Press Briefing Friday, 6th May 2011

Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media today.

Shri Abhishek Singhvi said the Congress President; the Congress party offers its deepest condolences on the terrible sad tragic demise of the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. It is very cruel destiny which has snatched from us such a committed soldier and a dynamic leader but before the hands of destiny, we are all helpless. We wish to convey our deepest sincere condolences to the entire family and we hope, trust and wish that his soul attains absolute peace.

Shri Singhvi further said that BJP’s absolute commitment to violation of constitutional principle, convention and ethical practices continues unabated. We have already seen the amazing fiction trotted out by the Chairman of the PAC in its earlier ‘avatar’ propounding an astonishing preposition that a draft report opposed by a majority never put to vote, should be adopted as a PAC report. That was last week or earlier this week. We now find that a member of the JPC – an entity which is supposed to be a Judge, an evaluator and an adjudicator also of similar issues including telecom issues giving advance findings, opinions, conclusions and views in press conferences, vituperative language was used by Mr. Yashwant Sinha against the Home Minister and the then Finance Minister and conclusions, opinions, right-left, and center were trotted by those supposed to be Judges on this issue. This is a very serious issue. This illustrates the biased premeditated slanted approach of the BJP and its member on joint parliamentary committees. Earlier you had the example of PAC, now you have the example of JPC. There are advance findings leaving nothing to imagination, judging or adjudication which is what supposedly Mr. Sinha was appointed to do on the JPC. Of course, it is a different story altogether as to how Mr. Sinha in his vituperative highly objectionable and insulting press conference suffers from selective amnesia in forgetting to talk about his eminent colleagues Mr. Pramod Mahajan and Mr. Arun Shourie. Mr. Pramod Mahajan’s role in these matters is well known. It is not even an open secret; it is deep pervasive and graphic. Mr. Shourie carried on that glorious tradition of the BJP. Indeed, we, the Congress Party call upon the CBI and the JPC that they should publish at least an interim report on these two pre-eminent Telecom Ministers for their relevant respective periods and why the CBI has not yet given those reports. The Congress party would like to ask because those were periods when unprecedented heights of arbitrariness and violation of all norms and throwing to winds all norms was done. Mr. Sinha, of course, cannot claim any legal or moral right to continue on the JPC. He is guilty of using vituperative language of premeditation, pre-judgment and of gross politicization of an issue which should never be done in the glorious traditions which we established on joint parliamentary committees. He has, therefore, thrown to winds all norms of parliamentary democracy itself.

On the question of the reaction of the Congress party on the statement of Mr. Yashwant Sinha that he will not rest until the Finance Minister is taken to CBI, Shri Singhvi said you have to go Mr. Yashwant Sinha, why should I react on tilted windmills which are a figment of Mr. Yashwant Sinha’s imagination. Shri Singhvi further said I have attacked the very premise of his press conference. He cannot and should not. It reflects utter disregard and lack of knowledge. I would like to ask you to call yourself a senior Minister and a member of the JPC which is a matter of honour and prestige and to then take sides barely before the proceeding has started. He should go out and hold press conferences and write a judgment and circulate the judgment before any JPC meets and what is the basis of this. He has used personal vituperative language. Perhaps in his anxiety to become the Finance minister, he is attacking a former Finance Minister. I do not understand the meaning of this whole attack. Shri Singhvi further said it is an absolutely absurd allegation made by a biased mind. It is absolutely murder of norms, rules, practices for a person to speak in a manner as Mr. Yashwant Sinha has done yesterday.

Shri Singhvi also added that we have exercised our political, legal and moral right to start the process of shaming the BJP and Mr. Yashwant Sinha from this podium. Secondly, we do not, in any manner, rule out taking other action including complaining formally to the Speaker. Thirdly, as far as the PAC is concerned, formal written complaints are already lodged with the Speaker.

On another question if the Congress party being the ruling party is instructing the CBI, Shri Singhvi said there is no question of instructing. As a ruling party, you know, in such matters and such investigations, the prosecution investigating arms are totally different independent especially when they are court monitored investigations. There is no question of instructing but certainly as a political party, we are entitled to know as to what are the evaluation and the report about two very significant time periods.

On the question of the reaction of the Congress party over the press conference of the State Department of US that there is no comparison between 9/11 and 26/11 incidents, Shri Singhvi said we are not bound, in any manner, on any such view affecting our domestic policies by the view of any other country. But independently, we may have our own views which may converge or partially converge with these views. That is our own domestic decision. It is not because somebody has opined or somebody has said. That is their opinion.

On the question of BJP supporting the on-going pilots’ strike, Shri Singhvi said BJP is habituated to fishing in troubled waters. BJP has never got a constructive solution. They have tried to merely pour oil on troubled waters but I think it is good because they expose themselves more and more as irresponsible political party each time they do it. At the moment, we are not even clear whether it is a BJP policy or Mr. Rudy’s individual policy or a BJP-Rudy Pilot policy. But in any case, any political party which jumps into an essentially governance, administration issue in this irresponsible manner deserves to be condemned.

On the question of reaction of the Congress party over Mr. Jethmalani of BJP defending Ms. Kanimozhi, Shri Singhvi said I am not here to comment on a BJP functionary’s actions. If their own party permits him to do what he likes to do, it is for that party to answer but, yes, I am certainly saying that the use of any intemperate language or political grand standing inside court or in relation to court argument, some of which we have seen in the recent past, is condemnable and unsupportable.

To a question over BJP MLA Mr. Raj Khurana of Punjab Assembly, caught red-handed taking and giving bribe, Shri Singhvi said as each and every example of BJP or BJP ally’s duplicity comes out, the public of this country has to judge. The duplicity has come out in Karnataka and the media has found ‘zero’ action. The duplicity has repeatedly come out in Uttarakhand and again the media has found ‘zero’ action. You have now found direct bribe taking and bribe giving in Punjab and you can safely predict ‘zero’ action because this is based on the past conduct and the established practice in the BJP. This is the tradition which they have followed from Tehelka to HUDCO, to all the other cases. They know how to preach and never practice. They know how to sensationalize but ultimately expose themselves. This is their true face. 



(Tom Vadakkan)
Secretary, AICC