‘There’s reason why SC ignored the 2G figures of CAG’
27 May 2012 11:35 PM GMT
The Congress looks besieged. There are corruption charges. There is trouble with allies. The official spokesperson of the party becomes an important person at this juncture to manage the party image. Manish Tewari takes these controversial issues head on. Excerpts from an interview:
What is your take on Abhishek Manu Singhvi's sex CD controversy?
I am extremely sad that Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi decided to step down, because whatever has been alleged is, at best, a campaign of insinuation, calumny and vilification. That is why it is extremely important that there should be be a serious and informed discussion about balancing the rights of an individual to his personal reputation as well as his personal space.
What is the buzz about the presidential candidate in the Congress?
We need to guard against unnecessary speculation. You have a situation where the formal election process has not even kicked off. To speculate about a successor is to show disrespect to the current president.
Will the allies support you on your candidate?
I don't think that there is any difficulty with our allies at all. There is a preliminary sounding-out process, which is taking place. The consensus-building effort is under the way.
How do you perceive the scenario for the next General Election? The Congress does not look in good shape.
If I take you back to 2007 then we had lost Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. We won Manipur and Goa. We didn't have a clear victory in Goa also. Going forth from there in the next round, even Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh did not go our way. I would like to emphasize on the fact that state elections are not a barometer of what the parliamentary election will be in 2014. We are still two years away from the parliamentary election. But for anyone to really extrapolate to what may have happened in a particular state to what will happen in 2014, I think it shows political naivety.
There have been a lot of charges of corruption on the Congress. How does the party handle them?
The irony is that the the Congress has been extremely transparent when it comes to allegations of corruption. In this country it is very easy to make a bold allegation. Unfortunately that is followed by a media trial, which then convicts a person even before the courts have had a chance to appreciate evidence. In the past few years whenever there has been a whisper, the Congress has always acted in the most honourable manner. Unfortunately some sections of the media try to play the judge, the jury and the prosecutor. While I don't have anything against fair reportage, but an accused has an equal right to his reputation.
The CAG has unearthed many scams. Some senior leaders have said that it is overstepping its jurisdiction. What is your view?
I have the highest respect for the Comptroller and Auditor General and the officers who man this august institution. Having said that, I would not be breaking any parliamentary privilege if I were to say that my own examination of the CAG's report on the 2G issue led me to conclude that possibly there had been not only a transgression but a serious error of judgement in appreciating the issue and arriving at the conclusions. That is why even the Supreme Court judgement which struck down the licenses, which were issued on 10 January 2008, deliberately choose not to go in the question of presumptive loss. Obviously, the court did have some reservations authenticating the kind of figures which had been put out by the CAG.
There is a need to be cautious and circumspect because people hold the CAG in high esteem. If a perception builds up that there is a room for ambiguity in terms of appreciating the conclusions that the CAG arrives at, then I don't think that would go very well for this august institution per say.
What is your take on Abhishek Manu Singhvi's sex CD controversy?
I am extremely sad that Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi decided to step down, because whatever has been alleged is, at best, a campaign of insinuation, calumny and vilification. That is why it is extremely important that there should be be a serious and informed discussion about balancing the rights of an individual to his personal reputation as well as his personal space.
What is the buzz about the presidential candidate in the Congress?
We need to guard against unnecessary speculation. You have a situation where the formal election process has not even kicked off. To speculate about a successor is to show disrespect to the current president.
Will the allies support you on your candidate?
I don't think that there is any difficulty with our allies at all. There is a preliminary sounding-out process, which is taking place. The consensus-building effort is under the way.
How do you perceive the scenario for the next General Election? The Congress does not look in good shape.
If I take you back to 2007 then we had lost Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. We won Manipur and Goa. We didn't have a clear victory in Goa also. Going forth from there in the next round, even Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh did not go our way. I would like to emphasize on the fact that state elections are not a barometer of what the parliamentary election will be in 2014. We are still two years away from the parliamentary election. But for anyone to really extrapolate to what may have happened in a particular state to what will happen in 2014, I think it shows political naivety.
There have been a lot of charges of corruption on the Congress. How does the party handle them?
The irony is that the the Congress has been extremely transparent when it comes to allegations of corruption. In this country it is very easy to make a bold allegation. Unfortunately that is followed by a media trial, which then convicts a person even before the courts have had a chance to appreciate evidence. In the past few years whenever there has been a whisper, the Congress has always acted in the most honourable manner. Unfortunately some sections of the media try to play the judge, the jury and the prosecutor. While I don't have anything against fair reportage, but an accused has an equal right to his reputation.
The CAG has unearthed many scams. Some senior leaders have said that it is overstepping its jurisdiction. What is your view?
I have the highest respect for the Comptroller and Auditor General and the officers who man this august institution. Having said that, I would not be breaking any parliamentary privilege if I were to say that my own examination of the CAG's report on the 2G issue led me to conclude that possibly there had been not only a transgression but a serious error of judgement in appreciating the issue and arriving at the conclusions. That is why even the Supreme Court judgement which struck down the licenses, which were issued on 10 January 2008, deliberately choose not to go in the question of presumptive loss. Obviously, the court did have some reservations authenticating the kind of figures which had been put out by the CAG.
There is a need to be cautious and circumspect because people hold the CAG in high esteem. If a perception builds up that there is a room for ambiguity in terms of appreciating the conclusions that the CAG arrives at, then I don't think that would go very well for this august institution per say.
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