Press Briefing Wednesday, 21st July 2010
Shri Manish Tewari addressed the media today.


Shri Manish Tewari said the Bhartiya Janata Party yesterday once again leveled the baseless accusations that the foreign policy of the UPA Government is guided by the United States of America. It would be worthwhile jogging the memory of the BJP that starting from 1947 when the First Asian Relations Conference was held in Delhi to 2008 when the UPA Government broke a 25 years old Nuclear Apartheid, it is the UPA Government and it is the Congress leadership over all these decades which has protected and furthered India’s supreme national interest. I would like to ask the BJP that in 1998 after the Second Pokhran Test whose Government was it that wrote a letter to the United States of America which made India the laughing stock of the world. Again in 1998 whose Government was it which commenced the Champagne and Caviar Diplomacy with Stoke Albert travelling the whole world, it was the BJP Government. Whose Prime Minister, who in 1998, went to New York and unilaterally offered to sign the CTBT, it was the BJP Prime Minister. After 9/11 which Government unilaterally without being asked for offered the United States of America the military bases in India, it was the BJP Government. So before the BJP starts pointing fingers at others, it would be in their interest to introspect on their track record. Today it is not only the foreign policy or the diplomacy of India which has been recognized the world over. Recently I have been to an International Conference of Asian political parties on Poverty Alleviation, the developmental model which the UPA Government has adopted attracted tremendous amount of interest all the way from Tokyo to Turkey. The developmental model which is premised on a legal architecture of rights, intervention to alleviate the sufferings of the poorest of the poor and the empowerment of grass-root governance structure to deliver poverty alleviation programmes to the vulnerable and marginalized sections of the people has attracted and has aroused international interest among democratic and political parties around Asia and even in the context of the United States of America, through our strategic arrangement with them over the past 5 years, I think the UPA Government has done more to further India’s strategic national interest than anybody in the past.

To a question over the directions issued to the leadership of the Congress party not to speak out of turn and is it not muddling with their freedom of expression, Shri Tewari said that every organization functions in a particular manner and if a circular has been issued reminding people that they have specific responsibilities and they should stick to their briefs, I do not find it out of place and we do not discuss our intra-organizational matters on public platforms.

Shri Tewari further said any organizational circular cannot be specific to any individual. In a political party everybody has an assigned responsibility and if the party through an internal process flags that for the attention of office bearers from the AICC level downwards, I do not find anything inappropriate with that. The party has an institutionalized process of addressing issues and that institutionalized process is on flay at the moment and I would like to leave it at that.

Shri Tewari further said first of all let me categorically reject the underlined assumption. No circular, no organizational circular is ever person specific. There are platforms available in the party where a robust intra-party discussions or issues both critical to the organization and nation can take place and beyond that there is a structure in place whereby the official view of the party on an issue or issues is articulated and I think those processes are very well defined and they are known to everybody.

Shri Tewari further said I think when you imply seniority it subsumes a certain sense of discretion also. Discussion essentially does not mean a formalized structure where things are to be discussed and debated. There are various ways available to the party leaders from the block to the national level to bring issues to the attention and also for a free and frank debate on various issues. It goes on all the time formally and informally and in fact anybody who has been covering the AICC for a while is aware as to how robust the whole process is. I do not think there is need to go beyond that. Every party does have a methodology of functioning whereby the intra-party platform have a particular function and the party platform which articulates the party’s position outside has been clearly defined in the formalized function.

Shri Tewari further added that every political party has a certain functional dynamic and democracy does not mean anarchy. It has to be juxtaposed by a certain sense of discipline and that is why everybody in the party has a collective but a differentiated responsibility.

On the question of yesterday’s incident in Bihar Assembly, Shri Tewari said what happened in Bihar Assembly or what happens in any other representative fora if it degenerates into violence, it is something which is unfortunate and it should not happen. But I simultaneously juxtapose it by saying that it also becomes the responsibility of the Presiding Officer of the House to keep the sensitivities of the Members in mind and I specifically give the example of Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Tomorrow the Punjab Vidhan Sabha would meet for its Monsoon session. Sitting in the Chair of the Speaker would be an individual who has been charged in the corruption case. Now would such an individual be able to command the respect of the House which he is supposed to run. So therefore, you do not clap with one hand. While we absolutely do not condone or absolve or in any manner do not endorse any kind of indiscipline especially the kind which took place in Bihar Vidhan Sabha, I would like to reiterate that it is also incumbent upon the Presiding Officer that sensitivities of Members are kept in mind.

To a question over the murder of an RTI activist in Ahmedabad, Shri Tewari said there is something evil which has been happening in Gujarat over all these years. You have a Home Minister in Gujarat who is almost on a run. People say he does not attend office because he is scared that he would be picked up by the investigating agency. And now you have a RTI activist whose family is pointing fingers at the BJP MP in his unfortunate murder. We feel that the matter should be investigated at length. All those responsible should be brought to book because howsoever high you might be, the law is above you and that is the dictum we believe in.

To a question over the funding of terrorists in Assam by a Congress man, Shri Tewari said essentially if there is any substance to the allegation, I am sure, the concerned agencies would look into it and let me underscore and reiterate the fact that the Congress’ credentials in the fight against terror from the North West to North East and from the South to North are absolutely unblemished. We have been in the forefront of every fight against terrorism and separatism. There is no question of a Congress man or the Congress Party ever indulging in any such activity.





Tom Vadakkan
Secretary, AICC