Press
Briefing Monday, 7th December 2009
Shri
Manish Tewari addressed the media today.
Shri Manish Tewari said that the Congress party is
deeply saddened by the unfortunate incidents that have
taken place in Ludhiana (Punjab) over the last three
days. He said that the Congress party did not intend to
do a post mortem of those incidents or blame anybody for
it. Rather the party intended to forewarn the Central
Government that Punjab being a border State which had
witnessed the scourge of terror for 15 long years, had
earned peace with great difficulty and if the communal
harmony was disturbed there, then this would have an
adverse impact on India’s stability too. He said that
the situation was also worrisome because there were
reports that the same forces that were responsible for
disturbing the peace in Punjab earlier on were active
even today in the Western Punjab areas of Pakistan. He
said that from 2007 onwards ever since the Akali-BJP
combine had come to power in Punjab, these types of
incidents have been taking place every 3-4 months
leading to the disturbance of communal peace in Punjab.
In view of the present circumstances prevailing in
Punjab, he said that the Congress party appealed to the
Central Government to keep a strict watch on the
situation.
On the question of violence in Ludhiana and whether any
assistance was sought from the Central Government, Shri
Manish Tewari said that the Centre had already sent
Paramilitary forces which were requested for.
On the question of Telangana, Shri Manish Tewari said
that the situation unfortunately had been precipitated
by the prevailing circumstances. He said that the
Congress party did not think that this was the
appropriate method of resolving any issue or satiating
any demand and appealed to Mr. Chandra Shekhar Rao to
adopt a far more reasonable approach than what he has
adopted so far. He said that the Congress party does not
oppose any reasonable solution which emerges through the
process of consensus.
On the question of the Congress party accepting the
proposal of forming a separate State from Andhra
Pradesh, Shri Manish Tewari said that the Congress party
and the Government of Andhra Pradesh had at different
points in time reiterated that they were not opposed to
the idea of a separate State. However, the Congress
party wanted that whatever solution emerges must
necessarily emerge through a process of consensus and
that was exactly and precisely what the Congress party
had been working towards all these years he added. He
said that by precipitating the matter by taking hard
line positions would not facilitate the process of
consensus formation.
On being asked whether the Congress party was deferring
this issue since 2004, Shri Manish Tewari said that
these were issues which had larger ramifications beyond
the immediate demand for Telengana. So things had to be
seen in a holistic perspective- not just in a
sub-regional context but in a larger national context he
said. Thus it was the responsibility of every politician
to behave in a Statesman like manner and work towards
evolving a consensus on this issue.
On being asked whether the Congress party was in a mood
to discuss this issue with Mr. Chandra Shekhar Rao, Shri
Manish Tewari said that the Andhra Pradesh Government
was definitely working towards ensuring that there was
no precipitation of the situation and that there was
contact between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Mr.
Chandra Shekhar Rao.
To a question on the Babri Masjid debate, Shri Manish
Tewari said that the position of the Congress party was
unfolding in the House. So it would not be appropriate
for him to second guess it. But having said that, the
events leading up to the demolition of the Babri Masjid
had played out in full public view and was not something
which was clandestine. It happened in front of
everybody’s eyes he said. So no matter, how much spin
the Bhartiya Janata Party or its President might try and
put on to the issue, they could not escape the
responsibility from assaulting the very fundamental
character of the Indian Constitution.
Tom Vadakkan
Secretary, AICC
