Press Briefing
Tuesday, 6th September 2011
Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media
today.
Shri Abhishek Singhvi said several examples of
hypocrisy have been told to you about the BJP
from this podium. Indeed I gave you several
examples few days ago. The hypocrisy of double
standards and the double speak has become the
‘pehchaan’ of the BJP but what has now happened
in Karnataka really takes the cake. Karnataka
and Gujarat are two more recent examples in a
continuous chain of double standards and
hypocrisy of preaching without practice. I want
to ask a basic question. Yesterday, at several
occasions through you media, we have heard
diverse elements of the BJP saying that the
CBI‘s action in Karnataka is motivated. Mr.
Dhananjay Kumar said it many times. He is a
senior leader of the BJP in Karnataka. Their
Spokesperson said it many times. Does the BJP
support Reddy brothers? If the CBI’s action is
motivated and political, then they should
upfront say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Do they support reddy
brothers? That is the question which is sought
to be catalogued and deliberated ambiguously
handled by the BJP.
Shri Singhvi said remember, Mr. Chavan lost his
seat of Chief Minister – constitutional
authority, Mr. Raja, Cabinet Minister lost his
seat, Mr. Kalmadi and so many other examples Mr.
Maran. Forget, did the Congress at any time say
that the criminal action against them was
politically motivated. That is the difference
between those who believe in the processes of
law and those who only believe in making noise.
Another very strange irony – apart from being
told yesterday that CBI’s action is motivated
which means clearly that the BJP is supporting
Reddy brothers and that should go on record
officially. The BJP is also saying that the
Reddy brothers are more to do with Congress
Party and with Andhra Pradesh than the BJP. This
is another supremely comical and ironical
situation which I heard yesterday. Do you know
that yesterday’s action was on a written
complaint by the Congress government in Andhra
Pradesh in 2009. So the arrests have happened
after investigations of over two years on a
congress government’s complaint in 2009 in
Andhra Pradesh. The complainants are alleged to
be part of the accused. Obviously you also know
that for all these years prior to 2009 and up to
date till yesterday, Reddy Brothers have been
intrinsical integral part of the BJP and they
have been very senior Ministers in Karnataka.
Incidentally it appears that one part of
Karnataka is only by the Reddy, for the Reddy,
given by the BJP for BJP and of the BJP because
Tourism Minister is Janardan Reddy, Revenue
Minister is his brother Karunakar Reddy, the
powerful Milk Board of the whole state appointed
by the government is headed by Somashekhar
Reddy. The brother-in-law is also an important
functionary there and one of these Ministers are
Minister In charge of Bellary District itself.
Shri Ramalu – a very close ally – is Health
Minister. These are the people who are alleging
that the Reddys have a connection with the
Congress party.
Now look at the third example – Jaganmohan
Rerddy has left the Congress a while ago and has
been abusing the Congress and BJP is desperately
trying to link that with the Congress party
again. Indeed, the BJP has consciously
deliberately for the last several years made to
use a figurative the speech of dracula the head
of the blood bank in Bellary district. They have
made guardians into predators and they have made
predators into the natural guardians. They left
along with Yeddyurappa screaming shouting
reluctantly when they were compelled not by
virtue but by necessity a few weeks ago.
I would like to quote two persons who are non
political. Mr. Santosh Hegde who shares a long
lineage with the BJP has himself said it was a
mafia like system and that district had become
the republic of Bellary, it was not part
Republic of India. Mr. Ramchandran Guha – a well
known historian and who lives in Bangalore and
is familiar with Karnataka, says “you never had
mining dons entering politics and controlling
government. They are more or less uncrowned
kings of their district. There is a level of
brazenness that even by the standards of Indian
politics is new”. This is the true, chal,
charitra and chehra of the BJP, which just a
couple of days ago, was giving us lectures about
corruption in parliament. They wanted a debate
on corruption in parliament. They wanted to be
the flag bearers and torch bearers of the
abhiyan at Ramlila maidan and Mr. Gadkari wrote
a letter to Anna Hazare saying we would like to
march under your leadership. I would like to ask
Anna Hazare, would you like those people to be
part of his march.
In 2010, a fee of US$ 21 per tonne per truck
load of iron ore was sought to be levied by the
Karnataka government. A huge hue and cry was
raised by the Reddys and internal revolt was
threatened by the Reddys against the BJP
government which sought to levy fee. When they
threatened to bring down the government, CM Mr.
Yeddyurappa who was separately lining all his
private trusts withdrew the levy. These are the
people who have been motivated by the BJP and
today the BJP is trying to be ambiguous about
its clear support for them. They should have the
courage and own up their support. We expect
nothing from the BJP as they are hypocrites
because utterly irresponsibly, for the fifth
day, they have disrupted the parliament. They
want to run away from the facts and fool all of
you. When they disrupted the parliament 12 days
before, their petition was pending in the
Gujarat High Court over the appointment of
Lokayukta. They do not have faith in their own
case. They do not tell you that from 1987 under
the Gujarat Lokayukta Act not once has the Chief
Justice recommendations on the appointee
Lokyukta not been followed. Right from that year
onwards, the Lokyukta has been appointed on the
recommendation of the Chief Justice. Less than
two months ago, Mr. Modi objected to Justice RA
Mehta and contrary to this suggested the name of
Justice Vora. Again the Chief Justice wrote to
the Chief Minister that he has found Mr. Mehta a
most suitable candidate. Please appoint him
after which Mr. Modi moved a draft bill to amend
the Lokayukta Act in Gujarat to remove the power
of the Chief Justice to recommend the name of
the Lokayukta. Fortunately the draft amendment
never became the law. Why did Mr. Modi move the
draft amendment which was not allowed to
eliminate the Chief Justice altogether from the
Act. how can it lead to a continuous disruption
of parliament? These are the examples of utter
hypocrisy of BJP.
On the question of the reaction of the Congress
party over the arrest of Amar Singh in
connection with cash- for-vote case and whether
was he not trying to help the UPA to save the
government since the end beneficiary was the UPA
government and other related questions in this
regard comparing his case with that of Reddy
brothers, Shri Singhvi said people who like to
take salacious spicy interest in throwing things
around should realise and perhaps forgotten that
the arrests we have seen today come at the
conclusion of a very closely monitored Apex
Court investigation. That monitoring by the Apex
Court of this investigation has been going on
for almost two months or so. Therefore, the
first and foremost when you make an allegation
about the motivated or non motivated nature of
the arrests, you should be careful that you are
not making allegations against the Apex Court
itself which has monitored every aspect of this.
It is pursuant to that monitoring that a charge
sheet was filed and only 2/3 days ago, the Apex
Court made it clear that now that the charge
sheet is filed, law must take its own course and
lifted its monitoring. It is but natural that if
there are allegations in the charge sheet,
certain coercive action including arrests may
follow. A political party like Congress has no
occasion to comment on such things. The Congress
party believes in the due processes of law.
On another question as to why the congress party
has not been able to expose the party before the
public who have tried to hijack the parliament,
Shri Singhvi said we have tried to expose them
through you and it is for the media to reach it
to the public.
(Tom Vadakkan)
Secretary, AICC
