REPORT

AICC DIARY

1.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy and Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that Congress candidates in certain parts of Manipur were pressurized to withdraw from the field by the NSCN (IM). Two of our candidates were compelled to withdraw. We have come to know that the NSCN (IM) is supporting the BJP candidates in its strongholds. We wonder whether Mr. LK Advani reached an agreement with NSCN on this issue also.

Blood donation camps are being organized after the last date of withdrawal is over and they are being attended by leaders of a particular party. We are not opposed to any filmstar, Amitabh Bachchan or Jaya Bachchan. Stars could campaign for the Congress Party. We are opposed to the timing of blood donation camps.

Asked about the political significance of Shri VP Singh’s meeting with Congress President, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we do not attach any political importance to the meeting.

To a question on the Congress Party’s stand on peace talks between LTTE and Sri Lanka in India, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we are not opposed to any peace process in Sri Lanka. But we are unambiguously opposed to soil of India being used for talks between LTTE and Sri Lanka, because LTTE is a proscribed organization in India. Mr. Prabhakaran is personally involved in assassination of former Prime Minister of India, Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

Shri Anand Sharma said that the Congress President would be addressing public meetings in the first phase of campaigning in Uttranchal, Punjab and UP. On 4th February, she will address meetings in Srinagar and Bhageshwar in Uttranchal; on 5th February meetings will be held in Sujanpur, Jalandhar and Abohar in Punjab; on 6th February in Shahajanpur, Bareilly and Jetpur and on 7th February in Talwandi Sabo, Sangrur and Morinda in Punjab.

4.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy and Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy announced that Shri Satpal Maharaj has been appointed as secretary of the AICC. He said that it is highly regrettable that the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, should be pleading against the public discussion of Defence scandals on the pretext of confrontation on the borders. There is an admission of guilt in this line of argument. It was the C&AG, which has pointed out serious lapses in a large number of Defence purchases in its official report. The "Coffingate" scandal is only a tip of the iceberg.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said "we will discuss these Defence scandals in the ensuing Budget Session of Parliament. We were not able to discuss Tehelka in the last session of Parliament because of the 13th December incident, we were also to discuss the coffingate apart from Tehealka, and we could not discuss them either".

6.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy and Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we regret to note that BJP leaders have launched a tenacious campaign against Madarsas as such. Nobody, however, can object if action is taken against a particular Madarsa, which is found guilty of illegal activities.

We are disturbed to take note of the brutal manner in which Shamat office was thrown out of Vithal Bhai Patel House. The government wants to make an example of Shamat with the intention to terrorize all intellectual and academic dissenters. We demand an apology from the government for this act.

In the big-ticket disinvestments that were approved by the Cabinet we do not find, neither uniformity nor objectivity in play. For example, IOC was allowed to bid for IBP while both are PSU organizations. If a PSU is allowed to participate in bidding so should be it, in the case of VSNL. Two different approaches were adopted for two different big companies. Now again the government says that with BPCL and HPCL, PSU’s would not be allowed in the bidding. We are not taking any position one-way or the other.

We were opposed to the disinvestments in the profit making organization. More particularly those which are in the strategic sectors. We are not opposed to disinvestment in Hotels, which are not in the strategic sectors. But we want the process to be transparent at every stage. We want the rights of the workers to be protected at all cost and all circumstances. We are not opposed to Voluntary Retirement Scheme as such, but we have not yet examined the package for us to make a well-informed comment.

From the trip Congress President made to Punjab, we are of the considered view that we will get more than two-thirds majority. We are absolutely confident of capturing majority in Uttaranchal. Shri Mani Shanker Iyer nearly missed an attack by the terrorist. We are winning in Manipur. In UP we will be among the four main players.

7.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy and Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said, "We deplore Prime Minister’s intemperate and incoherent attack on the person of Congress President. People of India have not forgotten the spontaneous co-operation that Smt. Sonia Gandhi extended to the government in the wake of the 13th December. Nor have the people forgotten the superlative praise that the Prime Minister himself showered on the Congress President in Parliament for her unqualified and unstinted support in India’s fight against terrorism. It was extraordinary unity that was forged in the country by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, which struck terror in the heart of the terrorists. The Vajpayee government’s record is dismal, with farm labourers bordering on starvation, farmers committing suicide, factories closing down, small investors sinking without a trace with market scams including the UTI scam, stinking defence scams and stagnating economy."

Shri Anand Sharma said the language used by the Prime Minister was devoid of both civility and maturity. He must tender an apology to Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the women of India.

8.02.2002 : Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Anand Sharma said that the very fact that the entire campaign of the BJP is focused on asking the opposition parties, especially the Congress Party not to raise issues related to the defence deals, the scandals and the scams in which the Government is enmeshed, makes it abundantly clear that the present Government is rattled because of the lack of the public response to its campaign. Our considered view is that the morale of the armed forces is affected when they come to know that the ammunition, which was bought, was substandard, the shelf life was over or what they call in technical terms, much of it was dud ammunition.

Asked if the Congress Party was satisfied with the Prime Minister’s clarification on his remarks against the Congress President, Shri Anand Sharma said that the Congress party has noted the clarification.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General as per the rules go to the PAC, under the specific direction of this Government and its much talked about, Defence Minister that the PAC should not be shown the CAG report. This tantamounts to disrespect of Parliament.

11.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy and Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy expressed his condolences on the demise of Shri Nandkumar, photographer of Asianet channel. He succumbed to injuries sustained in an accident at Khatauli, UP after covering the Congress President’s rally in Saharanpur. His colleague, Shri Nikesh Kumar is also injured, we hope and pray that he get well soon.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the VHP has decided to start construction of the temple from the 15th of March, whereas BJP says that it will bring any lawbreaker to book.

Shri Anand Sharma said two film stars are meeting the Congress President to express confidence in the Congress Party and offer their services for campaigning.

13.2.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy and Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the move of the All Party Hurriyat Conference to have a people’s election commission is not only constitutionally untenable but also politically ridiculous. Hurriyat Conference through this move is seeking to challenge the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India. It’s not proper on their part to choose people from Pakistan as part of their so-called people’s election commission. The proper thing for Hurriyat Conference would be to participate in the elections due to be held in Jammu and Kashmir and test their goodwill and popularity at the hustings.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we have written to the Election Commission requesting it to let the people know that identity cards are not the only thing, there are other forms by which voters can be identified. Most voters are not aware of this. We have our reservations about the manner in which identity cards were distributed in the country, not only in the states going in for elections.

We must ensure that the identity cards are prepared and distributed to everybody. These should not become another technique by which poor people are disenfranchised.

Asked about the Congress Party’s performance in the local elections in Maharashtra, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we agree that our party has lost in many of the municipalities. We contested on our own and did not have alliance with NCP. The decision not to have alliance with NCP was taken on the local level. We have performed very well as compared to the past in the urban areas. Five years ago in Mumbai we had only thirty seats, now we have won sixty seats. That is an encouraging aspect of the situation.

15.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that apart from the growing indifference of voters to elections, one important factor responsible for the low turnout at the polls was the problem created by identity cards. We hope that the Election Commission will take notice of this problem at least now by way of guidance in future.

He said that in the West to the best of our knowledge, exit polls are not permitted until the elections are over. We think we should emulate that practice.

He said that after the elections the Congress Party’s role in U.P will be decisive. It is not necessary that we give support, all non-BJP parties may support us.

18.02.2002 : Shri Anand Sharma briefed the press.

Shri Anand Sharma said the VHP is raking up the Ayodhya issue keeping in view the shaky chair of the BJP in UP. The Prime Minister, by commenting on this matter again and again is keeping the dispute alive and fanning it. The Prime Minister’s statement that the Court will decide on this issue is not reliable and we do not believe him because the BJP and VHP are a family. The Prime Minister and the Government must come clean on this as well as to what they propose to do if communal passions are inflamed because of the VHP’s campaign.

20.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press. Shri T. Subbirammi Reddy and Smt. Poonam Dhillon were present.

Smt. Poonam Dhillon was welcomed into the Congress Party by Shri Jaipal Reddy. Addressing the media, Smt. Dhillon expressed her belief in the policies of the Congress Party and the leadership of the Congress President.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we deplore the Prime Minister’s statement that the BJP can win without support of the Muslim community. It is not only highly objectionable but also fraught with dangerous implication. Mr. Vajpayee is not only the leader of the BJP, above all he is now Prime Minister of India. This statement had two disturbing undertones, first is that, Muslims who are the single biggest religious minority in the country, are a dispensable political commodity. Secondly, it is an attempt to divide the people and polarize the voters on communal lines. He was indirectly pandering to the communal instincts of the other community. Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the Defence Minister has said that certain sections are preventing the Defence Ministry from the long delayed acquisition of Advanced Jet Trainer. He should indicate who those sections are.

Asked about the CAG report booklet by R. V. Pandit, Mr. Reddy said that if the Prime Minister and the Cabinet share George Fernandes’ view, they must launch impeachment against CAG. We challenge George Fernandes and the NDA Government to launch impeachment proceedings against CAG in case it is convinced of merits of its own case.

22.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press.

Homage was paid to Late Shri. Jagpravesh Chandra. The Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi, received his mortal remains at the AICC.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the Congress President has gone to Dighauri village in Seoni district, which is the birth place of Shankaracharya of Dwarka Swami Swaroopanandaji. He has been for a decade a family friend of the Gandhi family. His 78th birth anniversary celebration is taking place there. A personal invitation was extended to Smt. Sonia Gandhi. She went there in response to the invitation and has nothing to do with any other issue, nor is she going to discuss any other issue. Shri Jaipal Reddy said "I may here recall that she also paid a visit to Tirupati, Ajmer Sharief, Golden Temple and she also took a dip in the river Ganga during the Kumbh Mela". It is a purely personal visit. She is not going there to discuss any issue with anybody.

The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, has made a highly provocative statement against Muslims as a community in his pre-election speech on the last day of the campaign. After the elections were over he issued a clarification, which is misleading in content and is face saving in its tone.

25.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we express our gratification at the election results and trends in the bye-elections. We were given a clear mandate in two States. We hope to emerge as the single largest party in Manipur. All parties which went to the polls other than BJP opposed POTO as a draconian piece of legislation. Mr. Rajnath Singh would only talk about POTO and little else. In all the advertisements inserted in newspapers by BJP, their position on POTO was highlighted. In UP, the BJP as a party, has finished third. We therefore think, POTO as a piece of legislation has not been favoured by people at all. In view of these election results it would be in the fitness of things if the NDA Government would review its position on POTO.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that yesterday, late in the evening we had an informal meeting of Congress Working Committee members available in Delhi to discuss the results. Members who were there expressed great satisfaction at the results. We also discussed the situation in Uttar Pradesh, it was a case of preliminary stock-taking. Our discussion on UP was not conclusive. The party leaders will meet once again and take a view on what could be done in UP. This was a decision taken yesterday, Mr. Motilal Vora and Mr. Ahmed Patel have been sent as observers to Punjab for election of CLP leader. Similarly, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mrs. Ambika Soni have been named as observers for Uttranchal. For the election of CLP leader in UP, Mr. R. K. Dhawan will be observer. In Manipur, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee will be the observer, Mr. Mani Shanker Aiyer is already there.

Asked whether the Congress Party considers Kalyan Singh and his Rashtriya Kranti Dal to be communal, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that we have our reservations in view of the fact that Mr. Kalyan Singh as Chief Minister of UP was privy to the demolition of Babri mosque.

To a question on whether Shri Harkishan Singh Surjeet has spoken to Congress President on behalf of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that this is natural as the Left parties and we have been cooperating on larger issues. Left parties are part of the People’s Front of which Mulayam Singh Yadav is a part. Asked if Mulayam Singh was discussed, Mr. Jaipal Reddy said "the Congress party learns from history, it does not live in the past".

26.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press. Smt. Mohsina Kidwai was present.

Smt. Mohsina Kidwai said that for the Parliamentary bye-election in Jammu and Kashmir, we had long before informed the Election Commission that there is going to be large-scale rigging. The rigging was on a massive scale. In some booths, where 900 votes were polled, 896 votes were polled in favour of the National Conference, two for Congress Party and two for Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s Party. This was the level at which the National Conference indulged in rigging. All the opposition parties, including the BJP is united on this issue, the result has been withheld. Yesterday, all parties called for a Jammu bandh. We have asked the Election Commission for time to put forth our demand for a repoll in the entire constituency, as otherwise people will lose faith in democracy. Jammu is an important Parliamentary seat as twenty Assembly segments fall in it.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the Budget speech on Railways shows that the financial condition of Railways is going from bad to worse which is evident from the fact that Gross Traffic Receipt shortfall in the outgoing year is as high as Rs. 1,649 crores. There is also Net Reduction in the Plan expenditure by Rs. 1,600 odd crores. These two figures have been mentioned only to highlight the point that the financial health of Railways is far from good.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the entire Opposition was united in expressing its grave concern at developments in Ayodhya. The Prime Minister’s respons

in Parliament was extremely disappointing. Various components of the proposed Temple should be confiscated and attached by the Government. That is the only way to prevent VHP from carrying out their illegal plans.

Asked who will be attending the all-party meeting from the Congress Party, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the Leader of Opposition will be attending. Dr. Manmohan Singh is unwell with cervical spondilitus and Shri Pranab Mukherjee is in Manipur, therefore from the Rajya Sabha Shri Arjun Singh will attend.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that Captain Amarinder Singh has been elected CLP leader in Punjab and will be sworn in as Chief Minister tomorrow.

Mr. Harkishan Singh Surjeet met the Congress President yesterday in connection with the political situation in UP and exchanged views. We are not aware of Laloo Prasad Yadav’s meeting with the Congress President.

27.02.2002 : Smt. Ambika Soni, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad and Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press. Shri N. D. Tiwari was present.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the Congress Party expresses its gravest concern at the ghastly incident in Gujarat. Our hearts go out in deepest sympathy to all those who lost lives and suffered injuries in this incident. We are of the considered view that the utmost need of the hour is for both communities to maintain peace and exercise restraint. We also appeal to the Government of Gujarat to take all steps required to restore normalcy. This is a very sensitive situation, it needs to be handed both with care and firmness. We hope and trust that the Government of Gujarat will rise to the occasion.

Smt. Ambika Soni said that on 25th February, the CLP met in Dehradun presided over by PCC President, Harish Rawat. Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shri Suresh Pachourie and I were present. Senior Congress leaders including Smt. Indira Hardesh, Shri Satpal Maharaj and senior leader, Shri Vijay Bahuguna were present at the CLP meeting. We met each MLA personally and took his view as is the Congress tradition. The MLAs were of the view that the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi should name the leader of the CLP. Smt. Sonia Gandhi consulted senior leaders and giving precedence to experience, chose Shri N. D. Tiwari as the next Chief Minister of Uttaranchal. He will bring his long experience and competence to the state of Uttaranchal.

Shri N. D. Tiwari thanked the Congress President for giving him this opportunity and hoped that he would be able to fulfill his responsibility.

28.02.2002 : Shri Jaipal Reddy briefed the press. Shri Jairam Ramesh was also present.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that the Congress Party and above all, the Congress President yesterday in a statement condemned the ghastly incident in Godhra in the strongest possible terms and appealed to all sections for maintaining peace and harmony. It is absolutely irresponsible on the part of BJP leaders to say that the Congress Party did not condemn the incident. It is unfortunate that BJP leaders are even leveling allegations against the Congress Party. What is happening right now in Gujarat amounts to collapsing of law enforcement machinery in Gujarat. We will hold the Government of Gujarat squarely responsible for whatever is happening in Gujarat and whatever will happen. With Governments both in Delhi and Ahemdabad, the responsibility of the BJP is all the greater, not only to ensure peace but also to produce the impression that the Governments in Delhi and Ahemdabad are fair-minded and evenhanded.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that in the morning we discussed the developments in the Political Affairs Committee of the CPP. We absolutely repudiate involvement of Congressmen in the incident. BJP after turning a blind eye to the villainy of VHP is desperate for a scapegoat.

Shri Jaipal Reddy said that in our view intellectual fatigue, fiscal collapse and political bankruptcy categorise this Budget. The Budget clearly lacks a sense of direction and focus. Bereft of a structure, it does little to add the fundamental challenges confronting the Indian economy such as the sharp deceleration in industrial growth and continuing investment famine.

Shri Jairam Ramesh said the Budget has been a very big disappointment. The Central problem is that growth has come down, there is very little public and private investment and there is a crisis of confident in the economy. The instant reaction to the Budget is that markets are down, industry is depressed. The expectations had been built up very substantially and the Budget has not been able to fulfill those expectations. This Budget will not revive growth, it will not revive investment. It’s a business as usual Budget.

Shri Jairam Ramesh said the Jayaprakash Rozgar Yojana is nothing but the old employment scheme started by Dr. Manmohan Singh in 1996. Many such schemes have been started which are nothing but the same old schemes with different names.

To a question on the Congress Party’s stand on downsizing as it is already having problems in Kerala, Shri Jairam Ramesh said that there is no problem in Kerala. Chief Minister has taken a courageous and principled stand and the entire Party is supporting him. Asked whether the Congress Party supports the Government’s downsizing and VRS schemes, Shri Jairam Ramesh said that the Congress Party supports right-sizing of Government.

To a question on the Congress Party’s position on the Industrial Disputes Act, Shri Jaipal Reddy said as for this act the proposals were made by Yashwant Sinha in his last year’s Budget speech. We opposed the proposals in our resolution in Bangalore.

Asked whether the Congress Party is for or against VRS scheme, Shri Jaipal Reddy said that for PSUs there cannot be an across the board approach. Where the units cannot be revived, VRS scheme could be favoured. The question cannot be answered in yes or no.

- Tom Vadakkan
Media Secretary