Press Briefing Friday, 29th April 2011

Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media today.

Shri Abhishek Singhvi said that the BJP and the Left are displaying blatant opportunism, collusion and complicity in destabilizing secular forces like the Congress and the UPA.

First, the PAC has been converted into a BJP-Left Party forum instead of a joint parliamentary committee.

Secondly, the unholy haste shown by the BJP Chairman in doing his party's bidding before 30th April is actively supported by the Left.

Thirdly, all norms of discussion and debate are thrown to the wind and a hurriedly authored and biased report is sought to be rammed down the throats of the PAC members within 24 hours with the active connivance and unconditional support of the Left.

To repay this debt of support received from the Left in PAC, the BJP has decided to fully support the Left in the Bengal elections.

Fourthly, they are doing this by fighting a proxy war at the national level to save the sinking ship of the Left in the West Bengal.

Hence, fifthly, the BJP wants the whole nation to be answering questions and charges thrown by two anti national elements - Davy and Bleach - after 16 years.

Sixthly, the BJP wants us to rely on the allegations by these persons made suddenly after 16 years when the BJP has themselves, through its Hon'ble Home Minister, earlier party president and perennial Prime Ministerial candidate, Shri L.K Advani sought Presidential pardon for these persons and escorted them out of jail.

Seventhly, this is the same BJP who follows the glorious tradition of escorting terrorists to Kandahar and arms droppers like Peter Bleach out of Indian jails.

Eighthly, the BJP does not disclose the content of the detailed recommendations of the then Home Minister, Shri L.K Advani, without whose recommendation an anti national arms dropper like Peter Bleach could not be given a presidential pardon and released.

Ninthly, the Left suffers from even greater amnesia than the BJP, though the amnesia is equally convenient, continuous and self serving. They do not tell the nation, but we want to know, what the Left Home Minister, Shri Indrajit Gupta did to address the issue from 1996 to 1998 after the arms drop of 1995, and thereafter what the Vajpayee government did except to honorably release such transnational criminals.

Tenthly, no one cares to explain why these sudden sets of disclosures have occurred in the middle of the West Bengal elections after 16 years. No one except the BJP and the Left are gullible enough to believe in such coincidences.

Eleventhly, one party, the BJP with admittedly no existence in West Bengal but with known links to Anand Marg is trying to save the extinction of Left parties - whom they pretend to oppose.

Twelvethly, the allegations are ultimately for the government to react to if they choose and not for the Congress to react to as a political party. But it is an insult to the length, depth and width of Indian democracy to suggest on the basis of allegations by two crooks made after 16 years, that the only way the Central Government could think of removing the Left government in West Bengal was to think of a hare-brained scheme to get arms dropped by air from foreign countries by foreign nationals into West Bengal. We wish the BJP and the Left parties well in their joint belief in this version propounded by Bleach and Davy because they are clearly in a minority of 1 in holding such a belief.

On the question of presenting a draft report by the Chairman of the PAC and the leakage of its contents before it was presented, Shri Singhvi said that it is for the people to realize who made a mockery of the Public Accounts Committee and converted it into a joint BJP-Left committee. The PAC again conducted contrary to every norm to parliament democracy and it is they who have murdered democracy by converting the same into a BJP left Committee.

On another question on the reaction of the Congress party if Mr. Joshi is reappointed the Chairman of the PAC, Shri Singhvi said we are not concerned with his appointment or disappointment.

On another question whether the Congress party will accept Mr. Joshi’s reappointment and probing 2-G scam, Shri Singhvi said that we are concerned only with the way the Chairman, PAC has conducted himself. There is no question we will oppose at every stage and we have never opposed any parliamentary board.



(Tom Vadakkan)
Secretary, AICC