Press Briefing
Monday, 12th September 2011
Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media.
Shri Abhishek Singhvi said corruption is an
issue on which there cannot be two views. It is
a scourge which must be exterminated with the
greatest vigour. But the real question is – what
are the concrete measures which any political
party or government can be said to have taken.
It is in that context that Mr. Advani’s yet
another ‘rath yatra’, the BJP’s call for yet
another ‘rath yatra’ has to be seen. The country
is asking him and the BJP again and again –
please list the concrete steps you took as
specific anti-corruption measures from 1998 to
2004. Please list atleast five such important
steps you took in those six years. Secondly, did
you ever whisper word ‘lokpal’ in those six
years? Did you execute 50 or 70 new bilateral
agreements regarding black money? Did you even
whisper about the task force on black money? Did
you list the discretionary powers in the State
and Central government so that they can be
eliminated to reduce the corruption? These are
only a small number of five or six points which
the country is asking. Did you do any of them in
your six years? Thirdly, the country is waiting
with baited breath for the BJP and Mr. Advani to
tell us as to how and how much the ‘rath yatra’
will reduce corruption. How will it reduce
corruption? We can only guess, perhaps by
creating awareness and memory tag for the janata
in that ‘rath yatra’ e.g. by having Yeddyurappa
as ‘saarthi’ of the rath, Mr. Pokhriyal as its
foot soldier, Mr. Bangaru Laxman and Mr. Judeo
on both sides of the rath as poster boys and Mr.
Ananth Kumar as convener. Since the ‘rath yatra’,
at least on the face of it, cannot reduce
corruption. Perhaps the reason behind it is
different. Perhaps the reasons behind ‘rath
yatra’ are ulterior. We would request the BJP to
eliminate corruption from politics, not to play
politics on corruption. We do hope and trust
that Mr. Advani’s burning desire to change his
permanent status as prime minister-in-waiting
will not let him and the BJP overpower things
which were heavily disturbed last time around
when the prime minister-in-waiting tried his
‘rath yatra’ many-many years ago. It is,
therefore, important for the BJP to clarify if
there is any specific concrete measure, the
whole country is ‘one’ with them but if it is
gimmickry, if it is grandstanding, if it is
sensationalism, if it is slogan, then please
come clean that it is not corruption you want to
eliminate from politics but you want to play
politics on the issue of corruption.
On a question whether Congress party is
un-nerved on Advani’s ‘rath yatra’, Shri Singhvi
said I have just given you true profile, the
true nature, the true essence, the true spirit
and the true object behind the ‘rath yatra’. I
think I have said enough to expose the true
intention behind the ‘rath yatra’ and the
hollowness as far as concrete steps are
concerned. In that context, where is the
question of there being any fear. I can only say
that the more such gimmickry is resorted to, the
more BJP exposes itself.
To another question that the BJP did take up the
lokpal issue during their sixth year when Mr.
Pranab Mukherjee was the head of the committee
which had suggested that Prime Minister should
be included in the ambit of the Lokpal, Shri
Singhvi said that is the precise point. In those
six years, please tell me what concrete measure
was taken to actually bring a concrete bill even
to the public domain. Thereafter to the
parliament, then debated in the parliament in
any form and enacted. I want to ask each of
these four questions for black money. Where was
the special task force which you suddenly hear
Mr. Advani shedding crocodile tears about? That
is the real question. People are not so easy to
be fooled.
On the question of reaction of the Congress
party over the Apex Court’s judgment concerning
Mr. Modi and all other related questions, Shri
Singhvi said the BJP has always had a healthy or
unhealthy, as you may call it, disregard for
accuracy and a self-acquired license and liberty
with the truth. Certainly we are not
irresponsible political party like some others
who seek to distort the judgment. Please be
clear the Apex Court has not opined on the
merits at all. Secondly the Apex Court has not
given Mr. Modi any clean chit in any manner
whatsoever direct or indirect. Thirdly, they
have in fact sent the SIT report earlier given
and asked for further SIT report - the final
report it is called and also the amicus-curie
report. Fourthly, the entire material to be sent
to the Magistrate for de-novo decision on the
merits and therefore, the Magistrate has been
left open by the Apex Court to decide everything
and that everything which is left open, includes
the question whether Mr. Modi should be included
or not. Fifthly, in the event that SIT is to
opine that Mr. Modi should not be included, the
Magistrate has been directed to be obliged to
give an opportunity to the complainant Zakia
family & others and to hear them before
deciding. Therefore, I want to ask you all these
self-congratulatory misleading distorted
versions which are coming from several BJP
quarters in and outside Gujarat, can those be
called responsible reaction of a responsible
political party in respect of an Apex Court
judgment. Please read it on the inter-net.
Nothing of the sort, which the BJP is saying,
has happened. The Supreme Court has not indicted
anybody either but it has left it open to be
indicted by the Magistrate on the materials
available to him if he thinks so fit.
On another question on the reaction of the
congress party over the comments of the lawyer
of Mr. Amar Singh that money came from BJP, Shri
Singhvi said the Congress party does not play
politics on court judgments. The Congress
party’s stand has been consistent. It is the
BJP’s stand which waivers and swings like
pendulum. This question must be asked to the BJP
President and the prime minister-in-waiting and
the two leaders of the opposition in both
houses. No less than a former Law Minister of
the BJP has specifically said what the
parliamentary committee, Delhi Police and the
charge sheet to be saying all along and which
has been the stand of the Congress party but the
Congress stand is not important.
On the reaction of the Congress party over the
Punjab government passing a resolution in the
Vidhan Sabha for granting mercy to Bhullar who
is facing death sentence, Shri Singhvi said that
there is no need to offer any comments on a
proposed proposal. Our stand is the same as has
been for Tamil Nadu. There is a constitutional,
legal and administrative process and there is no
scope for any politics.
On the question of the relations with UPA ally
TMC in relation to the comments made in the NIC
meeting, Shri Singhvi said honest merit based
differences on matters of law can arise and they
will always be and have always been amicably
sorted out because they are honest bonafide
differences. To play up these differences and to
exaggerate them into political differences, is
completely wrong. There is a vast difference
between the two.
(Tom Vadakkan)
Secretary, AICC
