India had several intrinsic strengths, its fundamentals were strong, its asset base was still possibly the largest in the country and it now had a new fleet of aircraft and so he felt that Air India would be able to surmount this crisis.

To a question on whether Omar Abdullah’s government had failed, Shri Manish Tewari said that it was not for him to make judgmental calls on the allies of the Congress party. He reminded the press that the Congress party was a participant in the coalition state government of J&K. He said that things have never been very easy in J&K and the state was a sensitive one. He said that J&K has gone through this phase primarily because the separatists have been trying to create a stir. He said that there was no cause for alarm as the J&K government was strong and was headed by an able leader. He said that there was always a mischievous element in J&K which tried to exploit unfortunate incidents in order to make political dividend out of it. He said that elections 2009 had proved that the mainstream national forces have always triumphed. He reiterated that the J&K will remain normal and will be integrated even better in the national mainstream.

To a question on the Congress party’s CLP leader in J&K resigning, Shri Manish Tewari said that there were two aspects namely the broad politico-security situation and the second one were issues relating to inter-personal relations. These must not be put in the same basket he said. He said that the broader politico-security situation continues to be stable and compared to last year the number of such incidents in J&K were down and things had been generally stable.

 

(Tom Vadakkan)

Secretary, AICC