Press Briefing Thursday, 26th Mar 2009

Shri Kapil Sibal addressed the media today.

Shri Kapil Sibal said that why does the BJP not talk on the issues and he has been raising this issue in the past also. He has been watching the situation that for the last so many days, the BJP is not talking on any issue. This has been seen that somebody from the BJP issues some statement from Uttarakhand and then Shri Advani Ji says something else. Keeping all this in view, Shri Sibal said that he would request Shri Advani Ji that at least they should start talking about the issues and tell the nation about their agenda. Shri Sibal further said that did Shri Advani Ji ever think that based on their philosophy which way they want to lead the nation when it has already entered 21st century. What picture they have painted for India. Shri Sibal put a question before Shri Advani Ji whether the BJP want India to be another Gujarat.

Shri Kapil Sabil said that better the BJP adopt the culture of Chandni Chowk. What are your social as well as economic agendas which have taken a back seat for the last 2-3 weeks. Shri Sibal asked the Left if they want to be a Front, be up-front. It is a secondary issue who are their allies and who will be their PM. Shri Sibal further asked a question how the people will vote when you have not disclosed your PM. Will it be Mayawati or Chandra Babu Naidu whom the Left Parties one time used to call .The Agent of the World Bank.. Does it mean that now he is the agent of the CPI. This is not correct. Sometime they say Jayalalitha will be their PM. Shri Sibal said that they do not have any common policies. Their ideologies and philosophies are different. In the past they used to attack Chandra Babu Naidu when he was the Chief Minister and now he is OK since they have joined hands with him.

Shri Sibal said that in today.s scenario, there are three alternatives before the nation. One is a .dwindling alternative., another .Non-descript alliance . NDA.. Most of their allies have deserted them - may be Chandra Babu Naidu, DMK, AIADMK, Mamta Ji, or the BJD. For this reason this is a dwindling formation. Therefore, they are called a .Non-Descript Alliance.. Their tally is 172 if combined together and in the coming days, their tally is expected to come down. They are not aware of their own agenda. They do not have any coordination between themselves. They do not have any social or economic agenda. Take the example of Ajit Singh and Chautala who have been changing the parties frequently. They have Shiv Sena and JD(U) whose President yesterday said that strict action should be taken against Shri Varun Gandhi. They have people of different ideologies and philosophies for which reason they do not have any agenda. Shri Sibal said that the Front is not up front. They say that there will be post poll discussions. Any thing can happen in the post poll scenario. So one is .Dwindling Alliance. and another is .No Alliance.. Shri Sibal further said that the third alternative before the people is the Congress party with its alliance partner who are both with us and who are not with us with us. It can be very well said that our pre-poll as well as post-poll alliance is intact. The third alternative is the only alternative for the people of India and this is what the people of India have to vote on.

Shri Sibal said that we have a social agenda as our manifesto has been released and we have given a huge social agenda for the SCs and STs for education, for minorities, for women . 1/3rd reservations for women in Central Government jobs, reservation for minorities without disturbing the over-all reservation scenario. The Congress Party has an Education agenda especially for SC and ST where there is no fees for primary, secondary and university education. No fee charge, all free. That is our social agenda for every section of society, social security for tribals, for old age people, for single home women, for the most backward within the backward community. That is the social security for all of them. That is the social agenda of the Congress Party.

Shri Sibal said that our political agenda is also clear. No truck with these divisive and non-secular forces, no truck with them and our economic agenda is clear . growth continues at 9%. There is not one section of society that we are not trying to take care of and we have proved by our record of governance of 5 years that we have substantially delivered what we promised. Shri Sibal said that the elections for 16th Lok Sabha will be conducted with 1/3rd reservation for women because by that time we will get it through from the Parliament. Shri Sibal further said that the Congress Party has Expansive social agenda, focused political agenda and consistent economic agenda. Nothing is coming forward from the other parties. Keeping all this in view, Shri Sibal asked them a question as to what they want to do for the country and what will be their picture of India. What will be the future of India. Which way they want to lead us whether it will be Varun Gandhi.s India or Modi.s or Dr. Manmohan Singh.s India. What will be the ideology and philosophy of such India. This is most unfortunate that the contender of the seat of Prime Minister of India is himself an accused. What picture they will paint before the foreign dignitaries when we go out and people ask whether any criminal case is pending against him. On the other hand the President of the party is also an accused in another case since charge sheet has been filed in the CD case in Lucknow. This itself speaks of the culture of the party that both the contender for the position of Prime Minister and the President of the party are accused. This is what they claim . decisive Government, strong leader.

To the question of most of the allies of UPA leaving it, Shri Sibal said that in NDA there were 23 parties, now they are reduced to only 6. Those are the facts of history. That is why I said they are with us even they are not with us. This is what they have said. They will be with the UPA. In every national election, people jostle for space. The regional parties which are in the region jostles for national space and the national party jostle for regional space and the regional party wants to throw out the national party and the national party does not want the regional party to occupy the national space. This is honest and therefore, the tension at every Lok Sabha election is going to be there. Yet the people know who they are with because in the over-all scenario of the country the secular formations are together. This is what Laloo Ji and even the Samajwadi Party has been saying.

To another question regarding the statement of Shri Laloo Ji that no one can stop us from capturing power in Bihar, Shri Sibal said that it has nothing to do with what I said. This is his expectation that the Congress Party will get nothing in Bihar. Whereas he is hoping for our destruction, we do not really hope for his.

To the question of PMK leaving the UPA, Shri Sibal said when there is a river flowing, lots of stream that actually move out at the time of election and they rejoin them back into the river after the election.

To the question of any pressure on the Congress Party as a result of new alliance between Samajwadi party and the Ram Vilas Paswan, Shri Sibal said that the results will speak for themselves. This has been the strategy of every political party to put more pressure on other so as to win the maximum seats. There is nothing wrong in it.

To the question over the statement of Shri Deshmukh that if the Congress party fights on its own in Maharashtra they are expected to win more seats, Shri Sibal said he has nothing to offer on this issue.

To another question of the Third Front not declaring their Prime Ministerial candidate equated with the practice of the Congress Party not declaring the Chief Ministerial or the Prime Ministerial candidate before elections , Shri Sibal said that Smt. Sonia Gandhi has declared who is our Prime Ministerial candidate. No body can assure anything in the politics.

To the question of UPA having ruled for five years and now the allies are fighting the elections differently and to join after elections, will it not be termed as alliance of convenience; Shri Sibal said that it is not at all the alliance of convenience.

Tom Vadakkan

Secretary, AICC