Sting video of Gujarat ex-MLA accepting he took money from BJP to defect shows real character of BJP: Congress

The Congress on Monday said that the video showing a turncoat MLA accepting that he took money from the BJP to switch sides was not a flash in the pan but showed the real character of the BJP.

Addressing the media along with Rajeev Satav and Arjun Modhwadia via video conferencing, party spokesperson Dr. Abhishek M. Singhvi said that the development showed “Chal, Chehra and Chalan, the identity of the BJP party, be it at the Centre, be it at the state level”.

“I must put it in context that this is certainly not a flash in the pan. This is certainly not an isolated incident. From Manipur to Goa, from Karnataka to Gujarat, time and again, time and again shamelessly, we have had this excessive greed for power, bordering on paranoia, we will win or lose election but, we must be in power. We will have a fair fight and we will lose but, we must get power at all costs. This is the real point which all these incidents illustrate and by this shameless action legislature has become a forum for business for the BJP,” he said.

Here is the text of his briefing:

Friends, I will not take much time, you have been very patient and my colleague respected Mr. Satav and Mr. Modhwadia will add context and facts from Gujarat to it. My colleagues in the AICC will show you the fourth of such chain of videos in hardly 2-3 weeks.

This is a 4th example. It is supremely ironical that I started the briefing hardly two weeks ago on 18th October by apologizing for my misfortune in having to take briefings on this subject and said that because that was about two weeks after the Yediyurappa briefing I had then taken. Now again in less than two weeks I am before you to tell you the Chal, Chehra and Chalan, the identity of the BJP party, be it at the Centre, be it at the state level.

I must put it in context that this is certainly not a flash in the pan. This is certainly not an isolated one of incident. From Manipur to Goa, from Karnataka to Gujarat, time and again, time and again shamelessly, we have had this excessive greed for power, bordering on paranoia, we will win or lose election but, we must be in power. We will have a fair fight and we will lose but, we must get power at all costs. This is the real point which all these incidents illustrate and by this shameless action legislature has become a forum for business for the BJP.

I had used the phrase trade, trafficking and transactional analysis of BJP in the legislatures, the three Ts, aggressively indulged in by the BJP.

I will not repeat the three names I have brought to you on 18th from Gujarat MLAs, from the Akshay Patel’s, the Kakdia’s, and the Pradyuman Jadeja’s to the 4th example today of Mr. Soma Bhai Patel, where with great pride, great confidence, great assertion and accomplishment, he claims and accepts and repeats and asserts that Rs. 10 crores minimum was the price for defections.

That video he also asserts that this has the blessings of one of the two Yuvrajs of this country, whether you like to call it the combination of two

Yuvrajs or the Shahenshah and the Yuvraj, but, Mr. Home Minister’s name has specifically been taken on camera. But, I want to look less at the facts and more at my 7 issues of the larger prospective, partly repetitive, but, they need to be repeated underlined because institutional memory is short and the BJP hopes that the people of this country have even short a memory, that they eat grass and they will condone repeatedly these kind of egregious conduct.

So, I am repeating the fact that this is candid camera. It is not a case of argument and counter argument or proof. It is candid camera, ‘Pratyaksh Praman’.

2. It is clear which party at the centre and at the state level is indulging in this with relentless frequency.

3. The amounts we are talking of are humongous. There are ordinary amounts; we are talking in this case in this tape of Rs. 10 crores and for one MLA. Of course, the figures in the last set of tapes on 18th October were larger but, let us take lower figures and multiply them by the number of defections which this party has engineered across India in diverse states. You will immediately realize that a war chest of enormous proportions is maintained by the BJP for this dirty tricks department, for these nefarious activities. If half of that was used for social welfare, we would not have the long lines of migrant labour and the pitiable condition of ordinary people during Covid times. But, then the focus of this ruling party at the Centre and in Gujarat, the focus has never been social welfare. It has been to break Governments and make Governments, by hook or by crook and more usually by crook, not by hook.

I have repeatedly said that of this double combination of the two Yuvrajs, all that we get a silence, not a word and eloquent Prime Minister with great jumlas is suddenly seized by silence whenever we point out these things. There is neither reprimand, nor admonishes, nor action, nor suspension, nor dismissal, not even an acknowledgement. It is time the Prime Minister reacted at least his own home state to such repeated clear proved allegations.

I had mentioned last time and I am duty bound to repeat that the whole country participated in thinking out a strategy as far back 1984-85 to prevent what the Supreme Court of India has ten times, more than ten but, minimum ten times called a constitutional sin. A constitutional sin of defection of immorality, of lack of any principle in parliamentary or assembly life and then they passed this law which we know as the 10th schedule.

Well, have you even seen a 10th schedule been blown to smithereens? Have you ever seen the 10th Schedule being so blatantly insulted as by the BJP? The law prevents change of parties. So, simple way is found. Don’t change your parties, no 10th schedule, simply take money and resign. What a nice way to circumvent the law! Then number two, when you resign, while you are not elected, you become a minister, no violation of 10th Schedule! Now while you are a minister, you spend six months and by virtue of your ministry-ship you get reelected somehow in a bye election! What a beautiful way of blowing the 10th Schedule sky high. It has happened repeatedly from Karnataka, to Goa, to Manipur, to Gujarat, it is not the first time, Haryana also.

This is, as I said the true Chal, Charitra, Chehra of this party which preaches to you with Jumlas and with sermons. This is the true Chal, Charitra, Chehra of the two Yuvrajs of the ruling Party. Silence, I would say their silence is incrementing, their silence is eloquent, their silence is culpable, and may I end by saying that it is tragic, it is terrible, it is insensitive to the core to do all these in the 8-10 months of Corona. The worst pandemic faced by humanity in current times and instead of providing the healing touch, distributing much needed resources, instead of reacting to the misery of migrants, MSMEs, you have war chests of this kind of nefarious immoral activity.

So, friends, I would end by saying, that Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga sounds like Alice in Wonderland. It is hurtful to call yourself a Chowkidar is to say what Alice in Wonderland said that words mean what I say they mean. They have no other meaning than what I said.

Of course, at the end of our address you will see the video, but, may I now request my colleagues to address you, but, end by reminding you that you are and the people of India through you are the ultimate sentinels to demolish this kind of nefarious activity day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out.

On a question that BJP has been repeatedly indulging in such activities as you said buying of MLAs and MPs and ahead of every election and you have said that they have repeatedly violated with 10th Schedule and Courts have already considered this as a constitutional sin, so, why doesn’t the Congress Party moves the court to get a permanent solution to this so that this does not happen yet, Dr. Singhvi said: “This is a fundamental mistake to think that such kind of activities are movable in Courts. On the contrary this is about the BJP will want us to do. They will want a legitimate function of the Courts on technical grounds. Whereas what is the method, how is it? It is a larger issue, it will take nine months, so they want you to get lost in myriads of small details, so that the real issue is lost. Somebody may say that technically there is no violation of 10th Schedule because the man has resigned.

The real issue is moral, is political! It is also the constitutional but, Court decisions come on technical law and in the fullness and rightness of time. And it allows frequently the wrong doer to get away.

Secondly, remember that we are entitled to fire on multi barrel guns. When we talk to you and draw your attention we talk to the nation through the media which is the heart and soul of our democracy. It doesn’t mean that subsequently somebody may not go to Court, but, that is the more medium term and long term process. In the immediate term, it is important to jog public memory, to shock public conscience and that is why, this is important so each is not brutally exclusive from the others.”