ALL INDIA CONGRESS COMMITTEE
24, AKBAR ROAD, NEW DELHI
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Highlights of the Press Briefing
Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, MP and Spokesperson, AICC and Shri Kumar Ketkar, MP Rajya Sabha addressed the media at AICC Hdqrs.
Today we want to continue the story from yesterday to tell you how this Government apart from 5 or 6 points we told you yesterday, 2-3 of which have been elaborated in great detail in the letter of 25th of October by the Leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha Shri Kharge, who is sitting with us here, written to the Chairman of the Selection Committee – the Prime Minister. The story has gone much further because Prime Minister Shri Modi and his Government, the President of the ruling party are indulging in blatant shameless snooping, surveillance, spying on the CBI. There are the three S they have mastered and created a fresh new snoop gate. I want to just put through three or four points very briefly before you.
The first is that you have absolute total unimpeachable evidence on your camera that since early morning today, snoop gate has been going on, several officers – at least four belonging to the IB – have been thwarted at the gates by the Security of the concerned people who was sent on leave on the directions of the Prime Minister. It is unprecedented, unheard of. It shows the absolute terror of the Government, the fear of the Government and anybody will do it only if they have lots and lots to hide if they are worried about skeletons coming out of the cupboard. This is a blatant; a brazen misuse of agencies and it is dragging yet another agency having already dragged the CBI and CVC into the morass of dirty politics of this ruling party. It is another attempt to drag now no less than the IB. We condemn the Government. The nation wants answers on this but we are confident that you will get absolutely no answer except some spin bowling, some digressive and disruptive ‘Gyan’, some distortion of the statutory language and some misleading comment.
Dr. Singhvi said– so; you have made the CBI be controlled by intrusion body. There is no dearth of now word to use about the CBI acronym. You have suborn and subverted the CVC and forced them to do crooked violations of the CVC Code, crooked violations of code and you are now suffering from pure terror, from absolute fear, from frustration which is the only reason you are indulging in snooping, surveillance and spying.
We are asking directly through you, the nation is asking this question on which you are getting eloquent silence by the Prime Minister. Why is it that the Prime Minister is so eloquently silent? All this converges to one department – call it Personnel, call it DOPT, call it anything. The Head of all this is the Prime Minister. It controlled directly and entirely through the PMO. Where is the accountability of that controlling Ministry headed by the Prime Minister? It cannot be except under his direct control that things are happening at 2.00 AM in the night snooping is taking place by another agency today morning and you are being given fraudulent equivalence as if that is a valid pretence to remove a protected officer. I think the nation is entitled to answer many hours ago but unfortunately it is the fate of this nation not to get any answer and from the Prime Minister to continue use ‘Jumlas’ and ‘Bhashan’ but not give any real answer.
Shri Kumar Ketkar said- I do not want to add anything more than what Kharge Ji and Singhvi Ji have said only for it is clearly shows how fear has gripped the Government and how every single Institution that they control are they are subverting. They tried to subvert even judiciary – you know how four Judges revolted against that. You have seen how they have subverted almost every single Institution and they think by subverting, including CBI, they will be able to control the process of elections next year and they will be able to try to maneuver the victory that they are not going to get.
‘Without any prejudice against any candidate, it is my considered and categorical opinion that from the panel of officers prepared by this Committee, Shri Roopak Kumar Dutta, presently Special Secretary (Home) and previously Special Director is the most suitable candidate for the post of Director, CBI having a total of 208 months of experience in CBI and 43 months of experience as a DACP in Karnataka Lokayukta under Justice Santosh Hegde evidently Shri Roopak Kumar Dutta is the most experienced in the field of anti-corruption as compared to all other candidates in the given list of officers and this fact cannot be overlooked. So, for this reason and this was my contention.
Dr. Singhvi said– It is very clear he was saying nothing against somebody. Dr. Signhvi further said I am glad you are supporting and reinforcing what you said the snooping, of course, is going on for a while. We are talking about today’s snooping. It does not mean that we were not having snooping earlier and I made a specific charge yesterday that the so-called raids or snooping or intrusion in to these offices are to serve a nefarious, ulterior objective and motive which is to impound evidence and then selectively either destroy, dilute it or change it. It is to put a freeze and I use the word repeatedly yesterday about the skeletons in the cupboard. Today what we are talking about is a new development of further snooping even after this is what is called post-home snooping. I have sent you home by violating the law. Now I want to keep an eye on you. That is the point we are talking about.
Dr. Singhvi further said this is official briefing of the Congress Party and is the stand which the PM has taken note of. We are taking a special briefing. We are taking it in the public domain.
Sd/-
(Vineet Punia)
Secretary
Communication Deptt.
AICC