24, AKBAR ROAD, NEW DELHI

COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

Highlights of the Press briefing

Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, MP, Spokesperson, AICC and Shri Pawan Khera addressed the media today at AICC Hdqrs.

Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, Facing a complete route in the 5 Assembly Elections, the Modi Govt is back to its dirty tricks and malicious tactics. Modi Government’s ‘mask of corruption crusader’ lies in shambles with successive scams getting uncovered over last 54 months and ‘zero action’ against fraudsters. Instead the only tool which is being employed by the Modi Govt hide its massive failures are ‘Mudslinging’, ‘Muckraking’ and ‘Hatchet jobs’ by the ‘Dirty Tricks Department’ i.e CBI/ED, to smear opposition leaders. The illegal raids on the premises of Shri Robert Vadra and his associates is another episode of these ‘concerted conspiracies’, ‘blind vendetta acts ’ and ‘web of lies’ to target the Congress party.

All Constitutional, Legal and Administrative norms are being thrown into a dustbin to target and tarnish an individual, for sheer and petty political reasons. CBI, ED, Income Tax Departments are acting as ‘Slaves & Bonded Labours’ dancing to the tunes of ‘His Majesty’ – Master of Deception (MD) – Shri Narendra Modi. In last 54 months, Modi Govt has let loose a criminal conspiracy to vilify, denigrate & malign Shri Robert Vadra to settle political scores. As all else failed, Modi Government has unleashed all its agencies including ED, CBI & Income Tax to victimize Shri Robert Vadra in an utterly mala fide manner.

1. Officers who raided– had a single line brief- ‘Flout All Norms & Harass’  

• Yesterday, (7^thDec 2018)  in a brazen affront to the rule of law and to Constitution, on the polling day, officers of Enforcement Directorate (ED) from Jaipur & Delhi raided the office of Shri Robert Vadra at Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi . The raid continued from 8:AM to 9:00 AM in the morning of 7^th Dec to 4:30 AM in the morning today (8^th Dec 2018)
• The residence of his associate, his sister and her in-laws at Noida were also raided – all without any FIR or search warrant. Besides raiding the residence of associate’s sister also. The raids have been carried out in a completely illegal fashion with no employ or lawyer being permitted to enter the premises.
• 4 employees were illegally detained for this entire period ( i.e from 8-9:00 AM to 4:30 AM, the next day)
• According to Shri Robert Vadra’s lawyers, No ECIR of FIR that names him as an accused has been shared with them.
• His lawyer also pointed out that Shri Robert Vadra has adhered to every notice/summon by every agency for several years and supplied every document asked for.  His lawyer also said that the last two sets of documents running over 600 pages were furnished to ED on 26.11.2018 and 5.12.2018. 600 pages of documents have been conveniently ignored and summons has been sent in 24 hours without processing the documents.
• The Lawyers of Shri Vadra were not allowed to enter the premises of his Sukhdev Vihar office that was raided yesterday between 8:00-9:00 AM.
• Officers refused to identify themselves and clarify what agency they were from. Same thing has happened at the residence of his associate and the residence of associate sister.
• According to his lawyers, despite being informed that the keys were on their way, locks were broken and the premises were entered. All cabin doors were opened, cupboards almirahs ransacked
• All the 4 detained employees were physically roughed up and assaulted and threatened that they would be beaten up with sticks (dandas)
• A sick child of an employee was neither permitted to speak to his father, nor any arrangement was made to provide any medical aid.
• Repeatedly leak case information and private financial data to the press contrary to all norms of the law. The most glaring example of this is that the third summons to Shri Robert Vadra was reported by the Times of India on the morning of 7 December and the latter is yet to receive the same.
• His lawyer also stated that all this was done without even registration of an offence or an FIR against Shri Robert Vadra, pointing out an apprehension vis-à-vis planting of false & fabricated material in their office.
• Those who raided the premises took away every file, all documents and every shred of paper from the office.

1. In their Eagerness & Tearing Hurry to Persecute, Modi Govt Agencies have run roughshod over the Fundamental Rights of Private Citizens, that have No Dealings with Shri Robert Vadra or his Businesses & Made A Mockery of the Rule of Law

• Raided the private residence of Sh. Manoj Arora, an employee of Shri Vadra when there was no one but his wife and an aged 80 year old bedridden mother and his 5 year old son. The son and mother were forcibly confined to a single room for the duration of the conference.
• Also raided the house of Sh. Manoj Arora’s sister and took away the medical files that belonged to her husband who suffers from severe ailments that have left one side of his body paralyzed and whose treatment and life have been seriously compromised by the absence of his medical records.
• Also raided the home of the parents of the wife of Sh. Manoj Arora and ransacked all of their possessions. What makes this even more chilling is that the father of the wife of Manoj Arora is a former Vice president (and current consultant) of a leading media house that the current establishment views as being not fully in tune their views – trying to create a chilling effect on the Freedom of the Press.
• Earlier the ED repeatedly raided Shri Vadra’s accountant Shri Rajesh Khurana and kept summoning him. They did not even desist when he informed them that he needed some allowances on account of the fact that he had had a brain hemorrhage. In the immediate aftermath of the hemorrhage, they summoned him again and also took away every single one of his client files including all those relating to all of his clients that are not Shri Robert Vadra or the investigation. Hounded by them in this inhuman way, he never recovered from his ailment and passed away prematurely at the age of 58. Even after this, they have till date not returned a single one of his files.
• Officers have become ‘Bonded Labour’ of a PM lording over a ‘Crime Cabal’ 
• ED Officers are being used as personal slaves and political agents of Modi government to unleash political revenge against opponents.
  • Director ED, IRS 1985 Batch. 

ED director’s post has always been held by a Secretary rank officer and never been held by anyone other than IAS and IPS officers, but never by an IRS officer. He is the first IRS officer to be appointed as Director in the history of the ED. On the date of the appointment, he was neither an additional Secretary rank nor a Secretary rank officer. He has been promoted out of turn and appointed as Director ED by PM Modi to carry out PM Modi’s  sinister agenda. In fact, he has been responsible for leaking income tax notices and other proceedings relating to Sh. Vadra and other Congress leaders in the past.

• Deputy Director, E.D,  Assistant Director, E.D.,  are the co-conspirators to execute the nefarious and illegal order of  Director ED at the instance of Prime Minister Modi.
• Chairman CBDT

He has been granted two extensions post retirement by PM Modi. He is a conduit and a willing tool to carry out the illegal whims and orders of the PM and subjugate the entire agency of Income Tax Department as the dirty tricks department of the BJP. Will Modi Govt. answer as to what is the reason for the grant of two extensions to him post retirement by denying the rightful due of other competent officers of the income tax department?

Congress party fought the British and decimated them to win Independence for India. We also met every other challenge from across the border and never bowed down. A despotic Prime Minister and a Government mired in Crime can never deter the Congress Party and its leadership for speaking truth to the power.

On a question that BJP party is panicking, Dr. Singhvi said- I think, panic is the word of studied moderation and mildness the maxim you can find. You are absolutely right, but, you have understated by huge gap. I cannot find the strongest word, I will check the 33.14mts…thesorest let you know, there is utter kiosk, there is utter panic of the highest degree, but, more than that there is certainty of the rejection by the people. When you have that certainty in your mind, then this seems happen. When you need desperately to divert the people’s attention, it is not about me and you. It is this desperate need to divert the people’s attention then you makes the first mistake, not realize in the first mistake, generates second mistake, not realize that it is the third mistake. इसलिए कहा जाता है, विनाशकाले विपरीत बुद्धि। विपरीत बुद्धि पहले हुई या विनाशकाल पहले आया, मैं जानता नहीं।

Look, you have said this, I have not. You have quoted someone, someone who is supposed to be part of the operational reality of such maneuvers. it is well known in India and indeed globally that this surgical strike was neither invented when Mr. Modi was born as Prime Minister, nor invented with BJP became a ruling party. There is 70 years, 65 years history of India before that although Mr. Modi every day and Mr. Shah every day wants us to believe otherwise, that history writing started only after BJP was born. Well in that history, the maturity, the restraint and the pointed focus result effect verses the hype is known to everyone prior to this Government. In fact, this Government is guilty of the most crass cheap politicisation where anonymity of the army is its biggest strength and anonymity of the army is working its big strength which has been maintained by every Government except this one and I think, now, we are great full that some amount of truth is coming out. It is coming out at the very highest level. There is only one level above of this level which you have mentioned Lt. General. As they say that when you are drunk with power, punch drunk with ego, there is no one to tell you that the emperor is wearing no clothes. But that truth remains the truth and that truth does come out and it is the inconvenient way of coming out and that realization is growing, that this chest thumping, this 56 inch chest, this optics this photographs, this self aggrandizement, the self promotion, this narcissist complex is causing all this aberrations in our governance.

On a question related to the statement of Yogi Adityanath at Bulandshahr, Dr. Singhvi said-   this is by anwink and a nod, the whole object of this is to derail independent impartial, निष्पक्ष इंवेस्टिगेशन, the object of this is all send a clear message with a wink and a nod that look; we want you to know this is the direction and the momentum of the investigation and that is what is happening and you saw the example of that in the unbelievable comment of a very senior police officer in that state. Directly acting under his political executives and I would not blame him, he must have been threatened to do it, saying in fact predetermining the course of the investigation. It is horrendous by saying that the true core issue is not the death of that police officer but something else. I mean, Is this the India which we had imagined in 2018. In India’s largest state the size of Europe.

Sd/-

(Vineet Punia)

Secretary

Communication Deptt.

AICC